UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA

April 5, 2023 Buffalo Latino Village

We all engage our own instrument of relaxation, the breath. Everyone and especially those who have experienced trauma or anxiety can benefit from training this instrument. The best part is that training only takes mere minutes! Plus, the variety of helpful breathing techniques is vast! Discover the ones that work for you.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a breathing exercise that engages your diaphragm, an important muscle that enables you to breathe. It is also called belly or abdominal breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that helps you focus on your diaphragm, a muscle in your belly. Teaching your diaphragm to open your lungs can help your body breathe more efficiently. The rewards of this type of breathing exceed calming us down.

Abdominal breathing has many benefits that can affect your entire body. It is the basis for many meditation and relaxation techniques, which can lower your stress levels, lower your blood pressure, and regulate other critical bodily processes. Taking deep breaths can help voluntarily regulate our nervous system, which can have many benefits, including lowering your heart rate, helping you relax, and lowering the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Research suggests it may help manage the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), make core strength exercise more efficient thus improving core muscle stability, and increase the body’s ability to tolerate exercise if you have a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Belly breathing reduces stress and anxiety, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD, and asthma.

Here’s the basic procedure for diaphragmatic breathing. It may be easiest to practice while lying flat on your bed or the floor when you first start with one hand on your belly and the other on your lungs. As you breathe in feel the belly expand and contract as you exhale. Dr, Mark Hymen, the Director of Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic suggests we all do this 5 times and 5 times a day.

1. Sit or lie down on a comfortable, flat surface. Do not cross any part of your body. Sit erect, yet comfortably or lay on your back with the palms of your hands up.

2. Relax your shoulders, shifting them down away from the ears.

3. Put a hand on your chest and a hand on your belly.

4. Without straining or pushing, breathe in through your nose until you cannot take in any more air.

5. Feel the air moving through your nostrils into your abdomen, expanding your stomach and sides of the waist. Your chest remains relatively still.

6. Purse your lips as if sipping through a straw. Exhale slowly through your lips for 4 seconds and feel your stomach gently contracting.

7. Repeat these steps several times for the best results.

Other types of diaphragmic breathing include but are not limited to rib-stretch breathing, alternate nose breathing, numbered breathing, lower-back breathing, box breathing, and 4-7-8 breathing. I suggest you look up these breathing techniques at UTUBE University. Everyone regardless of diagnosis can be helped by deep belly breathing.