By Nikki Headley
You feel you bare feet sliding on the mat below you. The instructor holds the pose effortlessly. You huff and then you cave. You fall face first onto the mat feeling talentless when it comes to Pilates and, perhaps in that moment, even in everything that you do. You look up at the instructor and then at everyone else. What could they be thinking of you? As you lower your eyes to the floor you hear someone clearing their throat. You look up and it’s the instructor. She gives you an encouraging smile. She does a pose and tells you to just breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Whether it’s in an exercise class, the classroom or in the office, it all boils down to breathing. Some of us think that just inhaling and exhaling is the proper way to breathe. While this type of breathing will keep you alive it will not help you to truly live.
Let’s try breathing together right now. Breathe slowly in through your nose and take the oxygen down to your diaphragm and out through your mouth. Keep your posture upright and clear your mind. Did you try it? If my words didn’t convince lets go over some reasons as to why this breathing technique is one of the most helpful.
1. Concentration. Many people think that true concentration comes from the mind. While half of it does come from concentration, the other half comes from breathing. If you are holding a pose in Yoga class and you are barely getting any oxygen throughout your body how on Earth do you expect to concentrate on doing the specific pose? Breathing is the real key to concentrating.
2. Relaxation. Your day has been horrible. You failed a test, your significant other is angry with you and you fell in a huge puddle of water on the way to your car. The odds are that when you get home all you want to do is kick back and not worry about anything. Once you sit down with your favorite book you begin to reflect on the day despite your attempts not to. To clear you mind just concentrate on one thing. As you breathe in and out you begin to realize that life is never as bad as it seems. This breathing method is a surefire way to put things into perspective.
3. Competition. If you play on a sports team or if playing a game against a friend there are bound to be some will to win whatever you doing. If you go into the game without clearing your mind of doubts and fears you aren’t going to do very well in the competition. Before the competition go to a quiet place and breathe. Clear your mind of all doubts and do your best.
I don’t expect all of you to breathe like this on a regular basis but when you are in a tough time in your life try it. This will calm you down. Stop breathing to live and start living to breathe.
[Image Microsoft Office Clip Art]