You’ve been doing it about 20,000 times a day since the moment you were born. In fact, you’re doing it right now. More importantly, experts are saying you’re doing it all wrong.

We’re referring to breathing, which seems like such a natural act that we only think of it when we’re huffing and puffing at the end of a 10k—not while walking to work, eating breakfast, or any other normal activity.

What exactly does it mean to say we’re all breathing “wrong?” If you’ve made it this far, it seems like you’ve been doing an OK job. Oxygen is coming in; carbon dioxide is going out. But, according to Noam Tamir, CSCS, founder of TS Fitness in New York City, while we might be getting by, we could be breathing better. In fact, improving our breathing could help to lower blood pressure, decrease stress, improve athletic performance, and maybe even increase brain size.

Breathe In, Breathe Out: Common Breathing Mistakes

When Tamir works with a new client, the first thing he puts them through is the Functional Movement Screen to assess any major muscle imbalances. Closely following the FMS is a breathing assessment. During the evaluation, Tamir is looking for any one or a combination of breathing inefficiencies we’ve developed over time. The term “inefficient breathing” can mean various things depending on who you ask, but for Tamir, it breaks down to these three mishaps:

Chest breathing

Rather than breathing deeply through the belly using the diaphragm, it’s common to see breathing through the top of the chest, Tamir says, which forces the body to rely on other muscles not built for the task at hand. When you breathe through the chest, “you’re using a lot of ancillary muscles, such as those in the neck, that you really don’t need to use.” This can also reinforce neck and shoulder tension common among office workers. Following the age-old principle “Use it or lose it,” this reliance on ancillary muscles also weakens the diaphragm. A weak diaphragm will fatigue easily during exercise, meaning your muscles won’t receive the optimum amount of blood flow during your next CrossFit WOD or 5K.

Shallow breathing

Another bad habit when it comes to our breath? We’re working too hard to get in the oxygen that we need. Rather than taking deep, full breaths, we’re resorting to shallow, quick ones, forcing the body to work overtime to get the same amount of oxygen, Tamir says. This could partly be due to poor posture, most prevalent among those who slump over a screen all day (not to mention gym-goers who overemphasize mirror muscles instead of focusing on balance). With the shoulders hunched forward, we lose part of our ability to expand our diaphragm and take the big, full breaths that can boost workout performance, increase efficiency, and help manage stress.

Lack of rhythm

No, we’re not talking about the kind you would see on the dance floor. If you’ve ever focused on your breathing while running to help pass the time, you’ve likely noticed a specific rhythm to your breath. Perhaps it matched the pace of your footsteps (cadence) or your arm swing. Whatever the pattern, breathing smoothly and rhythmically can play a calming role, particularly in athletes, says Tamir. If your breathing is erratic, it’s hard to get into the zone—whether that’s busting out your last track interval or burning through your last set of squats.

Breathing has a huge impact on our health and fitness, but we’re probably not taking advantage of it just yet. The good news is that anyone can improve their breathing with even a small time investment, Tamir says. And it all starts with basic awareness. Tamir recommends focusing on just your breathing one to two times a day, starting with just one minute at a time. Seem doable? Here’s your playbook for success.

Click here to read more

Article Courtesy: http://news.health.com/