Meditative Breath and Workout Breathing

breathing

Mar 5

In my experience, there are two major things that people do not do well in preparation for any Kettlebell workout.

First, is stretching. We have to limber up the vital parts of our bodies — arms and legs, shoulders and chest — before we start swinging or Pressing. We stretch before we move the bell, not after. After a workout, too many major muscle groups are worked in a specific set, and they’re heated, and moving them into stretching right away is not a good idea. Wait a couple of hours after you’ve completed the work if you feel stiff or cramped. You can do a few push ups or pull ups if you need some immediate relief after a workout.

Stretching before your workout should include bodyweight movement of your arms and legs. Stretch your hamstrings. Do a few Squats. Feel warm. Move your wrists. Turn your ankles in circles. Jog in place. Circle your outstretched arms in one direction, and then the other.

Then, if you feel ready for a bit more, pick up a lightweight bell, and do halos. Not too many. Just five in one direction, and the same number in the opposite direction. Then, using the same bell, do five Squats to really loosen up your hips. You’ll want your hips warmed up, and strong, for the “snapping” into place in the final form of each Kettlebell swing into a midair momentary plank where time freezes — if only for a split second.

The second thing too many people ignore is contemplative breathing. The ancients, in fear of the Gods, recognized the only reliable sign of life in a mortal was their breath. You bleed, you may live or die. Your heart stops, it may start again if you are properly chilled. However, if you stop breathing, even for a little bit, your brain begins to die, and your organs deteriorate.

Meditation is breath control. Kettlebell breathing, while working out, begins as you inhale on the “hike back” to start your hinged pendulum Swing, followed by a sharp exhale on the follow through. You have to learn to “diaphragm breathe” while your stomach muscles are engaged. You can do it with practice.

I also practice diaphragmatic breathing, daily, in quiet vigils, carved out of the moments before I first get out of bed, during my noontime break, and then as the last thing I do in bed each night before I fall asleep. Here’s my method. It’s a deliberate count based on my own heartbeat, that ultimately controls, and then slows down, time.

I get flat on my back. I close my eyes. I diaphragmatically breath in through my nose and hold the breath in my stomach for three heartbeats.

Then I exhale slowly through my mouth, and when my stomach/diaphragm are empty, I wait five heartbeats before I take my next, slow, moderated inhale.

I do that cycle 10 times. On the tenth inhale, I hold the inhaled breath for 10 heartbeats, and when I exhale, I hold an empty breath for 10 heartbeats as well.

This breathing system will slowly, over time, take longer with each breath, because your heartbeat will learn how to slow down with each inhalation and exhalation. That’s a good thing! A slower heartbeat, a backwards time warp — that you control! — means you are gaining the ability to self-mediate your comfort and anxiety. With practice, you can even use this system throughout the day while walking, or working, or watching television. The idea is to just make sure you do it — because the benefits, in the end, belong only to you.