Breathing is a natural occurring movement in our body for gaining much needed oxygen to remain alive. We can use diaphragmatic breathing to activate additional oxygen in our bodies, when we need to calm our body or increase motivation in our activity. It will help change a lethargic, inactive person, to feeling alive and ready to face any uncomfortable state.
To most people breathing is just a small movement in the lungs, for the purpose of gaining oxygen into the lungs that we need in order to live.
Yet when using ergonomic sitting in an ergonomic chair, it makes sense to use long deep breaths at times. This will change the position of your sitting posture, allowing an increase capacity of oxygen to fill your lungs.
Learning diaphragmatic breathing will enable your lungs to gain more oxygen plus provide movement in your pelvic region. Your buttocks will appreciate the movement, in order to replenish the oxygen needed in your compressed buttock areas.
The diaphragm is positioned at the base of your lungs and acts like a suction cup to draw more oxygen into your body. It is normally used when your body needs extra oxygen, such as in as physical exercise and activates automatically.
But you can create this movement in sitting, if you blow the air of your lungs for as long as you are physically are able to achieve this process. It means stretching your exhalation to its absolute reach. Then your body will demand much more air than normal in response to this activity. It will then activate the diaphragm to take action and drawing in more air to replenish the need.
Do not use this deep breathing method any more than once every 10 or 15 minutes, because your body is not actually demanding more oxygen. I am just giving you ideas that will help you achieve this movement in your body. If you perform this too often then you will faint, with an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your system.
The extra dose of oxygen will be useful to help calm nerves and relieve irritation of pain. It can also provide that extra motivation, when you may want if you feel too tired to carry on working
Combine the deep breathing with a yoga stretch, such as my ‘Sunrise Salutation that is described in one of my Yoga article and hey presto! You’re learning how to activate your body, to feel more alive when sitting.
It is a common fact that we as a society are doing too much sitting and not enough exercise. My aim is to try and help your keep moving when prolonged sitting, so that you can move out of this category of being inactive, to being a more alive and vibrant person.
The author Gail McGonigal is a qualified Occupational Therapist who has her own company called Active Living Solutions Ltd. She practices what she preaches, because she has overcome severe pain with postural scoliosis and has erased the deformity from her spine, using ergonomic movements. She wants to show you how you can achieve the same with her free ‘Therapeutic Active Living Plan’ worth over $500 dollars in therapeutic advice that will erase your aches and pains.