Bozeman physical therapy services

Movement and Breathing Awareness

Movement and breathing awareness re-education is an important aspect to optimize posture, improve the efficiency of how the body moves, decrease pain and tension, and continue to experience more ease with activity.

What is movement and breathing awareness?

Looking at how a person walks, gets up from a chair, squats down to pick up an object, shifts their weight onto one foot, or stabilizes their shoulder blades while reaching for something are all examples of movement we do throughout our day. If there are restrictions with how someone breathes, this can contribute to areas of pain and immobility.

Movement and breathing awareness re-education helps by looking at how the body is moving, where there are or are not optimal movement patterns that may be contributing to a person’s symptoms.

Who is movement and breathing awareness best for?

Any of our life experiences—like a fall, a car accident, a birth trauma, surgery, or stress can contribute to more tension inside the body. The more experiences the body has, more lines of tension form in the body which often lead to the development of non-optimal movement patterns. Over time, these patterns can cause pain and decreased tolerance to activity, exercise, sitting, standing, etc.

Breathing can also be affected by tension patterns in the body or from postural asymmetries. Many of us are on the go all day and don’t take the time to breathe deeply. This can also be a contributing factor to the body’s internal restrictions, increased neck tension, underuse of core muscles, and poor posture, causing pain and tension. How we stand and sit also affects how we breathe.

How does movement and breathing awareness improve health?

When a person can move more easily and breathe more freely a person will experience less pain and tension, prevent injury and wear and tear on joints, and feel more relaxed.