Hi Monicas
It's amazing how we never really focus on our breathing until the need arises. Weird when you think about it, you can take thousands upon thousands of breaths in your life without being conscious of a single one, until you start becoming conscious of every single one from one point onward.
I can relate to weight being a factor. Lost about 20 kilos some years back and couldn't believe the difference when it comes to how much easier it was to breath. Due to one reason or another, put it all back on again and felt the struggle.
Also, can recall going to see a physio several years back when I was experiencing ongoing pain in my side. Surprised to learn it was from poor breathing habits. She told me that shallow breathing is the kind of breathing runners do; it's not meant to be what we do all the time. Such breathing begins to tax certain muscles when done on a regular basis. She taught me how to breath. I know, sounds strange. The pain I'd had for weeks eventually stopped.
Lots of things can impact our breathing, a lot of the time without us even realising. Stress is definitely impacting. It can create a significant amount of hyperactivity in the body regarding all of our systems (lungs included). Fast shallow breaths challenge our lungs. Interesting how the body tries to manage stress. That occasional long breath out (aka sighing) is one of the ways it manages to regulate our breathing.
Wondering if you've considered looking into experimenting with different breathing techniques. Plenty of breathing meditations out there, specifically designed to get us focused on working our lungs in effective ways, getting the most out of them. Focusing on our abdominal muscles when we breath is something the experts say we should do but rarely actually do. Some natural breathing techniques can actually help with managing anxiety. Breathing our way out of physical hyperactivity when we can feel it starting to ramp up can also actually help alter the chemistry in the brain. Breathing is a pretty powerful thing when it holds not just the potential to keep us alive but also the potential to help us manage our self in multiple ways, mentally and physically.
It can definitely be easy to get into the bad habit of breathing poorly. It can be a habit that's gone on for years that we may not have noticed until it finally becomes noticeable or presents us with problems.
Take care 🙂
