Use Your Breathing to Control Stress, Reduce Pain, & Much More - With Jill Miller

Summary of Use Your Breathing to Control Stress, Reduce Pain, & Much More - With Jill Miller

by Shawn Stevenson

1h 8m•February 9, 2026
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Overview of Use Your Breathing to Control Stress, Reduce Pain, & Much More — The Model Health Show with Shawn Stevenson (guest: Jill Miller)

This episode explores how breathing mechanics shape stress, pain, digestion, sexual function, movement and recovery. Jill Miller (Tune Up Fitness) explains practical breathing anatomy, shows how chronic unhealthy breathing patterns cause widespread tension and pain, and teaches accessible tools — self-myofascial release (the “gorgeous ball” / “gut smash”), breathing drills, and movement-based meditations — to retrain respiration, lower stress, and improve healing capacity.

Key takeaways

  • Breathing both reflects and influences your autonomic state. It’s partly automatic but fully accessible to conscious control — a bridge into sympathetic (fight/flight) and parasympathetic (rest/digest) function.
  • Three “zones” of breathing:
    • Zone 1: Low/diaphragmatic (belly expansion). Parasympathetic‑promoting, optimal for calm, full lung inflation.
    • Zone 2: Rib‑cage dominated. Shallower, more sympathetic; useful during exertion but problematic if chronic.
    • Zone 3: Upper chest/neck/face (shoulders, jaw). Very inefficient, metabolically costly, linked to anxiety, asthma, neck/jaw/shoulder pain.
  • Chronic shallow or mouth/upper‑chest breathing contributes to stress, impulsivity, poor decision‑making, and musculoskeletal pain (jaw, neck, shoulders, arms).
  • The diaphragm is a central muscular/fascial “node.” Dysfunction in its mobility affects pelvic floor, psoas, low back, digestion and more — so breathing retraining impacts the whole body.
  • Self‑myofascial release (abdominal massage / “gut smash” with a soft, grippy ball) restores tissue glide, allows diaphragmatic descent, stimulates the vagus nerve, and helps digestion and parasympathetic tone.
  • Breathing training reduces anxiety and can alter the way people relate to chronic pain (less catastrophizing). Evidence suggests slow/resonant breathing improves heart rate variability and helps PTSD/chronic pain populations.
  • Practical prescription from the literature: include slow‑paced breathing in sessions lasting at least ~5 minutes, practiced ~5 days/week for long‑term anxiety reduction.
  • Movement can be meditative. For people who experience “relaxation‑induced anxiety,” very slow movement meditations (e.g., slow rolls, hand‑dance) can access calming, interoceptive awareness without triggering distress.

Practical exercises & protocols you can use now

  • Belly‑balloon (diaphragmatic) breathing:
    • Sit or lie in a relaxed position. Breathe so the belly expands on inhale (diaphragm descends) and contracts on exhale.
    • Make the exhale longer than the inhale (simple, evidence‑backed rule).
  • Progressive exhale (blowing out candles):
    • Inhale normally; exhale as if blowing out N candles. Each rep add one candle to lengthen exhale gradually.
  • Contrast breathing (fast → slow):
    • Very fast, forceful inhales and exhales (e.g., <1 second inhale, <1 second exhale) for a short burst (metabolic “hit”), then immediately shift to slow, deep diaphragmatic breathing to trigger the vagal brake.
  • Resonance/HRV breathing:
    • Aim for a breathing rate near the individual resonance frequency (commonly 5–7 breaths/min) paired with biofeedback when available to improve HRV and autonomic synchrony.
  • Abdominal massage / “gut smash” with a soft ball (overview):
    • Start on left side (helps pass gas/less initial visceral pain).
    • Place a pillow under head for comfort; let the grippy, slightly deflated ball compress the waist/abdomen.
    • Use contract‑relax to overcome muscle guarding: inhale → hold & gently contract abs → exhale and relax. Repeat until tissue yields.
    • Add small pelvic or trunk movements to encourage the ball to glide around the abdomen and posteriorly.
    • Progress to the right side and then central areas, respecting comfort and visceral feedback.
  • Movement‑based meditations for relaxation‑anxiety:
    • Super slow roll (e.g., from supine, very slowly roll the body/limbs so you feel micro‑movements).
    • Hand‑dance: one hand opening, one closing, done extremely slowly over a set time (e.g., 5 minutes) to cultivate interoception and presence.

How breathing affects pain, healing & sexual function

  • Pain:
    • Breathing alters the nervous system’s appraisal of pain. Slow/resonant breathing and breath biofeedback can reduce catastrophizing and improve tolerance in chronic pain and PTSD populations.
    • Because the diaphragm is fascially linked to spinal and pelvic muscles, restoring diaphragm mobility via breathing and tissue work can reduce musculoskeletal pain patterns.
  • Healing:
    • By enhancing parasympathetic tone and improving circulation/HRV, appropriate breathing creates a more favorable internal milieu for recovery; it also reduces stress‑driven inflammatory responses.
  • Sexual function:
    • Orgasm is parasympathetic; cultivating diaphragmatic breathing and pelvic floor coordination (and reducing tension) can support blood flow, neural control and orgasmic capacity.

Notable quotes / succinct insights

  • “Your breathing is an ever reflection of your autonomic state… and you can adjust your breathing rate anytime, any place.”
  • “The diaphragm is a node. It is a muscular node that has fascial connections all over the body.”
  • “Make your exhale last longer than your inhale.”
  • “Pressure on parts — plus intentional breathing — is incredibly powerful for relaxation and pain reduction.”

Resources & where to learn/practice

  • Jill Miller / Tune Up Fitness:
    • Books: Body by Breath (comprehensive 480‑page manual + filmed exercises), The Roll Model (self‑myofascial release basics).
    • Tools: Tune Up Fitness therapy balls (gorgeous ball, yoga tuna balls, Alpha Twins) — available at tuneupfitness.com and Amazon.
    • Online platform: Move Breathe Roll (video classes and exercise library).
  • Research references mentioned:
    • Systematic review (2023) on breathing practices for anxiety: slow‑paced breathing included in effective protocols; practice duration ≥5 minutes, frequency ≈5 days/week.
    • Studies linking resonance breathing/biofeedback to reduced catastrophizing in chronic pain + PTSD (Josef T. et al., Germany — see literature on resonance breathing and chronic pain).
  • Practical apps/devices: HRV/breath biofeedback tools can help with resonance breathing (useful for precise training).

Quick protocol to start (5 minutes)

  1. Sit or lie comfortably. Place one hand on belly.
  2. Inhale slowly so the belly rises (diaphragmatic breath). Count to 3–4.
  3. Exhale longer than the inhale (count to 5–6). Repeat for 5 minutes.
  4. After 2–3 minutes, try one minute of very fast, forceful in/out breaths (only if comfortable), then return to slow diaphragmatic breathing for the remaining time.
  5. Optionally follow with 2–5 minutes using a soft gorgeous ball on the side of the waist using contract‑relax to release abdominal and diaphragmatic restriction.

This episode is practical and actionable: combine breath retraining (slower, longer exhales, diaphragmatic mechanics, resonance practice) with targeted self‑tissue work and slow movement meditations to reduce stress, lessen pain, improve digestion and support sexual and recovery function. For step‑by‑step visuals, Jill’s book Body by Breath and the Move Breathe Roll video library provide guided instruction.