Have you ever been told to take a deep belly breath but not felt as though you could?
This maybe because your diaphragm (the main muscle of breathing) can’t move all the way down and all the way up. A common reason for this is previous abdominal surgery or trauma.
When that happens the brain will change the way you breath so that you don’t aggravate the already inflamed or damaged area. That makes sense in the short term, however this pattern can persist long after the injury has healed. Meaning that it is hard to take a full belly breath.
This exercise which is adapted from Patricia Maybury, the Fitness Table, allows us to consciously restore this missing movement to the breath.
Lie on your back. Breath in and hold your breath. As you do so expand your belly as much as you can, make your belly big. Then, still holding your breath, make your belly as small as you can, suck it in. Relax your belly and breath out. Do this 10 times before bed and you’ll notice the difference in how easy it becomes to breath.
Over the last 10 years Ed has been building a YouTube library to help people manage their own pain or movement limitations and increase performance through exercise. He regularly adds videos so be sure to subscribe and visit regularly
"Oh My Gosh- I am ALREADY feeling relief after a few days! I used to wake up 2-3 times a night with shooting pain that anti inflammatories couldn't touch. Now I have been waking up just because I want to notice what it feels like to lay in bed pain free- THANK YOU!."
"When I first started with your program I was experience a lot of pain. Walking was difficult. I had to stop and catch my breath every few minutes and lean against a wall for support. Now when I walk with my husband we go for over an hour. I never had to sit down and stop...and, hardly any pain!!! 😊😊 I can’t thank you enough."
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