Ever feel short of breath in a backbend? You aren’t the only one. Where to breathe in a backbend is a popular question, and rightfully so. If you look at the anatomy of it, the front-body (anterior) muscles are all stretched out, and the back-body (posterior) muscles are completely contracted. Without getting too technically specific, whenever we inhale, the muscles that surround the abdomen and chest stretch and expand. In a backbend, or heart opener, these muscles are already stretched to their maximum, so there is little to no room to breathe, especially in the belly/abdominal area. Over time, you can certainly increase the flexibility of your abdominals; however, you will likely also begin to deepen your backbends, which will put you right back in the same predicament of fully stretched belly muscles and no additional room for breath. On the flip side, the back muscles are completely contracted and shortened. All of the vertebrae of your spine are in extension, making it very hard to breathe in the back body with so much contraction.

WHERE TO BREATHE IN BACKBENDS (ALSO KNOWN AS HEART OPENERS)

Through much experience, I have found that the best approach to breathing in heart openers is to focus on expanding the sides of the ribs outward, lifting the heart upward, and allowing the shoulders to rise and fall. In all of my heart-opening immersions, I teach the specifics and guide you step by step on how to shift your breathing from the belly to the thoracic. Belly breathing, often known as diaphragmatic breathing, is excellent, highly efficient, and calming; in heart openers, however, it tends to cause a great deal of discomfort in the low back, and more often than not, it significantly restricts mobility. I do suggest belly breathing between sets of backbends to bring the heart rate back down and to get grounded.

The easiest way to learn how to breathe into the sides of the ribs and chest is to cinch your belly in and up, which is often referred to as Uddiyana Bandha. Anatomically speaking, I am referring to two main muscle actions.

1. transversus abdominis: Activate this, known as the corset muscle, by pulling your wasteline inward on all sides of the body.
2. erector spinae: Lift your ribs and chest upward; don’t try to”knit the ribs,” but allow them to lift.

Maintaining these two actions, place your hands on your outer ribs. On your inhale, try to push outwards into your hands with your ribs while keeping the belly inward (a little movement will occur—that’s ok) and your middle and upper chest lifting. Doing this will force the intercostal muscles between the ribs to lengthen. That said, you’ll want to be careful and avoid massive inhales when learning this so that you do not overstretch any of these muscles. In the immersion titled Anatomy of the Heart, we go over all of these actions, and I also show these muscles to you so you can visualize how it all works.

BREATHING IN OTHER BACKBENDS

While Bow Pose might be more challenging due to the fact that the belly is on the ground, it can be a great posture to work with because you dont have to worry about balance or the host of other challenges presented by something like Full Wheel. That said, I recommend this same type of breathing in all heart openers. There is both a learning curve involved in this type of breathing and repetition that is required until your muscles (transversus abdominis, intercostals, erector spinae) develop the necessary strength, endurance, and flexibility for this approach to yield the best results.

In the Anatomy of the Heart immersion, you will learn breathing exercises and postural drills that will strengthen these muscles and help you become proficient in this breathing technique. Additionally, we will be working on the HEART of heart openers—the emotional correlation and mindset that helps release unnecessary tension and provides you with the freedom and ease that is possible in these postures. Lastly, you will learn energy management in order to upregulate or downregulate your nervous system. This means you will be able to relax or calm your system down if you become too lifted, light-headed, nervous, or anxious, or you can ramp your energy up if you are feeling lethargic, unmotivated, or not attentive enough for heart openers.

See you on the mat!

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Article by Matt Giordano

Video Extracted From: Anatomy in Motion

There are definitely more ways than one to access a yoga posture. Not only that, but Matt is explicit about technique in order to unlock access. In an all-encompassing pose like Extended Side Plank—Vashistasana—there is a lot going on all at once. There are so many things that need to be digested when breaking it down. Even though this posture may be a physically challenging one, Matt breaks down how you can approach it both physically and intellectually. He shows you specifically what muscles to activate and what parts of the body to articulate. Extended Side Angle is one of those postures that recruits and demands so much of your effort and attention.   

When exploring the various entry points and different ways to execute the posture, it’s important to pay attention to the specifics of each variation. Matt outlines 2 variations in today’s tutorial. You’ll explore Extended Side Plank by utilizing a wall and another variation with a strap.

Within these explorations, you’ll see just how much body awareness is involved and how connected you need to be to your anatomy. Much more than just knowing your muscles and bones, it’s about understanding how to move and articulate each part of your body.

The Actions for Extended Side Plank, Variation at the Wall

As always, it’s imperative to start your awareness from the ground up.

Step 1 – Matt explains that the gripping of your hand into the mat activates the flexors of your wrist. This is important because now you are utilizing technique to activate strength and set a solid base for the posture.

Step 2 – Next, we have spinal extension as a result of the shoulder blade moving into the spine. Matt emphasizes how necessary these actions are so that the rest of the posture can actually be expressed.

Step 3 – This step is really connected to Step 2, as it’s important to take the steps of lifting your shoulder up, back, and around. We also see this in Matt’s Shoulder Alignment Tutorial for Wild Thing.

Step 4 – Move your pelvis and weight in towards the wall.

Step 5 – You can then bend your knee and bring your foot onto the wall.

Step 6 – This step can take you to another level.
Grab your knee and pull it in as tightly towards the chest as possible. If this is the final step in the journey at this time for you, Matt explains that the only thing missing is the extension of the leg, removing the quadricep engagement.

How does this differ from the next variation?

Article by Trish Curling @AnioYoga

Video Extracted From: Mobility Immersion

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Not all that glitters is gold, and without the right approach, this glorious backbend may not be a shining example of spinal health.

King Cobra is no doubt a visually stunning yoga posture. When we see the outward execution of the pose, we see strength and confidence, and the pose may even appear to express maximum spinal mobility. It’s important, however, to understand that there are key actions to take in order for all of these things to be true.

In this King Cobra tutorial, Matt provides a step-by-step process of these actions in order to emphasize the process and the development of the body to prepare for the posture, rather than emphasizing the “achievement” of the pose purely for the aesthetics.

ANATOMY

The awareness of your anatomy is vital for you to understand each step. Understanding your anatomy helps you more clearly and intentionally connect with the sensations in your body, therefore cultivating a more direct line of communication from your brain to your body and from your body to your brain. The development of these signals will promote a more sophisticated body awareness that will help you activate the appropriate muscles (without overdoing it) and know exactly what directions not only to take but also to maintain in a particular part of your body as you layer on each action.

TRANSITIONING FROM THE GROUND TO WILD THING

After all of this, it is now your time to bask in the shine of this delightful backbend. Now there is the expansion, the extension, the confidence that you are safe in this posture, and most importantly, the desired health of your spine in this pose.

If King Cobra is not quite on the menu yet, click here to build the foundation with Matt’s 3-Part Cobra. Keep in mind that you will also explore 3-Part Cobra in Matt’s next immersion, Anatomy in Motion.

See you on the mat!

The 200 Hr. Teacher Training: Click Here to See The Next Start Date

The 300 Hr. Advanced Teacher Training: Click Here to See The Next Start Date

Article by Trish Curling

Video Extracted From: Mobility Immersion