Previously I have shared a bit about the importance of having consistent access to calm when it comes to our physical well being.
If you missed it, you can read it in full HERE.
While arguably this is not much different from our other forms of being well, the basic premise was twofold…
The first was that you could have no access to a capable and comfortable body if you do not also have a calm mind within it.
The second was that you have no way to calm your mind without first calming your body.
By and large, this is done through grounding our bodies… and taking a deep breath.
It sounds simple, and while ultimately it truly is… the process of learning how to do this with any success is often a challenging one.
And beyond remembering to actually stop and notice ones breath, one of the biggest challenges is that taking a deep breath is often a really hard thing for many folks to actually do. With that, the actual deep breath that one person may need to take often is a bit different than what may serve the other.
Let me explain…
You see, as human beings we are built to compensate.
This is something I have also written about before, and you can read that HERE, or watch an in depth video on the topic below.
Essentially, while there may be some ways in which we are built to thrive, we are nonetheless equipped to soldier on in whatever way may be necessary to make it through whatever challenge we are facing in the immediate moment.
It seems we are hardwired to survive at whatever the cost.
And while all of us tend to be unique unto ourselves, there tend to be some very predictable ways that all of us will attempt to survive when the going gets tough.
At times, these predictable ways are referred to as Common Compensatory Patterns.
They are not conscious, and they are in no way a problem… however they are also no way to live ones life day in and day out.
Now, one of most common of these patterns is found in the way in which we breathe.
You see, often times folks who have chronic or reoccurring musculoskeletal issues, also have a chronic or reoccurring tendency to hold their breath.
Literally, they tend to hold their breath for most of their day. In fact, if you find yourself a member of this club you may be holding your breath as you are reading this right now…
Now, around these prolonged periods of holding, the breaths that they do get in tend to be shallow at best.
And, it tends to get worse with any mental, emotional, cognitive or physical stress, strain or challenge.
This is not weird in the least, as if we were to stress or strain any human being up their tipping point, we would consistently see rigidity come out.
And, at the root of that rigidity would absolutely be breath holding.
Now, much like shouting in order to quickly and clearly communicate… in a dire situation this rigidity is a very useful thing.
This rigidity can help us be still or be precise. It can help us hide by not making a sound, and it can help give us leverage when we need to lift or resist a dangerously heavy object.
However, this rigidity is only useful when we can go in and out of it… And when someone is chronically stuck in it, they will understandably feel like junk.
More specifically, they will probably feel some combination of stiff, sore, and exhausted.
At times anxious, other times depressed… and absolutely not calm.
Chances are, if you had your air choked off you would feel the same.
Now typically when I explain this situation to someone that may find themselves stuck in it, they often feel fairly validated… and they almost always want to know how to get out of it.
Chances are, if you have read this far you probably feel and are wondering the same.
So how exactly do you fix this breath holding problem?
Well the first thing that you, I, or any of us need to do is work to become aware of it.
From there, what specifically needs to be done within those moments of when either breath holding, or shallow breathing are observed largely depends on whether you tend to hold your breath on an inhale or an exhale.
This is what I mean when I say that the actual deep breath that one person may need to take often is a bit different than what may serve the other… why your deep breath may need to be a bit different than mine.
It all depends on where we are starting from…
Now, if you are wondering what on earth that looks like to be either stuck on and inhale or an exhale, just watch this short clip HERE.
However, for the written summary read on…
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IF YOU ARE STUCK ON THE INHALE?
When you are stuck on an inhale, this simply means at one point you took deep breath in… and you have been walking around holding it ever since.
Very common with folks that tends towards panic attacks and asthma, when you hold your breath in this manner your actual inhales tend to be both noisy and deep. However, your exhales tend to be partial and weak. Typically, the person stuck in this state never truly fully exhales… and any attempt at doing so usually results in them aborting halfway and just taking an enormous breath back in again.
Beyond this, being stuck on the inhale will affect ones physical appearance and freedom.
In general, when stuck inhaled you are bigger, and this has little to do with ones BMI. Quite literally your torso will tend to be larger than the average because it is always hyper-inflated. Typically, reaching fully to ones toes or squatting full to the ground is a difficult thing.
Instead, when you are more inhaled you tend have more leverage moving in an explosive manner, and driving up and away from yourself.
Need to pick something up or overhead?
As long as your anatomy is willing to participate you have got that covered, and your friends and loved ones can rely on you for it.
When you are more inhaled you will accelerate forward more easily, however it is hard braking/taking a hard corner. If you were playing a field sport, you would be the attack or forward position.
