NOTE: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DIAGNOSE YOURSELF, THIS IS PURELY FOR MINDFUL AWARENESS. IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE BREATHING PATTERNS, IT IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, AND RATHER BOOK IN WITH A REPUTABLE PHYSIOTHERAPIST OR OSTEOPATH WHO CAN HELP.

1. Hyperventilatory: Rapid-breath pattern (averaging 20 breaths/minute) uses accessory muscles and restricts diaphragmatic movement being predominantly (thoracic patterns) in nature. Sometimes produced from poorly managed anxiety, this pattern manifests as very shallow, very rapid, and compounded by sputtered sighs (periodic patterns) and gasps (clavicular patterns).  Panic, anxiety, and shock habituate this common phenomenon.  People exhibiting this pattern immediately imperil their health.

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1. Thoracic: These “chest-breathers” lack significant abdominal movement, with shallow and costal breaths. Enlarging thoracic cavity creates a partial vacuum by lifting the rib cage up and out through external intercostals muscles. Although the lungs do manage to be expanded by negative pressure, it is not enough to ventilate the lower lobes. This reduces pulmonary ventilation, since the lower lobes receive the greatest blood volume due to gravity.

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1. Periodic: This pattern demonstrates rapid-shallow breathing, followed by a holding of breath, followed by a heavy sigh due to excessive CO2 concentrations in the bloodstream. This pattern flushes the CO from the bloodstream, which causes the brain’s autonomic system to shutdown respiration until the CO2 level raises to appropriate gas mixture. In the Periodic pattern, this cycle perpetuates. This is not to be confused with true Apnea, and can be diagnosed by witnessing that the pattern does not cause a change in color, such as no blueness of the lips, and the individual resumes shallow, rapid breathing without intervention, following the sigh. This pattern can be created through sustained anxiety, or by post-traumatic stress syndrome.

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1. Clavicular: This pattern exhibits chest-raising that elevates the collarbones while drawing in the abdomen and raising up the diaphragm. People who are “open-mouth breathers” attempt to increase intake through oral inhalation, but this provides minimal pulmonary ventilation. Worse still, the accessory muscles used in this pattern consume more oxygen than it provides. In exercise, these individuals fatigue quickly.

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1. Paradoxical: Often called “reverse” breathing, this abdominal pattern contracts during inhalation and expands on exhalation (using the muscles for the opposite purpose for which they were intended, thus, paradoxical/reverse.)  Paradoxical breathing associates with the expectation of exertion, sustained effort, resistance to flow, and stress.  Through stress, shock and fear, people can condition themselves to inhale (often married to clavicular and thoracic patterns), followed by hypoxic breath-retention and periodic sighs. As a result, this pattern causes very rapid fatigue.

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1. Hypoxic: In preparation of perceived exertion, this pattern comprises an inhalation, withholding of exhalation (breath retention) until the perceived exertion concludes. Holding the breath dramatically increases intra-thoracic pressure, causing health risks such as, fainting associated with vagal nerve stimulation, increase in blood pressure, and hypoxia (reduced oxygen levels). Chronic baseline hypoxic breathing is very common, especially in "athletes”, due to conditioned exertion. Hypoxic patterning connects with the "flight-fright-freeze" response, predominantly more "freeze", the defense mechanism of “bracing” caused by anxiety.

NOTE: Around January 2016 with the help of an excellent Physiotherapist, I discovered I had paradoxical breathing patterns. Since finding this out, I have done extensive amounts of research and breathing training, and whilst I sometimes forget (we are all human), I cannot tell you how much better I feel physically and mentally. I often used to get overwhelmed by situations and end up having a panic attack, the more stressed I was the more frequent they were, but now they are very rare, and I have the tools are awareness to come back quickly when I do have them. So it can be done, no matter the excuse.

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CLINIC NOTE: Unless someone is trained in breathing patterns such as yoga and pilates, very rarely do I meet people who are aware of how they breathe and why being aware of this is important. So if this is the first time you are hearing/reading this, then you are not alone. As mental health awareness is increasing, more and more people understand that breathing can help, but without understanding how and why can make it difficult to remember (especially when feeling extreme emotions, when it is most helpful). So the concept is to become more mindfully aware, not just ‘do it’ – without being mindfully aware, you will not feel the true benefits and your body will not remember it is as much.