Another important aspect of optimal training is the practice of correct breathing during all of the movements.

First and foremost, don’t hold your breath! This should go without saying, but breath holding is very common, especially when we start performing new exercises. Holding your breath and bracing in a posture or a difficult activity is, for many, a natural response. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the worst things you can do. Exhale when you are exerting effort and never hold your breath.

Second, our breathing pattern should match inhalation with expansion and exhalation with compression. This allows us to follow the natural movement of our lungs and coordinate our body’s position with the correct breathing, rather than fighting against. For an example, stand up tall, lift up your hands as far as possible and breathe in deeply. You should feel as if you are breathing in as much air as possible, filling up your lungs to their capacity.

Exhale and relax, and remember the sensation of the full inhalation.

Now, sit down on the floor and crunch up into a ball, hug your knees into your chest and make yourself as small as possible. Try to inhale deeply in this position. Compare this feeling with the one earlier, when you were standing tall and fully open. Doesn’t it feel as if you are straining to inhale, and that there’s no room for you to take in any air?

When you regulate your breathing to never hold your breath, exhale on exertion, and coordinate your breathing with your body position, you will make the most out of your effort and find yourself performing to your best ability.

As you continue to practice proper breathing in all your exercise activities, you will gradually progress from the need to be actively controlling your breath to where you are breathing correctly without thinking about it. This is the beginning of mastering your breath and it’s a beautiful thing.