Breathing and Posture: A Connection You Need to Know

By Stepy Kamei

You've probably been hearing since you were young that it's important to keep up a good posture -- but do you know how, exactly, posture impacts your health and wellness? Maybe your grandma didn't explain it when she kept bugging you to sit up straight, but your chiropractor can. Good posture is about more than just keeping up appearances or having good manners. Scientific studies have actually shown a distinct correlation between people with poor posture and an increased chance of developing other health issues, including back pain, digestive troubles, insomnia, anxiety, and more. It's unfortunate that for many of us who work in sedentary desk jobs slouched in front of a computer, poor posture is all too easy to slip into. Fortunately, there are ways you can begin to slowly train yourself to have better posture, and therefore work to improve many other aspects of your health and wellness. Having proper breathing techniques is one very helpful way in which you can accomplish this goal for yourself.

How Poor Posture Can Affect You

Slouching can really take its toll on your sense of well-being. In a physical sense, it can lead to feelings of aches and pains in the back, neck, and head. Poor posture can also lead to feelings of self-doubt and a lack of confidence. Additionally, it may reduce blood flow throughout the body, causing instances of reduced memory recall, concentration, and focus, not to mention a general sense of fatigue and tiredness -- both physically as well as mentally.

Breath Support for Better Posture

Knowing and utilizing the proper breathing techniques can be very beneficial to maintaining your best posture, and I'll address that in a minute. It's also good to know for the sake of your well-being that breathing deeply can be extremely helpful to maintain many aspects of your physical and mental health as well. Correct, deep breathing patterns can help to reduce anxiety and increase focus and productivity, which helps greatly in all aspects of life. 

As for your posture, deep belly breathing can help provide the spinal column with the support it needs to be in its best placement. There are many helpful guides for learning how to incorporate deep belly breathing into your routine. Essentially, you want to focus on feeling your belly expand and release with each inhale and exhale, rather than having your chest move too much.

You can consult a chiropractor for further advice on how to keep your spine in good health.

To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.