Dr. Dan Gerhardt, DC

GERHARDT CHIROPRATIC FAMILY PRACTICE
Treating Others As We Would Want To Be Treated

770-914-0184

Grand Harbor Shopping Center

2101 Jonesboro Road, McDonough, Georgia

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DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING (DEEP RELAXER)

Deep diaphragmatic breathing is the healthiest form of breathing and is very effective in helping you overcome stress anxiety symptoms . 

It is also the most natural - observe how a very young baby breathes. They will use their diaphragm and full torso for each breath. 

After years of poor posture, anxious thinking, tension and pressure result n may of us breathing in a shallow and inadequate manner.

By using your diaphragm, you activate your natural means of emptying and re-filling your lungs effectively. You also reduce some of the undesirable effects of anxiety and tension.

Re-learn to use your diaphragm

Imagine that your chest is a somewhat conical cavity with the lungs lightly attached to the inside. And with the floor of the cone being made up of a large muscle called the diaphragm. It's the movements of the wall and the floor of this cone that result in the movement of air into and out of your body.

Being more like sponges than muscles, your lungs cannot get rid of the stale air on their own. For this they must rely on the contraction of the `cone' which surrounds them - in particular the floor of that cone - the diaphragm. This is why using your abdominal or stomach muscles in breathing, which indirectly activate your diaphragm, ensures a better supply of refreshing oxygen.

If you use mainly the top of the cone it's called upper-chest breathing. If you mainly engage the lower walls and floor of the cone it is called diaphragmatic breathing.

To check how you are breathing

  • Rest one hand on your upper chest and the other over your navel area.
  • Notice which hand rises first when you inhale.
  • If the upper hand rises first you are using upper chest breathing. If the lower hand rises first you are breathing with your diaphragm. If both move at the same time you are using a mix of both.

Upper-chest breathing

This is not wrong but it does mean that your breathing will be a lot more rapid than if you were using your diaphragm. This is because the amount you can inhale and exhale is considerably less - because the upper ribcage does not have the ability to expand and contract as well as the combination of lower ribcage and diaphragm 'floor' - diaphragmatic breathing. 

Upper-chest rapid breathers also have a tendency to be prone to hyperventilation - a potentially distressing condition that can result in a bizarre range of symptoms.

Using your diaphragm

Diaphragmatic breathing, particularly if combined with mid- and upper-chest breathing, is much slower and more calming that upper-chest breathing alone.

An added bonus to diaphragm breathing is that it gives a wonderful massage to your internal organs such as the heart, liver, and digestive organs (including colon) keeping them toned and ensuring they get a healthy blood supply.  Some studies suggest that deep-breathers tend to be thinner than shallow breathers, due to the increase of oxygenation to the tissues.

Most better-breathing techniques rely on your ability to breathe using your diaphragm. So if you have habitually used the mid- or upper-chest it is worthwhile to first develop your ability to use your diaphragm. That way, if you need to use a special technique you will have the diaphragm-breathing skill ready.

Practice using your diaphragm

Spend a few minutes a couple of times a day practising using your diaphragm:

1. Lie flat on the floor. Raise your knees. (You can put a cushion under them if you wish.)

2. Put one palm on your upper chest and the other over your navel. (Your objective is to have the lower hand rise first when you breathe in.)

3. Breathe out fully - and then a little bit more. With practice you will find you can do this by drawing in your abdomen. Pause for 2-4 seconds.

4. Allow the air to naturally flow in again. 

Slowly and calmly repeat this cycle a few times.

 

  

BREATHING TECHNIQUES

SIGH BREATH

(INSTANT TRANQUILIZER)

Benefits of Sigh Breath:

  • Instantly reduce your tension level through temporarily raising your blood carbon dioxide level

  • Directs your attention outside of yourself. This interrupts the common and quite undesirable tendency that most of us have, when anxious or upset, to ruminate - to become very absorbed with our thoughts and feelings.

