Ian is qualified as a Certified Yoga Teacher; Trauma Informed Yoga Teacher and he is well on the way to obtaining his 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training certificate.  Ian is a Koru Mindful Meditation Teacher-in-Training. He has coached youth soccer and ran half-marathon running clinics.

All tone and strengthen class are recorded and recordings are made available for two days following the classes.

*Yoga Mat and two blocks are suggested for this class *

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Religious devotees, athletes, monks, and warriors all understand the wonders and power of breath. Zen monks and yoga warriors use it to achieve clarity of mind. Athletes use it to get a competitive advantage. Navy seals use it to achieve higher focus and stay calm.

Simply being more attentive about how you breathe can have benefits for well-being. There are many ways to practice mindful breathing. Finding the proper breathing technique and incorporating it into your daily life can help you reap the benefits of deep conscious breathing.

In this blog post, you will find some of the best and most helpful breathing techniques.

Belly Breathing- Belly breathing or deep diaphragmatic breathing is an easy way to release stress and relax. Diaphragmatic breathing is used to relieve breathing conditions like asthma, pneumonia, and other lung diseases.

• Sit or lie in a comfortable position.
• Put one hand on your belly and the other hand on your chest.
• Take a deep breath in through your nose and feel your belly expand.
• Gently push the air out through pursed lips.
• Repeat this exercise 5-10 times.
• Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

4-7-8 Breathing- This breathing technique is suitable for relaxation. It shifts your body into a state of deep relaxation.

• To start, put one hand on your belly and the other on your
• Take a deep, slow breath from your belly for a four-count.
• Pause, and silently count from 1 to 7.
• Breathe out for an eight count. Trying to expel all the air out.
• Repeat this exercise 5-10 times.

Alternate Nostril Breathing- It is also known as the Anulom Vilom pranayama(breathing exercise) in Sanskrit. This breathing exercise is known to clean nostrils and sinuses. Research has shown that it can help stimulate the left and right sides of the brain simultaneously.

• Come into a comfortable seated position.
• Place the thumb and ring finger on alternate nostrils.
• Place the index and big finger on your forehead.
• Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale slowly, fill your lungs with air.
• Remove your thumb and, using your ring finger, close your left nostril and exhale.
• Repeat for 8-12 breath cycles or as long as desired.

Box Breathing- Box breathing can regulate the autonomic nervous system. This system regulates involuntary body functions such as temperature and blood pressure. It provides an almost immediate sense of calm and focus. Army officers use it intense situations.

• Come into a comfortable seated position.
• Sitting tall with a long spine, slowly inhale for a four count. Feel the air fill your lungs completely while expanding your abdomen.
• Hold the breath to a count of 4.
• Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of 4. Getting all the oxygen out of your lungs and assign a count of 4.
• Hold the breath for a count of 4.

Modified Lion’s Breath- Lion’s breath is an energizing yoga breathing practice. It relieves tension in your chest and face. It’s also known in yoga as simhasana in Sanskrit.

While performing this breathing technique, imagine that you’re a lion. Let all your breath out with a big, open mouth.

• Come into a comfortable seated position.
• Breathe in through your nose. Fill your belly all the way up like a balloon.
• Open your mouth as wide as you can. Breathe out with a “HA” sound.
• Repeat for 8-15 breath cycles or as much as desired.

Take the time to experiment with different types of breathing techniques. Schedule breathing breaks in your daily calendar can help you stick with the breathing practice.

All these breathing practices can be progressively built up over time. That means you can start with a few breaths cycles each day and then add on the number of breath cycles weekly for longer mindful breathing practice.

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This is the fourth blog of the Exploring the Wonder of Breath blog series. In previuos blogs we discussed the science behind breathing and the benefits of breathing. Today we will discuss how breathing can a vital performance enhancement tool.

Close your eyes and notice your breath for a few seconds. How is your breathing? Deep, shallow, or somewhere in between. Now slow down your breathing for the subsequent few breath cycles and be aware of how you feel.

The way we breathe has a massive impact on sports performance. Whether you are a recreational athlete or an elite athlete, your breath can play a huge role in your performance if you want to perform at your top game.

It’s also essential for coaches and athletic trainers to know that breathing exercises are valuable for athlete’s performance. Breathing deficiencies are more common than most coaches realize. Coaches give workouts to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility of their athletes. But many coaches have forgotten the role breath can play for their athletes’ performance.

Research has suggested that a proper running rhythm with breath – the coordination between breathing and strides – helps improve exercise efficiency and postpone fatigue. A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology in 1995 found that at anaerobic intensities, the degree of coordination between running and breathing rhythms is high in endurance-trained athletes. The degree of stride coordination increased with the increasing regularity of breathing. This study was conducted on ten triathletes, six sprinters, and ten subjects not trained in running (controls) to assess the effects of training history. Another study performed at the University of Portsmouth in 2011, which observed 12 runners over six weeks, found that athletes who included breathing exercises as part of their training improved their times by 5-12 %.

For the elite cyclist, Greg LeMond, breathing was the way to get faster. Greg LeMond was the first American to win Tour de France in 1989. Greg LeMond built his breathing capacity by employing belly breathing and using his diaphragm to efficiently draw maximum oxygen.

