Relationship between Breath and Body Alignment: How Our Breathing Habits Affect Our Physical Posture

Hello. Hi, hi, Saumi. Thank you for being here.

Hi.

Thank you for accepting my request.

Thank you for having me.

No issues, it's our pleasure. And our audience would like to know, like, uh, like, what is the connection between breath and, uh, the body posture, right? So today's topic is about breathing and how body posture is related to breathing. So before that, let me introduce you to Soumy. Like, Soumy, uh, like, we met in our yoga school, but she's a— professionally, she's a physiotherapist. She has done her master's in orthopedic and sports conditions, and she's a certified yoga instructor, and she has done her level 1 nutrition course. And also, she has done her certification in sports injury and rehab therapist, and she's currently serving as a physiotherapist and she previously served, and also I think serving, uh, to the like marathons in Mumbai and medical campuses in Mumbai. And she worked as a freelancer, and she is also holding an Instagram like, uh, Moment Toe Tales, like where she shares her content related to the physiotherapy, fitness, and nutrition. So after going through your background, Somi, see, I understood like how much you care about your patients, right? So like you are a physio and you learn about yoga, you are learning about nutrition, you are learning about different courses, like you are pursuing so many, so many courses and so many certifications. I think I feel like how much you care about your patients. So actually I wanted to understand what motivates you to learn. So you have a physiotherapist degree, you don't need to like really focus on other, uh, other aspects, right? So what really motivated you all this?

Well, uh, talking about not focusing on other aspects, I might debate on it because it's like when you— it all goes hand in hand, you know. What is a better combination of being a yoga instructor and also knowing your body as a physiotherapist? I mean, if I combine both of them, I think I might be able to deliver really good patient-centered, you know, treatment. And nutrition, I think nutrition and body goes hand in hand always. So which is why I wanted to know, at least if I'm not, you know, I'm not certified to give diet, probably, you know, diet charts, but at least I am certified enough to tell my patients that what will help you in recovery, uh, from the nutrition aspect.

Exactly. I think, uh, in other way, everything is linked. So the nutrition also plays a role in our physical health, and the other, like yoga, and, uh, also the lifestyle. Exactly. Like, so what I really understood, it's holistic approach. So what you really wanted to do to, uh, your patients is holistic way. So yeah, today's our topic, mainly topic, I narrowed down this topic. So the topic is about breathing, like because I am a breathing coach, I focus mainly on breathing, which is like gate in our body which is connecting. So what I found, like the poor posture also definitely reduces the lung capacity as well as the inspiratory flow. And also diseases like lumbar lordosis, if I'm spelling right or not. So there are some diseases also like people come across because of this. So could you please enlighten us, like, uh, what, what is the relationship between the posture and breathing?

Okay. Yes, sure. So for that, I will start with explaining how basically our breathing happens. So there are two kinds. Basically, one is the diaphragmatic breathing, which is— which is the 80% of the breathing that's supposed to be done. You use your diaphragm muscle, which is basically a dome-shaped muscle in our abdominal cavity. Right? And when we breathe in, inhale, the diaphragm will contract and go down, will flatten. That increases the space that the lungs have, and so the lungs will be able to breathe in or expand more better. And to add in, the rib cage has these muscles called as intercostal muscles, which pull up the rib cage, so they expand the rib cage pull up sternum a little bit so that the lungs which are inside the rib cage, they have enough space to breathe. This is the normal breathing that a person should actually do all the time. And the other one is the— I think what we've learned in yoga, it's called clavicular breathing, which is the accessory breathing. And that is usually when you— that is a backup breathing, and there you use the accessory muscles, that is not the primary muscle, uh, that is all your neck muscles and your upper back muscles. So these are two kinds of breathing. Now, as you ask, what is the relation between breathing and posture? So if I have a poor posture, like if I talk about today's generation, like where people are constantly on their laptop with a hunched shoulder, rounded back, or on their phones, you know, with the head down and the head popping forward and rounded the back and all. So what happens is you are decreasing the amount, we are decreasing the space for the rib cage to expand. When I am slouching, okay, everybody can try it right now. When you're slouching and if you try to breathe with your belly, like when you try to expand your belly, you cannot because there is not enough enough space for the diaphragm to move. There is not enough space for your rib cage to move. In order— because of that, you're not breathing very well. And what other thing that happens is when you're not breathing efficiently, when your body is not getting efficient oxygen, you tend to use your accessory muscles. And that is when you'll use your neck muscles and the accessory breathing, which is shallow breaths. You cannot breathe efficiently with the accessory muscles because they don't have that capacity. to help your lungs expand. So poor posture, basically when you're slouched or when your head is forward, will lead to, you know, inefficient breathing, inefficient oxygen capacity. And as you said, the vital capacity— vital capacity is basically the total capacity of the lungs to breathe in and out. It is a total capacity. So the total capacity comes down because you're not breathing efficiently. The diaphragm is not contracting as much as it should. The rib cage does not have the space to expand. You already slouch, how will it expand, right? So your vital capacity comes down. Your expiratory flow is basically the amount of air that we are breathing out. Now, when you are doing shallow breathing, or when you are— there is not enough, um, your body cannot— your rib cage cannot expand, or the diaphragm cannot contract properly, what happens is you are not— you're breathing in shallow and you're also breathing out shallow. You're not expelling all the carbon dioxide that has to come out. So your expiratory flow decreases, which leads to increase in the carbon dioxide in your blood, which is— I mean, I think for all, all layman can understand that that is not a good sign, uh, right? So I feel that posture and breathing are very much interdependent on each other.

