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Common misconceptions about deep breathing force u

Common misconceptions about deep breathing force us to respond in a state of stress rather than relaxation.

So, deep breathing should engage your relaxation response, but what does it mean to take a deep breath?

For many people, including top athletes, a deep breath is performed before an action or event that requires calmness and concentration, which indeed is not a bad idea.

Although problems occur when the mechanics behind the deep breath are wrongfully executed and becomes a heavy sigh, that conversely activates the sympathetic nervous system, which instead places you in a fight-or-flight response.

This video illustrates a classic example of the common misconception behind the ‘deep breath’.
Fast and heavy breathing into the upper chest causes an intensification in respiration frequency and reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, which then leads to the narrowing of blood vessels and thereby reduced delivery of oxygen into the brain.

So instead of creating concentration, the heavy breath leads to agitation and tension.

To correct the breath, and gain the benefits from the technique, take instead a deep and steady inhalation through the nostrils and into the abdomen, pause for a few seconds, and exhale for 3 times longer than you inhaled, or what corresponds to 10-15 seconds of exhaling.

This is associated with calmness of the nervous system, lowering of heart rate, control over thought processes, and what we might rightfully call a ‘deep breath’.

Alignment matters. And it does from a perspective

Alignment matters. And it does from a perspective of supporting the underlying layers of how the body is constructed and stabilized as a structure.

Merely considering alignment from a perspective of aesthetics should be regarded as a shallow and ignorant way of thinking.

This figure does not examine the definite causes of your pain, but it gives you at least an indication of the location of the potential restrictions in your body, which essentially causes the postural imbalances.

As the nervous system acts as the brain-body communication track, one should especially take note of the posture of the cervical area (neck).

Slide 3 indicates how the golden section is applied in the human body.

Don’t get confused.

All you need to know is that the golden section is a geometrical pattern encoded in all parts of nature, including the human body.

It proves an intelligent, and highly advanced design, that creates the ability for the human body to operate in the unique way it does.

It’s essential that we return to how we are designed.

The entire structure above the ankles relies compl

The entire structure above the ankles relies completely on the foot’s biomechanics and thereby the location of pressure below the foot during movement.

How the foot creates ground contact and where the pressure is localized further depends on the standing posture of the individual.

Is the foot locked in an improper external rotation?

Is the foot locked in a pronation?

Are you ‘dysfunctionally flat footed’?

Even the position of the tibia, femur and pelvis majorly affects how the foot is being encoded to operate.

Not knowing what part of the foot is being responsible for forward drive, and how to break or balance a movement, signals incoherent patterns through the rest of the body, which will cause compensation in movement that may have an even bigger impact on the biomechanics, and possibly even injury accumulation.

Injury and illness follow the same path. Poor patt

Injury and illness follow the same path.
Poor patterns lead to accumulation leading to aggravation until the stressors localize in the body’s weak spot and become injury or illness.

For athletes this weak spot is often located in the ankle during takeoffs or landings in a position of foot inversion.

This video simply illustrates an example of how to address this issue before it’s too late.

Another component I emphasize a lot in my methodologies, in regards to injury prevention, is the mastering of proprioception instead of solely focusing on lifting heavy weight without any demands on the sensory system or ‘body consciousness’.

Real strength is - also - knowing where your body is in space and time during movement.
Without this capability, the individual’s utilization of their strength and power will indeed be limited and the injury probability will remain high.

Experimenting with some applied dynamic postural c

Experimenting with some applied dynamic postural correction integrated with the exercising of some of the primary respiratory muscles.

Being ‘stuck on the exhalation’ is the analogy that fits the postural structure of the majority of people, where shoulders are sloping forward reflected as a rounded upper spine, head locked in front of the body, whereas chin becomes elevated.

This posture inhibits proper breathing.

The thought behind combining both components of posture and breathing is that as both are connected, they can’t be treated separately.

During a slow and steady inhalation through the nostrils, both shoulders are externally rotated, while chest and ribcage expands as the lungs are filled with air.
During the exhalation, all muscular engagement relaxes and releases their tension.

Glutes and deep abdominals are chronically engaged to support the posture and provide stability for the thoracic cavity.

Redefining health into the holistic concept it ind

Redefining health into the holistic concept it indeed is.
Returning to our origin is living in symbiosis with nature, independent of pain, medicine and illness, with mechanics operating the way it’s designed to operate.

Let the mind become the body and the body become the mind.

