Count 5.
Exhale.
Squeeze it all out until you can't exhale anything more.
Let your belly fill with fresh air.
Centering and re-oxygenating really can happen that fast. So why do we stop breathing? Why do we hold our breath? When we stop breathing, it's called "death". Not exactly what we aspire to when traipsing the healthy path.
Working in the gym, I see so many people turning red in the face, lips pursed, determination to perform some lift or other. And not a single sound comes from them! As a trainer, it's my job to make sure that "my people" are exercising in a safe manner. Some times are easier than others. Even the most seasoned gym-goer could use a little postural correction. Sometimes my presence is appreciated and other times, all I can do is shake my head, breathe deeply, and move on. But more often than not, every one of them is shocked when I tell them to BREATHE!
I have discovered that people actually don't believe that they have permission to breathe. Old programming. "Children should be seen, not heard". I guess that's why physical appearance has such a higher priority than actually using the organs behind those pecs. Lungs do take up more space, they should come first--I'm just saying.
Truly, breathing shouldn't be a source of shame. What happened?
Corsets, neckties, photography...Photoshop! That's what happened. The "age of the perfect still-photo". Pics don't breathe. Bellies don't pooch out if you hold your breath.
Pose and smile. Hold it.
Hold it, turn purple, see stars and fall to the floor. Let someone else take a picture with their phone and post it on Facebook (wait, that last bit doesn't sound all that attractive).
So, what can we do to prevent becoming the latest mug on an episode of "Don't Be That Person"?
First: Do a self-check. Do you feel embarrassed to breathe? So many people actually are! Why?
Believe it or not, I had someone tell me that "it was selfish to breathe too deeply". Selfish?
Sometimes, being a trainer, we have to see deeply into the psyche to find the trigger that needs to be pulled before we can help our clients find the strength they have within them.
Give yourself permission to use the lungs you were born with. It is your RIGHT.
Second: Learn to breathe--again. Take singing lessons, learn Qi Gong or, if you have a very small human about, watch their belly rise and fall as they drowse peacefully on their blankie. Copy, smile, repeat.
Breathing requires the use of the diaphragm; that is the large, umbrella shaped muscle that pushes up into your lungs on the exhale and pulls down into your abdomen, drawing air into your lungs on the inhale. This massaging action refreshes your organs, pumps blood up and down through your heart and to your brain. With out this wave-like motion, oxygen cannot get to your extremities and muscles. Baby-belly breathing is our natural state.
NAVY SEALS use a "Boo Ya" and martial artists use the "Ki-yai", to expel the breath explosively, from the diaphragm, to refill their lungs, free their muscles and energies to launch into the next movement. Without air, your blood fills with toxins, your brain becomes muddled and you send your metabolism into a downward tailspin.