TMP 001: Breathing Technique For Runners

Part of what I teach is Running Technique and today I would like to talk to you about breathing while running. One of the most overlooked aspects of running, health and physical and mental performance.

There are many ways to breathe while running and coaches teach their way, the way that works best for them. I will teach you the breathing pattern my sensei taught me many years ago.

So let’s begin.

Correct breathing

First we must make sure you breathe in a correct way:

1. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. This way you avoid inhaling dust particles by filtering the air. You are also using your nose which is part of the respiratory system. We are supposed to use that to breathe because that’s what it was designed for in the first place. You can also breathe out through the nose.

2. Breathe in expanding the stomach or pushing the belly button out. Breathe out pulling the belly button in towards the spine. Your chest should not move in and out and your shoulders should not move up and down. You should practice this stationary or while walking before you bring it into your running.

3. Don’t slouch when you breathe out or push your hips forward, rounding your lower back when you breathe in. Your body is stationary and only the stomach moves in and out.

The rhythm

Now let’s move on to breathing rhythm while running. This works for myself and my clients and it’s a good place to start.

1. Breath in on 2 steps, breathe out on 2 steps. It goes like this…

2. Break down the breathes , don’t do a long inhale and long exhale. You must control the air that goes in and out so you don’t inhale or exhale too much pr too little. It can also make you dizzy . So try to do This…… And not this…..

3. Do not fill up your lungs with air or empty them all the way. Leave some space otherwise you create pressure and run out of breathe

4. From time to time you may need to take a long in breathe through your nose or mouth or exhale long. Thats ok, there was a break in the rhythm and your body needs to adjust that

5. If you are not used to breathing through your nose this will seem very difficult and unnatural. That’s ok and normal. Practice the breathing when you walk before you run and practice other breathing techniques as well to increase lung capacity. Remember that the nose is part of the system responsible for breathing, it was made for us to breathe through it not through the mouth. The more you practice the easier and more natural it becomes.

Practice breathing and your running performance and your general health will see huge improvements.

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April 18, 2015January 5, 2019

Do You Hate Running? Here Are Three Steps To LOVE It

Many people tell me they don’t like or even hate running. The most common 3 reasons I get when I ask them why (but not the only) are:

1. It’s boring
2. It’s difficult (running out of breath)
3. It’s painful (on the joints, muscles)

If you feel you don’t like running because of the reasons above or other reasons (let me know which) here’s how you can overcome them:

1. It’s boring

I don’t blame you. Running can be really boring when you’re just…….running. Unless you reach “the zone”, which requires time and practice.

So to counter that here’s what I do. I take my clients through drills such as breathing techniques, fluidity in running, relaxation while running (yes, that’s possible and recommended) and posture.

Bringing mindfulness into running makes it a lot more enjoyable. And it’s not me saying this, but my clients themselves.

[tweetthis]Bringing #mindfulness into #running makes it a lot more enjoyable.[/tweetthis]

Photo Credit: Alain Limoges via Compfight cc

2. It’s difficult (running out of breath)

It’s true that if you run out of breath after running for a few minutes there’s not fun or enjoyment in running. You need patience and consistency to overcome that.

Ooor you could do breathing exercises three minutes before you fall asleep. Don’t tell me you don’t have time. No one falls asleep within three seconds from placing their head on the pillow. If that’s the case then that’s not good.

Three minutes before falling asleep do a breathing technique. Here’s one to get you going. Do it for two weeks, ever week, religiously and you will see improvements. Do it for longer than three minutes and the progress will be even greater.

Triangle breathing technique:

Imagine an equilateral triangle. It has 3 equal sides

• BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4.
• HOLD on a count of 4.
• BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
• No hold after this one. Repeat

If 4 sec is too much take it down to 3 or 2. If it’s too little take it up.

Note: make sure that when you breathe in you breathe into your stomach (making the stomach big) and when you breathe out you squeeze your stomach, pulling your belly button towards your spine. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

After you increase your lung capacity running will not be a nightmare anymore.

At the end of this blog post you have 2 other breathing techniques if you need progressions. But believe me if you go up to 10-20 sec with the triangle you won’t need any progression.