Wow, wow. So it's, uh, it's from our lungs to rib cage to even— I think they will also, they might also have some, uh, gut problems, I think, like that.

Yes. Okay, yeah, I'll tell you.

Yeah, so then, yeah, what are the health conditions like particularly affected because of the posture or breathing? Can you just tell us?

Yeah, I, I can. I'll start with physical health conditions. If you are— so it is hand in hand, it goes vice versa. If you are using your accessory muscles, if you are doing your shallow breathing, okay, that is your neck muscles. Now, their function is not to breathe. Their function is to help in breathing, but not— I mean, you might know that we on an average take around 17,000 to 25,000 breaths in a single day. And these neck muscles are not functioned to do that much amount of work, you know. So it is overworking, it tenses up, tightens. There are triggers that are formed which in turn lead to neck pain and, uh, forward head postures, your shoulders drooping, your pectoralis muscles— that is your, the muscles in your chest— tightening. So And vice versa, if you have a poor posture, then already these muscles are tightened, like your neck muscles, your chest muscles, your upper back muscles are already tightened and not functioning at their optimum because of the poor posture. And hence again, when they have to help in that accessory breathing, they won't be able to help because they are not functioning well. So it is, you know, it is vice versa. That's the physical part of it. Also, the poor posture, uh, I mean, if you're— because of your poor posture, you're not breathing well, it also leads to heart problems. So I mean, if there are researchers that have proved it is very— it's an indirect connection, but it leads to heart problems. There will be stress problems that will be originating. Because when you are doing— when you are slouched, and when you're taking shallow breaths because of that position, because you can't use your diaphragm well, uh, you're doing your shallow breaths. Now, during shallow breaths, there is increased amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide going out at a very fast rate. And our body is, uh, functioned in a way that when such a thing happens there is a neurological connection that goes to your brain which will tell you that you are in a stressed condition, you're in a stressed environment. Because usually in any kind of stress, be it like, for example, if a dog is running behind you, you will automatically start doing shallow breaths because they are faster. So your body is getting oxygen at a increased frequency. It's not the correct way, but at that point of time, it is something that is helping. So shallow breaths kind of, you know, instigate that stress hormones. It will tell your body that you are in a stress condition. And if it continues, if there is a poor posture, if you're breathing shallow, and if you're not using your diaphragm well over a long period of time, that will continuously keep your body in stress. It will keep your mental health in stress. You might not actually be in a, in a stressed, you know, you might be happy in your life, but it keeps your mental and physical health. There are gut problems that will happen because, uh, as I said, both are interconnected. Poor breathing might lead to posture problems, and posture problems is like lumbar lordosis, as you spoke in the beginning. Lumbar lordosis is basically exaggerated curve in your low back. Your low back is curved, but when that is exaggerated, your, your back muscles are tightened. There is not enough space for your abdominal cavity or the organs and abdomen, which leads to all your gut problems and your digestive problems. And of course, decreased amount of oxygen will lead to You— I mean, each and everything in— if I want to move my finger from here to here, I need oxygen for this, you know. So I think overall it'll affect the entire body function.

Wow. So like, it's like, uh, it's just a body but it has a lot of functions than, uh, the role we play in our life, I think.

Yeah, I think it's a miracle. Our body is a miracle. What it is doing every second, it is just beyond our imagination.

