One of the most basic and fundamental functions that many athletes overlook when it comes to pain and performance is breathing.
We often turn to the more physical factors for these things, like improving mobility, strength, or movement quality.
But giving attention to your breathing can actually improve all of the above.
And if your goal is to remain on the mats, pain-free for as long as possible, then daily breathing practice is essential.
Here’s why.
“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”
―
Improving Breathing For BJJ Performance
If you’ve ever stepped on the mat then you already know the importance of functional breathing.
If your breathing is shallow, restricted, or short, a cascade of negative things can happen, including tiring faster, panicking under pressure, and the inability to think through techniques.
In the book “Breathing For Warriors” the authors recommend lying on a soft ball, around the size of a soccer ball, and practicing breathing into your entire torso while part of it is compressed by the ball.
This would be useful for grapplers who are often compressed under an opponent’s weight and must find space to breathe while under pressure.
The ability to breathe into your entire thorax is hugely beneficial for combat sports athletes, especially your back lower rib cage.
Not only is breathing into the back lower ribs the deepest and most optimal part of the lungs for oxygen exchange, this is often the only place to breath into when you’re hunched over in a takedown position or balled up passing or playing guard.
Having access to this area is crucial.
Take notice right now, are you breathing in 360 degrees, especially into your back lower ribs?
Improving Breathing For Pain
The guys at Foundation Training recommend “decompression breathing” for not only performance benefits, but to relieve pain and promote longevity.
Using your mind to actively decompress your rib cage and spine with your breath is a powerful tool to relieve pain and self-heal.
Essentially, you are trying to create as much space between your ribs, vertebrate, and pelvis as possible, in a full, expansive 360 degrees.
Holding tension in your diaphragm, stomach muscles, or chest and back will prevent you from achieving a full, relaxing deep breath.
Often times, we can get stuck in a position of inhalation, meaning we don’t fully expel the air in our lungs, operating with a flared rib cage and a poor position of the ribs over the pelvis.
This can lead to living in a constant low-level sympathetic state of flight or flight, which means poor recovery, chronic tension, and pain.
When you learn to use the obliques to completely exhale, and breathe fully in all directions, you can start to recover, relax, and ultimately, heal.
How To Add Breathing To Your Routine
There are many types of breathing techniques, however, I recommend start by learning decompression breathing in 360 degrees.
Focus on relaxing your stomach muscles and all of the tension in your midsection on the inhale. Tension here will restrict where the air can flow.
On the exhale, your side abs, or obliques, should tense slightly to expel all of the air from your lugs and allow the diaphragm to ascend.
Crocodile breathing or 90/90 breathing from PRI are two excellent options to help the body recover and find a better position through breath.
Once you start mastering this you’ll be amazed to realize how the breath can be used to influence posture and the positions of bones and joints.
This will promote better range of motion, mobility, and ultimately, resilience.
Final Thoughts
Once you learn the importance of breathing in 360s degrees, and regain a functional diaphragm, you’ll have the tools for better performance and recovery.
You can use breath to relieve lower back pain after a long flight, or make that crushing knee on belly a bit more bearable.
As woowoo as it sounds, breath is life. And the better you can breathe, the better you will feel, move, and function.
Use your breath to give yourself an edge on the competition, and buy time on the mats with better mobility, recovery, and resilience.
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