Are you breathing wrong? Let's fix that
And how does that make you feel?
At the end of every week when I was still doing a corporate job, I used to feel like I'd been hyperventilating.
How about you?
Even if you're not hyperventilating right now, it does seem like a ridiculous question: "Are you breathing right?"
I mean breathing is literally the most natural thing in the world.
But if you spend most of your day sitting, hunched over a laptop, scrolling on your phone, or just generally existing in the world right now… chances are, your breathing habits could use a little TLC.
What's the problem?
Most of us breathe too shallowly and too high up in our chest.
When we do this, our sympathetic nervous system is activated.
It sends all sorts of messages out - increased adrenalin and cortisol; heart rate speeds up; digestion and other non-essential functions slow; and muscles tense ready for action.
In addition to the muscles tensing ready for action, the act of shallow breathing makes our jaw, neck and shoulder muscles work overtime.
This means more stiffness, more tightness, and more headaches 👎🏽
The fix? Breathe better!
Sometimes, I can tell when we come into a Pilates class that everyone has had "a day".
Jaws are tight; shoulders are scrunched up to the ears; and brows are sporting a "v" deep enough to park a bike in.
And I can SEE you're not breathing properly.
That's when I say, "Let's start with some breathwork".
So, let's do that right now:
1️⃣ Sit tall (or even better, lie down).
2️⃣ Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly.
3️⃣ Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose for a count of four. Feel your belly expand first, then your ribs, then your chest.
4️⃣ Hold for a count of 2
5️⃣ Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 6. Let your jaw soften, your shoulders drift away from your ears and your belly relax back down.
5️⃣ Repeat for a minute or two.
I bet that felt surprisingly nice 🫁
You can do this any time
Sitting in a meeting that's sucking the very life out of you?
Stuck in traffic because the M25's shut again?
Watching the news (👈🏽who am I kidding? Calming that cortisol spike will take horse tranquillisers)?
Reading your new council tax or water bill?
Or any other time when you realise you've either been holding your breath completely, or your jaw and neck are tight.
Want to build better breathing into your movement?
Usually, when we're in Pilates, I give you directions on whether to breath in, or out at any given point, with the general instruction "If in doubt - just breathe!"
At your next class, why not pay a little more attention to that breathwork? Think about how your breath helps the movement. And about how it feels in your body when you breathe fully.
And if you're not doing classes with us at the moment, why not join our Priority Wait List here and be first to hear next time spaces open up
