#1 Recommendation I'm giving my patients today is...

Diaphragmatic breathing!

To be completely honest most people are unaware of how to properly breath. The amount of stress 2020 has brought has also brought on shallow breathing which then leads to a number of different things, such as headaches, constipation, stomach pains, increased acid reflux, mid back pain, and more.

When we properly breath we also stimulate the vagus nerve. This nerve is extremely important when we are talking about the Sympathetic (gas pedal) to Parasympathetic (brake pedal) sides of the nervous system. Both sides are extremely important but we want to be living more on the brake pedal side of life because that is where growth, development, immune system, digestion all live. There are a handful of ways to stimulate the vagus nerve besides diaphragmatic breathing, such as ADJUSTMENTS, gurgling, massage, singing, yoga, and acupuncture.

The diagram is the muscle at the bottom of the ribcage. There are a number of great videos on YouTube showing just how to do diaphragmatic breathing. The best/easiest way I explain this to patients is to lay on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor with one hand on your check and one on your abdomen. From there take in a deep breath for a count of three 3 seconds, breathing more into the hand over the abdomen and then exhaling for a count of 3 seconds. Complete this 8 - 10 times in a row about 2 -3 times a day. Once you get the hang of this then you can easily complete this breathing exercises on the go!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out!