Estimated reading time: < 1 minute Understanding how we breathe and why we breathe the way we do is key to rehab.
When I was struggling to find answers and solutions to my pain and undiagnosed EDS symptoms, I was drawn to breathwork as the first step.
Breath is now the first principle of my hypermobility movement method. It is vital as I do see many breathing pattern disorders in my clients. But importantly, this is followed by relaxation – my second movement principle. You can’t change one without the other.
“How we breathe and how we feel are intimately conjoined in a two-way loop. Feeling anxious produces a pattern of upper-chest breathing which modifies blood chemistry, leading to a chain reaction of events, including anxiety” – a quote taken from Leon Chaitow’s book on breathing patterns.
We cannot think of breathing only as a mechanical process. It is tied deeply into our emotions, health, and pain experiences. We cannot change or influence our breathing patterns without first appreciating why that breathing pattern came about. Trying to change a breathing pattern purely from a mechanical perspective could cause further stress and anxiety. We end up forcing the breath.
A fully integrated approach looking at the whole body with all its delicate complexities is so crucial to improve movement, mobility and a calm nervous system.
I have many videos over on my YouTube channel that focus on breath if you’d like to explore this further.
Try this one for starters!
Jeannie Di Bon is a movement therapist, educator and author specializing in hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and chronic pain. She is the founder of The Zebra Club app and the creator of the Integral Movement Method.
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