Moving to breathe, breathing to move.

Image by another.point.in.time via Flickr

When I dance, I really get in touch with my breath. I mean I really get in touch with it.

Not only do I become more aware of my breath when I move, but I also become more aware of how my body insists on that deep and full inhale and exhale that moving forces me to do.

And I must say, that deep-down-in-my-belly kind of breathing feels GOOD. Soooo good!

Last month at my annual physical, my doc did the usual listening to my chest with her stethescope. She was shocked at the depth of my breath, and I was surprised that breathing like I do is anything other than ordinary.

But it wasn’t always that way. I’m pretty sure that, just like it was my habit to stifle emotion in the past, it was also my habit to hold my breath. Not consciously of course, but it seems to me that I used to be reluctant to expand through my torso and belly to get enough breath. Having an eating disorder and body image issues will do that to a person…

I could probably list a ka-jillion benefits to breathing and could probably go on about the relationship between breath and movement, but I’ll leave that to the experts.

All I know is that breath and movement go hand in hand. And they are both an instant way to find pleasure!

Nia’s co-founder, Debbie Rosas, says:

“Conscious breathing improves mental clarity and can even release emotion and a sense of freedom”. Read more about her thoughts here.