There are two significant energy-providing systems in the body: aerobic and anaerobic. Endurance athletes primarily rely on aerobic energy. Aerobic energy is derived from mitochondrial cells, which aid in oxygen exchange. Anaerobic power comes from glucose provided by the food metabolism. Both means of energy are essential, but our bodies mostly use aerobic energy. The amount of air we intake in comparison to food supports this fact. On average, human adults consume 4 pounds of food, 5 pounds of water, and 30 pounds of air.

When an elite cyclist like LeMond is riding in Tour de France or even when you are running a 5K, the breathing pump moves faster and more often. During exercise, the body’s demand for oxygen increases, and so does the breathing volume. As the intensity of exercise increases, the respiratory muscles have to contract more forcefully at a rapid rate to keep up with the body’s increased metabolic demands. The key to performance enhancement breathing is to slow down the breathing rate and take fuller breaths from the nose. When the exhale is emphasized with our diaphragms, it not only clears out a lot of Carbon dioxide but leaves space in the diaphragm for the next oxygen intake. The trick is to employ the full capacity of your diaphragm for more efficient oxygen intake. In the same way that a stronger heart can push out more blood with each pump, a more muscular diaphragm translates to a slower breathing rate and get more oxygen to your muscles.

When we are taking shallow breaths, we not only tax our thoracic pumping system, but we engage only 10 percent of the diaphragm’s capacity. Shallow breathing can have many causes, like posture, stress, anxiety, and physical restriction. Shallow breathing results in creating a physiological stress response which leads to more problems like poor posture and sports performance.

A good place to start is to try focusing on breathing through your nose. Breath for about 5 seconds and exhale for the same amount of time. Doing this exercise while running or riding will develop a better breathing pattern. Supplementing with mouth breathing, as needed, when you first start practicing deeper breathing is essential. Soon you will be able to have a continuous nose breathing streak. Deep breathing during exercise can increase lung power and can improve an athlete’s efficiency by up to 10%. For a runner, running an hour race, that translates to shaving off 4 to 6 minutes off their race timing. Now that’s an improvement I will take for all my races.

Breathing during sports events not only helps you a more efficient athlete, it improves focus as well. Plus, practicing deep breathing before an event will reduce anxiety and insomnia, giving you an edge on race day. Try to practice deep breathing every day while working out or just throughout the day.

The post Exploring the Wonder of Breath-Part 4 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.

This is the third blog in our Exploring the Wonder of Breath series. In the first two blogs, we discussed deep breathing mechanics, and benefits of deep breathing. In this blog, we will take a deep dive into breathing as a tool for stress management. Who can’t use destressing techniques in today’s day and age?

Are you overworked, sleep-deprived, anxious, and stressed? You are not alone. I am right there with you. The only issue is, I have been investing a big chunk of my paycheck on fancy spa treatments for relaxing. Spa treatments have their place, but if you are looking for a more long-term solution, keeps reading this blog.

Fortunately, there are many ways to let go of stress and gain calmness without a hefty price tag. The best relaxation method is entirely free. All you need is your breath and some free time to practice deep breathing.

The deep breathing practice isn’t new to humans. According to ancient Indian scripture, deep breathing brings “prana” or energy to us. In ancient Chinese culture, it’s called “Qi” – energy that flows through our bodies. The concept of breath has been prominent in many other ancient civilizations, including Egyptian-ka, Hebrew-Nefesh, Greek-psuchē, and Latin anima. These cultures believed that by breathing with control and depth, we could find clarity of mind and focus energy for living a better-balanced life.

This ancient science behind deep breathing still holds. Research shows that deep breathing exercises keep the mind and body strong by lowering blood pressure, promoting relaxation, and relieving stress. If you think about breathing when you are stressed out, you take quick and shallow breaths. By living with intention, we can activate our parasympathetic nervous system and help our bodies relax. Breathing is affected by our autonomic nervous system. When we take shallow breaths, the breath stops at the top of the lungs and activates the sympathetic nervous system since the top part of the lungs is connected to nerves that communicate with the sympathetic nervous system. The lower lobes of our lungs have nerves that connect to the sympathetic nervous system. So, deep, controlled, and extended breaths will activate those nerves.

Here are a few deep breathing techniques for destressing and finding calm and tranquility.

Equal Breathing- This breathing technique can help with taking your mind off the daily to-do list. It’s beneficial to practice it before going to bed to quiet your busy brain. How to do it:

• Inhale for four counts and then exhale for four counts while sitting comfortably or lying down.
• Your eyes can remain open or closed.
• Inhale and e through your nose throughout the practice.

Abdominal Breathing – this breathing technique is super helpful before a stressful event. Yes, I am talking about before your big presentation or an exam. How to do it:

• Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
• Take a deep breath in through your nose, allowing the breath to travel all the way down to the diaphragm and let your belly inflate.
• Exhale slowly, contracting the abdomen.

Try taking 6- 10 deep breaths for a minute every hour to reap the benefits.

Yoga- Yoga is built on the science of breathing. Yogic teachings of thousands of years focus on building Parana through breathwork. Later the yoga practice evolved to include asanas or physical postures coordinated with breathwork. The deep breathing practiced during yoga encourages us to live in the present. So, to destress and find calm laying down your yoga mat and going through a brief practice can help.

Learning these breathing techniques isn’t difficult, but practice is key to building momentum. Set aside a few minutes each day to practice deep breathing and say goodbye to stress.

The post Exploring the Wonder of Breath- Part 3 0 (0) first appeared on Tone & Strengthen.