How I “Turned On” My Butt: Why My Posture Completely Sucked And How I Fixed It Fast.

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A few weeks ago, I posted the article “How To Turn On Your Butt, Activate Deep Breathing & Decompress Your Spine (And Why I’ve Completely Changed My Morning Routine).”

That article, in which I outline why, every day of the week as part of my morning routine, I now follow the entire short spinal decompression and deep breathing routine from the book “True To Form: How to Use Foundation Training for Sustained Pain Relief and Everyday Fitness” to “turn on” my butt, decompress my spine, activate deep diaphragmatic breathing and much more:

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In that post, I describe how Core Foundation trainer Kate Murphy came to my house to give me a quick refresher on the Foundation moves and to ensure I was doing them with laser-like precision and accuracy. When it comes to doing these moves properly, Kate is a true ninja, and since so many questions, comments and feedback poured in after my article about how I changed up my morning routine to do Core Foundation every day, I reached out to Kate to describe exactly how she changed my body and movement patterns…

…you're about to read her detailed response, and to get everything you need to know about Core Foundation training, which, in my opinion, is right up there with gratitude journaling, deep breathing and sun exposure as a new daily habit. Enjoy, leave your questions and comments below the post and either Kate or I will reply!


This Is Tough

“Wow–this is tough!”

Those aren’t the words you’d expect out of one of the fittest people around. We were only twenty minutes into our session when Ben Greenfield–ranked as one of the top 100 most influential people in health, one of America’s top personal trainers, a health and wellness writer, and renowned podcaster–looked up at me over his shaking legs and expressed his pure, exasperated surprise.

When it comes to a combination of stamina, strength and resilience, Ben Greenfield has been named many times as one of the fittest individuals on the planet and, unlike most Americans, does not spend his day sitting at a desk deflating his glutes and posterior chain. He’s extremely active and knows muscle balance well. But even the fittest individuals can end up with an over-developed front side and weak, dysfunctional backside. And Ben, although known for his “superhuman” abilities, is no exception to what our modern day lives do to our posture.

Ben originally learned about Foundation Training (FT), a series of corrective exercises designed to strengthen our “core,” through Dr. Eric Goodman’s book, Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence (2011), and Ben began to experiment with incorporating the ten basic Foundation exercises outlined by the book into his workout routine, although without the kind of daily structure or routine he now has. He had actually suggested Foundation Training to me years ago when I personally was struggling with chronic foot and back pain. Little did he know, but his invaluable advice started me on an incredible path with Foundation Training and freedom from years of chronic pain!

So I pursued Foundation Training, attending two certification courses and I became a certified FT instructor, learning everything I could from Dr. Goodman and his talented team of master instructors. Shortly after returning from my second certification, I had the opportunity to work with Ben and show him how far the exercises have come. Although Dr. Goodman continually tweaks the exercises, making them better all the time–these latest advances in his newest book “True To Form” have been nothing short of brilliant.

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Small Tweaks, Huge Changes

Foundation Training (hereafter referred to as “FT”) had been a part of Ben’s daily routine for several years. During a 7 Day Reboot Course he taught with Mind Body Green, he mentioned the Founder (FT's go-to exercise), referring to it has “the single most potent exercise move you can do.”

Here is a picture of Ben’s original Founder:

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Although they’re outside of view in this photo frame, Ben’s knees are over his heels rather than behind, making this a quad-dominant exercise rather than a posterior chain exercise (a critical FT distinction). Also, his head position should be noted. The chin should be drawn in to lengthen the back of the neck and to avoid shortening the muscles of the posterior chain.

After Ben’s video was released, the FT community was quick to offer their suggestions to improve his form. Yes, they tore him to shreds on the internets, driving home a point he already knew but hadn't fixed: his FT form was far from perfect. Fortunately, I was able work with Ben, and we focused on details such as the two issues noted in the photo. Ben was able to quickly feel how even the slightest adjustment can make all the difference.

