Are you ‘breathing correctly’? 🙄 🙄 🙄
How many people have been told by a pilates / yoga/ fitness instructor that they are “breathing wrong?”
How many people, in the depths of an anxiety attack, have been told to “just breathe”?
Ummmm. Sure.
How is it, that something which is supposed to be automatic has turned into one of the most confusing things to understand. Shouldn’t breathing just be breathing (cue exhale of relief?)
I’ll never forget the first time that I really started to question breath and how it related to the movement that I was guiding.
It was 2014. I was a somewhat new personal trainer and had recently just completed my certification to become a Pilates instructor. I was beginning a session with a new client, guiding her through some Pilates-ish movements when she asked me if she was breathing correctly.
I wasn’t sure what she meant so I asked her to clarify.
“Well, you know, in Pilates, the right way to breathe is into your chest whereas in Yoga, the right way to breathe is into your belly”.
GULP. Wait what? Was I breathing wrong? Was I teaching Pilates wrong?
This interaction has stayed with me for years. So what about breath though? What is the ‘right’ way to breathe, and what is the ‘wrong’ way?
I’m going to lead with the belief and assumption that:
THERE IS NO RIGHT AND WRONG WAY TO BREATHE.
Some strategies work for some people and some work for others. If you can experiment with different ways of filling your body with air, and start to notice the effects these ways of breathing have on your body you can get better information on how to take best care of yourself.
Today, I’m going to introduce an exercise that can help you tune into your tendencies when you breathe. The intention is to complete this exercise without judgment. It’s simply a way to gather information about what your body *tends* to do.
BREATHING EXERCISE
Move into a comfortable position. This can be lying on your back, seated in a chair or on hands and knees. I would encourage you to try this exercise multiple times in various positions - but for now just pick one.
Start by taking a few deeps, without thinking about anything but letting air enter and leave your body. Settle into your position.
On the next inhale, think about sending the breath into your chest. Feel your chest lift upwards, and then allow your breastbone to sink down towards your spine. Do a few breaths here, really sending the breath into your chest. How easy is it for you to breathe into your chest? Notice what’s happening around your chest. Can you feel any tension or movement in the shoulders or neck?
On your next inhale, think about breathing into the sides of your ribs. Can you feel your rib cage widen laterally as you fill your lungs with air? As you exhale, let it go. How easy is it for you to breathe into the sides of your ribcage? Can you feel any restrictions? Tension? Does one side of your ribcage open easier than the other?
On your next inhale, think about sending your breath into your belly. As you breathe in, can you feel your belly lift up to the ceiling and then fall down towards your spine? Does this feel natural? Easy? Does it feel challenging to let your belly expand and take up space?
Lastly, as you inhale, think about sending the breath into your pelvis. Can you send your breath all the way down through your torso into your bum. Can you feel a widening, and lengthening of the muscles at the bottom of the pelvis? Does this feel like a sensation you’ve ever felt before?
Ask yourself. How do I feel after experimenting with breath in this way?
Did one of these strategies feel easier for you? Did one feel harder? Which of these breathing strategies felt the most natural? What happened to the speed of your breath, your body’s temperature, your mood?
Just noticing is enough for now.
Here is my nudge. Over the next few weeks, start to notice how you are breathing.
Remember, there is no right or wrong way to breathe. How great would it be if we had different options available to us for different situations.
