Fatigue, Poor Digestion, Anxiety
This week, I want to share an example of a very common experience many of my clients have. So many of us are walking around with impaired breathing and digestion– so much so, that we hardly even notice that we can’t breathe properly. However, this saps so much energy from us and has other negative consequences I’ll go into.
On Thursday I saw a newer client who had come to me for some severe digestive symptoms that she hadn’t been able to get help with medically. She was also very anxious, and tended to feel very stressed most of the time. As I observed her breathing, I noticed that it was very shallow. With her anxiety and digestive complaints taken into account, I knew I needed to assess the tension around her stomach and respiratory diaphragm.
As I felt this area of her body, it was clear that her stomach was in a very high position, and that the tissues around it were very tight. (This also explained a number of her digestive symptoms.) As I gently put a stretch on these tissues and released her stomach into a lower position, I watched her take a huge, deep breath. Relief spread across her face, and then a rush of emotion came. I have observed this sequence over and over again in my clients.
When the stomach or liver are in a high, restricted position, it is very hard to breathe deeply. Many people just get used to this. They wonder why they are so tired, they feel really out of shape because they get winded easily, and they often have digestive symptoms and/ or neck/ shoulder pain. Many women experience this from their pregnancies, when the organs are pushed up high just to make room for Baby, and it can last for years after they deliver. Others may develop this issue because of chronic stress, causing the connective tissues to become really tight, or because of an injury or inflammation around the organs.
There is a feedback loop with restricted breathing and anxiety. Shallow breathing is part of the pattern for our “fight or flight” system; even if our reason for breathing like this is not stress, our brain takes the cues and signals to us that we are unsafe– our mind then looks for reasons to explain this feeling. So when the reason for breathing this way is mechanical, relieving that tension also creates a positive feedback loop for the brain, allowing the mind to relax into a feeling of safety once we are breathing deeply again.
Treating this issue is honestly one of my favorite things, because it makes such a big, immediate difference when someone needs it. I also love how this illustrates how connected everything is– anxious feelings and other emotional experiences can come from the ways that our bodies are functioning– we are whole beings, and anything that affects us mentally has a physical impact, and vice-versa. It’s so exciting to be able to work with physical structures in a way that can have such whole-being effects!
