Sandbag Breathing and The Nervous System

David Goddard

November 14, 2022

13 min

Our breath is a direct doorway into the nervous system and enables us to gain self-regulation over our internal level of reactivity and arousal. The diaphragm muscle is responsible for about 90% of our breathing habits and, for this reason, could be considered the second most important muscle in our body after the heart. Like any other muscle in the body, the diaphragm can become weak when underutilized but can also be trained to grow stronger with resistance. Through strengthening the diaphragm, we can begin to loosen breathing habits that agitated the nervous system and replace them with healthy habits that promote inner stability and ease.