What is reverse breathing and why is it giving me low back pain?

 I have written at length about the importance of breathing, how to do it, and the different ways people mess it up. Reverse breathing is the most common one I see. 

What breathing?? Let’s rewind. We know that in a functional breath, the diaphragm and pelvic floor are synced. The diaphragm will drop down and relax as the core and pelvic floor do on the inhale, and then simultaneously they both lift and engage on the exhale. Reverse breathing is simply the opposite of this harmonious synchronization. People stuck in a reverse breathing pattern will drop their diaphragm on the inhale, but instead of relaxing the pelvic floor, they squeeze it and grip their core. Instead of everything working together seamlessly, with the pelvic floor dropping down to room for the diaphragm dropping down, by gripping and lifting the pelvic floor as the diaphragm drops down, they basically slam into each other. This creates excessive intra abdominal pressure that can weaken the core over time, and prolong issues like diastasis recti. 

If you are caught in this pattern, it can be confusing and difficult to break. I want you to get out of the habit of “bracing” your core on the inhale (think of bracing as what you would do if someone were about to punch you in the stomach, you’d grip and harden your abs to protect from the blow) and instead think RELEASE and STRETCH on the inhale. That may sound counterintuitive- but hear me out. If your lungs are filling up with air on the inhale, they inflate and take up more space. Your body has to accommodate for that. If you are bracing your abs and preventing your ribs from expanding, that pressure has to go SOMEWHERE and it’s gonna compensate in your pelvic floor.  That pressure just travels downward  which creates dysfunction like painful sex and inability to hold your pee. The opposite of a good time. 

How to stop reverse breathing

One of my favorite ways to practice this is a cat cow exercise because it really highlights when to release your ab muscles. On all fours, take a breath in and arch your back. This position (cow) naturally lengthens the torso- but I want you to take it one step further and really let your belly hang. So many women whether it’s from habitually sucking it in to fit into clothes or out of self consciousness never actually let their stomach muscles relax. As Elsa says, “LET IT GOOOO, LET IT GOOO, CAN”T HOLD IT BACK ANYMOREEEE!!” When you exhale, round your back and corset the abdominals. The muscles are naturally contracting as your round (cat pose) so it makes this pretty clear. Integrate your pelvic floor to this by inhaling, arching/cow-ing your back and relaxing your pelvic floor almost to the point or going pee (but don’t...unless you’re into that) and as you exhale and round your back, don’t just squeeze your pelvic floor like a traditional kegel, but try to lift the pelvic floor muscles up to your belly button as the abs engage. 

Conclusion

It may take a little practice, but like everything, it’ll become muscle memory after a while and the diaphragm and pelvic floor will stay synced on your own. It’s not instantaneous, but after a while you’ll find it easier to maintain proper posture, your core exercises will feel more intense and a whole slew of common pain points, like neck, low back, hip, SI issues can dissipate all on their own. Sounds worth it, huh? The greatest thing about pilates, is that not only is the movement itself challenging and mentally demanding, but breath is such a heavy focus- that your workout is training this system too. Do you see why I’m so obsessed??