June 6, 2025
THE POWER & BENEFITS OF CORRECT BREATHING

Breathing is one of our most powerful tools. It has an impact on our nervous system, core, fascial system, mobility, posture, sleep and even digestion. We take an average of 20-25,000 breaths in a day. Over 8 million breaths in a year. Unfortunately, most of our breaths are short, shallow, chest breaths. We don’t breathe in all the way, and we don’t breathe out all the way.

Breathing correctly improves your flexibility; it provides a stability that is essential for your mobility. When you are breathing correctly the rib head rotates around the top of the vertebrae, which loosens the deep fascia. This allows fascial mobility, neural mobility and more mobility at the thoracic facet joints. Breathing well helps the core, nervous system and the fascial system. It brings you into a state of calm which has a direct correlation to tension held in your muscles. 
 



The Diaphragm and Intercostal Muscles
The Diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle that forms the lid to the inner core unit. It is important to note the attachment of the Diaphragm to the lowest ribs, and its close connection to both Psoas Major and Quadratus Lumborum. Poor breathing patterns can be the root cause of many hip and low back issues.
 
Correct breathing posture
 
A) Stand with soft knees (slightly bent knees not hyperextended knees)
B) Imagine a piece of string at the top of your head pulling your spine up and elongating your spine.
C) Shoulders down, tips of the scapulars drawn together, neck retracted back so ears are over shoulders.
D) Stack your ribcage over your pelvis. Stack your thoracic diaphragm over your pelvic diaphragm. The chin, thoracic diaphragm and pelvic diaphragm must be parallel.
E) When you breathe in, you need to do nasal breathing. Breathe in quietly through your nose with your mouth closed but relaxed and the tip of the tongue on the palette (roof of your mouth) behind the top teeth. Pull the air down to your pelvic floor. Pull the diaphragm down and relax the pelvic floor. The lower ribs should expand out and the belly and back should expand out too.
F) When you breathe out contract the pelvic floor (like a drawstring bag, drawing the muscles towards the centre and lifting the muscles up). The pelvic floor is like a clock.  Our goal is a balanced pelvic floor. Pelvic floor is made up of many muscles. Imagine drawing the back part of the pelvic floor ( 6 O’clock)  to the front part ( 12 O’clock) and the two side  parts together (3 O’clock and 9 O’clock). Then lift the pelvic floor up.
 

 
The Pelvic Floor
Ideally the downward pressure of the Diaphragm is coupled with a gentle relaxation of the Pelvic Floor. In return, as the Pelvic Floor contracts, this will bring the abdominal contents back up into the abdominal cavity as the Diaphragm relaxes back up into the ribcage.

INHALE = diaphragm descends, it increases IAP (intra-abdominal pressure) and you should get ab wall, spinal muscles and pelvic floor responding by lengthening eccentrically under tension.
EXHALE = diaphragm ascends into a dome shape again and your ab wall, spinal muscles and pelvic floor should respond by shortening concentrically under tension.

Core muscles never turn OFF…they just regulate tone responding to the action of the diaphragm by eccentrically or concentrically working.
 
Costovertebral and Costotransverse Joints
Effective activity of the Intercostal muscles on both inhalation and exhalation is dependent on good joint mechanics at the Costovertebral and Costochondral joints. Optimal articulation in these joints is essential for good spinal mobility and control.

Consequences to not breathing well

The first and most powerful step in the breathing journey is learning to lengthen the exhale breathe out fully and completely. There are three consequences to not breathing out fully.

1. Chronic tight neck and shoulders.
If you don’t breathe out completely, your diaphragm, the primary muscle of breathing, will not be positioned to work properly. You will be forced to pull air into your lungs with your accessory muscles of breathing – head, neck, and shoulder muscles. This creates chronic tension here and some very overused muscles.   Eventually your chest will start to shorten, elevate and contribute to rib flaring and thoracic compression. 

2. Your core won’t work optimally.  
When you don’t breathe out completely your diaphragm will not be positioned to integrate into your core. We think of the core as a cylinder and your diaphragm is the lid.  You need to get the lid on the cylinder and into a domed shape for it to work. The breath out is what repositions your diaphragm.  If core muscles aren’t integrated, you will constantly be battling rib flares and back compression.  You will be forced to use a tension strategy (stabilizing from the outside in), instead of the optimal pressure strategy (stabilizing from the inside out). Most people use the tension strategy, stabilizing from the outside in and so are compressing their body.

3. Stress and anxiety. 
Stress, anxiety, tight muscles, headaches, decreased sleep and poor digestion are more consequences. Breathing is our most powerful tool to control our nervous system. Short, shallow breaths will trigger our Sympathetic Nervous System – the fight, flight, freeze system.  In contrast, a long breathe out will create a Parasympathetic Nervous System response – rest and digest. Don’t get stuck in your Sympathetic Nervous system.  It will steal your mobility and contribute to anxiety.
BE PATIENT

As Professor Lorimer Moseley highlights….”We are bioplastic  and neuroplastic in every single cell in our body, until the day we die.” Everything is capable of change we just need the right stimulus.  Our bodies are smart; they are constantly adapting. We get to decide what they are adapting to.  I like Professor Lorimer Moseley’s adage of the will to change, developing the right skill and the thrill of learning.
 
A breath out takes time, don’t rush it. It also takes effort. Breathing out requires your abdominals to work in a way they are likely not used to working. It’s hard.

We all must start with an exhale (because this organizes and repositions the diaphragm) but the next step is for you to experience an inhale, at the point of full exhalation.  
 
Diaphragmatic breathing is fabulous prior to bed or any time you need to calm your nervous system. There is nothing more valuable than carving out time to bring awareness to your breathing.

In summary, learning to breathe correctly will improve your core, your mobility, make breathing effortless, reduce tension, reduce headaches, improve sleep and reduce overall stress and anxiety. Pretty good return on your investment.

We are always here to support your health and share our expertise for a healthier, happier and pain free life.