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of sync with our slower breathing cycle. To catch our breath, we have to refuse to fall prey to the epidemic of speed and honor our inner rhythms.
Just as powerful as the undertow of our technological environment are the ideas that many of us may hold about how our bodies ought to move and look. Impossibly thin magazine models set standards for personal appearances for women. Men take their cues from muscular beach boys and movie stars, among others.
Is there anyone alive who has not been told to straighten up and suck in our gut, the proverbial “military posture.” To achieve it, we contract our pelvic floor, pull in our stomach, and restrict the movement of the diaphragm to keep the waist svelte.
This constriction automatic cally forces us to breathe in the upper chest. Stop yourself in almost any given activity, and you may be surprised to notice you are unconsciously tightening the pelvic floor and holding in your abdomen.
Sometimes our breathing changes in response to injury or illness, to reduce or avoid pain. But more often than not, holding the breath only makes pain worse by reducing circulation and increasing muscular contraction in the body.
When we hold our breath, all the body knows is that something is wrong and it responds accordingly by activating the fight-or-flight response.
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