3. It’s painful (on the joints, muscles)

Ok here’s a real pain. Literally. Although we’ve been designed to walk long distances and to run, that’s what history of evolution shows us, and although we have such amazing technology around and comfy shoes we still experience loads of running related injuries. Ever wondered why?

Here’s the thing. Any sport you practice can lead to injuries, whether we’re talking about running or not. So let’s leave the running leads to injury part and see how we can reduce the pain you feel so you enjoy running.

It’s simple really. Technique, mindfulness, breathing, fluidity and posture. Five elements that will take the stress off your joints and make you not run but glide over the ground (won’t promise you will levitate though)

[tweetthis] Five elements that will take the stress off your joints and make you not #run but glide over the ground[/tweetthis]

A good running technique looks at the following major components:

• posture
• stride and pace
• landing and kick off
• using gravity instead of brute force
• arm movement, angle and hand position
• leg and foot movement
• hips movement
• breathing rhythm

[tweetthis]A good #RunningTechnique looks at the following major components:[/tweetthis]

Read my blog post on What Can Running Do For You and you will understand what I am talking about.

Need advice on your running, get in touch.

April 8, 2015September 3, 2015

HOW to breathe and WHY it is important

If we cannot control the simple act of breathing how are we suppose to control our thoughts, our bodies or ever the world around us.

And if we cannot feel and fully experience breathing how are we supposed to be mindful of anything else within or around us.

Everything begins and ends with breathing.

Unfortunately very few fitness professionals teach their clients about correct breathing, breathing patterns or even breathing exercises. Although breathing:

• removes stale air from lungs
• helps the body recover and heal injuries or illnesses
• improves blood circulation
• improves cardiovascular capacity
• reduces your cardiovascular warm up time
• reduces muscle soreness
• helps with flexibility and mobility
• increases amount of oxygen in your blood
• enhances the immune system
• relieves stress, anxiety and depression
• enhances focus, patience and calmness
• enhances the 5 senses – touch, smell, sight, sound, taste
• can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure (Harvard Health Publications January 26, 2015)
• even helps you fall asleep easier

These are some benefits of deep breathing. And you can find research on the topic everywhere. So why aren’t fitness pros teaching their clients this? I don’t know.

What is deep breathing

Deep breathing is also called diaphragmatic breathing, breathing deep into your stomach, abdominal breathing.

However we seem to struggle with deep breathing for some reason, although it’s a natural thing and we should be able to do it. There might be 2 reasons why we find it difficult at the beginning according to Harvard Health Publications:

1. Flat stomach is a symbol of attractiveness. So we need to hold out stomach muscles to make sure we are sexy enough.
2. The range of motion in our diaphragm is restricted because of shallow breathing.
3. And to add one from myself….. the abdominal muscles get tighter and tighter since they are not used. There’s no flexibility to “inflate” the stomach

Breathing in a correct way

When we do the breathing test many of my clients reverse breathe. Reverse breathe is when you:

• breathe IN and DEFLATE your stomach (belly button towards the spine)
• breathe OUT and INFLATE your stomach

I cannot do that even if I try. You are basically trying to inflate something that’s deflating.

So do THE TEST for yourself:

• place on hand on your chest and one on your stomach
• exhale to empty your lungs
• INHALE
• the hand on your chest should NOT move, the hand on your stomach should be PUSHED OUT by the stomach as it inflates
• EXHALE
• the hand on your chest should NOT more, the hand on your stomach should be COME IN, as the stomach deflates and belly button goes in towards the spine.

Next step – linear breathing

If you got this right then you can go to the next level, linear breathing:

• BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4
• BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
• Repeat

If you cannot do on a count of 4 then start with 3 or even 2 and build up.

Cool, you got this right? I know you did.

However, just in case you need to take your breathing exercises at the next level, or maybe you want to know when you do then or how to better control your breathing, or how to breathe while you run and exercise book a FREE call with me and I’ll take you through everything you need to know.

January 31, 2015January 31, 2015

3 Mindfulness Lessons From Practicing Target Shooting

Lately I’ve been thinking and talking about the time when I practiced target shooting. I practiced for more than 1 year, I even entered some competitions. Sorry, unfortunately I have no pictures from that time.

I also practiced archery but not as much.