Sometimes people don't honor, yes, what is happening within our body. They just like pull everything outwards. They don't honor themselves and they don't eat their body properly. Yeah, so it's about also the consciousness. So the next question for me is like you said, like, uh, like because of poor posture, it leads to the stress. My question is, what role stress and emotions play in our posture? And because, yes, uh, if we are— even though we are happy, if our posture is wrong, of course, uh, activates the stress hormones in our brain. But when people are stressed, when people are emotional, like if it might be positive or negative emotions, Because I read one research paper, because of emotions also— emotions also lead to the back pain, lower back pains. People always come to me as a yoga instructor, they ask me like, I have a lower back pain, which asana should I do? You know that it doesn't work that way. Yeah, so it's very complicated, right? So could you please analyze?

Yeah, okay. So, um, stress or any kind of emotion, be it bad or good, our body is made in a way that if you are having— if it is a very— it's a very short-lived stress, for example, you're running to catch a train, if you are running from an animal, or whatever, some, you know, these are short-lived, this is also taken by the body as a stress. Only. So these kind of situations will lead to shallow breathing, right? Because that is using your accessory muscles, because that is faster breathing and you're getting oxygen at a higher frequency, right? And this will not— I mean, if it is happening again and again, yes, then it might lead to problems. Because shallow breathing, as I said, if you continue the shallow breathing or the axillary breathing, tighten up these neck and your chest and your upper back muscles, which are not functions to be used at such a, at such a rate, right? But if it is, you know, once in a time, then it won't be, or it won't lead to any bad, uh, consequence. In terms of stress mentally, our bodies function in a way that when we are stressed, the stress accumulates in the body in some or the other way or in some of the other parts. Always. There be trauma, be it any kind of trauma, be it a past trauma. You know, if you've had an accident even 2 years back, if that trauma is not released, it is accumulated in your body somehow. And the most, uh, the— I would say part of the body where the stress usually accumulates in the body is your shoulders and upper, you know, as we say that, you know, the shoulders are— they take the head, the heavy, you know, they take the weight of your stress. That is a proverb as they say, but it actually does. There is— there are times when your stress accumulates in the shoulder, your stress accumulates in your jaw. And jaw, in fact, it is a fact that jaw is the— jaw and the shoulders are one of those— those are the parts of the body where stress accumulates very frequently. People do try, tend to ignore the jaw a lot, but it is playing a very vital role. So now when this accumulates there, what happens is um, you would— those muscles start stressing. Okay, my stress is accumulating in my shoulders, or if I'm in a stressed position, it is a psychological thing for me to be in a lower mood or in a, you know, a depleted kind of a state. And I mean, it is a, it is a research thing that, you know, people tend to slouch, or people are not very upright when they are in a stressed or emotionally sad or a bad situation. So that will in turn lead to tightening of your upper back muscles, tightening of your— I mean, tightening of your chest muscles, and overstretching of your upper back muscles. When the muscle is either overstretched or it is tight, any of it, you know, it won't be able to function in the most optimum way. So yeah, stress does, uh, and also the— when you are in a stressful condition, I mean, I think I've, uh, covered that point. When you are in a stressful condition, the breathing patterns are not very well maintained, so that will obviously lead to posture or backaches or neck ache, uh, headaches, jaw aches. There are a lot of things.

Yeah, so I think you might also have faced as a physiotherapist, like people ask, like they have some pain, neck pain, they only want something related to the neck. They don't really focus on their awareness, breathing, or some other supporting muscles, or nutrition, lifestyle. So can you— yeah, like you might have like past several years, you might have so many patients. What are the common misconceptions or common things people think that, like, if I have finger pain, the finger is the only responsible part? Yeah, not other body. So what are the common—

yeah, yeah, there are a lot, in fact. So, uh, your head, neck, and shoulder and your low back, all are connected. Okay, all are connected to your core as well. Okay, so, uh, if I am— so there are misconceptions are like, you know, they'll come up with, uh, saying that I have shoulder pain, but it will actually be because of that person being in a very drooped condition, in a very forward head posture, which is neck related. Uh, that person would be having that increased spinal curve in the upper back, which is called a kyphosis in medical terms. But, uh, or basic poor posture, that slouch posture, or a work condition where he has to always be in a bent position. So your neck is not in a, in a good posture, your neck muscles are not well, you are constantly You know, a lot of times these people who are working on outdoors, like on industrial sites, or yeah, or on roads, basically their breathing is not very optimal most of the time. So, but they might be having shoulder problem, but actually the problem might be that, you know, they are not using the core well. They are not So for example, um, if even if— so this is, I'll tell you, people who want to build up their core. What will, uh, I mean, you know, that abs that they want to build up, they want to tighten their core. But in all of that, they will learn how to— they learn all the exercises that will help give them that upper abs and the lower abs and everything, and thighs and the obliques. But the main important thing is that they forget is breathing technique. I think when I am teaching a person how to use your core or how to activate your core, the first thing I teach them is how to breathe while you are activating your core. Otherwise it's of no use. If you're not breathing correctly, then you're not activating your core well, and vice versa. So there are a lot— yeah, I think people will come up with like, I have headache issues. So they won't see that, you know, they're not— that their neck is not great, their shoulder is not great, they're not breathing well. That is why they are having headache issues. Always like, you know, probably they'll come up with headache and I'm checking their neck and they'll be like, you know, no, I don't have pain there, you know, why are you touching that? And I'm like, everything is connected.

