THE WEEKLY CORE ~
THE WEEKLY CORE ~
Week 2: The Power of Breath
“I breathe in relaxation, I breathe out tension.”
This week, I invite you to turn your attention to how you breathe.
The breath is an amazing tool that costs nothing but changes everything when we harness its power. Here are just a few of my favourite benefits of deep breathing:
🔥 Improves metabolism, helping your body burn energy more efficiently
😴 Enhances deeper, more restful sleep
🧘♀️ Deepens relaxation: by calming the parasympathetic nervous system
⚡ Boosts energy, as oxygen becomes more readily available
🎯 Improves focus, clearing mental fog and sharpening your attention
🌿 Reduces stress - lowering cortisol and activating your body’s rest state.
❤️🩹 Lowers blood pressure, which supports heart health
Around 80% of us breathe shallowly or “chest-breathe” causing tightness in neck, shoulders & back, contributing to anxiety and lethargy. Do your shoulders rise when you take a deep breath? If they do, you are likely chest breathing… and I’m excited to share this with you.
As women we’ve spent a lot of time holding in our tummies, which leads to chest breathing. When we allow the belly to relax and breathe fully, we improve core/function, mobilise the ribcage and enable the pelvic floor to release. The best part is that by doing so, we build core strength & no longer feel the need to hold in our tummies!
Workout Menu
A fresh set of workouts await for you below.
Didn’t complete Week 1? No problem. Focus here - and if you have time, you can always pop back to last week’s sessions.
Session Focus
💖 Mobility Release: restorative exercises designed to release tension, increase range of movement and open the body up. A great one to start off the week!
🔥 Dynamic Strength: challenging full body flowing routines targeting abs, obliques, back and glutes.
🌊 Mobility Flow: flowing movement to unlock the spine from head to tail and improve flexibility in your hips & shoulders.
💪🏼 Mindful Strength: strength done slowly - holding poses and moving at half speed to focus on excellent form while we build strength
How to Schedule Your Workouts
Each workout takes between 15-25 minutes - designed to be weaved into your busy days seamlessly.
On days you have more time, run two sessions together. Start with a Mobility to warm up and follow with a Strength.
If you’re short on time, select a 5 Minute Moment (scroll down to access) to warm you up before doing a Strength Session.
Food for Thought
Bloating
We all know that feeling. Whether it’s the time of the month, eating too much too fast or consuming certain foods - bloating can make you feel heavy, uncomfortable and downright moody, restricting what you wear and making movement unappealing.
After struggling with IBS and bloating for years, I found some simple lifestyle changes made all the difference:
Deep Breathing: taking slow, deep breaths helps to improve digestion and promote relaxation reducing stress related bloating. As you breathe the diaphragm gently massages the intestines to reduce any discomfort.
Mindful Eating: switch off the screen, sit down and eat slowly. Removing distractions and reducing the speed you eat will prevent you from swallowing air which can contribute to that full, uncomfy feeling. You will also be more aware of when you are full, stopping you from eating too much.
Hydration: drinking enough water helps food move through your digestive system, preventing constipation (also good for pelvic floor health) and bloating.
Gentle Core Exercises: by mobilising the spine and gently activating the core muscles, the digestive system is stimulated and the muscles can work more effectively.
Pre & Probiotics: whether taken as a supplement or incorporated via fermented foods, there is plenty of research to support the importance of these guys for gut health. Digestion is more efficient in a happy gut and therefore less prone to bloating.
Check out my favourite gut-friendly recipe for an easy dinner that pleases even the fussiest of eaters. 👇🏼
5 Minute Moments
A ready-made library of micro-workouts awaits…
Each with a different focus, these Moments are designed to add a little extra mobility and relaxation to your day.
Included:
Wake Up Stretches
Midday Mobilisations
Essential Tutorials
Bedtime Wind-down
Perfect for busy days when you need quick reset - or as additional tool to release tension at the beginning or end of your workouts.