Deskercise 3.3 - release iliocostalis, activate diaphragm

When our stress levels are chronically high (for example, when we're being told we're risking contracting a potentially deadly virus every time we leave our homes, for months on end) our bodies go into a fight-or-flight state, where we're constantly producing the hormones adrenaline and cortisol.

We aren't designed to cope with this, from an evolutionary perspective. Our bodies are designed to poddle along in a fairly relaxed state, happily hunting and gathering, until we spot a sabre-toothed tiger about to strike. This triggers us to produce a sudden rush of adrenaline so that our big, powerful muscles can leap into life and help us to sprint out of danger - and then, once we're back in safety, the cortisol kicks in to bring our adrenaline levels back down to normal.

But if there's chronic stress, then our adrenaline levels are constantly shooting up, and our cortisol levels stay high to try to counter the adrenaline. And high cortisol levels lead to all sorts of problems - fat tummies, high blood pressure, irritability, poor sleep, low quality breathing...

Yes, when we're stressed, we tend to take short, shallow breaths at the tops of our lungs. This isn't efficent (the best gas exchange takes place at the bottom of the lungs) and the inefficiency actually perpetuates the chronic stress, which is somewhat unhelpful! It also means that we tend to stop using our diaphragms well, and this means we have to use different muscles for breathing... such as the iliocostalis, a long muscle which goes all the way down the back, attaching at each level between T4 to the ilium bone, the wing of the pelvis.

One technique for restoring the balance is to encourage the iliocostalis to relax (in this video I've used a technique called "release with awareness") and then to encourage the diaphragm muscle to activate. This can help to reduce musculoskeletal pain from your shoulders to your knees, but can also help to reverse the "fight or flight" state, so it's double win.

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