And breathe.... September health plan kickstart

I have loved the long days, late evenings and having all my kids, their friends, and friends of friends… buzzing around, and it has been a very happy chaotic summer, but I am now in need of catching my breath and refocussing.

I am sitting writing this in our new-old caravan now parked on the drive, still feeling the wonderful holiday vibes it has brought us. There is a sense of calm and relaxation in this space, and it prompts me to think about how to best start that process of resetting, and I realise I have already written the words.

I need to catch my breath.

“How well we breathe can determine the quality of our life” says author and presenter Dr Rangan Chatterjee.

Author of ‘Breath’, James Nestor writes “No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny, young or wise you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing correctly”

These are wise words and a great starting point to improve our health simply by breathing well.

I always come back to movement as the source of healing and health, but when it comes to breathing it is often a form of movement that is overlooked.

Breathing is far more than gaseous exchange!

Correct breathing has the power to:

1. Reduce your stress: - try 3 minutes of slow breathing to flip your nervous system out of fight/flight and into its flow state

2. Reduce indigestion, bloating, wind and IBS symptoms: - deepen your breath into your lower ribs and diaphragm for an internal gut massage effect (see my Instagram account for an incredible moving MRI clip beautifully demonstrating this)

3. Improve cardio-vascular fitness: - try nasal breathing the next time you’re out for a walk or run

4. Improve pelvic floor symptoms like leaking and prolapse: - connect your breath with your pelvic floor exercises

5. Improve your sleep: - focus on the sound and feeling of the breath through the nose and chest to help calm your thoughts

6. Strengthen your core: - link your breath to your movements, yoga or Pilates style

7. Reduce neck and shoulder tension: - avoid breathing into your upper chest and focus the breath to your lower chest and diaphragm

8. Reduce swelling, inflammation and oedema by improving circulation and drainage. Your diaphragm acts like a pump and siphon: - combine breath work with lying with your legs up the wall
Incredible really what we can change with breathing well.

Which aspect of your health needs a boost and a reset? Pick one area and try the corresponding breathing technique to feel the benefits.

Emma Wightman
www.the-sop.com
Instagram @stockbridgeosteopathy