Combining the principles of Tummo meditation with

Combining the principles of Tummo meditation with the ancient breathing practice Yogi Complete Breath before entering the cold.

‘Stressful’ breathing and cold exposure both engage the same mechanisms in terms of consciously activating the sympathetic response - better known as the fight/flight response - in the pursuit of mastering our stress-response to enter the rest-response.

This act of hormetic stress stimulates the cells to such a degree, that your nervous system is forced to relax, your cardiovascular system boosts, and over time the immune system is aided to help fight inflammation and illness.

The Tummo practice has been covered in earlier posts, where either nose and mouth or solely the mouth is utilized for ventilation with rapid and deep breaths.

During the Yogi Complete Breath you:

1. Inhale deeply in a circular motion from the abdominals to the ribcage, ending in the chest, while the abdominals are drawn in at the end of the inhalation to support the air in the top of the lungs.

2. Hold your breath between one and several seconds.

3. Exhale while lifting the abdominals upwards as the air leaves the lungs.

I often utilize a concept I like to call unilatera

I often utilize a concept I like to call unilateral breathing. I use it as a postural and respiratory tool to fix both physical dysfunction and dysfunctional breathing.

Just like the concept of alternating nose breathing in the manipulation of the nervous system, you are also - to some extent - able to alternate between the lungs and ribcage sides during the inhalation of air.

This is a tool I primarily use for patients with single sided ribcage collapse, lateral pelvic tilts, scoliosis or any other horizontal postural inequalities.

To gain full profit from both lungs and the entire ribcage and thorax in your breathing mechanics, unilateral breathing can be a necessary tool that provides you with the extra percentages to your breathing capabilities by forcefully opening up one side at a time and ‘breathing away’ your dysfunctions.

Pretty impressive structural changes from a patien

Pretty impressive structural changes from a patient of mine reflected in both the postural visibility and inner sensations of declined pain levels, better motor control and enhanced movement capabilities.

This is not yet a perfect alignment, but miles better than two months ago.

And alignment matters from various perspectives, both when considering neural responsibilities, breathing capabilities and blood oxygen levels, biomechanics, and ultimately, performance.

Let’s climb the ladder and return to our origin!

The myofascial meridians are the westernized inter

The myofascial meridians are the westernized interpretation of the meridians from Eastern medicine, which is yet unacknowledged in the Western world.

Their similarities are vast, although the meridians from Eastern medicine is based on bodily energy lines, whereas the myofascial meridians are based on muscle-fascia interconnections.

This is the key to train within these lines/meridians while still gaining profit in strength and hypertrophy without compromising biomechanics and functionality, which are highly absent in traditional fitness.

The Myofascial Arm Lines (illustrated in the video) are some of the most complex meridians and highly complicated to engage as they require a collection of minor movements to engage all parts of the particular line at once.

Look for the details in the video, which is providing you with one exercise variation for all four of the Arm Lines.

When I see a body, I see a structure of bricks. Of

When I see a body, I see a structure of bricks. Often, these bricks are misplaced and compressed. This is connected to a chain reaction of irritation and pain that accumulates and causes injury.

First step of reintegrating functionality and health is by the creation of increased space between these bricks and the reorganization of their placement.

This patient of mine has been truly dedicated and hardworking for years; but within branches and concepts of training, which I do not support.
Traditional training was reflected in his posture and was probably also the contributor to his irritated and stressed physical state.

In depth body work and therapy have aided the process of visibly reorganizing these bricks within just 6 weeks, where tissue balance, muscle functionality and breathing have been reintegrated to match his original template as a human being.

Here’s an almost direct 1-1 replacement of exerc

Here’s an almost direct 1-1 replacement of exercises in regards to my post on the outdated methodologies of the traditional fitness industry.

When there, in essence, exist no separation in the human body, but rather a vast interconnected system, it must therefore be exercised through these interconnections (view slide 2 for examples).
It is these interconnections that create movement functionality, since the muscles and tissues “talk” to each other to cooperate rather than to work alone.

Fascia connects it all together like a plastic bag enclosing all parts of the body. Pulling in one part of the fascia affects all other parts of it.
Stressing the fascia, either by inactivity or overworked individual muscles, creates physical trauma that is stored and accumulates over time. Functionality is therefore to be found in the middle ground between inactivity and overload.

I think contemporary fitness and weight lifting has become so popular due to our increasing vanity where aesthetics trumps functionality.

Although it should be logical that aesthetics must be the byproduct of functionality, since functionality can never be the byproduct of aesthetics.

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