It was the Woodpecker (a glute-focused exercise), which prompted Ben’s surprised protest during our session. I reminded him the shake he was feeling is a good sign. Dr. Goodman says when we identify weakness within our posterior chain we begin to experience this shake (often more like a tremble). This is when all the “reprograming” is taking place in the neuromuscular system and our body is making the appropriate adaptations. Here are the top four tweaks we made to Ben’s FT Woodpecker form.


How We Fixed Ben's Woodpecker

Don't snicker at the title of this section. It's true. We fixed his woodpecker, and here's how…

>Squaring the hips: Ben’s “old” woodpecker form meant his hips were too open. One of the most common tendencies with this exercise, it is usually an indication of tight hips (glutes), which force the hips into external rotation, pulling them open. By squaring up his hips, Ben was able to effectively pull his glutes much longer. Once the glutes were lengthened, we added tension, addressing dysfunction and tightness rather than adding to it.

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2. Weight shift: the position of the front knee is key in this exercise. Ben’s front knee was bent just a little too much, so we shifted his weight back slightly by straightening the knee. When the knee travels forward, it takes the hips with it, causing shortening of the glutes and hamstrings. This tiny adjustment also changed the target of the exercise from the front (quads) to the backside of the body (glutes).

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3. Breathing: Ben and I focused on not just increasing the distance from the pelvis to the front, sides, and back of the ribcage but expansion of the ribcage. This meant filling the chest wall with air to activate the muscles that help create more space in the torso and also help to pull up on (decompress) the spine. When breathing, the intercostal muscles contract and drag the rib cage up as the diaphragm moves down. This elevation creates an upward (decompression) force.

4. Head position: by improving Ben’s breathing and lifting his chest using FT-specific decompression breathing, we were also able to adjust his head position, one of the most common mistakes with any FT exercise. The cervical portion of the spine must remain long to avoid “slack” or shortening of the posterior chain. This helps address forward head posture and takes decompression to another level. Oftentimes it is hard to feel whether or not the back of the neck is long, which is why an outside, trained perspective is so invaluable.

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Perhaps the most significant and impactful compression along the spine can come from head position. When the chin juts out and the head falls forward from the shoulder, the cervical spine is compressed. Foundation Training addresses forward head posture at the source. The goal is to re-position the head to allow space at the base of the skull by drawing the chin in, creating more distance between the base of the skull and the pubic symphysis.

These adjustments made a huge difference in Ben’s body and glute recruitment.

I received a text the following day that simply said the following:

“My butt is sore!”

FT effectively lengthens each muscle before it’s tensioned. If you take a weak, tight muscle and “strengthen” it without pulling it long, you’re contributing to muscle tightness/dysfunction. But, if you take a tight, weak muscle and pull it long then strengthen it, you’re addressing the root cause of both tight and weak muscles. Lengthening the muscle then adding tension is a great way to create not only stronger muscles but also longer ones–muscles that glide and have the functional ability to contract and move within a healthy range. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.

And yes, this can make you very sore. Even you, Ben Greenfield.

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Diving into the Nitty Gritty

These are limited examples of small tweaks we made in a single session, but there is so much more to Foundation Training. So as Ben would say, let’s put on our propeller hats, dive in, and take a closer look at the biomechanics that make FT so effective.

To begin with, our modern lifestyle directly contradicts and weakens important core stability, essentially taking us out of correct alignment. Some refer to the human body as lazy, while others claim it’s brilliantly adaptive. Both are true.

Our body is constantly trying to make whatever we’re doing easier for us. But, it’s this compensatory pattern that often leads to chronic pain and breakdown of joints. When sitting for prolonged periods of time, the body begins to shut down, muscles become weaker and dormant, and they no longer help to support the spine. Desk jobs, too much time on computers, texting, and sitting or standing in undesirable positions all lead to an accelerated breakdown of the spine as muscles atrophy and bones begin to rest on bones.

When it comes to Foundation Training (FT), our bodies still seek the path of ease and familiarity. To combat a tendency toward routine movement, each exercise is accompanied by twenty to thirty different queues to remind the body of where it needs to be to maximize the effectiveness of each exercise. In order to restore proper muscle function, they must first become flexible enough to move, glide, and contract. The goal with any FT exercise is to take each muscle or muscle group, pull it/them long (restoring its functional length), and then “turn it on” by adding appropriate tension.

