Yes, you can breathe to heal low-back pain! You’re probably saying “hey, I breathe in and out everyday, but still have pain”–well, there’s more to it than just taking normal breaths.
“ALL CHRONIC PAIN, SUFFERING AND DISEASES ARE
CAUSED FROM LACK OF OXYGEN AT THE CELL LEVEL”–Professor A. C. Guyton, MD, excerpt from The Textbook of Medical Physiology
You are probably wondering what breathing has to do with healing. After all, you breathe in and out every day and yet you still have back pain. Well, the quality of your breathing can have a significant impact on your health.
Here are some noted benefits of deep breathing:
- Endorphin release—endorphins not only make you feel good, but they help mask pain
- Stress and tension reduction—deep breathing can help reduce emotional and physical stress, including back aches
- Removal of toxins—the action of your diaphragm while deep breathing helps remove toxins from the body and helps improve blood flow
- Improved posture—over time, deep breathing can help improve posture and ease back pain
- Improved digestion—deep breathing can aid in the oxygenation of your entire body which includes the stomach—through increased oxygenation, food is more easily digested and assimilated—healing of the spine depends in part on assimilation of nutrients
There are many other benefits of deep breathing, but suffice it to say that the quality of your breathing can help greatly with healing. So, how do you perform deep breathing properly? There are many techniques, but here are two that I used and still use daily:
Technique #1
Exhale to get all air out of your lungs and then take a long breath in
through your nose until your lungs are completely filled. Exhale through your nose slowly for a count of five and then pause at the end for a few seconds. Repeat the process ten or so times with your eyes closed. You don’t have to do this while doing yoga, but in one of the poses I will teach you, it provides for faster healing.
Technique #2
Exhale to get all air out of your lungs. Breathe in through your nose
with your mouth closed for a four second count—hold your breath for a seven second count and then exhale through your mouth for an eight second count. This technique can be performed anywhere—I would do this several times throughout the day—at my desk; in the shower; driving my car; watching television, etc. Deep breathing feels great and for me it seemed to speed up the healing process.
The above is an excerpt from my free ebook, Natural Back Healing. If you have not downloaded it yet, you can do so here.