In yoga class, as instructors we constantly say “start your deep belly breathing” “inhale for six counts, hold for three counts, exhale for six counts” “breathe in your nose and out of your nose” “belly rise, belly fall” “keep breathing”.”
Well sometimes we come into class, practice deep breathing for 60 minutes and then completely forget about it until our next class. The entire purpose of practicing this deep belly breathing in class is so we can take it out in real life situations when we really need to calm our mind down.
This weekend my best friend got married and I was able to walk her through some deep belly breathing while we were “goiiing to the chapel”. She hasn’t come to one of our classes, so deep belly breathing is a foreign thing to her. But it was so cool to see her ask for some guidance in a not so calm way and see the real effects of what this breathing can actually do for you in real life situations.
She was turning red and it finally hit her around 2 pm that she was really getting married. I walked her through placing her hands on her belly, closing her eyes, and taking long inhales through her nose and even longer exhales through her nose. Her demeanor and look of “oh my God” soon left her face, and feelings of excitement took over.
You never realized how much this benefits you and how much you truly need this breathing exercise in your life until you are about to walk down the isle or give a maid of honor speech. But it is real, and it works.
It’s not all about child’s pose, happy baby, and savasana, there’s more to it than getting into the right pose to feel good. It’s about taking these poses and incorporating them into our BIG, emotional, real lives. It’s about taking those moments that really mean the most to us, and making them better. It’s about learning to be present when it really counts and taking in every word and touch and emotion and truly feeling them.
Over the weekend, I didn’t have my phone out, I wasn’t trying to “capture” every moment and immediately post it to instagram to show everyone how perfect the weekend was. I was soaking it all up and engaging in conversation and feeling those big life moments you get every once in awhile. Granted, I don’t have any cool pictures on my insta now (let’s be real, I’m a little sad about) but I am amazed at how full of life the weekend felt. It didn’t go by too fast, and I didn’t wish we had done anything different all because I kept taking six breaths in and six breaths out.
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Most people have some sort of dysfunctional breathing pattern that they are unaware of. It can destabilize your trunk, cause loss in mobility, lower movement efficiency, and reduce force potential.
