Breathe

Breathing...I don't think about it usually. Breathing just happens for me and I've taken it for granted. Recently, situations in both my life and in martial arts training, have shown me how important breathing can be to help your challenges and the stress that accompanies them.

I trained with Keith Florian this week in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Keith is a great technician and strategist for ground fighting. But, my lesson this past week with Keith transended just the physical movements of the discipline.

When we were rolling, Keith would put me in defensive positions that I felt uncomfortable in. He would "pressure" me physically using his weight. I, in response, would hold my breath and try to muscle out of the situation. The pressure I felt from Keith made things extremely uncomfortable for me, and I found myself compensating for this by not breathing. This, in turn, would lead to additional stress.

I've had similar experiences in my daily life, where the stress of a particular situation would cause me to hold my breath and tighten up. The feeling of tightening up and lack of breath felt the same in both situations.

Keith recognized my problem. He told me that everytime I feel pressure, I should focus on my breathing and work my way out of the problem. He then gave me homework. Keith stated, that everytime I feel pressure in my day-to-day challenges, I ahould breathe. Keith said, "This way, the next time we train together, you will have been practicing your martial art without me there."

By controlling my breath, I control myself.