Yeah, yeah, guys, like whoever is watching this video, you have to understand that your body— in our body, everything is connected. Even I have seen many people, like, they just wanted to burn the fat in their belly and squeeze their abdominal muscles and keep— they don't even breathe to the abdomen, like, to the— they don't really engage the diaphragm because they feel like their abdomen might come out.

Yeah, they are not understanding.

What are, what are the other side effects it increases? Because also, it's a— the reason I connected with you so many is like because people are not aware of all this in mainstream. Yeah, these all are not like really well known in the mainstream unless they have a doctor who works holistically. Even the doctor doesn't like— for you, because you also been to yoga and you know techniques, you understood the philosophy behind it and the science behind it. Sometimes they don't even give these tips, uh, preventive tips and all those, uh, like because of bad posture and breathing we are having, uh, like even dental problem, neck, shoulder, and spinal problems. We have gut problems, we have digestive problems, we have lung problems, heart diseases. So what else left? So what not?

Yeah.

It's crazy, like how impactful it is. So I wanted, like, what are the practical tips would you like to suggest to our audience?

Okay, practical tips in daily routine. I think first people have to start with understanding the difference between diaphragmatic breathing and an accessory breathing or a clavicular breathing. When you're aware of the difference. So then when you're actually in that posture, so basically if you practice diaphragmatic breathing on a daily basis, be it even for 5 or 10 minutes, and you're aware of how it feels or how it is to be done, then when you're in a poor posture or when you are in a stressful condition and when you're not doing that, your body will give you a hint, or your mind will give you a hint that, you know, this is not how it is supposed to be. And, uh, you— so basically awareness is very important, but awareness will come if you know the difference between the, uh, the regular normal breathing, that is diaphragmatic breathing, or— and the axillary breathing. The practical tip I would say is to start with practicing both, practicing diaphragmatic more but also practicing accessory, so you know the difference. Second tip is, I mean, I cannot tell you to not work on laptop or not be in a bent position when your work asks for it, but what I can tell you is every 30 minutes, uh, change your posture. Come in an upright posture, do like a 1 minute or 2 minutes of normal breathing. Obviously, it will help you calm your mind down. It will increase the oxygenation also, and it is giving a rest to the muscles also, so they do not tighten and lead to other problems. So that will be a second thing. Third thing will be ergonomics. Ergonomics is basically, you know, designing everything around you in a way that it causes less discomfort. So if I'm using a laptop, I will station it in a way that it is at a height where my eye— it is just probably 10 degrees below my eye level. That's it. So I am not in a very drooped position when I'm using my laptop. Or the, you know, if a student is studying, place your book in a way that you're not slouching so much. So automatically you are not in a bad posture, automatically you're breathing well. So, uh, yeah. And other than that, of course, I would say, um, you know, practice pranayams, practice, uh, which will help in better, better functioning, stretches like yoga, yoga, yeah, and stretches, yeah, stretches for your upper back, for your chest, So that if at all you unknowingly were using, overusing those muscles because of shallow breathing, it will relax them so you don't falten them.

Wonderful. That would be really helpful, like, if they integrate into their lifestyle. And I would like to ask you to demonstrate any of the breathing, if you can demonstrate to our audience so that they'll understand, like, how does it— and also you can explain them how does that really work. Can you please demonstrate any of the— any breathing, whatever you like?

I can demonstrate diaphragmatic breathing, but I think I will have to find a better place so that everybody can see what am I doing.

