Diaphragmatic Breathing

During the action of breathing, the diaphragm muscle, represented in darker red and positioned beneath the right and left lobes of the lungs, flexes and expands downward in order to pull air into the lungs.

If the diaphragm is inhibited from expanding downward, as occurs during paradoxical breathing or chest breathing, a variety of undesirable effects can occur.

IMPACT OF CHEST, OR PARADOXICAL, BREATHING

  1. Intra-abdominal pressure can build-up, thus reducing normal blood flow to the vital organs. For example… disrupting gastrointestinal motility

  2. Overuse of the scalene muscles

  3. Inability to take a full breath

  4. Inability to recruit the parasympathetic (calming) nervous system