Draw Your Navel into Your Spine

But don’t forget to breathe! I’ve been doing a Pilates class at work. I think it’s good for stretching and strengthening your muscles, and I’m beginning to notice a little difference in how I’ve generally been feeling. The class is during our lunch break, and I find I’m a little more productive in the afternoons now, and also less likely to snack on everything in sight while washing it down with a Coca-cola.

But, I admit that I do tend to forget the breathing thing during the class. I recognize that it’s an important, I’d even say crucial, portion of the exercise, as it allows you to remain alive as well as conscious while stretching and strengthening those muscles. But when I’m pulling my belly button into my spine and tweezing my buttocks together and keeping my shoulders down and extending my legs out at a forty-five degree angle, I can’t seem to remember to also, oh, inhale, and then maybe just for fun, exhale. Every time the video instructor says, “Concentrate on breathing evenly.” I think, “Breathing? What breathing? Oh, that’s the light-headed feeling I’m getting! Lack of oxygen. Got it!” Breathe.