Rib Breathing
How you walk will affect your breathing and also how you breathe will affect your walking. If you have a habit of lifting/thrusting the ribs, for example, it's likely you'll feel your breath moving your belly or your upper chest and shoulders. Unfortunately, that may result in less core support, more lower back discomfort, and excessive tension in the neck, shoulder and chest area. Once you drop your ribs, you'll give your core more opportunity to support your torso, and you'll open up the ability to breathe deeper into the ribs. To experience this, place your hands on your waist and slide them a bit higher to hold the sides of your lower ribs. As you breathe in, try to send the breath into the ribs making the ribcage widen and feel the ribcage push your hands wider apart. Then as you breathe out, feel your ribs funnel downward and inward bringing your hands closer together. The mobility of the ribs will help your breathing and decrease the tension in both your lower back and upper torso.
