I have become more and more aware that breathing is an
important part of health and wellness.
I talked about the relationship with anxiety in the last post. Anxiety is not only mental distress, but can cause muscle tension, chest pain, and digestive disorders.
The diaphragm is a unique dome-shaped muscle controlling
breathing. It is located horizontally
separating the thoracic cavity (containing lungs, heart and etc) and the abdominal
cavity (stomach, liver, intestines and etc.). The esophagus, vena cava, and aorta pass through the middle
of it.
With proper breathing, the diaphragm contracts when we
inhale, moving down and expanding the thoracic cavity to suck the air in, and
the diaphragm completely relaxes when we exhale. We do this about 26,000 times a day.
If we have shallow chest breathing, where the diaphragm
can’t fully contract and relax, it loses the elasticity and tightens like any
other muscles. The dysfunction of the diaphragm could cause adhesion with the
stomach, or squeeze the esophagus, causing digestive disorders like GERD and hiatal hernia.
Here is how it happens.
Anxiety/stress ➜ Incorrect breathing (shallow breathing) ➜ Diaphragm dysfunction ➜ Stomach dysfunction ➜ Digestive disorders
I found very helpful and comprehensive videos about understanding heartburn and GERD
and an abdominal massage for hiatal hernia.
Although I never had hiatal hernia, massaging the middle of the stomach
right below the breastbone and rib cage has been effective for me to relieve the pain in the
upper stomach because of indigestion.
It is important to massage other abdominal muscles (will
post in the future) and use the breathing exercises in order to maintain the healthy digestive functions.