We all have to breathe or
die. The quality of that breathing makes
a difference to our quality of life.
Workouts, whether they
are cardio, strength, Pilates, or flexibility, can help us learn to improve our
breathing.
Cardio works to make our
breathing more efficient. When we
practice getting our heart rate up and letting it recover, we improve the
function of our heart and lungs. Our
bodies process oxygen better. We also
learn to stay calm when we have stress because we know what to do when our
hearts start beating faster: we breathe
more.
The other kinds of
exercise all help us to coordinate our breath with our movements. We learn that some movements work better when
we do them with an exhale; others flow better from an inhalation. We practice breathing with awareness, taking
control of our breathing when necessary and letting our autonomic system handle
it the rest of the time.
The workouts at the most
obviously mindful end of the spectrum (Pilates, yoga, etc.) specifically train
the breath with the movement. We learn
to turn our focus inward by noticing the breath and then working with it.
We all have to breathe,
but we can all do it better.
No comments:
Post a Comment