How to improve and optimize your breathing

Breathing is a topic many people are interested in. What is optimal and ideal breathing?

There are many ideas, theories about optimal breathing. You probably have learned some breathing techniques and exercises (what muscles to use, specific way to breathe in and out, how long you need to inhale and exhale, etc).

I am not going into details of breathing mechanism or anatomy here. Instead, I want to share my perspective on breathing.

I look at breathing as movement just I look at posture as movement. Breathing involves mobilization of our bodies (ribs, belly, back, chest, shoulders, etc). Our nervous system adjusts breathing automatically in response to changes in physiological demands, stress, body positions. Just as our posture and movement patterns can become habitual, our breathing patterns also become habitual as breathing patterns adapt to our habitual movement patterns. For example, in a slouched posture, certain parts of your body can move more easily and other parts become more restricted. This constraint makes the nervous system adjust your movement and breathing patterns. As you adapt this posture more, it becomes more habitual, and so does your breathing pattern. I am not implying that a slouched posture leads to an inefficient breathing pattern. My point is that your habitual movement patterns can influence your breathing patterns, thus, in order to improve your breathing, you will need to expand movement awareness and options so your breathing patterns become adaptable and responsive.

The bottom line is: breathing is movement. Movement is life. Improving movement is improving breathing and improving life!

Happy Mindful Movement and Breathing!