Focussing on your breathing and working to relax your muscles can be a great way to supplement your rehabilitation from injury. Try this little exercise as a starting point.
Lie on your back, close your mouth and breathe gently into and then out of your nose. Put your right hand on your chest and the left on your stomach. As you breathe in, your stomach should push out slightly so your left hand rises. Your right hand should be perfectly still. Do not take large, deep breaths. Keep the breath gentle and small, but make sure it's coming all the way down to your stomach.
Once you are breathing correctly, starting with your feet, tense the muscles in them for three seconds by clenching your toes and then relax them. Repeat this once more. Exhale gently through the nose as you relax the muscles.
Now do this with your calf muscles by pointing your feet downwards for three seconds and then relax them. As before, repeat once more. Your focus should be on the relaxation element of the task.
Contract the muscles in the back of your thighs by pushing your heels into the floor. Hold for three seconds, relax and repeat.
Move next to the front of your thighs and contract your quadriceps by beginning to tense your muscles as if you’re going to lift your leg off the ground (without actually doing so). Contract for three seconds and relax.
Clench your buttocks for three seconds. Relax them. Repeat.
Contract your abdominal muscles by preparing to do an abdominal crunch but don’t actually move. Contract for three seconds. Relax. Repeat.
Next move to the hands. Clench your fists for three seconds, relax them and repeat.
Contract the muscles in the front of your arms by bending your elbows. Hold for three seconds. Relax. Repeat.
Contract the muscles in the back of your arms by straightening them. Hold for three seconds. Relax. Repeat. Remember your emphasis here should be on the relaxation.
Now shrug your shoulders up towards your ears. Hold for three seconds. Relax. Repeat.
Next we’re going to relax the muscles of the jaw. Gently clench your teeth for three seconds. Relax them by opening your mouth nice and wide. Repeat.
Tense the muscles in the back of your neck by pushing your head backwards into the ground/pillow. Hold for three seconds. Relax. Repeat.
For the upper back pull your shoulder blades back and together. Hold for three seconds. Relax. Repeat.
Finally for your lower back tense the muscles by initiating the movement of arching your back. When you feel the muscles contract, hold for three seconds. Relax. Repeat.
With this exercise you’re teaching the muscles to turn on and then, crucially, turn off again. This helps to avoid the muscles being stuck in a tensed position without you even noticing it. You may have experienced suddenly realising you’re holding your shoulders up, because of the tension in the muscles there.
The Diaphragm
We obviously don’t actually breathe into our stomachs. Our primary muscle of breathing is a large dome shaped muscle called the diaphragm. The diaphragm separates our thoracic and abdominal cavities. When we breathe correctly, the diaphragm contracts and pushes downwards, pushing on the organs in our abdomen and forcing the belly outwards. If your stomach moves in when you inhale then you’re not breathing correctly.