Movement through breath

My latest concept that I'm working on is movement, exercise, placement, etc all through use of the breath. However, before we learn to do all this movement through breath, we must first relearn how to breathe. A good deep breath for the average person usually consists of a large expansion through the whole torso releasing the chest and abdominal muscles in order to make room for the lungs to expand. While a deep breath is a wonderful commodity now and again, if one is continually breathing with all of the frontal torso muscles released, they will never learn how to breathe with them engaged.

So what can you do?

The best remedy I believe is to make your breath a workout. Instead of releasing the abdominals when breathing in, one should try to pull them in further to breath, almost think of breathing the abdominals in as well as breathing air in. If all the abdominals come in, the lungs will have less room to expand, but if done properly, the pulling in of all the muscles while engaging in an inhalation will cause the sides to expand underneath the armpits and actually cause the torso to elongate slightly, making one "grow" so to speak. Once the abs are in, the lungs are full, and the torso elongated, one should then exhale through an intense contraction in the front of the torso bringing all the muscles in further to push the air out of the lungs.

The best way to begin experimenting with this process is in a controlled position on the floor. Constructive rest is something every individual needs but probably doesn't do enough of. It is much like meditation but finds positions to let the muscles relax and allow the joints to fall into place. Starting on one's back, hug the legs into the chest, resting the thigh on the torso and hugging the shins with the arms. Once in this position, one should then try the breathing technique. This is a perfect control experiment because with the legs in this position, there is something physical to pull away from. So while pulling the legs as close to the chest as humanly possible, one should then try to pull the abdominals away from the legs by use of the breathing technique explained above. For an even more intense stretch and strength exercise, pull the abs and the legs a little harder and a little further in so that the tail bone curls under and can lift off of the floor.

This is a wonderful beginning exercise to find ones breath and placement. It's also great for anyone with hip and back issues, as this breathing/relaxation technique elongates the lower back and puts the pressure on the abdominal muscles instead of the lower back vertebrae.

The other great thing about making breathing an exercise is it can be done all day long. Do it laying in bed, standing in front of the mirror, while walking down the street, while standing on one leg, while lifting something heavy, while doing the dishes. By making everything an abdominal workout and breathing exercise your body will always have the muscle placement it needs to avoid injury, and enough oxygen to sustain movements more efficiently.

Please post comments, responses, arguments, epiphanies, or ask any question if my descriptions are unclear. I will hopefully be posting a video tutorial on this so one can see and hear what I mean instead of just reading it. Hope this helps!!

A question on bodily knowledge

         My question as a dancer is just this: Why is there such a lack of time spent on studying the human body throughout the school system? As a dancer and fitness trainer, I’ve begun to inquire more and more as to how my body works so I can better understand how it moves in order to better myself at my craft. As I delve into all the ins and outs of the body, I realize how little I really know, not only as a dancer/fitness trainer, but also simply as a person with a body. As I look into how my body works to work on dance technique, I not only find things in my body I’m doing wrong when dancing, but things that I do wrong in everyday life that cause me pain in the end.

         I found myself looking and asking why? Why do we not know more about this? In grade school, the only really remotely extensive information received on the body is in gym class, which, depending on the institution, tends to be the least legit class offered. Students are usually either forced to partake in sports or activities that they usually have little or no interest in, or worse, they are allowed to sit there and do nothing at all; all while learning little or nothing about the body itself. Progress was attempted with changing the name from “gym class” to “physical education”, but students still don’t seem to be getting physically educated, at least not when I was in high school. Health class is something that almost everyone has to go through, but most of the time is spent focusing on all the negative aspects of the body. Classes range from sexuality, to disease, to smoking, and all the negative things that can happen to the body, but almost no time is spent just learning how the body works and moves. Students also often have to go through some sort of Biology class where they’ll spend a few weeks memorizing a few muscle and bone names and then they’ll forget if forever. Looking at how little time is usually spent between Health and Biology, which are usually the only to classes really looking at the body, that means we’re supposed to be getting the majority of our information on the body from Physical Education.

         I feel like this really needs to be reevaluated. In our years of mandatory education, knowing our own body seems to be a very low priority. The body is the one thing a person has from when they come out of the womb to when their heart finally stops beating. So why don’t we know more about it? Having a basic knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the body can help people live a better life. Every day, people are doing things to their body to injure themselves that they have no idea they’re even doing. Kids are always being told to stop slouching and to sit up straight and use good posture, but they’re rarely told why, and even more rarely told anything about what muscles they should use to accomplish this. Good posture, when using the right muscles, makes it easier to move, takes pressure of the joints, makes you more stable, and can protect you from injury when dealing with an outside force such as slipping on a surface or tripping over something.

         What are your thoughts? How much knowledge on the body do you have? Were you educated on it openly in school, or did you have to do the research yourself? Everyone talks about good posture, but do you really know what that is? Do you know when you’re in proper alignment and using the proper muscles? Please share!

Beginnings

So I've never been much of a blogger but I feel it's finally about time to try my hand at it. My plan is for random discussion on dance, fitness, and life. We'll see what else develops. Thanks for reading!