Stop Holding Your Breath During Stretching

In this session, I’ll guide you through a simple breathing technique to help your body relax and feel safe during movement. Many people unknowingly hold their breath while stretching or exercising, creating more tension instead of releasing it. By learning how to breathe in sync with movement, you can improve flexibility, mobility, reduce stiffness, and create a calmer, more connected practice.

Transcript

Hello everyone, My name is Pedro Ivela and in this video I want to talk to you about the importance of breathing. Especially if you want to improve your flexibility and mobility. A lot of my clients when they first start with flexibility exercises they are tight and they want to feel relief. Let me show you exactly what they do. So for example, I want to stretch my hamstring, Yeah? We lean forward, You feel the stretch. What do you do? You try to go deeper, You hold on to your breath, You're not even thinking about your breath, You focus on your stretch, Yeah? Is this your reality too? Okay now, If you are holding on to your breath while you're trying to stretch, You're sending the wrong signal to your brain. And for your brain, It's all about safety. If you're trying to stretch and you're holding on to your breath. It's like you're trying to swim against the current, Okay? When you hold on to your breath for your brain, It's like you're in danger. Because even though it's 2026, Our brains still function as if we were hunter-gatherers. And back then, We had to hunt to get food. Every now and again, We did encounter a dangerous situation. What is the first thing we do when we are in danger? We stop. Yeah, We stop, We hold on to our breaths. We get more attentive, Yeah? Our muscles tense up because we are holding on to our breaths. Why? Because we need to fight or flight. So holding on to our breaths is equal to our brains as if we were fighting or flighting. So when you're trying to stretch and you're holding on to your breathing, You are swimming against the current. Your brain thinks that it should tighten up the muscles that you're trying to stretch. That's a defense mechanism. Our brains tighten up the muscles. So what do we do? We need to bypass that. We need to tell our brains that we are safe. And how do we do it? With breathing. You got it. Really important, There are a few ways that you can breathe. There's no right or wrong here, But I prefer that you exhale twice as long as you inhale. So say you inhale for three seconds. Xaofu6 Nice and easy, Yeah? Inhale for three. Example 6 You can do even longer if you want. Inhale for four, Exhale for eight. Inhale for two, Exhale for four. There's no right or wrong, Okay? So if you are controlling your breathing, You are sending a signal to your brain saying that you are safe. If you're safe, Your muscles can relax. So next time you try to do any stretches, Yeah? Try to really focus on your breathing. Shift your mind away from the stretch and use your breathing as an anchor. Make sense? Okay? So, How would this stretch look like? I'm going to inhale at the top. And I'm going to exhale. Nice and slow, Now I can feel this stretch. This stretch is a good eight out of 10, Yeah? So what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna inhale again, I'm gonna expand my lungs. I'm gonna Excel. Even more and you're gonna feel your body allowing you to go even deeper. One more time, Inhale. Excel. Same eta 10, But now I could touch my forehead on my knee. See the difference? Stretches is all about making your brain feel safe. Make sense? I hope you guys enjoyed. Do some of the exercises that I've got here. And Let me know if you need anything. Catch you later. Bye.

Reviews

Great example of the importance of breathing to signal your brain & body connection before stretching.

Thank 🙏you
🌸Jesse