Adding tension to the right place at the right time helps avoid “slack” in a muscle or muscle group. Each muscle should act as a pulley to take tension and compression off the surrounding joints. But, before creating this pulley system, it is crucial to first learn how to properly use the muscles of the pelvis to create an anchor so there is something to pull against.

This is where the precise eye of an instructor trained in FT comes in. An instructor knows where muscles attach (anatomy) and how rotational movement (biomechanics) helps to restore length to each muscle or muscle group. An instructor can quickly identify any undesirable adaptations the body may make. Most people have been taught to segregate and compartmentalize when strengthening a muscle. Rather than an isolating exercise like crunches, FT uses combined chains of movement to encourage core muscles to work together.

Let's dive into the key principles of FT…

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Key Principles of Foundation Training

Decompression:

Decompression breathing, if done well, acts as a pulley system to increase tension on the posterior chain and glutes. Decompression breathing is used during each FT exercise to reeducate the axial skeleton to use the pulley systems around the ribcage to lengthen and decompress the torso and awaken the deep muscles of the core needed to pull upwards against gravity.

Proper breathing produces a visible effect on the body, opening and rotating limbs. Dr. Goodman, in his book True to Form, describes the specific structural effects of deep and expansive breathing:

When the sternum lifts and expands outwardly it lifts the ribcage and, pushing the shoulders into external rotation, opening up the chest and allowing more room for oxygen. Put simply, as air fills the rib case, the axial skeleton expands, lifting the sternum, and rotating the upper extremities externally, which allows space for the lungs to breathe and also helps to lift and support the weight of the head against the downward pull of gravity.

During decompression breathing the front, sides, and back of the ribcage are pulled up and away from the pelvis. On the exhale, the bellybutton is drawn in to brace the length gained on the inhale. The ribcage should lift and expand on the inhale and stay in that position on the exhale, while all of the deep core muscles work to hold it there. When done well, decompression breathing allows much more space between each vertebra. This reeducates the deep trunk (core) muscles to become longer (more decompressed) and stronger, and eventually our muscles begin to remember that part of their job is to hold us up.

This new norm allows your spine to be much more decompressed and stable.

Anchoring:

The muscles of the pelvis, glutes, hamstrings, adductors, and iliacus help to create an equal downward pull on the pelvis, or an anchor. In order to create space and tension that supports the entire body, we must have something to pull upward from or against. We need an anchor in order to keep our posture expansive.

Anchoring is executed by first initiating a slight internal rotation at the hip and then adding tension by drawing the feet toward the midline of the body, creating an inward and upward pull from the pelvis down to the arches of the feet. This maneuver allows proper circumduction of the leg and helps to correct legs and feet that may be stuck in external rotation (i.e. duck feet). This slight internal rotation also allows the glutes to be pulled longer and return to a more functional length.

Anchoring also involves the muscles of the feet, another weak and dormant structure in many bodies. During anchoring, the outsides of the feet push firmly into the ground, pushing back against gravity, while the big toes are pulled toward the opposite heels. This creates an upward lifting of the arches. This pull originates from the anchoring muscles of the pelvis. The iliacus (a deep hip flexor and lateral rotator) muscle also plays a huge role. This anchor creates a strong, stable center of gravity.

Anchoring creates a downward, traction force on the spine. Then, with breath FT teaches us to pull away from the anchor (which is pulling downward), creating our own traction force. The result? Decompression!

Integration and Hip Hinging:

When practicing FT it is never the intent to isolate a muscle. Each exercise reeducates the body on proper integration or sharing of muscular work, and each muscle plays an important role. While some play a bigger role than others, they never act alone. When the workload is shared this eliminates the potential for one muscle to become overactive, tight, or dysfunctional.

Hip hinging is an effective way to teach all the muscles of the posterior chain to work in conjunction with one another to perform the same task. It is the basic foundation of proper movement. Unfortunately, few know how to do it and almost no one can do it well. When this basic movement pattern begins to atrophy, we end up compensating in a variety of ways and the result leads to chronic breakdown of our joints and, eventually, pain.