For aerobic activity, you will find forward running is the easiest while something like rowing is difficult.
When it comes to hiking a mountain, the climb up is far easier than the climb down.
And then there are the neurological effects…
You see, an inhale is also excitatory, and often the person stuck on the inhale has trouble falling asleep, and problems with impulse control. While they tend to be heroic individuals who would not hesitate to run into a burning building, they also tend to have a sea of regret around things they said or did behind them.
On the other hand…
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHEN YOU ARE STUCK ON THE EXHALE?
When you are stuck on an exhale, this simply means at one point you fully exhaled… to the point of clenching your abdomen… and you have been stuck curled around this ever since.
When you hold your breath in this manner your inhales tend to be both minimal and quiet. However, your exhales tend to be very strong, and often there are tendencies towards abdominal cramping that will occur with coughing and rigorous activity.
In general, when you are stuck on the exhale your torso is smaller, and you have more access to shapes that have you folded in and close to the ground. This gives you leverage for braking, cutting, resisting, and catching.
When you are more stuck on and exhale, you can cut and sidestep well, but will have a hard time moving forward. If you were playing a field sport, you would be defense all the way.
And while these folks may not be able to move much forward in life, they often would be capable of keeping a car from falling off a cliff for an hour while their friends go and get help. A heck of grip, and stubborn one at that is often present…
When it comes to hiking a mountain, when you are stuck on the exhale the climb down is far easier than the climb up. After all, descending a hill is more a controlled fall than anything else…
And then there are those neurological effects…
After all, an exhale is also inhibitory, and often the person stuck on the exhale has trouble with motivation and agency. Alongside this, while the person stuck exhaled can tend to be both considerate and considering people, they can also lean towards both neurotic hesitation and general queasiness.
Stuck in their heads, they prefer life to come to them.
Their regrets tend to be more about the things they did not do or say.
Now that is simply a overview of what it looks like to be more inhaled or exhaled… the question is always what can one do about it?
After all, if all one does is focus on their problems… then all one tends to get is more of the very same problems.
The good news is, if you have read this far I am happy to share some broad advice about solutions…
HOW TO FIX BEING STUCK ON THE INHALE
To gain more freedom in their life, the person stuck on the inhale needs to focus on two things.
First, they have to exhale…
And second they have to pause.
Literally, they must learn how to exhale, both more fully and more forcefully than they have been.
When doing this, they will feel their abdomen working like never before.
As they do this, they will also begin to feel the ground beneath their feet, and in particular their heels. They will feel subdued as this occurs, but they will also experience a lack of tension that was unfortunately normal in their life.
As for the pause, that is just there to help them not impulsively suck air back in, immediately after pushing it out.
Admittedly though, the pause is also poetic for these folks.
Why?
Because the person stuck inhaled needs to be tacked down.
They need to get a little more grounded.
After all… They are overinflated, in more ways than one…
Now, as they do ground themselves, they will then have the ability to choose where they aim their momentum and enthusiasm.
However, until they ground themselves, they are just careening forward and up, not fully knowing where they are going or why.
Work on all fours, and in particular pressing movements in that position are where these folks can make the big initial changes. Beyond that, squats with the weight held in the front of the person are often transformative.
HOW TO FIX BEING STUCK ON THE EXHALE
To gain more freedom in their life, the person stuck on the exhale needs to do the exact opposite of what they tend to favor.
They need to take a big breath in and learn to lean in to where ever it is they may want to go.
Structurally, this person needs to learn how to expand their chest wall.
Big, noisy, obnoxious inhales with their arms outstretched away and above them will need to be a more common thing in their daily life.
Why?
Because they never do this… The person stuck exhaled is far too shy or self-conscious to ever do that.
You see, the person stuck on the exhale also needs to learn to lean in… to lean forward.
They have to get to their toes, to shift their weight to the balls of their feet.
This is because they perpetually live set back on their heels, often with their toes flailing up in the air instead of on the ground.
Jumping jacks are the quick and dirty movement of choice for these folks, as this simple movement is the anti-thesis of how they live their days.
Beyond that overhead pressing will prove to be nothing short of transformative for this person… if they can actually take the risk of getting started.
After all, for the person stuck on exhale… the hardest thing is just getting started.
So… this is what I mean when I say that your deep breath may not always need to be the same as mine.
Even though, in the end… it is all just a single breath in, followed by a single breath out… over and over again… until not.
I hope you found the above helpful, and I hope you’re comfortable, able and well.