Breathing Exercises
1 Simple 10-Minute Deep Breathing Exercise That Prevents You from Turning into a Lobster
Looking good starts from your nose
Why bother with deep breathing?
Firstly, we want to look good. Secondly, no one wants to look like a lobster or crab, where our necks, shoulders, and chest are merged into one visual entity.
You might think I am exaggerating. I am typing this because I see myself hunching forward when I dress up in front of a mirror.
I look terrible. And it made me realized that an upright posture cannot be taken for granted. We look good when we stand straight. Shoulder up, chest puffed and chins up.
Our upright posture loses its form over time as we work longer hours at our desks. I suspect that all working desks have approximately the same height. Humans, on the other hand, can be tall or short.
If you happen to be tall and using a standard working desk, you are likely to corrupt your upright posture over time.
Becoming lobster-like is no longer a fantasy.
A simple way to combat lobster-like posture is to practice deep breathing.
What is deep breathing?
Diaphragmatic breathing is a type of breathing exercise that helps strengthen your diaphragm, an important muscle that helps you breathe. This breathing exercise is also sometimes called belly breathing or abdominal breathing.
Breathing with our belly, or deep breathing, cannot be done when we are engaged in aerobic and anaerobic cardiovascular exercise.
Our bodies are busy coping with the expulsion of carbon dioxide created by metabolic activity and sucking in oxygen packets from all around us.
Deep breathing is best performed when we are relaxed.
I perform deep breathing exercises for 10 minutes when I am at my working desk before I power on my laptop.
Deep breathing by the desk.
The most basic type of diaphragmatic breathing is done by inhaling through your nose and breathing out through your mouth.
This is no different from efficient breathing when we exercise. Nose in, mouth out.
Next, we focus on posture.
Sitting by your desk, you want to take visual note of the following: -
- Align your back to the chair. This is the easiest way to maintain an upright posture.
- Relax your arms. Drop them along the sides of the chair. You will find that your shoulders relax as a result of this action.
- Focus your eyes straight ahead, and then gazing upwards slightly. Do what proud people do. Tilt your nose upwards, exposing your nostrils to the front.
- Breathe in lightly. You will find that your airways are opened at their natural biomechanical maximum capacity.
Commence exercise:
- Shut your eyes.
- Breathe.
- Suck in all the life energy around you, as much as you can.
- Hold it for 15 seconds.
- Exhale.
- Repeat 5 repetitions.
I tend to hold for 30 seconds.
You will find that your collarbone and muscles surrounding the neck respond when you breathe in deeply. They tend to tighten when we crouch forward, pushing our necks forward to stare at the laptop screen when we work while leaving our lower backs behind.
The reverse happens when we breathe deeply. Our collarbone and neck loosen up. Our rib cage moves rhythmically, and our shoulders relax.
I don’t know how to explain it exactly. I feel as if the pressure on my shoulders and the brain fog (if any) goes away as the carbon dioxide leaves my body.
This is how our lungs respond when we breathe deeply.
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped respiratory muscle found near the bottom of your ribcage, right below your chest. When you inhale and exhale air, the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles around your lungs contract. The diaphragm does most of the work during the inhalation part. During inhalation, your diaphragm contracts so that your lungs can expand into the extra space and let in as much air as is necessary.
Takeaways
Just 10 minutes of deep breathing per day will help to defend our upright posture.
Small things matter because it adds up, just like brushing our teeth. Visiting the dentist every 6 months does not help if we do not brush our teeth twice a day.
These efforts are worth it.
We do not want to look like a lobster as we age, am I right?
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.