By Col Wajid Hussain
When we are stressed, anxious, or nervous, the breathing pattern changes. The breathing rate increases, or becomes more shallow. One even starts breathing in and out through mouth and may unnecessarily hold the breath.This all results in using secondary breathing muscles in the upper chest that are not designed to be used all the time.
If constantly stressed, you continue to breathe in this way without knowing and it becomes an unconscious habit. Even when an external stressor is gone, such breathing habit can continue to affect the breathing pattern, adversely affecting our health. It may initially just feel like irritability, tension in your neck and shoulders, or difficulty sleeping. It may then develop into anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue, digestive problems, and muscle pain. But it’s not all doom and gloom, we can also use our breath to change our physiology and manage internal state.
Note : I am back. I will continue to write more about breathing by making excerpts from another excellant book. The readers may sometimes experience repetition but they will have to swallow it, as more information with a different prospective. PAK DESTINY
