Many people hold their breath while working out. Or even just concentrating. I was recently learning something and concentrating really hard and my husband said, “Are you holding your breath?” I burst out laughing because I was in fact holding my breath. I didn’t even realize it until he asked. I thought it was funny that I was holding my breath and I thought it was extra funny because I remind people to breathe all the time. Exercising and concentrating are two things that make people hold their breath so if they are concentrating while exercising it makes sense that it happens. Also people tend to hold their breath when lifting something heavy. This type of maneuver or effect is called the valsalva maneuver or valsalva effect. While some people who do heavy lifting claim it is good to do the valsalva maneuver and that it helps with the lifting others say it is not good and it does not help. For me and my students breathing is ALWAYS in order. How you breathe depends on what you are doing. If you are lifting weights or doing exercises your breathing is different from when you are doing a cardio workout, such as Nia.
Breathing allows oxygen get to the muscles. The muscles need that. For me, I find that when I breathe I can move better. That was actually the point of my husband asking me if I were breathing. He could tell by the way I was moving that I was not breathing. He was across the room and he could tell. Even though the movement I was doing was very small by holding my breath my movements did not flow and were very sporadic.
One of my husband’s favorite sayings is “If you do not breathe correctly, you do not move correctly.” He got that from a campy film called Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins from 1985, but, I’ll be darned if it is not 100% accurate!
One way trainers and instructors ensure breathing is to have the client/student talk. When you are talking you are breathing. In Nia we sing, laugh, shout, and in general make all types of noises. In Nia we call it sounding. By engaging in sounding we are ensuring we are breathing. It is necessary for the body, but it is also fun for the spirit.
A sound made my a sharp exhalation helps both with stabilization of the core, but to me it seems to do a better job of engaging the core muscles than just holding my breath. This method could be utilized during lifting or an agility move. Sometimes when doing an exercise that is challenging it can help to pant with either your tongue out as an animal would or with semi-pursed lips. Also when a muscles seems fatigued it often helps to take that extra deep breath. No matter how you breathe remember it really is important to do so. And even though it might sound silly that we “forget” to breathe, it is a common occurrence. So practice remembering to breathe. Breathing is a good thing!
Do you ever find yourself holding your breath? When?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 