Maybe clavicular, or clavicular breathing, or some—

okay, I can— okay, I can say— oh, I can demonstrate what is a clavicular. Yeah, so clavicular breathing is basically when, uh, you are used— that's the accessory breathing that I was talking about, uh, but it is also helpful because it kind of expands the upper ends of the lungs. That is where usually, you know, there is some residual air that collects, uh, sometimes. So it helps in getting rid of that air. So what you have to do is place your thumb at the back of the— so if you can touch your collarbone, starts from the shoulder and comes right in the center to this center bone. So place your thumb at the shoulder, at the end of the clavicle, and your fingers on the clavicles. Two might be up and can be down. And what you have to do is breathe in in a way that your clavicle lifts up, and then when you breathe out, it goes down. So why are we placing the hand is for a feedback that you understand whether you are using your clavicle is whether, you know, it gives you a feedback that you— is that clavicle lifting up or no. So here you're not using a diaphragm, so be sure that your belly is not coming up and down too much. So you sit upright, you place your hands in this fashion, breathe in slowly through your nose, say for 3 counts, and blow out from your mouth slowly. So this is basically clavicular breathing, which uses your upper portion of the lung. Helps in— one of the benefits of clavicular breathing is it will help in getting rid of the residual air which takes in the top portions of the lungs.

Yeah, yeah, I like— yeah, even I do teach that. Like, I feel like a lot of expansion of my lungs and also the activation of the lungs, right? So we feel like, especially if I have to talk, so it becomes— so in, yeah, in physiological terms it has different benefits. Also it corrects our posture, right? So we don't really stretch our shoulders in this fashion. So like by just adopting this posture also will really help. So Yeah, like, uh, what I understood from the whole session is everything is interlinked in our body. So our posture plays a crucial role, uh, to maintain the, like I can say, homeostasis of our health, and also to have you to maintain the mental health also. It's not only about physical health, it's also about mental health and your emotional health, which is like, uh, which is the holistic health. So like, I think what is adopting these tools and techniques which, uh, Saumee mentioned will really help you to improve your lifestyle and will reduce the disease burden. So, uh, which is very, very important.

I mean, this is a— I think right now it's a generation where people want you know, very easy hacks which can— which will not take a lot of time but also help. I think it's a generation of hacks, and I think this is the best life hack. Uh, breathe well, incorporate proper breathing techniques, and you're taking care of so many things. You're taking care of your mental health, you're taking care of physical health, of your gut health. So I think it's— I think, uh, for today's generation is the best life hack. Only, only by breathing correctly, you can, you can take care of so many things, right?

Wow, that's true. We underestimate the breath, right? So it's a granted, like we don't need to like care about breathing. That is the mindset people has, especially like whenever I talk about breathing, it can like, it's automatically happening. Why, why should I learn?

Yeah.

All right, this is a question people ask, so, but they don't really understand, like, that that's the lifeline of the whole, the life we are living today. So, uh, like, at the end, like, I just wanted to end the session, like, what do you want to say to our audience?

I, I think Health. Yeah, I know. I would like to say that it is a very fast pace that we are living, and I know nobody has time to, you know, take a break and pay attention. But what we can do— but also, if, uh, our body, our mental health, and our— basically our physical health and mental health are, if not on par with you, then there is no point of that fast pace also. There is no point of earning, there's no point of working or, uh, you know, achieving your dreams. So both of them have to be hand in hand. You cannot neglect one, uh, in order to chase the other. So start, start with the basics. Start with proper breathing techniques. Start with maintaining a good physical health, even be it even 15 minutes of your day, but they both need to be balanced.

True, true. It's like people who focus on accumulating wealth spend on health. Exactly, exactly.

Yeah, yeah, which is not required, but we don't have a—

yeah, it is not required, and also we don't have good health to maintain use that wealth. So what is the purpose?

Yeah, what is the purpose and accumulating? Yeah, behind that thing.

Yeah, so it was a very— I got so many golden nuggets from this session, so many more than I can say. So I think I am the plate in the audience hand, like how they, how they use information to improve their lifestyle. That is the main reason. I can say one thing, like when I told, uh, to Soumya, like I wanted to do this, I would like to invite you, uh, she accepted. And she also told one word, like I think hope, hope, we hope we help some people. That is what she told. So yeah, so like this is what the, the whole time we are spending doing is to help you all and improve your lifestyle and stay healthy and live happily and live happily with your whole family. So that is the purpose of this whole series of things which we are doing. If you would like to know more about, uh, Saumi, you can contact her over Instagram and follow her. What is your Instagram handle? Can you spell it again?

So it is Movimento Tales. It basically means Yeah, it means movement stories.

Yeah, okay, okay. Wow, so movimento, like when I heard that word, it feels like Italian.

Yeah, no, it's a Spanish word, movimento. Portuguese also use the word.

So that's great, and thank you so much for your time, Soumy. And if you want more sessions from Soumy, so please comment below and do not forget to follow us and let us know what topics you would like to know more in terms of body and in terms of physical health. So we are happy to host a few other sessions. Thank you, Soumy.

Yeah, we're happy to help.

Yeah, thank you so much again.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Now.