lesson #3:
syringe
breathing
Welcome to Lesson #3 of Breathe Deeper [Level 1].
Your lungs can get pretty big (between 4.5L and 6L in the average adult).
Even while completely exhaled, though, they still span from the bottom of your ribcage all the way up to your collarbones, and then behind you into scapulae and traps.
What does this mean practically?
Well…so far we’ve breathed downwards using the diaphragm, and left, right and forwards using the intercostal muscles.
Now we can start to breathe up and back using your “accessory muscles” — aka your chest, shoulders, neck and back.
Imagine a syringe: someone places the needle in a cup of water and pulls the handle. What happens? The pressure differential causes liquid to be sucked into the tube.
Now imagine this syringe handle overlayed onto your shoulder line.
When you inhale, the syringe gets pulled and drags air into the top and backside of your lungs.
When you exhale, the syringe drops back down and air falls out of the accessory muscles.
Try 3 breaths like this. (1) Start by very subtly hiking your shoulders up on the inhale. (2) Then try breathing behind you — into shoulder blades and deltoids. And (3) finally, try both at once: upwards and backwards.
Cool, that was it! Short and sweet. Feel free to dive further in the practice section, as there are some important subtleties to address; otherwise, I will see you in Lesson #4.
– Ethan ॐ
P.S. There is a very fine line between inhaling with your shoulders, and simply creating more tension in your neck and jaw. It’s a delicate balance that requires attention and practice.
P.P.S. We can now combine Plunger Breathing, Accordion Breathing and Syringe Breathing into one big exercise! It’s called “Spherical Breathing”, and it will significantly help you regulate your nervous system and mental health. Check it out in the practice section.
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13
practice
audios
and much more...
- accordion breathing
- syringe breathing
- spherical breathing
- part the white sea
- coasting
- radiating
- sponge breathing
- scrubbing
and much more...
- accordion breathing
- syringe breathing
- spherical breathing
- part the white sea
- coasting
- radiating
- sponge breathing
- scrubbing
DSE | level 1
summary
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