"Nothing is so beautiful as Spring -
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;"
"Spring" by Gerard Manley Hopkins
April showers bring May flowers! What a joy to be alive! To breathe deeply and get the waft of wisteria blossoms on the breeze!
The call of spring is perfectly expressed at the end of this blog (it's designed to get you to read all of it!!)
But first -
Let's talk about breathing!
Breathing is a perfect system to protect our spine.
Breathing deeply and correctly, not only helps our bodies, but also our mind and emotional state - the vagus nerve connects the brain, through the lungs, the heart and the digestive system and helps balance the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the rest & digest system.
Deep breathing promotes the parasympathetic nervous system and changes the stress hormone;
it helps regulate the pressure in the abdomen, (which can help prevent hernias, back pain & pelvic floor issues);
it relaxes the 'accessory breathing muscles' in the neck and front of the chest, (which cause neck tightness and pain) and
it helps to get the spine in the chest moving, increasing mobility in the spine and reducing the overworking in the lower back and neck (which cause back pain).
Win! Win! Win!
Shallow breathing uses the sympathetic nervous system is the fight of flight system,
when we need to react quickly to something;
it increases anxiety and upper back & neck pains
it can lead to headaches and bad posture.
Boo!
A 360 degree breathing pattern or 3 dimensional breathing involves movement in the whole of the ribcage - front, sides and back. Like an umbrella opening
We need to inhale into the base of the ribcage to get the diaphragm moving and get the ribs to expand to increase the flow of oxygen into the lungs.
As we exhale, we want the ribcage to move in to expel the air.
Moving your ribs to exhale moves your spine.
As we know, movement is good! Movement heals.
When we are at rest, the exhalation should be a natural recoil of the lungs, diaphragm and ribcage;
when we place more demands on our body, breathing using controlled exhalation helps to connect the abdominals and create the correct amount of core pressure to support our needs.
Core pressure is the amount of intra-abdominal pressure needed to keep the spine safe and healthy.
Breathing and movement should match - like Goldilocks - not too little, not too much, just right!
Getting this 360 degree breathing pattern helps to relieve tension off the psoas (hip flexors), lower back, (Q.L., sacroiliac joint, paraspinals), pelvic floor muscles, neck, and upper back - WOW!
Deep breathing is NOT the same as belly breathing!
We want expansion in the front, sides and back to promote overall stability and mobility in all planes.
Belly breathing only promotes front expansion which can reduce side and back movement. I realise this is controversial!
Deep breathing which moves into the whole abdominal area can be a great way to help relaxation,
Breathing deeply into the back can really reduce tightness in the lower back.
The pelvic floor and the diaphragm should work together. The pelvic floor must be able to contract and release.
In order to breathe properly, you also need to think about your posture - the head, chest and pelvis stacked over one another.
As I have said before, breathing is not easy and changing the way you breathe is not easy - it takes awareness, time and practice but it is worth taking the time to focus on it and improve it as you will feel so many benefits.
Ready for the link? I think you'll be impressed how brilliant it is!!
When we think of SPRING we also think of Spring cleaning (maybe!) Breathing deeply spring cleans our respiratory system; movement spring cleans our physical system; Pilates spring cleans our mind & body -
"As the spring freshets born of heavy rains and vast masses of melting snows on mountains in the hinterlands cause rivers to swell and rush turbulently onward to the sea, so too will your blood flow with renewed vigor as the direct result of your faithfully performing the Contrology [Pilates] exercises." Joseph Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology. I do think Joseph Pilates had a very poetic streak!
Well done for making it this far! A little treat for you for getting through the serious information!
How beautiful is this passage? How perfectly it captures our emotional change in Spring!
Enjoy!
"The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with booms, then dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in this throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said "Bother!" and "O blow!" and also "Hang spring-cleaning!" and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something up above was call him imperiously. ... So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, "Up we go! Up we go!" till at last, pop! his snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.
"This is fine!" he said to himself. "This is better that whitewashing!" The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout. Jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living and the delight of spring without its cleaning, he pursed his way across the meadow till he reached the hedge on the further side. ...
It all seemed too good to be true. Hither and thither through the meadows he rambled busily, along the hedgerows, across the copses, finding everywhere birds building, flowers budding, leaves thrusting - everything happy, and progressive, and occupied. ...
He thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before - this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, were caught and held again. All was a-shake and a-shiver - glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated."
"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame
So let us be inspired by nature and respire more! - Inhale and exhale! Look! Listen! Smell! Touch! Taste! The senses really come into their own now Spring is here!
Spring is also the birthday month at Pilates Now! with Dionne, Debbie, Sabina and myself all celebrating our birthdays in the merry, merry month of May! So happy Birthday to us & Happy Birthday to you if you are also a May baby!
Take care,
Ris
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