The hip hinge should be used for basic life movement like bending over to get something off the ground, loading the dishwasher, or brushing your teeth, but again our modern day lives have forced us out this way of moving. Sitting for most of the day results in weak glutes or glute amnesia, weak trunk muscles, tight hips, and tight lower back muscles, which makes it hard to do this basic movement.

When the hips are loaded correctly they become the axis between the upper and lower extremity. Bending in this way takes pressure off the discs and places it back in the muscles that surround and brace the spine. The spine remains protected and the posterior chain supports the basic movement. Hinging at the hips maximizes the strength in the posterior chain, decreases anterior chain dominance, spares the knees and spine, and allows for proper kinetic transfer of energy and force.

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During a proper hip hinge, the hamstring muscles of the posterior chain are restored to their functional length. Tight hips and hamstrings are an absolute epidemic. But why? Again, it’s the way we move (or don’t move). We have forgotten how to move in ways that repeatedly lengthen and strengthen our muscles. Eventually they become dysfunctional, tight, and lose their ability to glide and contract. The muscles respond to this by tightening to add stability and the dysfunction snowballs.

Several of the Foundation exercises have a hinging component. During this portion of the exercise the glutes and hamstrings are pulled long, restoring their functional length. The deep muscles of the trunk support and stabilize the spine, and the anchoring muscles (adductors and iliacus) support the pelvis inferiorly.

The posterior chain is where most of our power comes from if we harness its potential correctly. Back pain, an epidemic, is a direct result of losing this ability to move well–to hinge at the hips with a stable spine and properly use the muscles on the back side of our bodies to transfer forces as they are intended to do.

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Summary

Foundation Training is unique and if done well, highly effective at treating all kinds of common aches and pains (plantar fasciitis, piriformis syndrome, back pain of any kind, shin splints, and tension headaches). Ben recognizes the value of having a body that is moving well.

He researches, seeks the very best, looks far and wide for the latest and greatest advances/therapies in the health and wellness industry and recently wrote an article about, “How To Turn On Your Butt, Activate Deep Breathing & Decompress Your Spine (And Why I Completely Changed My Morning Routine)“.

If Ben does Foundation Training every morning and says it’s one of the most effective programs for low back pain, , then chances are it could work for you – and in my personal experience it truly will! You can get started by grabbing the book: True To Form: How to Use Foundation Training for Sustained Pain Relief and Everyday Fitness. Enjoy!

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More About Kate

Kate Murphy is the fitness guru behind Health Revolt. She aims to educate, facilitate and guide individuals on their path to optimal health through exercise, nutrition and lifestyle — empowering them to enhance their lives and take control of their own health. It provides valuable information regarding disease prevention and brings clarity to the many issues and controversies surrounding diet and exercise.

Leave your questions and comments below and either Kate or I will reply!

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38 thoughts on “How I “Turned On” My Butt: Why My Posture Completely Sucked And How I Fixed It Fast.

  1. Macedo says:

    Good day, I read the book “True to form” and when applying the exercises after a few weeks of practicing it, sometimes, when I sneeze I feel a pain in the ribs, for a moment and then it passes me is normal? Any advice? I only practice it now when I’m sitting for 1 hour maximum.

  2. Brandon says:

    Anyone else getting a type of acid reflux from decompression breathing? Any pointers?

    1. Hali says:

      Brandon, you might have a hiatal hernia. When the stomach moves up into the area of the diaphragm, the deep breathing may irritate it until corrected. You can have this assessed and corrected by a body worker, chiropractor, or massage therapist that is trained in it. Hope it has resolved for you though (being almost 2 years later).

  3. John cooper says:

    I have been doing FT for about 6 weeks now. Im recovering from a disc protrusion and have found a few on the excercises seem to aggravate the pain a little ie woodpecker/ anchored bridge. I think my form is pretty good tbh so do you think there are just some excercises that dont agree with me and i should leave out or should none of them cause pain.

  4. Brent Newman says:

    Should I make any modifications to these due to my scoliosis? All three regions.

