It is likely that breathing is something you give very little if any thought to. However, there are many ways you can use breathing to improve fitness, reduce stress and even improve the look of your body. Learning and incorporating these breathing techniques into your workouts can translate into better breathing in everyday life.
Performance Breathing
Controlling your breathing while you exercise can help you work out more efficiently and get better results. The underlying concept in performance breathing is to control your breathing and develop a regular cadence that your body returns to naturally in times of greater exhertion or even during stressful situations. When breathing for better performance, slow down your breath cycle, concentrating on a rhythm of inhalations and exhalations that correspond to your workout. For example, when doing aerobics, match your breaths to the beat of the music. Breathe in for four counts of the music and then out for four counts of the music.
Yoga Breathing
In its simplest form, yoga breathing is inhaling deeply, and then exhaling completely. Yoga breathing should be done completely through the nose with the mouth closed. For added relaxation, pause for a few seconds at the end of your exhalation phase. When using yoga breathing, envision yourself inhaling positive energy and exhaling the negative. As you advance in yoga breathing, you can begin to concentrate more on using your diaphragm to crossover into deeper breathing.
Lateral Breathing
In Pilates you use what is called lateral breathing. It is great for increasing the effectiveness of Pilates or any abdominal workout because it allows you to keep your abdominal muscles pulled in while you are breathing. In lateral breathing, you concentrate on your ribcage. The ribs spread outward as you inhale and draw inward as you exhale. The entire time you are breathing your belly remains still. As in yoga breathing, lateral breathing has a heavy concentration on completely filling and emptying your lungs with oxygen.
Exercise Breathing
When weightlifting or strength training, breathing is very important. The proper way to breathe when exercising is to exhale when you are exerting yourself the most. For example, when weightlifting exhale as you lift the weight and inhale when you lower it. Forcefully exhaling when you are putting forth the most effort will help protect you from injury and focus your efforts more on accomplishing your task.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Want to Improve Your Performance? Breathe!
- GirlsHealth.gov: Yoga: Meditation and Breathing
- "Pilates Body in Motion;" Alycea Ungaro; 2002.
- Military.com: Breathing During Exercise
