“If breathing isn’t normalized no other movement pattern will be.” Karl Lewit

Diaphragmatic breathing is probably the simplest and easiest thing we can perform with our athletes when it comes to changing and improving movement and performance, yet is constantly overlooked.

Proper respiration leads to better posture. Better posture leads to an athlete that is more resilient to injury and leads to better performance. More resilient + better performance = better athlete. If you aren’t coaching breathing you are missing the boat.

Some of the documented benefits of diaphragmatic breathing;

• A window into the autonomic nervous system to help promote a more para-sympathetic state
• Decreases heart rate
• Decreases blood pressure
• Decreases anxiety
• Changes in insulin sensitivity
• An important spinal stabilize

We simply cue an athlete to breathe in through the nose (3-4 seconds) and out through their mouth (6-8 seconds). Though it may seem like a small detail, breathing in through the nose and subsequently out through the mouth is critical as it stimulates the vagus nerve.