I practiced target shooting on rifle but the pistol was my favourite and I was also better at it so that’s what I trained for mostly.

I was always amazed at how good I’d do in training and how everything changed when competing.

Target shooting is indeed a sport of the mind. It also teaches you about relaxation, mindfulness and focus. It’s a challenging sport.

Nowadays I still practice some of the mindfulness and focus exercises I learnt from my coach. And I wanted to share 3 of them with you. Here they are:

1. The finger on the trigger

Pulling the trigger does not just happen. If you pull the trigger just like that you will certainly be off target. The trick is to breathe in half way and hold your breath for 10 seconds then slowly push on the trigger, millimetre by millimetre.

Do you have any idea how difficult that actually is? :)) And how annoying it is when you pull it a little too fast and you are waaaay off target.

Awareness of how you use your arm, hand and fingers is essential in target shooting. And the millimetre by millimetre requires relaxation, focus and so much control.

2. Mindful of the breath

I remember this as if it was yesterday: “feel your breath on your upper lip”- my coach said one day. And you know what…this made a huge difference, it made my mind focus on the present moment.

I still do this from time to time. The feeling is unique. Try it…

3. Posture

Again with the posture. No matter what I talk about I still end up here.

That’s because no matter what you do, posture is the first thing you need to be aware of. Whether it’s showering, making toast or practice target shooting, good (and relaxed) posture should come automatic.

In target shooting, every millimetre of your body, of how you position and use your body can make the difference between shooting in the centre of your target or off it. One millimetre makes a huge difference.

This is what I wanted to share with you. Learn from everything in life, good or bad. Gather wisdom and later on, when you’re ready, pass it on.

Want to learn or practice some of my unique exercises or learn a good and relaxed posture? You can always book a free call with me. I’d be happy to share my teachings with you.

And, of course, to learn more about my philosophy download my free ebook The Merisoiu Technique

January 19, 2015May 17, 2015

How I managed to manage my anger and stress

Nowadays anger is as foreign to me as Mars. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating. But I get angry and stressed out very seldom and when I do it only lasts for a few minutes before I’m back to myself again, the self you all know to be Alexandra. However it didn’t always use to be this way.

Anger and stress used to be 2 constants in my life. Always present, always a burden. As a child I grew up in a very competitive environment and I lived a very angry, stressed and frustrated family life.

As I grew up almost everything would get me angry and make me lose control. From someone cutting in front of me to my mother expressing her opinion on which jeans I should wear as an answer to my questions.

Yes, I was not the calm, patient and thoughtful person you and my clients see today. So what changed? What made me transform?

The experience

I used to be a very shy kid. The kid at the back of the class, on the last chair. I was in the shadows, invisible to everyone, just the way I liked it. But that was what I chose to show my peers. Inside I was a different person, I was a volcano ready erupt any moment. They learnt this as well.

Growing up my volcanic personality was more obvious and more difficult to control. Of course I did not know what I know now and I did not live my life like I do today. There are some things you only learn by experiencing the opposite extreme.

The explosion

I don’t want to make this story too long so I will fast forward to 3-4 years ago when my anger as well as depressive inclinations peaked. No one knew what to do with or to me. Well I decided to come to the UK in the end.

I ended up living in a village where I worked 1 year until I could get my permanent work permit so I can work without restrictions. A place where I had a bus every 3-4 hours to take me to a slightly larger village.

That was the place I fell into the worst and darkest places I ever was in the past. I went into depression for months, almost 1 year actually. I cannot write here all the details.

But what I can tell you is that I used to get angry only by sitting on a bus. Angry at myself, at the world, the people around me, my friend and on everything and everyone that crossed my path.

My ways of dealing with anger were always punching a punching bag, running and trowing myself into cold water if I had any. But those actions did little to solve those feelings. I was addressing something that came from inside myself with things I found outside myself.

The transformation

How can you see the light if you’ve never seen the darkness?

I always wanted to be different from my parents. They were angry all the time, at each other and not only. But how could I achieve calmness if I never knew what anger felt like?

Of course those were not my thoughts back then. I was a volcano in eruption.

Somehow that period slowly dissolved as I began to explore the English country side, walking, running, swimming in cold waters, hanging off trees and walking barefoot through rivers. Then silence replaced anger, frustration, fear and depression. Making me wonder how long will it last.

