Mark Cheng: Breathing as Fundamental Movement

Mark Cheng gives you the best language to explain the importance of breathing to your clients and why it must serve as a starting point for correctives.

Any discussion of fundamental movement has to start with the breath.

If the breath is not correct, the body is rejecting whatever you’re trying to teach it. In terms of movement, correction and rehabilitation, you have to make sure the breathing is dialed in.

If you look at athletes who own a certain movement pattern, they’re not breathing hard.

They’re probably not breathing through the mouth, and certainly not panting.

We want to train the breath to be as effortless, smooth and calm, but as deep as possible.

Ideally, you want to take someone to the edge of ability. If they have a full range of motion, but they haven’t learned the breath all the way at that end range of motion, maybe cueing them to breathe there or getting them to that end range and saying, “Breathe down into that lower abdomen again” is what you want to do.

If you can’t get them to breathe into that lower abdomen from that end range, back them off enough out of it, so they can get back to it, and then push the envelope a little bit more.

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