As you may know, in January of this year I completed training in Hypropressives techniques; training that re-programmes the core muscles – including the pelvic floor. As a short introduction to Hypopressives, I’d like to share with you an exercise in Hypopressive breathing preparation, which requires rib breathing as opposed to belly or chest breathing. The following exercise helps you to distinguish the different types of breathing and focus on rib breathing.
Lie down on the floor and make yourself comfortable. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor.
Start breathing by concentrating on belly breaths: rest your hands gently on your belly and inhale for 2 seconds through the nose and exhale for 4 seconds through the mouth. Your belly should expand and contract with these breaths.
Now concentrate on rib cage breaths.
Follow the same breathing times – as you inhale you will expand your rib cage and as you exhale your rib cage will return. During this breathing your belly should not rise or fall significantly. To check that your ribs are expanding you can put your hands onto the sides of your rib cage to feel this movement.
Place your fingers on each side of the base of your neck, above the collarbone. Breathe normally and feel the muscles gently working. The breathing should be shallow.
If you would like more information on Hypopressives, please get in touch. You can also find more information at http://www.ukhypopressives.com
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Rebecca x