For many years, I have had an inferiority complex about coaching breathing. I assumed that people would find it boring and thus tried to fit it into the margins of my programming.
I've read and heard many people I respect on this area say they try to get people off their back and off the ground as quickly as possible for these same reasons.
These statements are not wrong in their logic, but they are absolutely wrong in their presentation. I now believe that we can and should encourage our clients to return to the ground as often as possible to reestablish sensory competence and motor control. We just call it something else (Core circuit anyone?)
If, for example, I explain to a client the importance of tucking the pelvis in a 90/90 position to obtain a stacked position, I immediately lose at least 50% due to confusion.
However If I explain the same exercise will give them more ab and hamstring engagement AND improve their ability to squat, we suddenly have something very different. Context is an such an important element of coaching and the more our client can relate to our rationale, the more likely they are to buy in to our methods.
In today's example, I am attempting to engage the transverse abdominus by distinguishing pressure between lower and upper abs as I breath (exercise 1).
An easier way to say this to my client is that, because the TVA's fibers are hoop like, one of it's functions is abdominal compression (aka a smaller waistline). While this may not be completely accurate, it absolutely makes this more relevant.
I can then relate it to exercises 2-4 in which I am cueing my client to hold on to these muscles as we breath and move her limbs throughout her "Lower ab circuit".
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