Breathe the Tension Out of You for Better Posture

I do a lot of yoga, but even with that I still have issues with tension in my shoulders. It likes to reside in my right rhomboid (the space between my shoulder blade and my spine). I've tried numerous stretches and massage techniques to try and relieve this pain, but they don't usually solve the problem completely.

I recently came across a breathing technique called the SIP breath. This is a technique put together by Michaelle Edwards of Yoga Align. How this breath works in relieving pain is so simple yet amazing. When I first tried it I was sure it was too easy to really work, but when I noticed that my pain was gone, I was convinced.

When we have poor breathing habits, meaning that we either have shallow breathing (this is my issue when I get stressed) or we have a tight belly (which makes it harder for us to breathe properly), we cause a shortening of the front body, pulling the head and shoulders forward. Any time our body is out of alignment, pain is sure to follow. A focused breathing exercise will improve your posture by aligning your spine from the inside out. Good posture, less pain. You're correcting the way your body breathes, which will get rid of tension (caused by improper breathing), allowing a proper breath to happen naturally. This will prevent poor posture from reoccurring because you'll train your body to breathe right.

Tension in our bellies, whether it's from over developed abdominal muscles or emotional issues, is the first thing to address. If you love to workout your abs, back off a bit. It's great to have strong abs, but don't aim for that six pack, especially if you're a woman. You want strong enough abs to support your spine, but you don't need to be rock solid. Tight abs can inhibit the downward contraction of your diaphragm (highlighted in green in the image to the left), causing you to breath shallow. Your muscles work harder because they aren't working like they're designed to which causes tension. Over time this pulls your body forward into a slouched position.

As mentioned in other posts, our body is connected by fascia, when movement of the fascia is restricted in one spot, it affects another. Notice how many muscles and connective tissues are connected to our diaphragm, which is our major breathing muscle. If it's tight and constrictive, it would make sense that the rest of our body would be as well. Free the breath, free the body.

When we exhale, tight abs cause the whole front of your body to curve forward because it's too tight to maintain an upright position. The tension in the diaphragm and it's connected tissue pulls the body downward. This happens every time you exhale and we don't even notice that it's happening. On our inhale the body lengthens, but if we aren't breathing properly, on the exhale we're pulling our body in and down. When this happens every time we breathe, over time our posture is perpetually in a slumped position, no matter how hard we try to pull it back. You can't force the body to hold a proper position. No matter how many strength exercises you do, if you don't change your breathing pattern, your body will continue to slump forward. It's like trying to swim up river. You keep working hard, but can't seem to make any progress.

The other issue that causes tension in the belly is emotional issues. We tend to hold all our negative emotions in our belly. Ever notice when someone is down and out how slumped over they are? When stressed we clench and forget to breathe or take shallow breaths. Next time you have something intense going on, whether or not it lasts a few moments, days or weeks, remind yourself to breathe and do the SIP breath. Your posture will thank you.

Now for the technique. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it. If it seems like a lot of work at the beginning, it is. You have to retrain your body to breathe correctly. Once your body memory kicks in, you'll be breathing right and your posture will respond accordingly. It happens amazingly fast with a little bit of effort put in. I noticed a difference in just a few days. Doing this breath should be a life long practice. Be aware of your breath and work on it because stress will always be a part of life, trying to pull you down.

SIP Breath Method

• Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet hip distance apart.
• Place your hands at your side (arms angled in a V shape), palms up, fingers wide open.
• Press your arms into the floor, move your shoulders away from your ears and begin to inhale like you're sucking through a straw. Another option here is to place your hands on your rib cage for a few breaths to feel it expand and contract.
• Feel the rib cage as it expands your body.
• Exhale and make a SSSS sound, moving the air out slowly, feeling the rib cage and abs contracting slightly. Since you're laying down your body won't subtly curve forward like it may normally do when exhaling. This generally goes unnoticed when we're breathing, so pay attention to this if you try this breath standing up.
• Keeping your back flat, knees straight or pushing your belly out like a balloon (which is taught in most yoga classes) will inhibit your ability to breathe properly. Take a moment to notice how much harder it is to breathe when you try to get your belly to inflate like a balloon. It doesn't feel right because we're asking our body to do something that isn't natural. The belly should rise naturally, don't force it.

You can do the SIP breath while standing too. When exhaling focus on pulling your shoulder blades down your back. Lengthen through the spine to maintain your natural curve. Notice when you do the SIP breath while standing in a proper posture, if you feel any tension or pulling in the body as you exhale. That sensation is the tense muscles and fascia that would normally pull you forward if you weren't paying attention. The SIP breath will help release this tension. It's like stretching with your breath.

When doing your yoga practice, if you can't take a SIP breath in a pose, then that posture isn't suitable for your natural alignment. A lot of the yoga poses out there, specifically the ones that put us into pretzel like positions, aren't doing us any favors. They're more for show and ego. They stretch our connective tissue setting us up for arthritic problems down the road.

Rule to follow: if you can't breathe or feel uncomfortable in a pose, modify it or don't do it.

There are a lot of yoga breaths out there that I've tried. This one by far is my number one choice. It has helped me get rid of a chronic pain I've been dealing with for years. A pain that no amount of stretching, massage or chiropractic treatment has ever relieved.

 The way you breathe has a powerful impact on your health. This affects the way we age and our emotional health. Make time in your life to do this breath anytime you feel tension or pain arising and make it part of a daily practice. The results will amaze you.