Breathing Trumps Movement

When you are practicing a breathing exercise that involves physical movement (such as the Shoulder Lift) BREATHING GUIDES MOVEMENT, not the other way around. The average person tends to concentrate on setting up a graceful movement and then hopes that their breathing will eventually keep pace (if they think about their breathing at all). Remember that BREATHING IS ALWAYS THE FIRST HORSE OUT OF THE GATE!

Always establish a comfortable breathing pattern FIRST and THEN build the movement on that breathing pattern. In other words, breathing is the music. Movement is the dance. That is often more difficult than it sounds because we are a visual species and the internal stuff demands a sharper focus.

The timing and rhythm of your breathing is calculated and automatically adjusted for you by your beautiful brain. Your brain takes into account gender, posture, medication, hormone levels, age, weight, state of mind, content and location of your last meal, ambient air temperature, fitness and very likely a dozen subtle things that man has yet to discover. Our responsibility is to be aware and respectful of the process! Start breathing and THEN move.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.