Breathe Easier with Better Posture
With respiratory illnesses—from asthma to chronic bronchitis—on the rise, and resistance to antibiotics and other medications becoming common place, it is time to think outside the traditional treatment box. While medicine treats the lungs directly, I believe the inability to inflate our lungs to their full capacity may be adding to our respiratory problems.
Today, more than ever, people’s rib cages spend most of the day in a “recoiled”, compressed condition. We sit too much (in a slumped position), we stand in a “chest wall-depressed” sort of way, and to add insult to injury, our “lung-containers” become extra squished when we decide to curl up into a crescent moon posture (head down, shoulders hunched, spine rounded) while we interact with our smart phones.
Try this exercise for me (and for you)—slump forward in sitting, exaggerating poor posture. Now take in a deep breath…Oh, you can’t, can you? Now sit up tall, shoulders back, and try again. Much better, huh? That’s because your lungs were created to expand and contract without resistance. If they, being soft, air-filled tissue, must fight against your bony rib cage, guess who wins? Right, it’s not your lungs!
If you’ve ever watched an accordion being played, the musician must draw the two ends of the instrument apart so air can fill the central chamber. This way the accordion is able to fully “inhale” so it can then “exhale” its music. Likewise, you must “draw your spine apart” in order for your lungs to inhale to their fullest capacity. Doing so regularly allows lung tissue to remain pliable and expandable resulting in improved air circulation and oxygen intake. This improved mobility of your lungs against the inside lining of your rib cage enhances the effectiveness of your cough (to clear your lungs of unwanted junk).
So, if you suffer with chronic lung problems, or if you sometimes feel as if someone is standing on your oxygen tube, try sitting and standing better posture and practice inhaling more deeply (way down into your belly, not merely into your upper chest). It just may keep the pulmonologist away this winter!