Homo Urbanus Out of Breath

Breath for Fitness in the City

Throughout our blog we already have several resources for the importance of better breathing, as well as ways to achieve it.

So, here I will organize some of that material so you can go more in depth if you have not already read those articles.

To perform a good self-analysis for your breathing start with this article, Respiration Weight Loss and Metabolism. It is an excerpt from our RESOLUTE Weight Loss and Metabolism course. In it we touch on what is proper breathing, common issues we see daily, and how to resolve those issues.

Earlier this year we did a 30 Day Breathing Challenge. The challenge was composed of four videos with three exercises each. The purpose of the exercises was to improve posture, diaphragm control, and to help reduce the number of breaths we take each minute.

One of the ways we measured progress was with the length of our controlled pause. This was how long we could go between needing to take a breath.

Here are the links to the series:

30 Day Breathing Challenge Week One

30 Day Breathing Challenge Week Two

30 Day Breathing Challenge Week Three

30 Day Breathing Challenge Week Four

In our studio we ran the challenge for thirty days and it was so successful that we continued to indefinitely as part of our warmups before our workouts. Many participants saw at least a 50 to 100 percent increase in their controlled pause. This reflected their increased respiratory efficiency.

If you are just getting started with the Homo Urbanus article series we encourage you to start from the beginning and keep you eye out for the rest of the series.

Homo Urbanus is on the Hunt

Homo Urbanus Just […]

By |2017-09-06T15:55:27-07:00October 5th, 2015|Blog, breathing, homo urbanus|Comments Off on Homo Urbanus Out of Breath
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More
DISCLAIMER: Results may vary. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
FacebookInstagram
Go to Top