The abdomen needs to remain soft to assist ‘abdominal breathing’. This necessitates ‘locked position’ at the thorax region, which, in turn, restricts the movement of the thoracic area and thereby leads to back slouching with the repeated practice of abdominal breathing. Not only that, this one-dimensional breathing technique fails to engage intercostal muscles which are an integral part of the respiratory muscles groups and needs to be at its optimal for proper functioning of our respiratory system. The lack of adequate usage at the thoracic region leads to tightness in that area and therefore stiffness of the lungs and collapsing of the spine.
Ergo, it is essential to include “thoracic breathing” or “chest breathing” along with ‘abdominal breathing;
- for holding the spine tall (imagine your spine in a line from your anus to the crown), so that collapsing of spine is not allowed
- for optimal massage of intercoastal muscles, so that, lungs can function at their super optimal capacity
- for lengthening of inhalation and exhalation thereby optimizing ‘life’
- for ‘avoiding back pain’
Adding ‘Clavicular Breathing’ to this engagement would be the ‘icing on the cake’. This would lead to ‘Full Breathing’ or ‘Yogic Breathing’ – bringing, in a sense, complete freedom from stress. Check the embedded video on how to perform ‘Yogic Breathing’ and post your views in the comment box.
You can check the previous blog on the subject, ‘Abdominal Breathing leads to backpain’.
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Shammi Gupta, founder of Shammi’s Yogalaya holds an MA in Yoga Shastra, is a certified Yogic Therapist and Naturopath, has completed an Advanced Yoga Course and holds a Diploma in Yoga Education from Mumbai University. She is a certified trainer from American College of Sports Medicine and holds an MBA in HR & MBA in Finance from The University of Akron, Ohio, USA. She conducts Health Awareness Workshops for Corporate, Yogasana Workshops for Athletes and Yoga Therapy Workshops on different medical issues for patients. Among the celebrities Shammi trains are eminent personalities from the film and television industry and corporate world.
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