Very often, people do not breathe properly when they are tense or stressed. Mental stress is able to create physical tension in the body. By simply becoming aware of how you breathe when you are tense and during different periods of the day, will be a positive step in the right direction to learning to relax yourself. What is the correct way to breathe? During expiration (breathing out), the intercostal muscles relax, the sternum moves back up and the diaphragm moves up. These actions cause air to be squeezed out of the lungs.
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 Inhalation  Exhalation |
These exercises can all be performed either seated or standing.
1) Breathe in through the nose. Then breathe out of the mouth in a slow and complete controlled manner and with the lips pursed, as if whistling.
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2) On exhalation, allow your body to deflate and relax, dropping the head forwards. On the inhalation, slowly draw the body back up, correcting posture and relaxing shoulders at the top.
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3) Ensure you have a correct posture with hands dropped to the side. Inhale, lifting the arms to create an “arc” at the side of the body with a gentle sweeping movement; allow your fingers to meet at the top.
Exhale and reverse the above to bring the arms back down to your side.
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All exercises and photos have been kindly contributed by Jo Stacey, Fitness Consultant, UK. Jo Stacey has been teaching fitness training at all levels for 20 years. She is currently concentrating on the Pilates form of exercise.