Why you should stop sucking in your tummy!

From the time we were teenagers, particularly women, we’re trained to suck in our belly. For many women, sucking in our stomachs has become a routine way that we have moved around. So much so, that we don’t even know how to relax it properly anymore!

Did you know that sucking our gut in for a prolonged time can actually have negative effects on our body?

Our diaphragm is a muscle that sits at the bottom of our thoracic cavity. It drops down into the stomach when we inhale to allow the lungs to expand and then rises when we exhale. SO., if we are breath holding, inhaling or not completely breathing all the air out (particularly during resistance training), the diaphragm can cause increased pressure on our core muscles and pelvic floor. This increased pressure on the pelvic floor and organs can result in a slower digestion, incontinence issues and worsening prolapse.

Not only does it affect our core and pelvic floor muscles, but if we can’t relax our tummy completely, it can affect the lungs in respiratory conditions such as asthmatics, and lead to shoulder, neck, jaw pain and headaches. Breathing shallowly can also lead to stress by keeping our sympathetic nervous system (flight or fight response) activated, elevating our cortisol levels.

So, please take this is a sign to relax your tummy and to ensure that you are taking full breaths.

A good tip would be to exhale as you perform any contraction eg. exhale as you lift or come up from a squat. This will allow for better contraction of your core & pelvic muscles too!