    1. Kate Murphy says:

      Hi Brent,
      The short answer is, no. Go slow, listen to your body and make that posterior chain as strong as you can 👍🏻

  5. Kamil says:

    Hey, i bought foundation training book , started doing workout routine included in book and have little problem.

    Recommendation there is to do workout 6 days in a week, but i am experiencing strong soreness and decrease of ROM in my butt and hamstring which goes off after 3 days . Should i continue doing routine despite of soreness or maybe lower repetitions or work only when not feeling soreness ?

    1. Soreness is normal, but listen to your body. If you need to lower repetitions, there's no shame in that.

  6. jay says:

    great post. i have been a fan of foundation training from the old book, and just finished reading most of the new book true to form. my question is regarding the concept of strengthening internal rotation of the hip for pelvic stability. i am also a follower of kelly starrett (becoming a supple leopard) and my interpretation of how kelly talks a lot about creating a stable pelvis is through screwing your feet into ground, creating torque, which would primarily be through external rotation when standing up straight or in flexion, And squeezing your butt and abs. This is an oversimplification, but I’m curious the relationship between eric goodman’s stress on internal rotation when anchoring, and its relationship with this other concept of external rotation to create a stable pelvic position. i imagine both schools of thought are on the same page, and it has to do with some balance between the 2, but how should I think about my hip rotational position when standing on a regular basis, or when lifting things off the ground? thanks so much!

    1. kate murphy says:

      Hi Jay,

      If I understand your question correctly, you’re wondering how much internal rotation should be happening at the hips while hinging? Here’s the short and simple answer. Creating internal rotation at the hips while hinging does create pelvic stability, but more importantly it allows the femurs to rotate inward, which pulls the glutes/external rotates long, allowing them to lengthen and then contact (work!). For example, if the hips are stuck in external rotation while performing a hip hing, the hip capsule will not be properly aligned and the glutes unable to work. It’s also important to be aware the not everyone is stuck in external rotation at the hips. Most are, but some are stuck in internal rotation and need to focus less on the internal rotation part of anchoring and focus more on restoring proper length/strength to inner thigh/adductor muscles. Hope this helps!

  7. Scarlet says:

    If you’re doing the right form of every exercise it surely will be effective and can avoid aches and pains in your body.

  8. Erica says:

    Great insights. I have been practicing FT for almost a year after experiencing back pain and stiffness while bending and have experienced wonderful results. I continue to get stronger and am able to engage more muscles and expand my breathing techniques so the practice continues to challenge me. For those wondering-there are training DVDs available on the FT website. I use them and find the guidance really helpful. Thanks again for the insightful comments!

  9. Tamara Dantzer says:

    I have read Kate’s response regarding the changes she made to your “Founder” exercise over and over again and something is not making sense to me. She says ” Ben’s knees are over his heels rather than behind, making this a quad-dominant exercise rather than a posterior chain” How is it ever possible to have your knees BEHIND your heels unless you are some kind of genetically modified human with your knees on backwards..What am I missing here??

    1. kate murphy says:

      Tamara,

      When the knees sit directly over the heels in a Founder (chair pose), the quads try to take over. When you hinge the hips back and allow he knees to follow, the posterior chain is loaded in a way that allows the glutes and hamstrings to fully lengthen/activate. Look at Ben’s second Founder. If you drew a line straight down from the back of his knees they would be SLIGHTLY behind his heels. (Not a great pic to show this well!)

    2. kate murphy says:

      Here’s a better illustration! <a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FKp84tCkNiFg%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2 Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKp84tCkNiFg&docid=7lDDzmj17EeoLM&tbnid=3fOLX_BJQ1fksM%3A&w=1280&h=720&bih=764&biw=1536&ved=0ahUKEwiYkur09s3OAhVX22MKHadiB4QQMwgnKAkwCQ&iact=mrc&uact=8″ target=”_blank”>https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%…” target=”_blank”>Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKp84tCkNiFg&docid=7lDDzmj17EeoLM&tbnid=3fOLX_BJQ1fksM%3A&w=1280&h=720&bih=764&biw=1536&ved=0ahUKEwiYkur09s3OAhVX22MKHadiB4QQMwgnKAkwCQ&iact=mrc&uact=8

  10. Beth says:

    It would be great to have this in a video format to pop in and follow in the morning!

