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Chest breathing Shallow breathing describes the pattern most simply: the fact of not taking a full or complete breath. But the term paradoxical breathing is even more descriptive. In this context, it means oppositional, the opposition between the diaphragm muscle and the abdominal muscles. When someone takes a big breath, we often see the broad expansion of the chest, and the sucking in of the belly. That person must be getting a lot of air, right? Actually no. This is not a deep breath at all. When you breathe in, the dome-shaped muscle called the diaphragm, flattens downward. The more the diaphragm can expand downward into the abdominal cavity, the greater the volume of air pulled into the lungs. If the abdominal muscles contract inward simultaneously, then the diaphragm has nowhere to go. Thus, the diaphragm muscle and the abdominal muscles, both attempting to occupy the same space, end up opposing each other. Some of the negative effects of this type of shallow breathing include: • Intra-abdominal pressure Any of these effects can set the stage for the onset of lower back pain. If you suspect you are a shallow, chest breather...
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