Self care – how goes it?

I’ve noticed of late that a fair number of my clients are forgetting how busy, demanding lives can impact on habitual patterns of use, which in turn can lead to old injuries or problem areas re-appearing. Something as subtle as changes in our breathing, which can happen when we haven’t had or made time to pause, can cause shoulder and upper body tightness.

Deep, full breathing means the rib cage and diaphragm move freely resulting in all the muscles between the ribs being activated. These affect the shoulder girdle upwards and downwards encourage gentle massage of all the organs within the abdomen. There are many breathing exercises though I tend to encourage students and clients to breathe out gently and fully… then more, then even more… then to gently close the mouth and focus on ‘allowing’ the air in – almost as if drawing in from the base of the throat. Often we’re not breathing out sufficiently to encourage deep in-breaths.

‘Fixing’ the rib cage (and as a consequence much of the torso) is hopeless for a fluid relationship between the shoulder and pelvic girdles – vital for a healthy, strong and dynamic back and movement in general.

Enough sitting now, I’m off to do some spine stretches and deep breathing – we teach what we most need to remember ourselves! Till next time… call me if I can help with elements of your self care.