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Don't Hold Your Breath: Volume III

by Jennafer Ross
Jen is a physical therapist and teaches at our studio.

In the past few newsletters, we've been exploring the respiratory system. The first article examined the muscles of respiration, namely the diaphragm, intercostal muscles (between the ribs), and scalenus muscles (connecting the upper ribs to the neck). In volume II we learned how the oxygen from the air gets into our lungs and into our blood. In this edition, the focus is on the nervous system, how breath influences the nervous system, and what effect that influence has on the rest of our bodies. I want to preface this article by saying this subject could probably be a PhD thesis! What you are about to read is the basics, but hopefully informative nonetheless.

Your nervous system is made up of two main parts. There is the voluntary nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The voluntary nervous system controls voluntary movements. For example, as you are holding this newsletter and your eyes are moving back and forth, your voluntary nervous system is controlling the muscles of your arm and your eyes to make them do what you want them to do. If you suddenly have an itch on your shoulder, your voluntary nervous system would bring your fingers to the itch and scratch. The autonomic nervous system controls your bodies automatic functions: your heartbeat, the digestion of food, sweating, your blood pressure, etc. Breathing is an interesting phenomena because it controlled by both systems. You can modify your breath using your voluntary nervous system (like in yoga class), but most of the time your autonomic nervous system takes care of it. If you tried to hold your breath for too long, your autonomic nervous system would make you pass out so it could take over and make you breathe.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) also has two branches, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The heart, lungs, stomach, liver, pancreas, bladder, uterus, rectum, and anus are all under the control of these branches of the ANS. The muscles of the body are also influenced by the ANS (even though they are also under voluntary control). The sympathetic nervous system causes the "fight or flight" or stress response in the body. Under sympathetic control the heart rate and blood pressure increase, digestion slows, sphincter control is increased (leading to constipation), and the resting tone or tension in the muscles is elevated. When your body receives more input from the parasympathetic branch the tension in your muscles relaxes, your heart rate and blood pressure go down, digestion increases, and sphincters relax. During the day your ANS is constantly making adjustments in control between the two branches. Imagine a teeter totter with the parasympathetic branch on one end and the sympathetic branch on the other, and the ANS deciding who is up in the air and who is on the ground.

Problems arise when that balance system is disrupted. When the body is under stress (even low loads of stress) for long periods of time, the sympathetic branch becomes dominant. Disease processes like high blood pressure, constipation, anxiety, and chronic muscle pain and tension may begin to develop. The diaphragm under sympathetic control becomes semi-contracted and tight. The breath becomes shallow and the other breathing muscles have to do a lot of work. Without the gentle rise and fall of the diaphragm, the movement and massaging of abdominal organs is decreased. The diaphragm also helps to regulate both the pH balance and the carbon dioxide / oxygen ratio in every cell of the body. When the ANS is out of balance, our bodies are headed for trouble.

The exciting thing is that the diaphragm is under voluntary control as well. One can override a dominant sympathetic nervous system by being aware of one's breathing pattern and making a conscious effort to breathe through the diaphragm. As a physical therapist one of the first things I do is teach patients how to breathe correctly. I have seen so many people complaining of chronic muscle tension, headaches, stress, and even anxiety feel better by simply changing the way they breathe. It's challenging of course, but very worth it!!

Until next time, don't hold your breath!