I would like to share with you 3 basic things that we do in our daily life. We do them every day, automatically, without paying attention. All three of these things have a HUGE impact on how you feel!
The three things that many people do not pay enough attention to are: their posture, breathing, and thinking patterns; at any given moment of everyday. By doing any one of these things improperly, it causes an imbalance on the other two. It is a balancing act, just like anything in life!
Take a car for instance; it needs proper gas and oil, and the proper amount of both in order for the motor to perform the best. If you have gas and oil in the car, the motor will run, but if it is not the proper gas and proper oil or the right amount of either, the motor is not working at its fullest potential. You can think of your body like a piece of machinery, it has a structure; what keeps that structure up, properly moving and performing is affected by you! You need to make sure everything is balanced in order for everything to function smoothly.
Your thinking affects you’re breathing in the way that if you find yourself suffering from mental stress, it can lead to dysfunctional breathing patterns. Those dysfunctional breathing patterns can then lead to postural distortion and “kinetic chain” dysfunction (the kinetic chain is made up of your muscular system, skeletal, and nervous system).
So say you are stressing out about something, this is causing your breathing pattern to be dysfunctional, meaning you are taking short, shallow breathes. Taking short shallow breathes is making your secondary respiratory muscles work more than your diaphragm; and causes overuse to the secondary respiratory muscles (the scalene, sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae). These muscles play a key role is posture.
As I mentioned, what is termed the “kinetic chain”, is made up of your nervous system, muscular system, and skeletal system.
Your nervous system is made up of neurons and neurotransmitters, which are electrical impulses that go from your nerves to your muscles. Your skeletal system is made up of bones and joints, and your muscular system is what moves your skeletal system.
Continuing to breathe in a dysfunctional pattern will most likely lead to altered carbon dioxide and blood oxygen content; and that is what leads to feelings of anxiety. Breathing short, shallow breathes can cause a lot of tension, headaches, lightheadedness, and dizziness.
In life there are periods of time when everything may seem to be overwhelming. It is normal; everyone goes through this at one point or another in their life. What is important is how you handle those problems. Good stress management skills are essential, not only for you mentally, but physically as well. When things start to be too much take a deep breath!! Make sure you take a breath from your diaphragm and not your chest.
Working out is an excellent way to release stress. Breathing correctly is very important while working out as well. Try to stay conscious of your breathing patterns; it will make a huge difference!!
Reference
Clark, Micheal, Scott Lucett, and Rodney J. Corn. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. Print.
