My Dysfunctional Breath
For years, I didn’t think much about how I breathed. Like many women juggling careers, families, and the quiet complexities of midlife, I was simply getting through the day. But behind the scenes, my body was working harder than it needed to. Sleep wasn’t restorative. Stress felt relentless. And no amount of wellness rituals seemed to shift the sense of disconnection I felt.
What I didn’t realise then was that I’d been breathing in reverse.
Instead of my belly rising on the inhale, I’d pull my stomach in and lift my chest. It felt normal……..until I learned it wasn’t. This pattern, often called “reverse breathing”, disrupts our body’s natural rhythm. It sends signals of stress when we’re actually safe. And over time, it erodes resilience.
Add other dysfunctional breathing habits, like mouth breathing and shallow chest breathing into the mix, and the picture becomes clearer. These dysfunctional patterns—often unconscious can:
Over-activate the nervous system, leaving us in fight-or-flight mode
Disrupt oxygen delivery and cellular energy
Lead to anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep, and even hormonal imbalance
Discovering functional breathing was a turning point for me. Not dramatic, not overnight, but gently profound.
It taught me to breathe slowly and gently in and out through the nose and deeply into the belly and pelvic bowl.
To feel my belly expand, then my lower ribs gently widen like wings. To let my upper chest, shoulders and jaw stay soft. To allow the exhale to fall, long and unforced.
In that rhythm, my body remembered safety, by continually practicing, I began to feel tension release and started to feel more in tune with my emotions.
This isn't just a technique I teach, it's part of my daily reset. A way to regulate my nervous system, reconnect with my body, and move through midlife transitions with more ease and grace.
If you’re noticing tightness, overwhelm, or a sense that something’s just “off,” your breath may be dysfunctional. Start by noticing how you breathe in still moments. Is your belly rising, or your chest lifting? That small awareness is the doorway to change.