It seems like it was planned to last forever and for me to help others overcome these moments like I did.

Who I am today

Today I notice many situations which in the past would make me explode with anger. Many situations which would cause me to slip into depression again. But then don’t have the same effect on me. In some cases I am socked of how calm I feel. Is there something wrong with me or what?

The difference is that now I know how to welcome them. How instead of building resistance I just let them past, I even open the doors for them. One for them to enter and one to leave.

This is not something that can really help you is it? I will give you something more applicable then.

The #1 thing that helps me make anger or stress a matter of minutes rather than days, weeks and months

Out of all the things I learnt, I wrote and I preach there is one thing, the most important, which I emphasize to my clients every single time we work together. One basic, overlooked and underestimated but powerful habit we all take for granted.

So the #1 thing I do to achieve this calmness is…..BREATHING. Yep, the simple and powerful, yet underestimated, act of breathing.

But there’s more. It is mindful breathing not breathing for the sake of it. Which we all do all the time.

Sure I’ve now learnt so many other things I may use but I always end up going to the basics, breathing. And the more I practice and the most often I am aware of it the better I get at managing, or controlling, or letting go of these types of feeling. Leaving behind a sense of calmness and stillness, in the body and in the mind.

It’s simple really and I can easily teach you in a 30 min call, for free. I promise that if you use what I teach you in 30 min you will feel the difference in a matter of minutes, just like I do.

Here’s where you can book that call with me.

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015

How to relax your shoulders while you sit tall

This is another question from one of my readers who downloaded my ebook “15 healthy habits for the body“. She asked me how can she possibly relax her shoulders when she drives and sits tall.

Indeed this is a good question. We are taught since an early age that to sit or stand tall, with a nice straight posture we need to bring our shoulder blades together, push our chest out and pull the front of the shoulders back, chin in the chest. That is an army posture and it’s certainly a straight one.

You stand or sit straight tall no doubt but at what cost? You stretch the front of your body while the back of your body takes all the tensions. Your shoulder blades, your spine, your erector spinae (the muscles left and right of your spine), your lats, your neck they are all tensed and compressed. That uses a lot of energy and strains your body and adding everything else by the end of the day you are exhausted.

Where does this take us

This tension leads to pains in the shoulder region, neck, back. Physical tension leads to impatience, mood changes, frustration and mental stress. This in turn lead to lack of focus, creativity and productivity.

The how do we do it

The Alexander Principles teach us the opposite. That to be tall we need to be relaxed. It is about slowly re-aligning the body. Easier said than done I know.

But if you follow these 3 steps you posture will begin to improve as well as reduce the aches and pains your feel when you try to stand or sit tall.

1. Align your neck and head, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. When you sit you align from the head to the hips. Imagine a straight line or a column going from your head all the way to your hips or ankles depending on whether you sit or stand. Now you are aligned.

2. Imagine a piece of string attached to the top of your head.

Let your shoulders drop on every out breathe. You can also sigh, it will help release the tension in the shoulders.

That piece of string slowly pulls your body out of the ankles, shins, knees, thighs, hips, pull the neck out of the collar bone and the head out of the neck.

This is the first thing I learnt when I began my natural movement journey.

3. Breathe in and out.

Breathing is one of the best ways to release tensions and pressures around the body. Anywhere you feel tension breathe into that area and when you breath out let go of all that physical stress. Feel your body melting with every out breath.

I cover all this and more in UWF The Merisoiu Technique Home Study Program as well as 1:1 Mentoring.

And this is how you relax your whole body when you sit or stand. The more you practice the easier it gets, the more automatic and natural it becomes. In the end you will be able to do it when you drive.

Please be careful in the road when you need to focus at traffic not on relaxing your body. Practice this when you are not driving until it becomes easier so you don’t need to think about it too much.

As usual with everything you do BE MINDFUL

If you’d like to learn more please download my free eBook The Merisoiu Technique or book a free consultation with me.