  • Engages your attention for a few moments. When you use it regularly you momentarily interrupt your internal stress-building loop in which your stressful thoughts result in stressful feelings which, in turn, exacerbate the stressful thoughts. of negative thoughts - negative feelings - negative thoughts. This takes you out of the loop and into practical action.

  • Interrupt any tendency to hold or restrict your breath

  • Begin reducing accumulated physical tension throughout your body - and especially in the throat, chest, and abdomen.

  • Makes you aware of and interrupts the common tendency, in anxiety states, to hold or restrict your breath.

How to use the Sigh Breath:

1. Mentally think or say to yourself Stop!

2. Then breathe in through nose and, pausing only briefly, let the air out quite slowly through your nose. This inhale is a moderate (rather than very deep) in-breath. The outbreath is the key to the method. Be sure to prolong and  l-e-n-g-t-h-e-n   your exhale.

3. As you let the air out let go!  Relax your muscles, especially your shoulders. Let go of tension in your chest and stomach.  Let your arms and legs relax.  Let your jaw relax.  Let your forehead relax , and....

4. ...direct your attention outside yourself to what is happening in the outside world.  Silently pay attention to what you can see and hear, without listing or naming them.

(Although the method involves four steps the whole cycle of inbreath - pause - outbreath takes only a few seconds.)

When to use this:

When you are troubled or upset - at least one or two every 15-30 minutes.

It's best used to 'nip things in the bud' - before the anxiety state escalates.  Take one or two Sigh Breaths whenever you feel yourself beginning to become agitated or tense.

EASY BREATHING

(QUICK RELAXER)

Maintaining an easy breathing pattern, where your chest and diaphragm are relaxed and moving naturally in harmony with each inhale and exhale helps re-develop and maintain a comfortable physical state with a clear and alert mind.

How to use Easy Breathing:

1. Pay attention to the natural, effortless movement of your breathing cycle. Feel the movements and sensations.  

2. Pay attention to the inhale, then the slight pause, followed by the natural exhale, and then another slight pause.

3. Do this for three or four minutes - paying attention to nothing else.

 ( In the beginning it is likely that accumulated tensions and poor breathing habits may have produced an uneven breathing pattern.  If this is the case you may find it helpful to first use the Sigh Breath method described above a few times to calm and regularize your breathing. )

Through practice you may discover ways of utilising Easy Breathing as a Quick Relaxer - a way of relaxing quickly for a few moments . As you encounter these experiment to discover which methods you find most suitable for the different situations in your life.

When to use Easy Breathing:

1. Whenever you wish to pace yourself and maintain a calmer and more centred internal state - at work, in sport, socially, etc.

2. When you wish to clear your thinking in order to give your full attention to an important matter.

3. As a Quick Relaxer- especially when it is inappropriate to relax with eyes closed, or to fully stop what you are doing.

4. To develop the habit of maintaining a clear mind and calm body.  Use Easy Breathing in odd spare moments: waiting in line, at traffic lights, while listening to someone, waiting on the phone, or when you are being delayed. In this way you can turn what might otherwise been a frustrating or irritating event into a beneficial and centering experience.

5. To develop an on-going natural awareness of your physical state - so that any chest tightness or breathing unevenness alerts you to take action to clear your thinking and calm your body.

6. To train yourself to feel mentally and physically comfortable even when under pressure.

 Benefits of Easy Breathing:

  • Helps defuse the physical effects of the stress response

  • Provides an instant break and reduces frantic mental activity by centring your attention on a single issue rather than having it scattered

  • Enables you to take a mental and physical break without stopping what you are doing

  • Enables you  to maintain physical comfort while being mentally active.

GERHARDT CHIROPRATIC FAMILY PRACTICE

Treating Others As We Would Want To Be Treated
770-914-0184
Our office is located in the Grand Harbor Shopping Center across from Home Depot at 2101 Jonesboro Road, McDonough