Could raising your shoulders lead to breathing easier?

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP @ Inside Awareness, Living in Natures Love Blog & Renee Lindstrom Live

Explore Feldenkrais in 2 ways:

1. Group Glasses & Workshops called:  Awareness through Movement or ATM (Classes below)
2. Individual Sessions called:  Functional Integration (for increasing available movement for conditions, injuries, athletes, musicians, dancers and development

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Cultivating Awareness through ATM focused upon Expanding Shoulder Movement

 

Take a moment and explore how raising your shoulder while sitting could make a difference in how you breathe.  Try this simple movement pattern for raising your awareness.


Make your movements slow, soft and remember to pay attention to sensing the actual movement.   If you are using effort and/or working out – notice and do the opposite.  Try and feel the movements.

1. Raise your right shoulder slowly noticing it coming closer to your right ear and lower it back down. Pause and repeat 3 or 4 times remembering to pause between each cycle.
2. Stop and notice the difference between your two shoulders.
3. Come back and begin to lower your right shoulder towards your right hip 3 or 4 times.  Pause between each cycle and remember to make this movement soft and slow.
4. Stop and notice the difference between your two sides.
5. Now begin to alternate the movement raising and lowering your shoulder while you observe your breathing pattern.  Notice when do you inhale and when do you exhale?
6. Now alternate the movement with your breathing pattern, inhale as you raise your shoulder, exhale as you lower.
7. Notice the quality of your breathing and any movement of your rib cage.
8. Change your breathing pattern and try to raise your shoulder as you exhale and when you lower your shoulder you inhale.  Do you notice any differences? Is one more restricted, less comfortable.  Now change back, breathe in as you raiser your shoulder and exhale as you lower it.   Which one is easier or more comfortable? Repeat 3 or 4 more times.
9. Compare your two sides in sitting now.  How does your right side feel compared to your left side.
10. Bring your attention to your pattern of breathing in and out.  Sense the quality of expansion and contraction now as you simply breath in and release into an out breath.
11. Release and continue to the left side and start over at #1! Enjoy, be curious and explore.

Renee Lindstrom, GCFP – offers the Feldenkrais® Method of Somatic Movement in Victoria, privately for deeper experience and through Feldenkrais® Fitness Classes.

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Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,