Is Deep Breathing More Important Than Working Out?
I get it. I’d rather be breaking a sweat than getting stuck in the nitty gritty details of the directions my rib cage is moving. It’s the tiniest tidbit tedious, (say that 10x fast) but it’s more impactful and effective than any high intensity workout to relieve pain, build strength, and CALM TF DOWN. By now, if you’ve been along for the ride on this breathwork discovery journey with me, you know how to take a functional deep breath, why the breath cues most trainers give don’t quite cut it, and the difference between belly and chest breathing.
But why should you even care about breathwork?
Relearning how to inhale so that your ribcage expands in all directions (especially back) AND the low belly and pelvic floor fill with air helps relax the secondary respiratory muscles (neck) and utilizing a complete and total exhale both activates the deep core and the parasympathetic nervous system. Without taking the time to practice this to the point that it gets into your muscle memory, you miss out on all of the following:
The functional coordination of the diaphragm and pelvic floor creates intra-abdominal pressure that protects the spine and supports posture
Syncing the pelvic floor and core with the diaphragm helps release over gripping or overly engaging the pelvic floor and core (which leads to overall weakness no matter how many kegels you do) which ultimately leads to natural strengthening and support with minimal effort
3d ribcage expansion helps release the hip flexors and fire up the deep core (so you won’t feel JUST your hip flexors burning out during your core workout)
Breathwork positively affects your stress hormones (it gets you out of fight or flight and into rest and digest) by activating the parasympathetic nervous system
Deep breath increases oxygen needed for tissue repair (necessary for healing issues like diastasis recti issues or even just recovering from your workout)
Minimization of accessory breathing muscles (using your neck: scalenes and sternocleidomastoid too much) decreases neck pain and range of motion, low back and sacroiliac joint pain
Conclusion
By all means. Keep moving. I’m not saying breathwork is a substitution for a daily practice, and I don’t want to overwhelm you with yet another wellness obligation, but getting your breath patterning down pat so that it becomes second nature is going to be a big deal for you.
Incorporate intentional breathing techniques with movement on Helen Phelan Studio for free for 10 days!