January 8, 2015May 17, 2015

3 ways to enhance your meditation experience

I was introduced to meditation and mindfulness when I was 8 years old through my Martial Arts practice. I never thought I would ever teach it though. For 20 years I practiced Zanshin, the Japanese for “state of total awareness”. I experimented in different situations and environments, from indoors in my room, to outdoors in the mountains, even in supermarkets and at parties. The fact is that mindfulness can, and should be, with us anytime and everywhere.

Today I will give you 3 of my best ways to enhance your meditation or mindfulness experience.

1. Posture

All the information is sent to and from your brain from and to all the corners of your body through your spinal cord. If you visualize your spinal cord as a garden hose, it is easy to understand why posture is probably the most important and overlooked elements on our lifestyle not only meditation.

If the hose is bent then the water is restricted from flowing. When the hose is straight the water follows its path.

The same goes for your spinal cord. When we sit or stand tall the exchange of information is free to go back and forth helping us function at our optimum level, heal faster and better, have more energy and vitality and sending nutrients where we most need them. In meditation the same principles apply, a tall spine and body allows for better flow and communication and enhanced awareness.

2. Open up your senses

Touch, smell, hear, see, taste. Depending on the circumstances you may open up all 5 senses or just some of them. Nonetheless studies show that being in a state of awareness of the world around you helps reduce stress levels, anxiety, helps focus and productivity.

In fact NHS encourages mindfulness for mental health.

So next time you are in a supermarket try this:

FEEL how your fingers and hands pick up a piece of fruit, feel its texture, temperature and shape.

SMELL the difference fragrances surrounding you while you walk around the store. The smell of freshly baked bread, spices, fruit and vegetables.

HEAR how the cart wheels roll on the ground. Hear the rustling of peoples’ clothes when you walk past them.

SEE or rather acknowledge colours, shapes, sized and names of different products around you.

You can experiment in many different ways. Acknowledge the world around you.

The same goes for when you sit and meditate. You may close your eyes and observe your thoughts, or even hear far away noises, outside your room or house.

3. Breathe

Breathing is the element which brings us in a state of total awareness. Almost every meditation exercise begins with breathing and relaxing your body.

When you focus on breathing your mind cannot wonder around. If it does then you don’t focus on breathing anymore. When this happens slowly bring your awareness back to breathing.

When you relax your body you can choose to do a full “body scan” – relaxing the top of you head, forehead, cheeks, and go all the way down to your toes. Or you could relax certain parts of you body where you hold most tension. This is normally in the face muscles, shoulders and shoulder blades and lower back. But it’s not the same for everyone, so observe where you feel tensed around the body and breathe into that part of your body, releasing more and more tension with every out breathe.

If you’d like to learn more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body” or book a free consultation with me.

January 7, 2015May 17, 2015

16 benefits of practicing deep breathing

1. Improves your cardiovascular system. Your heart is a muscle and, like any other muscle in your body, it can be developed through practice.

2. Removes stale air from your lungs.

3. Helps you heal faster by directing the breathe into areas of the body where there are injuries and illnesses.

4. Reduces your cardiovascular warm up at the start of your workout.

5. Reducing your recovery period after a workout.

6. Helps detoxify your body.

7. Helps you let go of tension in your body when you are tense, angry, scared or stressed, when your body constricts.

8. Relaxes the mind and brings clarity, focus, allows room for more creativity and productivity.

9. Relieves emotional struggles, calms you down in moments of panic and anxiety.

10. Strengthens the immune system. Oxygen travels through your bloodstream enriching your body to metabolise nutrients and vitamins.

11. Encourages good posture. When you slouch notice how your body closes up and your breathing becomes shallow. Then you take a deep breath, your chest comes out and your body naturally straightens.

12. Strengthens the lungs, they become healthy and powerful, a good tool to prevent respiratory problems.

13. Assists in weight control. More oxygen to your tissues burns up the excess fat more efficiently.

14. Boosts energy levels and improves stamina.

15. Improves cellular regeneration.

16. For runners, it helps you run faster, stronger and for longer

Here are 2 breathing exercises to get you started

Step 1. Make sure you breathe correctly, that means when you breathe in you make your stomach big, when you breathe out you pull your stomach in.

Step 2. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth

Step 3. The exercise. Let’s take 4 seconds as count for breathing in, out and holds. You can adjust them to fit your level:

Linear breathing technique

I use this as a warm up for the others.

– BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4
– BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
– Repeat

Triangle breathing technique

Imagine an equilateral triangle. It has 3 equal sides

– BREATHE IN through your nose on a count of 4.
– HOLD on a count of 4.
– BREATHE OUT through your nose on a count of 4.
– No hold after this one. Repeat

Adjust the in breathe, out breathe and holds according to your level.

More advances breathing techniques are square, rectangle, therapeutic breathing.

If you’d like to learn more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body” or book a free consultation with me.

December 24, 2014June 4, 2015

How to do a full press-up and Why

Women have smaller muscles so it is more difficult to do full press-ups, I hear this very often. While that might be true up to a certain extent it usually has to do with training and conditioning.

As usual, I am here to challenge traditional way of thinking, and say that it is possible for a woman to do a considerable more amount of press-ups than a man.

In school, I was about 12 years old, I used to do fist press-ups without too much effort. I was an extremely skinny and short little girl but very strong.

One day the boys in my class challenged me…again. They were doing the “I bet I can do more press-ups that you” thing. And they bet I could not do more than them. Most of the guys had big , bulky muscles from gym work or other sports.

I was a very shy girl so one of my class mates had to convince me to “show them how it’s done”. So I went in front of the class, planted my fists on the wooden floor and began, 1,2,3…..all the way down with the chest….12…..15…..18…23….then, unfortunately for them, our teacher returned for the next lesson.

All the boys tried but could not even manage to do 1 full fist press up.

Today not much has changed.

Press-ups are not limited by muscle mass. You do not need muscles to be strong and those who have muscles are not necessarily stronger than those who don’t.

What are the benefits of doing a full press-up?

1. Strong core. I believe that the core in our body is the twin of the core in our mind. The stronger our physical core the stronger our mental core is. Learning a good technique press-up will strengthen both of them. Your physical core is formed by abs – side of abs – hips and pelvis – back – diaphragm.

2. Stability. Press-ups stabilize your whole body. That means your core again but also your shoulders and upper back. This means your joints and ligaments will become stronger and recover faster from an injury. It also helps you maintain a good posture and engage in daily activities such as bending or lifting without the risk of an injury.

3. Body awareness. This is about quality over quantity. When you are able to do a press-ups with a straight, plank like body, you are in control over your body and aware of its position and how it moves. This is mindfulness.

4. Toning. Working the chest and arm muscles (especially triceps – the back of your arm). This says it all. Toning all around upper body and even lower body to a certain extent.

5. Learn the general breathing pattern. Almost every exercise you will do follows the rule of breathing out on the effort. Master the breathing in a full press-up and most of the other exercises will come easier to do from a breathing point of view.

So how do you do a full press-up on your hands or fists, your choice?

Step 1 – Position

Learn to stay in a press-up position until you can hold it without moving or shaking for 1 min. More than that and it gets boring if you ask me

Place your hands under your shoulders and shoulder width apart .

Feet apart, not too wide (the wider the easier) but not next to each other (the more narrow the more difficult), hip width apart is just fine.

Step 2 – Bending elbows

When you can stand in a press-up position for 1 min or more start bending your elbows. Ideally you should bend your elbows backwards towards your ribs but that is more difficult. For the time being just bend your elbows however you can.

Oh you can’t go all the way down? That’s ok, you don’t have to. Go half way, a quarter, even less. Just keep your body straight, like a plank.

Lead with your chest. Don’t allow the hips to drop further or come up sooner than your chest. Your body stops wherever your chest stops. Your chest leads the way.

If you can’t bend your elbows at all go back to Step 1 or put your knees on the floor. However I do not recommend that because you will have the tendency to put a lot of weight on your knees without realising and that will not get you to do press-ups.

Step 3 – Breathing

When you do a press up breathing is very important to get the strength where and when you need it and to avoid blocking your airways.

The general rule is to breathe OUT on the effort. So when you lower yourself down your breath IN, when you push or press up your breath OUT

DOWN – BREATHE IN
UP – BREATHE OUT

Step 4 – Negatives

Negatives press ups. This means that you go down as low as you can (half way down, a quarter, even less) very, very slow. Like a snail. The you come up at normal speed or you get help from your knees. Then you repeat.

