30 Day Breathing Challenge

The 30 Day Breathing Challenge is a series of Buteyko inspired exercises to improve breathing through spine mobility, facial stretching, diaphragm stretching and breathing exercises to improve cellular respiration.

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition is holding a 30 Day Breathing Challenge. If your walking around downtown Tacoma, visiting Point Defiance, or a student at University of Puget Sound, we all want to breath better.

Improving breathing is an easy way to improve conditions such as chronic stress and anxiety. A medical reference from the late 1800s stated that normal breathing was about six breaths per minute, but today many people breath 10 to 12 breaths per minute.

Additionally, improved breathing can help with other issues such as poor sleep quality or lack of sleep, tight muscles, and achy joints. Throughout the month of August, Taiso Fitness will be posting a week by week series of exercises to help improve your breathing.

Week one of the challenge explains how the challenge will work, as well as how to take your baseline measurements in order to track your progress over the course of the month.

The goal of the weekly exercises is to progressively take you through the basics of fascial stretching, ways to stretch and stimulate the diaphragm, and of course specific breathing exercises.

This will help you to mobilize the thoracic spine and chest attachment points of the diaphragm. In our modern world of cars, and computers we can all benefit from these exercises.

By stimulating the diaphragm inhalation becomes deeper facilitating better CO2 exchange and improved cellular respiration.

The Buteyko inspired breathing exercises are then better able to improve the efficiency of our breathing and lowering the number of breaths we require per minute.

Everyone is welcome to participate […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:38-07:00August 31st, 2015|breathing|Comments Off on 30 Day Breathing Challenge
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Breathing Challenge Week Four

Breathing Challenge Week Four is the final week of the challenge focuses on how inefficient breathing can contribute to lack of energy and low motivation.

If you are new to the challenge here is a recap of the first three weeks. In Breathing Challenge Week One the focus was on explaining the challenge and laying out the foundational exercises.  Breathing Challenge Week Two focused on posture. Breathing Challenge Week Three focused on cramping.

The first exercise this week is a combination of two previous exercises, the Thoracic Glide and the Fascial Opener #2. In this variation you perform Fascial Opener #2 and while holding the overhead position add the Thoracic Glide.

The second exercise this week is bag breathing. Perform Bag Breathing for up to two minutes. It is alright to start with a paper bag, but the bag is porous, so a plastic or waxed bag will work much better.

The third exercise this week is the Walking Exhale. Just inhale for two breaths, then take a long exhale over several breaths.

Remember, at the end of this week re-test your controlled pause and your heart rate. See how you have changed over the last 30 days. Let us know how you did and ask any remaining questions.

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to take control of their health.

Shared personal training provides the coaching of a personal trainer with the social support of a bootcamp style class.

Set up a complimentary consultation, or start a 21 Day […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:38-07:00August 31st, 2015|breathing|Comments Off on Breathing Challenge Week Four
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Homo Urbanus Just Hang’in Around

The urban jungle contains many forms of furniture for relaxation and comfortable means of transportation. But life in the urban jungle can be largely sedentary and has few opportunities to hang.

Hanging is foundational to grip and pulling strength. But climbing, hanging, and vertical pulling are seldom a part of modern life. At best we may do a few sets of pull ups at the gym.

As a result of our sitting, driving, and countless hours in front of a desk we see reshaping of the coraco-acromial-ligament and the acromion. In other words, our lifestyles are creating a deformity in our shoulders.

Dr. John Kirsch, founder of the Kirsch Institute for Shoulder Research is an orthopedic surgeon with more than 25 years of experience with frozen shoulders, torn rotator cuffs and impingement syndrome. So whats his cure for relieving pain from the most common shoulder problems?  Hanging from an overhead support.

Five to seven minutes a day of hanging is our goal for healthy shoulders. It may be active hanging like pull ups or swinging, or passive such a basic pronated or neutral grip hang. It does not need to be done all at once.

If you have shoulder pain or a past injury you may need some remedial work before hanging is appropriate.

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to take control of their health.

Shared personal training provides the coaching of a personal trainer with the social support of a bootcamp style class.

Set up a complimentary consultation, or start […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:39-07:00August 27th, 2015|Blog, homo urbanus|Comments Off on Homo Urbanus Just Hang’in Around
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Breathing Challenge Week Three

Welcome to week three of the 30 Day Breathing challenge.  In Breathing Challenge Week One we introduced the challenge and how it can improve your health. Breathing Challenge Week Two had a focus on new exercises and how breathing can effect posture. This week the focus is on how poor breathing can contribute to cramps.

This week as you reassess you should still be seeing significant improvement in your controlled pause and your breaths per minute.

The first exercise we introduce this week is another fascial opener. Just like Facial Opener I, Fascial Opener II will help you become more elastic, stretchy and capable.

The second exercise this week is is high-low breathing. By placing one hand on the chest and another on the stomach it is easy to determine how well you are breathing with your diaphragm. Your belly should rise and fall with each breath, but your chest should move relatively little.

The final exercise this week is straw breathing. Breath through a straw, you may want to pinch your nose. Take a two second inhale through the straw, then exhale the air over ten seconds. Repeat until you feel the need to take a deep breath.

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to take control of their health.

Shared personal training provides the coaching of a personal trainer with the social support of a bootcamp style class.

