How Your Breath Has an Impact on Range Of Motion

If you could take a pill that would magically help you get to your mobility goals even faster, with no negative side effects, would you take it?

Obviously, right? Well what if I told you that there is likely a piece of the pie that you’re leaving on the table and it’s slowing down your progress?

Hopefully I have your attention now because this is so simple and easy for you to implement instantly that you’ll probably want to slap me for not explaining this sooner. Listen up!

If you're an athlete or student of ours, you may have noticed in many of our exercises at Primal Mobility (particularly our more passive mobility exercises to be precise) that we give you cues on how to breathe through the movements. Most people will blow right past that (see what I did there?) and just perform the movements without thinking twice about how they're breathing.

Let me tell you, these deep breathing cues aren’t just meditative, there's science behind this that will literally help you improve your mobility. 

Okay stick with me while I throw some anatomical jargon at you.

Running along either side of the spine are pathways of nerves that are called Sympathetic (or paravertebral) Ganglia. These nerves are part of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) that deliver information of stress to the body, which is responsible for the famous “fight or flight” response.

When we’re in a situation that elicits “fight or flight” it often causes us to naturally tense up our body to protect ourselves from perceived danger. The fascinating thing about how the breath plays into this, is that rapid breathing will naturally stimulate the Sympathetic Ganglia.

I’m still unsure of exactly why this happens, but my logic leads me to believe that when we breathe more rapidly we will often breathe more through our chest and ribs which mimics our state during high stress situations. In contrast, deep, diaphragmatic breathing will calm the SNS and allow our body to move more freely without autonomic restrictions (autonomic responses in the body are involuntary and subconscious).

One movement in our exercise library that is a good example of how I am prescribing a specific breathing pattern is in the Thread the Needle video.

Along with all the science, we are also finding that there is a deeper relationship with the breath and how we mentally connect with our bodies. This isn't insignificant.

This is happens because the slow, deep breathing keeps our sympathetic ganglia calm and allows us to feel our movements more intuitively. It also allows us to clear our minds and focus on the intention of the exercise more clearly. 

We are constantly learning more about how important breathing is in the pursuit of ROM and mobility in general but regardless of all the sciency stuff, there is one thing we know for sure.

This stuff works!

Unfortunately it’s one of those things that in the moment may feel a little “woo woo” but hopefully tying in some of the science will help you apply this without feeling like you're staying at a monastery and meditating with the monks.

Either way, whatever gets you results faster (safely and logically of course) is worth trying in my opinion!

So next time, pay attention to the breathing cues. This isn’t Wim Hof but it’s still pretty epic, I’d say!

If you're a coach looking to stand out as the go-to expert in movement and strength-based mobility training, join our Coaches Corner newsletter! 

Remember, lean into obsession, master the craft, and separate from the pack.
-Coach Matt