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What you’ll learn in this chapter:

Breath can be with your best training partner or your biggest roadblock when doing any form of physical exercise … like stretching!

  • What happens when you breathe
  • When we should inhale and exhale
  • The benefits of good breathing control

How the breath works

The Inhalation
When you inhale, your diaphragm muscle contracts and moves downwards, expanding the volume of your chest cavity, which accumulates air and pressure to the abdomen and chest.

The Response:

  • Abdominal expansion: Expanding this movement of the diaphragm pushes the contents of your abdomen down and out, causing your tummy and sides to expand slightly.

Imagine your diaphragm as a soft umbrella sitting under your ribs ..

… When you inhale, the umbrella opens and presses downward, and underneath this ‘umbrella’ are your organs, like the liver, stomach and intestines. These organs can’t disappear, so they move outward and slightly down and this gentle shift reaches the pelvic floor giving it a soft stretch.

  • Rib expansion: As the diaphragm spreads sideways, it nudges the lower ribs outward. Ideally your ribs will expand 360 degrees as you inhale, indicating that you diaphragm is working correctly by pulling down, not lifting your chest.
  • Muscle reaction: The deep core muscles like the transverse abdominal and pelvic floor are co-ordinated to support this movement by expanding and releasing.

The Exhalation
When you exhale your diaphragm rises, your core muscles engage and your pelvic floor lifts, creating stability. This allows for the release of accumulated air from the abdomen and chest.

The Response:

  • Muscle reaction: The Internal Intercostals switch on to pull the rib cage down and in. And the Transverse Abs, Internal/External Obliques and Rectus Abdominus work to also draw the ribs down and press the diaphragm upwards. The Pelvic Floor works in harmony and softly recoils upward, working elastically to manage pressure and support movement.
  • Pressure:  Abdominal organs subtly reposition and decompress and there is less pressure through the pelvic floor and spine.
  • Ribs:  The ribs soften and move inward, and the intercostal spaces (between the ribs) reduce slightly .. the umbrella is gently closing ; )

A simple video about the breath

The way you breathe can become your greatest support or your toughest challenge …

If you hold your breath or breathe shallowly into your chest, then your body thinks it’s under stress, so muscles tighten, oxygen drops, blood pressure rises, and suddenly everything feels harder.

But when you breathe the right way — Inhaling to prepare and Exhaling as you move — your diaphragm, core, and pelvic floor all switch on like a built-in support team.

Note! …

At the same time, your nervous system gets the message to relax, letting your muscles release into a stretch. So the right breath doesn’t just feel better — it literally changes the way your body performs.

… Your breath is the secret weapon that can take your core and stretch training to the next level.

Course Overview