Push Breathing

To repeat, these are the elements of this exercise:

1. full inhale

2. roll the pelvis with the 'ah' sound

3. at the end of the normal exhale, push out the belly and then push out all the air from the chest

4. after all the air is pushed out of the chest, lower the pelvis (lower not drop) and continue with the next inhale.

The helper can be of great assistance to see that (1) the rolling of the pelvis is done at the same time as the 'ah' sound, (2) that the pelvis is rolled without lifting the back and without spreading the legs and (3) that the pelvis is held up for the full exhale including the pushing.

If the roll is done after the 'ah' sound instead of at the same time, the helper can tell the worker about it but, again, don't nag.

If the roll includes lifting the back off the bed, the helper can push the abdomen down while he lifts the pelvis as shown in Figure 52.

Figure 52

If the legs are being spread during the roll, the helper can gently hold them so that they do not spread. This is shown in Figure 53. Note that this exercise is also discussed in somewhat greater detail in Chapter 18 starting on page 281.

Figure 53

Gasp Inhale Belly Gasp Inhale Chest Gasp Exhale Belly Gasp Exhale Chest

There is little that the helper can do for the worker on the gasp exercises except to call the worker's attention to when the gasp slows down and is really a quick inhale or exhale rather than a gasp or when the worker is not gasping with only the chest or only the belly (that is, the non-selected area is also moving or tensing).

Cry Breathing

No helper activity needed. If the worker does start to cry, the helper should remind the worker to make sound with the crying. Recall: never cry quietly.

See-Saw Breathing

The helper can be valuable on this exercise by pointing out if the see-saw action is slow or the exhale (to the belly) does not show a full expansion of the belly.

This exercise, more than any other, produces a state of hyperventilation (recall: that results in a blowing off of carbon dioxide in the blood and a 30% to 50% reduction in blood flow to the brain). If the worker is initially able to do this exercise but the performance quickly degrades, then the helper should tell the worker to stop the exercise. In any event, this exercise should continue for only a short time (probably five minutes is excessive).

Side Bend

Here the helper can make sure that the arm over the head is directly over the body (there is a tendency for the arm to be forward of the line of the body) and if the worker is bending forward rather than being straight up.

Growl Exhale

Shout Exhale

Moan Exhale

Groan Exhale

Words Exhale

No Sound

No Throat Sound

No helper action needed.

Arms Over Head

Head Off Bed, Breathe Chest Only

Arms Over Head, Head Off Bed

No helper action needed.

Head To Chest

The use of a pillow in this exercise is discussed on pages 130 through 133. Other than keeping the pillow tightly under the head or perhaps adding more pillows to fully force the head to the cheat, there is nothing more the helper can do.

Side Head Posture

The helper can use pressure as shown in Figure 65 on page 168. Other than helping with pressure, the is no helper action needed.

No Throat Sound

The helper here can point out if there is still a throat sound on the inhale or the exhale.

Rhythmic Breathing

It is relatively easy for the helper to see if the breathing is truly rhythmic or if there is a slight pause at either the end of the inhale or the end of the exhale. It is usually difficult initially for the worker to feel these pauses so the helper's pointing out any pauses (without nagging) is useful.

True rhythmic breathing requires that the worker be willing to relinquish control and just feel the way the body moves when doing rhythmic breathing. It usually takes quiet a bit of practice but the result is worth the practice.

Help By Using Pressure

Checking And Correcting Use Of The Accessory Muscles

First a quick review. All of the following are possible accessory muscles of respiration:

1. the diaphragm

2. the pectorals (at the top side of the chest)

3. the muscle at the front of the neck (sternocleidomastoid)

4. the muscles at the side of the neck

  a. the front side of the neck (anterior scalene)

  b. the middle side of the neck (medial scalene)

  c. the back side of the neck (posterior scalene)

5. the trapezius muscles

Below, as I discuss each of the muscles, I will talk about using pressure. As you might expect the helpful (as opposed to only painful) pressure is less if the worker is a female and more if the worker is a male. If the helper is a female and her finger nails are getting in the way of pressure or are digging into the skin, then they need to be trimmed.

The Diaphragm

The diaphragm is tight in many people. This is true even for people who seem to be able to breathe into the belly. The helper can have a vital role in relaxing the diaphragm. First the helper must learn to feel the diaphragm. The position is shown in Figure 54. While it is not evident from Figure 54, the helper's fingers are immediately beneath the lowest (12th) rib and actually angled upward so that any diaphragm movement can be felt (the diaphragm is attached to the lowest rib).

As the worker breathes, the helper should feel for movement in the diaphragm. It is a subtle feeling. The helper's fingers should press lightly into the belly with a slight upward tilt of the hand as shown below. If the diaphragm moves, the helper will feel a slight rolling of the diaphragm under the fingers and the diaphragm will feel soft. In some people the diaphragm does move but it feels hard under the fingers. So there should be movement and softness at the same time.

Figure 54

If the diaphragm does not move or it is felt to be hard (rigid), then the helper can aid in clearing this chronic tension. For a whole session (about 50 minutes) or as long as the helper can hold the pressure, put a mild pressure to the fingers. I have exaggerated this pressure in the figure above. In reality there would not be this much difference between feeling and pressing.

In addition to moderate and prolonged pressure on the diaphragm, there is another way that the helper can aid in the freeing of the diaphragm. This is shown in Figure 55. Here pressure is put on the 7th through 9th ribs, either preventing their outward movement (Figure 55, left) or pressing them downward toward the bed (Figure 55, right). In most people the ribs are attached to the breast bone (the sternum) only by cartilage, not by bone. Thus they are quite flexible. The pressure used is only enough to keep the ribs slightly compressed. This compression tends to prevent the diaphragm from being used to force the chest up from the bottom. Another method of preventing diaphragm use is pressure on the abdomen. This is discussed below in the section on THE ABDOMEN.

Figure 55