Angela Hall
Some said that the secret behind the transformative yoga class and muscle-making gym class is the inspirational words from the personal trainers and the help of a great music playlist. Well, even if such things can definitely help, what makes any workout more than a chore for vitality and good health is the connection to your well-being through breathing.
The breath can provide you power and grace in every movement. Once you have done breathing in a proper way, this can help you achieve your outer and inner potential. However, a lot of people have lost this important connection due to anxiety, stress, poor posture, lack of awareness, and trauma.
In a yoga class, all practitioners pay attention to breathing and connect this to the movements with full intention and awareness. According to a yoga expert, learning the right way of breathing can make everything better. This is especially true for those who want to improve their strength training.
In strength training, breathing isn’t just about stability and strength. Full breathing along the entire spine promotes balance in one’s breathing and nervous system. Knowing the best breathing exercises to control your breath and nervous system can enhance your optimal performance. Some of the breathing techniques you should practice are as follows:
• Strap Breath
To do this, you have to sit tall. Wrap the yoga strap around you, crossing this in front below the stemum at the ribcage’s widest part. Then, inhale for you to expand the ribcage laterally as well as exhale fully. Keep your shoulders and neck relaxed.
• Cannon Breath and Core Compressions
Just like strap breath, sit tall. After that, think about the steel rod running down your spine that lifts you up towards the sky. Then, exhale without hunching forward or rounding your shoulders. You can hold on empty for several minutes. This will bring awareness to the muscles that will help you exhale. Inhale in a slow manner through your nose. With every breath, concentrate on squeezing the abs as if you are contracting them in towards the spine.
• Power Breath
Before you perform weight lifting, contract your pelvic floor through squeezing at the base of your spine. Then, exhale as your core muscles start to contract. After this, take half-inhalation while you maintain the engagement of core muscles as well as pressure in your abdomen. As you start lifting weights, exhale slowly with hissing sound as if you are releasing a pressure valve.
While breathing may seem simple, it’s more like a skill or an art. Every intentional breath can strengthen the connection between the body and mind. Through practice, this connection can be improved drastically. It takes time to practice every breathing technique. As you continue to practice such breathing exercises, you have to remember that breathing is like a language and listening is the best way to learn it. Once you have done these breathing techniques properly, you can guarantee that you will nothing but results with your strength training to achieve all your fitness goals.