The afternoon slump is no joke.
It’s like, once the clock strikes 3:00 p.m., we go from a real tough kid who can handle her sh*t back into our true form—a sweatpants goblin with bad posture, teetering on the verge of a mental breakdown.
The last thing we want to do at that moment is any type of movement other than scrolling TikTok. But, ofc, getting in just a few quick minutes of exercise and stretching is ultimately much better for us.
So with that in mind, we tapped Rachel Hirsch, cofounder of Empowered Yoga in LA, to share some easy exercise moves for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Anyone who has ever taken a yoga class knows that the words inhale and exhale make a common appearance. But why is there such an emphasis on breath in yoga? The answer, put simply, is that yoga is a movement and mindfulness practice.
“Breathing intentionally can be used to support your movement,” says instructor Rachel Hirsch, the co-founder of Empowered Yoga, a yoga studio in Los Angeles, California.
When you are doing more active poses, for example, you can use your breath to connect those poses, as well as increase stability and confidence within them, says Hirsch. “Breathing during can help minimize joint compression, support stillness in poses, and help create more space and freedom between those joints."
During poses designed to help you gain access to a range of motion, breathing also can help you and your muscles relax fully into the shape, she adds. “When stretching, you can use your breath to soften, to deepen, and to relax when a moment of stretching becomes intense."
Many people find that they also can use their breath to minimize heat in these moments so that they can continue to deepen the stretch, she explains. And, given that yogic breathing can help you stay in positions longer and deeper, using yogic breathing can help you increase your overall mobility and strength faster than you would be able to without it.