Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/812910
56 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a y / j u n e 2 0 1 7 Yes Breath This deceptively easy technique can, if practiced regularly, change your life. It has changed ours! Lie down on your back with your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor approximately hip-width apart, and your palms resting on the floor by your sides (Image 1A). Inhale as you begin to move your pelvis so your low back arches off the floor and your tailbone presses into the ground (Image 1B). Exhale as you press your low back into the floor and allow your tailbone to curl up toward the ceiling, posteriorly tilting your pelvis. Match your breath to your movement and allow your head to gently follow along with the movement of your sacrum and pelvis. You may notice that as you arch BREATH- CENTERED AND MEDITATIVE EXERCISES Self-Care is Health Care Included here are specific self-care practices you can use to reduce pain, stabilize and encourage alignment, prevent injury, and feel good. We offer you techniques inspired from a variety of moving modalities—such as medical qigong, yoga therapy, Feldenkrais, and Pilates—that powerfully support our self-care goals and reliably keep us out of pain. Start small and grow a reliable self-care practice for yourself that slowly builds with time. Consider practicing 5–10 minutes at first. Trust yourself in the process and always reconnect with your end goal. your lumbar spine, your chin will drop and your neck will lengthen. Repeat for up to 5 minutes or until you feel a physical shift toward ease and flow. The Yes Breath is attributed to legendary breathing specialist Gay Hendricks, PhD, and his work with newborn babies. 2 He witnessed this breathing-moving synergy in 100 healthy newborns and identified it as the first movement expressed in healthy babies. Benefits: According to Hendricks, the Yes Breath allows for a deep inner sense of well-being, deep full connection with yourself, and the ability to connect with other people. Our bodies are designed to breathe in a way that invites whole body participation, which most of us lose because of years of sitting, trauma, and stress. The Yes Breath is a direct antidote to stress. Three Conscious Breaths Place a hand on your navel and breathe into your chest, the side of your body, the back of your body, and all the way below your solar plexus until you feel your belly rise (Image 2). Exhale for about the same count and release every last drop of breath completely. Repeat three times. 1A 1B