Breathe Better, Live Better

What if the way you breathe is the quiet lever that calms your nerves, powers your lifts, protects your pelvic floor, and helps you sleep deeper? We dig into the simple mechanics that shift your body from braced and busy to steady and strong, using tools that cost nothing and work anywhere. From longer nasal exhales that signal safety to a rib-expanding inhale that wakes up your diaphragm, you’ll learn how breath becomes a skill you can use before bed, before a hard conversation, and under a barbell.

We break down the body’s pressure system with a clear visual: your core is a soda can. When you inhale well, pressure spreads evenly; when you hold your breath or suck in your stomach, force slams into the pelvic floor. The fix is simple and powerful: inhale to prepare, exhale on effort, and add a gentle Kegel so the top and bottom of the can move together. Expect better glute engagement, a happier low back, and smoother lifts without chasing heavier weights. Then we connect breathing to posture and presence. Stack your ribs over your pelvis, free the neck and shoulders, and feel how a calmer pattern changes the way you walk into a room.

To make it actionable, we share six rapid drills for everyday life: a four-in, six-out sequence for sleep; 360 prep breaths for lifting; nasal-only cardio with interval resets; long exhales for anxious spikes; pursed-lip breathing to soften hot flashes; and three slow breaths to reset when a class or day overwhelms you. Finally, we pair breath with food that supports recovery and sleep: kiwis for serotonin-rich bedtime support, tart cherry juice for natural melatonin and muscle recovery, magnesium-rich foods for nervous system calm, and balanced dinners with protein and slow carbs to prevent 2 a.m. cortisol wake-ups. If the mix of strength, steadiness, and community speaks to you, share this episode with a friend, follow the show, and leave a quick review. Your breath is ready when you are—come practice with us.

Transcript

Welcome And Big Idea: Breathing

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Spandex and Wine Podcast. I'm your host, Robin Hackney, and I'm so happy that you're here. This podcast is a place for conversations about balancing a healthy lifestyle and being happy. More specifically, happy hour. Together we'll explore all things wellness and wine. I hope you learn a little, laugh a lot, and along the way, know you're not alone on this balanced wellness journey. Ready to jump in? Pour something in your glass that makes you happy because it's time for Spandex and Wine.

Nervous System Regulation With Breath

Wine, Stress, And Building New Habits

Breathing For Lifting And Pelvic Floor

Posture, Presence, And Longevity

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Spandex and Wine Podcast. I'm your host, Robin Hackney, and today we're talking about something that is completely free, it's powerful, and most women are doing it inefficiently. Breathing. So not the cute like spa day version or just take a deep breath. I mean the kind of breathing that can impact your stress bubble, your sleep, your workouts, your pelvic floor, your posture, and yeah, maybe even your relationship with wine. I don't know. And I'm gonna break it into three different parts. So breathing for nervous system regulation, breathing for exercise and pelvic floor support, and then breathing for posture, confidence, and longevity. And then I'll finish up with just a few rapid fire sections so you can use that immediately. Okay, so you cannot out train a dysregulated nervous system. Most women I work with live in low-grade fight or flight. I mean, I was. We are managing homes, we are managing work, we're managing adult kids, maybe some still at home, managing aging parents and that whole process, managing expectations. And we rarely downshift. And the science piece to this is your breath directly communicates with your nervous system. So fast, shallow mouth breathing tells your body that something is wrong. And slow nasal breathing with a longer exhale tells your body you are safe. The diaphragm is not just a breathing muscle, it's a regulator. So when you inhale through your nose and expand your ribs 360 degrees, you stimulate the vagus nerve. When you ex when your exhale is longer than your inhale, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system. And that's the rest and digest state. And here's where I'll be honest. Not that I'm not honest all the time. I don't know why I said that. Wine at night can be a shortcut to downshifting. I've done it. You've probably done it. I'm noticing my patterns and I am changing them. I had it in my mind, eh, it doesn't affect me that much. Um, but I'm realizing that it really is. And whine does work temporarily because it depresses the nervous system. But if we build a skill instead of outsourcing it, that is will be so much better. So maybe two minutes of inhale for the count of four and exhale to the count of six. You could try that before bed, before a hard conversation, before you answer that text that kind of got you fired up. And that helps train your nervous system. And it's also building a new healthy habit. But this is also your breathing is also so important during exercise and for pelvic floor support. So in the gym, if you're holding your breath, let's say during squats, it definitely needs to be fixed. Your core is a pressure system. So like imagine a soda can. The diaphragm is on the top and the pelvic floor is on the bottom. Your abdominals and back muscles wrap around the sides. So that's the sides of the can. And when you inhale properly, the diaphragm descends and pressure distributes evenly. When you hold your breath or suck in your stomach all day, pressure pushes downward. And you can guess who absorbs that pressure. It's your pelvic floor, and that's where you have leaking or heaviness or low back tension or pain. And you might be like, why is my back hurting instead of my glutes when I am doing this exercise? That's where all of that comes from. So the cue is fairly simple. Inhale to prepare. Exhale on effort. As you exhale, you'll be standing up from the squat. Exhale as you press the weight. Exhale as you pull that weight. And you can also add a keegel in there on that exhale. So that top can think about the top and the bottom getting closer as you exhale. And we can talk more about that if you are interested in more information. Because it took me a little while to get it. But no more sucking in your stomach all day. That habit weakens your pelvic core over time. I did it too. Oh my gosh. And I did years, years of drawing my stomach in. I felt like I just had to look like I had a flat stomach or make it as flat as I could. It is, I just did myself so much damage. Um breath should expand your ribs like an umbrella. It shouldn't lift up your shoulders towards your ears or just fill up into your chest. When you fix this, glutes fire better, which is always a good thing. Upper back engages better, your lifts feel smoother. You guys, it is working for me. It's not more effort, it's better mechanics. It's not necessarily necessarily lifting heavier, it's better mechanics. And I have to give a shout out to Lindsay Graham. I know I mentioned her, I don't know if it was last week or the week before. She is a physical therapist that I have been working with. I've had her on the podcast, and it's just helped me so much. She's been um excuse me, just helping me through excuse me, all of it. So breathing also changes how you carry yourself. Um chronic, shallow breathing tightens your chest, it pulls your head forward, it flares your ribs. Another thing I didn't know I had that Lindsay helped me with, it overloads your low back. When your rib cage is stacked over your pelvis, you look taller, you move with control, you feel grounded, and this is longevity. So good breathing improves your spinal mechanics, it reduces neck tension, it improves shoulder mobility, supports balance, it literally affects how you walk into a room.