Set up a complimentary consultation, or start a 21 Day Risk Free Trial. Stay up to date on the latest […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:40-07:00August 24th, 2015|breathing|Comments Off on Breathing Challenge Week Three
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Homo Urbanus is on the Hunt!

The urban jungle is rich with opportunities to hunt and gather. The local tribes call these areas grocery stores.

But the convenience can be dangerous for Homo Urbanus because the grocery stores contain both and bait.

As we enter the hunting ground we find a variety of food along the periphery. But if we venture into the aisled interior there are many pitfalls to avoid.

High Fructose Corn Syrup. This bait is dangerous to Homo Urbanus and according to Princeton University, studies show there is significantly more weight gain than other sweeteners even when the caloric intake is the same. One of the reasons HFCS is so bad is that it has to be processed by the liver the same as alcohol. Duke University has shown it to be a significant contributor to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Grains. The second bait we want to avoid is over-consumption of grains. Grains in general were key to the evolution of of Homo Sapiens to Homo Urbanus by supplying easy stores of energy to survive winter months and allow occupational specialization. Currently American grains have very few strains and the effects of genetic modification are only now being explored.

However, many people notice that when traveling to Europe they can eat grains without ill effect. So, here is a link to the only source I have found for flour that is both grown and processed in Europe and available in the united States.

L’Epicerie

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to […]

By |2017-10-16T12:17:57-07:00August 20th, 2015|Blog, homo urbanus|Comments Off on Homo Urbanus is on the Hunt!
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Breathing Challenge Week Two

Week two of the 30 Day Breathing Challenge introduces three new exercises to improve your breathing. If you missed Week One of the challenge, be sure to go back and watch it to understand how to record your controlled pause and how we will measure progress.

When you re-assess your controlled pause this week you will probably see an improvement of 5 seconds or more from week one. The overall goal of the program is to reduce your number of breaths per minute below ten.

This week we introduce the thoracic glide. This exercise will help mobilize the upper back, as well as exercise the diaphragm’s attachment points to the body. Start by rounding the upper back to create a cave-like depression in the chest as you exhale. As you inhale extend your spine by pushing your sternum forward and lifting the head. Repeat three to five times.

Second we introduce the diaphragm stretch in a table-top position. This is an advanced version of the supine diaphragm stretch introduced in week one. In the table-top position tuck your pelvis as before. Inhale and inflate the belly, then forcefully fully exhale all breath. Breath normal for a few breaths and repeat.

Third we are adding the walking controlled pause. This is also an advance version of the basic controlled pause we introduced in week one. Here we take a normal breath. Exhale and pinch the nose. Walk for 20 seconds then take a breath. Repeat for up to two minutes.

So for the coming week you should be doing these three exercises. These replace two of the movements from week one. However, if you want to continue with the fascial opener from week one it will still be helpful.

Taiso Fitness […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:41-07:00August 17th, 2015|breathing|Comments Off on Breathing Challenge Week Two
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Breathing Challenge Week One

This week we are kicking-off a 30 day breathing challenge.  We want to help people who have chronic stress and anxiety, which to some degree is all of us living in a fast paced modern world. In the late 1800s medical references stated that normal breathing was about  six breaths per minute. Today it is 10 to 12.

Better respiration can improve tight muscles, achy joints, poor sleep quality, or lack of sleep.

To get ready for the challenge record your pulse and your controlled pause.

To measure your pulse we used Instant Heart Rate app on our iPhone.

Your controlled pause is how long you can go without having to take a breath.

To record your controlled pause take a couple of normal breaths, then exhale and pinch your nose. Record how long you can wait before having to take another breath.

Re-test your pulse rate and your controlled pause at the end of each of the four weeks.

Each day perform the three exercises in the video; the fascial opener, the diaphragm stretch and the breathing exercise.

Over the next few weeks we will post additional videos for the challenge in order to inform, encourage, and to answer your questions. So if you have questions about the challenge or breathing in general, send us an email.

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to take control of their health.

Shared personal training provides the coaching of a personal trainer with the social support of a bootcamp style class.

Set up a complimentary consultation, […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:42-07:00August 10th, 2015|breathing|Comments Off on Breathing Challenge Week One
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Burns, Scars and Tattoos

Fascia is like a big rubber-band beneath our skin that literally holds us together, and if restricted can result in seemingly unrelated pain.

Fascia is a three-dimensional web throughout the body. In order to function optimally it needs to be free in all planes of movement, but when its has restrictions due to trauma or long-term dysfunctional movement it can cause additional compensation.

When burns, scars and tattoos are deep enough to result in adhesions between the surface skin and the fascia we can experience seemingly un-related pain in other parts of the body.

Here are a couple recent examples we have seen. A tattoo on the back contributing to migraine headaches. A tattoo on the ribs that contributed to knee mobility restrictions. A scar on the shin that contributed to knee pain and immobility.

The good news is fascia can be remodeled over time. So, if you have a burn, scar or tattoo anywhere on the body and experience chronic pain anywhere in the body, it is worth investigating to see if there is a relationship.

Burns, scars and tattoos only take a few minutes to test, generally only a few weeks to fix, but may lead to a lifetime of improved pain-free movement.

It is worth pointing out that having a tattoo does not always lead to fascial restrictions.

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to take control of their health.

Shared personal training provides the coaching of a personal trainer with the social support of a bootcamp […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:43-07:00August 5th, 2015|Blog|Comments Off on Burns, Scars and Tattoos
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DISCLAIMER: Results may vary. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
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