When we think about posture, we usually think about our spine, shoulders, neck and the muscles that hold everything in place.
We rarely think about breathing.
But every breath moves your rib cage, and every movement of your rib cage is connected to your spine, shoulders and the muscles around your trunk. Your breathing pattern can therefore have a surprisingly big influence on the way you hold yourself.
Take a moment and notice your posture right now.
Are your shoulders slightly rounded? Is your head sitting a little forward? Is your chest collapsed, or are you lifting it to take a breath? Are you breathing mostly into your upper chest rather than feeling movement around your ribs and abdomen?
These things can all be connected.
Your diaphragm is part of your posture system
The diaphragm is your main breathing muscle. It's a large, dome-shaped muscle sitting underneath your lungs, separating your chest from your abdominal cavity.
When you inhale, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward. This gives the lungs room to expand. At the same time, your rib cage should be able to expand in several directions — not just forwards.
Ideally, you want to feel your lower ribs moving out to the sides and slightly backwards as you breathe in.
When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and moves back upwards while the rib cage moves back towards its resting position.
This movement happens thousands of times a day.
So if your breathing pattern is restricted, your body is repeating that restricted movement thousands of times a day too.
What happens when breathing becomes shallow?
Imagine someone sitting at a desk for eight hours.
Their pelvis is tucked under, their upper back is rounded, their shoulders have gradually moved forward and their head has started creeping towards the screen.
In this position, the rib cage has less freedom to expand.
The body still needs to breathe, of course, so it finds another way.
Instead of getting much movement from the lower ribs and diaphragm, the person may start relying more heavily on the muscles around the neck, upper chest and shoulders to help with inhalation.
Over time, this can contribute to increased tension around the neck and shoulders and reinforce a posture where the head and shoulders sit further forward.
This doesn't mean that breathing is the sole cause of poor posture. Sitting habits, muscular strength, mobility, vision, pain, training, stress and simply spending too much time in one position all play a role.
But breathing is one piece of the puzzle that often gets overlooked.
Your rib cage needs to move
Good posture doesn't mean holding yourself rigidly upright with your chest pushed out and shoulders pulled back.
Your rib cage is designed to move.
When you breathe efficiently, the ribs expand and rotate as the lungs fill. The diaphragm, abdominal muscles, intercostal muscles and muscles around the spine all contribute to this movement.
That movement gives your trunk a certain amount of natural expansion and stability at the same time.
Try this simple exercise.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Place one hand on your upper chest and the other around your lower ribs.
Take a quiet breath in through your nose.
Rather than trying to lift your chest, see if you can feel your lower ribs gently expanding sideways into your hands.
Then breathe out slowly and allow the ribs to settle.
Don't force your stomach out. Don't suck it in either.
Just allow your whole trunk to participate in the breath.
After a few breaths, notice what happens to your shoulders and neck.
You may find that they start to relax because they no longer need to work as hard to help you breathe.
Posture and breathing work together
There's a reason a good coach will often look at someone's breathing when working on movement.
If you can't comfortably expand your rib cage, it can be harder to create good trunk movement and control.
And if your rib cage is constantly sitting in a poor position, your breathing mechanics can become less efficient.
It's a two-way relationship.
Improving your breathing won't magically straighten your spine, and you don't need to spend your day obsessing over perfect posture.
Instead, start paying attention to how you breathe while you're sitting, standing, walking and exercising.
Can you breathe through your nose comfortably?
Can your ribs expand without your shoulders lifting?
Can you take a quiet breath without gripping your neck?
Can you maintain a relaxed posture while breathing normally?
These are much more useful questions than simply asking whether you're sitting "straight."
Your posture is something you move through, not a position you need to hold perfectly all day.
And your breath is part of that movement.
When the diaphragm can move freely, the rib cage can expand, and your spine and trunk have room to respond to that movement, breathing becomes more than something that keeps you alive.
It becomes part of the way you move.
If you'd like to learn and practise breathwork with me, there are a few ways to join. If you're in Dubai, you can join one of my in-person breathwork classes and experience the practice together in a small group. If you're somewhere else in the world, I also offer live online sessions, so you can practise with me wherever you are.
And if you'd prefer to practise from the comfort of your own home and at a time that suits you, you're very welcome to join my Patreon. I have a growing library of guided breathwork sessions, meditation practices, educational videos and exclusive content, with new practices added regularly. It's a simple way to make breathwork and meditation part of your own routine, wherever you are in the world.
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See you next time,
Tamara
https://innerpowerlab.coach