Step 5 – Practice

Practice, Practice, Practice.

You want to do a full press-up? Try doing 10 (no matter how low of high) every single day. You can do 1 at a time, stopping after each one. Does not matter, do 10 every single day. You can also do 10 negative press-ups or 5 negatives and 5 normal. You will see improvements probably within the first 7 days.

It is all about experimenting.

Important: Don’t sacrifice technique for speed or quantity. Learn to do it properly and you will never forget it, or rather your body won’t.

If you’d like to learn more please download my free eBook “15 Healthy Habits For The Body”

December 13, 2014April 21, 2015

Meditation: what, where, how and why

Meditation

What, Where, How, When & Why

Since I began incorporating meditation in my work with clients I get a constant type of feedback such as “I tried so many times but can’t empty my mind”, “I can’t sit still even for 1 min let alone 30 min” or “I get bored when trying to meditate”.

Every time I go into detail with my clients about how they meditate and what they do, they usually tell me they sit with crossed legs (uncomfortable for many), close their eyes and they try, or rather struggle, to empty their mind or quiet their thoughts.

This is one of the many misconceptions of meditation. That we have to empty our mind otherwise it’s not use. We already see it as a struggle, as a chore.

Meditation is not only about quieting your mind, but rather allowing your thoughts to pass, one by one, without judging them in any way.

What do you do while meditating

You can sit for a few minutes and focus your attention on the position of your body. Don’t change anything, just observe. That’s your meditation.
Focus your attention on different parts of your body and, as you do so, relax that part of the body you focus one. Relax your body one portion at a time.
Observe your breath. Don’t do anything, just observe it.
Visualize relaxing, passive scenes such as walking on a beach, walking through a forest, a day out fishing. This will relax your mind and release stress.
You know when you say “I was miles away”? That is a trans you were in. Whether you are on the bus watching outside the window or walking around and suddenly found yourself arriving at your destination without realizing when, that is a form of mediation, you were in a type of trans.

Where can you meditate

Anywhere really, for example:

When you sit on the bus or train focus your attention on the position of your body
When you walk focus your attention on how you walk, are you heavy or light?
When you walk again focus on relaxing your shoulders and keeping your posture, elongating your body
When you wait in a line focus your attention in the middle of your chest and breath into that spot
When you sit or lie down, you can visualize and go in a deeper meditation
Even when you run. Runner’s high is a form of meditation

How to meditate

Meditation is not an actual technique. We learn them as techniques for a reason. But it’s just about just letting go.

Whether you let go by relaxing you body, or your breath or about letting go of thoughts, anger or frustrating, it’s about allowing for a little space in your life, your mind and your heart.

Here are some tips:

Find you most comfortable position, sitting, standing, laying on your bed etc
Close your eyes and just let go, see what happens
Listen to guided meditations (you have a list at the end of this blog)
Focus in the centre of your chest and breath into that spot

When to meditate

You can literally meditate anywhere. Just not in moving vehicles please or dangerous environment

You can meditate any time of the day. You can meditate in almost any place you want, on the bus, on the train, in a forest, at the table.

When you meditate you may be running, walking, standing, sitting or lying down. You may be washing dished or doing doing some gardening. These are all forms of meditation because they all lead to awareness of yourself, of a trans-like relaxing feeling.

Why meditate?

Besides the wonderful feeling it leaves you with for the rest of the day there is scientific proof that meditation has significant benefits at a physiological and psychological level as well as emotional.

Benefits of meditation, some of them at least

Physiological changes

Relaxes your body and so reduces many aches and pains. When we walk in cold weather we tend to tens up our body until something starts to hurt. Why do we do that? We also cut blood flow which actually keeps us warm

Improves focus, memory and productivity. There are many studies regarding these benefits
Improves quality of sleep. Meditate while you are in bed for a few minutes, focus on your breath or listen to a guided meditation.
Psychological changes.

Meditation releases stress, frustrations, anger or similar feeling. Some studies suggest mediation helps with mental illnesses.

Change the brain’s plasticity, increasing grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.

At an advanced level you can literally reprogram your subconscious to overcome phobias, bad habits, heal yourself and more.

