Help Yourself! is not designed to be a substitute for medical advice, or physical therapy advice, for that matter. We will restrict our advice to that which is helpful with minimal chances of being harmful. Simple things such as advice on posture or exercises can be harmful, because what is helpful for one person is harmful to to the next. Be careful when it comes to generic advice, and if you choose to follow it proceed with caution. If you have any doubts, see a qualified health care professional for an evaluation and recommendations which are appropriate for you.
Relaxed Breathing
Luckily, this month's topic can't hurt you, unless you do it while driving!
We're going to tell you about relaxed breathing. I know that it doesn't sound too exciting, but it is a way of getting a great amount of muscular relaxation with a minimal amount of effort, and it's free!
There are many different philosophies and techniques when it comes to breathing. We recommend the following technique because it has been researched several times with well designed studies, and each time it was found to be very effective. In fact, several years ago an internationally renowned pain management physician told me that this technique has been found to be as effective as muscle relaxers.
Here's the technique:
Inhale through your nose for six seconds.
Exhale through your mouth for six seconds.
Repeat this for five minutes, three times a day.
There is no holding of the breath. If six seconds is too difficult, just do what you can, but keep the length of the inhalation and exhalation the same.
Many people find that it helps if they 'visualize' their breath as it enter their bodies and exits their bodies. They may even visualize the breath going to areas where it doesn't actually go, e.g. to the low back if they have low back pain. Visualization wasn't part of the research on this type of breathing, but with certain people it does seem to help.
I have had some people do this exercise and get immediate relief, but most people need to do it for several days or weeks on a consistent basis before it really starts working. People that have faith and stick with it love it.
P.S. You can't do this while driving because it can cause you to get into an accident. I've had three people do it while driving (against my advice) and drift into the next lane before they realized what was happening!