Stretch into Spring and breathe happy

I hope you’re enjoying the warmer weather, lighter evenings and Spring flowers. Hopefully all of this boosts your motivation, but the best motivator of all is to LOVE what you do! That goes for exercise just as much as anything else!

When we find an exercise regime (hopefully Pilates) that actually makes us feel good, we are much more likely to WANT to do it and not rely on our limited resource of willpower. A habit is then formed and we’re well and truly on our way to developing a healthy addiction :)

I feel we should all be addicted to the practice of breathing fully and deeply and apply that not just to Pilates exercises but to everyday life. Here are some thoughts and a helpful video on effective breathing...

THE HUNDRED - LEARN TO USE YOUR BREATH

Many of my students ask me what is the point of The Hundred. Here is my answer...

It’s an amazing breathing exercise to circulate the blood, boost your metabolism and warm up the entire body to prepare for the exercises to follow or simply to set yourself up for the day. It serves to increase our lung capacity as we focus on long, steady inhaling and exhaling.

This video will show you a prep breathing exercise as well some helpful tips to practice your Hundred.

Quick tip: there is a strong tendency to breathe in too much air, too quickly at the beginning of The Hundred. Try to relax and breathe in slowly and not as vigorously at the very beginning. You want the quantity and quality of your breaths to be the same at set two (20 breaths) as it is in set 8 (80 breaths).

I hope you found this video helpful.

If you enjoy breathwork or you think you need to improve your breathing, I have a number of videos on breathing techniques available as part of the video club membership. You can join for only £9 a month and cancel any time.

Remember to be kind to your body. Keep moving, keep breathing, keep practicing.