    1. kate murphy says:

      Beth,

      The daily workouts DVD is incredible! I do a different workout from the DVD every morning. Enjoy! https://www.foundationtraining.com/store/

      1. Brock in HK says:

        Is the DVD /online download compatible with the book? the book is published May 2016, and the book in 2014 – it seems like some of the Founder technique has been refined in the past 2 years, or at least the variety of positions to use.

        Do you know if there will be an updated video to reflect the types of workouts that the book is trying to guide us to, and when it will be released? I’m a bit confused by the book, as it’s too much of a menu to me, and I’d like a few monkey-see-monkey-do workouts to follow. And I don’t want to buy now only to find out I have to buy again in a short period of time.

  11. Donna Rietbergen says:

    Are there any videos whereby we could follow along with the instructions?

    1. kate murphy says:

      Donna,

      Yes, check them out here: https://www.foundationtraining.com/store/

  12. Connie says:

    What would be cool if you loaded up a page with 20-30 second videos of each of the moves and what it is the individual should focus on. For example, in this article, I’d have a link for those specific exercises. The pics/detailed descriptions are great, but for the person that does better by watching, this would be helpful.

    Here’s an example: https://www.youtube.com/user/drbenkim/videos

    I love your emails/articles/podcasts. Very entertaining (which is a good way to bring someone in. If they were dry, you’d lose a lot of readers). You seem like a great guy with a beautiful. God bless you.

    1. kate murphy says:

      Connie,

      FT has some great daily workouts you can purchase online. Check them out here: https://www.foundationtraining.com/store/

  13. Ken says:

    Great post and True to Form is a great book. Once we’re doing a daily dose of these exercises, what should we keep in mind during normal daily activities – I.e. driving, flying, or even just walking around?

  14. Paul says:

    Hi, this is very interesting to me. I have one question though, this training seems a lot like Pilates to me, what’s the major difference between the two? I must say I’m not a Pilates expert, but I used to train w/ this Pilates instructor and the focus is very much similar (decompression of the spine, breathing technique, anchoring the pelvis, lengthening of the muscle). Thanks!

    1. kate murphy says:

      Paul,

      Foundation Training is entirely different than Pilates and unlike anything out there. Dr. Goodman ( the creator of FT) redefines “core” and his approach to strengthening the posterior chain is quite unique. Although both have a similar end goal, the exercises are very different.

      1. kate murphy says:

        Ken,

        Great question! If you’re doing the exercises regularly your body will begin to “remember” these new/improved movement patterns. More specifically, when sitting, apply the principles of decompression. Breath length into the torso and brace that length with the deep core muscles. Most importantly, when bending make sure you hip hinge. This will save your back and reinforce posterior chain strength and flexibility. Good luck :)

  15. Fred DeHaven says:

    I’ve had a little FT, and found the movements to be so subtle that you can’t be sure you’ve got them right without the trainer watching you. Trainers at every workout aren’t an option for most of us and trained trainers are hard to find.

    1. kate murphy says:

      Fred,

      Working with a trainer is very beneficial, but don’t let that discourage/deter you! I learned FT from the first book and made huge changes within my body before knowing all the nitty gritty details. Strive for progress, not perfection :).

  16. Razkin says:

    Thanks for some great pointers, Kate!

    I’m new to TF, and would be great if you could also touch on the length of each breath.

    For example – the lunge decompression directions state “do a decompression breath for 30 seconds while holding your stance”. Obviously 30 seconds is the target, but I feel way off (maybe because I’ve been conditioned to belly breathing from Yoga).

    Also, inhale through nose, exhale through mouth? It’s not actually mentioned in the TF book. Would be great to see a video example of proper breathing technique.

    1. kate murphy says:

      Razkin,

      The number of decompression breaths varies from person to person. I’d start with 10-15 breaths and work on quality and form, not quantity. Yoga (belly) breathing is great for relaxation, while decompression breathing effectively lengthens and strengthens the deep core muscles that support the spine.

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