Help with meditation

Here are some of my favourite sources where you can get free guided mediations:

Silva method
Subliminal Guru
Omvana – this is an app, free to join but then you have to pay for some of the tracks, it’s worth it though.
Self healing meditation guided by Kelly Howell

Want even more information, sources and guidance on meditation? Don’t hesitate to book a FREE call with me and we can do a guided meditation or talk about how you can do it yourself.

Other articles

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/12/11/harvard-study-unveils-what-meditation-literally-does-to-the-brain/?utm_content=bufferc1d3b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/

August 14, 2014December 24, 2014

Learn The Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique For Running

Post Source: JoggingYourLife.com / Learn The Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique For Running

August 3, 2014August 6, 2015

‘Engage your core’, what does that mean? Why should I do it?

‘Engage your core’, what does that mean? Why should I do?

crunch — Photo Credit: ShareHows.com via Compfight cc

‘Engage your core’, ‘suck your belly in’ or ‘squeeze your abs’ are terms repeatedly used by fitness professionals, including myself, but do we really think about what that means? Due to a limited time frame we never really delve into the benefits of building up a strong ‘core’ or how specifically to do it, in each training session.

So today I am drawing on my experiences as a gymnast, dancer and personal trainer to give you the low down on why you really should be engaging your core throughout exercise and how to do it.

Have you ever wondered how a particular dancer/gymnast/ice-skater effortlessly glides around the stage or floor? Well here is your answer in basic terms.

I have been taught from a young age in gymnastics and dance how to ‘shift my weight’, ‘stay on top of my supporting leg’, ‘find where my weight is’. All of these demands require you to connect your mind to your body. The individual tells their body to move a certain way and it responds correctly.

This is Mind-body connection is something innate to dancers and gymnasts. It is not, however, natural to everyone, which is why there is often difficulty when a non-dancer/gymnast is asked to engage his or her core.

So initially, I would suggest mindfulness as a useful tool for reconnecting the body to the mind, and incorporating breathing techniques into exercise.

girl — Photo Credit: martinak15 via Compfight cc

So once the individual manages to connect to their core, why should they focus their time on building strength in that area?

1. Keeps you graceful – It helps with your ability to control your movement, particularly when you come across a difficult exercise or you are starting to fatigue.

2. Back health – It is estimated that four out of every five adults (80%) will experience back pain at some stage in their life. Back pain is the number 2 reason for long – term sickness in much of the UK.(http://www.backcare.org.uk/factsandfigures).

The ‘Core’ is made up of a group of muscles that begin with your ‘abs’ and wrap right around to your back.

A strong core will support your back in times when it may be vulnerable to injury.

3. Power – A strong core is the starting point in powerful explosive movement, such as lifting and jumping.

4. Balance – Our bodies have the potential to do a lot more than we think. If ever in a situation where your stability is compromised a strong core will enable you or increase your chances of staying upright.

5. Light on your toes – If you ever start to feel fatigued and tired during exercise, your core is there to get you through and ensure that keep exercising effectively and efficiently.

But how do I do it?

I have found this to be the easiest way to activate connection to the core:
1. Start by lying or standing up

2. Place your hands on your stomach

3. Take a deep breath in allowing the stomach to balloon

4. Start breathing out feeling the abdominal muscles pushing the air out your lungs

5. Keep breathing out until your lungs are completely empty, to do this requires more effort then normal breathing and so you should feel your abdominals fully contract/tighten.

This exercise can be used as a core activation exercise or throughout your workout.

handstand1 — Photo Credit: Evil Erin via Compfight cc

What’s my ultimate core strength exercise?

It has to be pike handstands (influenced by my gymnastic days). I love playfulness of the movement, challenging your body’s ability to respond to the movement quickly and you feel like you are doing something really impressive.

For those still building up core strength an easier, but equally impressive, version can be done by using a Swiss Ball to support the legs.

About the author: Alice Bowmaker

Alice is an East London based, YMCA qualified personal trainer on a mission to inspire and motivate people to push themselves past their expectations and help them rediscover their love for the beauty and strength of their bodies.

She has a background in dance and gymnastics which he uses extensively in her training repertoire. She also holds memberships with REPs and NRPT.

You can contact Alice at www.alicepteast.com