Breathing may seem simple, but you’d be surprised at how many ways we can breathe. The human body has many redundancies, and that’s a good thing for survival. This is why we have two holes in our face; our mouth and our nose. That’s two ways to exchange O2 and CO2. We have a ‘backup system’ in case one isn’t working well. 

Before you read much further, do a quick self assessment. Lay down and put one hand on your chest, and one on your stomach. Breathe normally and just get a feel for which rises first, the hand on your chest or stomach. 

This is a quick test I do with a lot of my patients, and I find that the majority of people initiate an inhale with their chest. 

Breathing happens through negative pressure, air gets pulled in just like a fireplace bellows. We have two ways to do that. The diaphragm descends down as we inhale, which is belly breathing. Or, we can lift our chest up to pull air in, which is chest breathing. Ideally, the belly rises first, then the chest. 

Chest breathing is like a back up system. When we are exercising and need more oxygen, the chest will become more active to assist in getting more air. In that way, chest breathing is associated with the sympathetic nervous system. When you are really working hard and you stop to catch your breath, perhaps you put your hands on your knees. What you are doing is creating a stable base for muscles like the pecs and lats so that you can pull your chest easier. 

The main muscle of inspiration when breathing more with the belly is the diaphragm. If we bias chest breathing, we then use all the muscle that attach to the ribs to breathe with our chest. Herein lies the problem. When we only breathe with our chest, which is extremely common, the muscles that attach to the ribs can get overworked pretty easily. I find that the muscles of the neck, particularly the scalenes (on the side of the neck) end up getting stiff. 

Additionally, the tone of the muscles are controlled by the nervous system. When you are chest breathing, chances are the sympathetic nervous system is more active which increases muscle tone. 

So if you are feeling stiff in the neck, assess your breathing. If you notice you tend to lead with your chest, try focusing on some belly breathing. While you're at it, make sure to inhale through your nose and exhale a bit longer than you inhale, that activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Give it a few minutes and see how your neck feels afterwards. 

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