Rapid-Fire Breath Applications

Midlife Collective Invitation

Food Pairings For Better Sleep

Closing, Community, And How To Connect

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Oh, excuse me, I got a tickle in my throat. Um, it literally affects how you walk into a room. So breath isn't just physiology, it's presence. So I told you I'd do a few rapid-fire practical applications. So let's go through six of those. So, one, before sleep. Do that four in, six out. Nasal inhale, slow exhale. Two, before lifting, big 360 inhale to prepare, and then exhale the hardest part of that lift. And you can add that Kegel if you would like, zipping everything up or picking up that blueberry. If you've been in class with me, you can relate to that. We've been talking about that. And three, during cardio, try nasal breathing as long as possible. It builds tolerance and improves efficiency. And this might be a good time for you to work with some intervals. So maybe you do your cardio as long as you can do nasal breathing when you feel like you can't take it down, regroup, and then jump back in. Four, during anxiety, longer exhales than inhales. Your exhale will help calm your nervous system. Breathing in and out of the nose will help calm your nervous system, even just five cycles. Okay, number five, this is a big one. During hot flashes, so slow nasal inhale and then long pursed lipped exhale. I'm like trying to do this as I'm talking. It won't eliminate them, but it can help soften that spike and maybe turn it more into a warm wave instead of a hot flash. And then six, if you feel overwhelmed in a workout class or really anytime, just step back, three slow breaths, reset, and then continue. And like I mentioned, if you want to learn more about these mechanics and these techniques, just reach out to me and we can chat about that. And all of this is exactly what the Midlife Collective is about. That's my new membership. It's not extremes, it's not punishment, it's not hustle culture and leggings. It's learning how to support our bodies and minds. It's nervous system regulation. I mean, that's the big thing on this one and this our whole collective group. It's smart regimens, it's connection, it's understanding the link between breath and movement. It's women, women supporting each other instead of competing with each other. And breath is connection. It's um between mind and body, between effort and control, between stress and calm. It's just so very helpful, you guys. And if this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend. If you're looking for a community that values strength and steadiness, the midlife collective will reopen soon. I opened it for some founding members, and I'm closing it for a little while because after our first call last night, like, oh my gosh, this is exactly who should be here. And that's just what we're all about. Our first call was amazing. I can't wait to dive in deeper. Um, so I will reopen it soon. Um, but I want to work with these founding members first. So look for that. We'll give it a month or so and I'll open that back up. Because we don't just work harder, we work smarter. Um, and sometimes it just starts with the breath. So I'm just so excited about that. It's it's already off to a great start. So before I wrap up, I just want to touch on something that pairs really well with breath work, and it's your food. Because we can't talk about nervous system regulation without talking about blood sugar and nutrient support and sleep. And breath is a steering wheel, but food is the fuel. So a few simple options that support sleep and regulation. First of all, Kiwi. There's research showing that eating just one or two Kiwis at about an hour before bed may improve sleep quality before or help you fall asleep faster. Kiwi contains serotonin and antioxidants that support sleep pathways. Um, writing on top of that, I would also say make sure that if you are drinking wine, you cut that back an hour to two or three hours before you go to bed. I don't always practice what I preach. I will say that, I will admit that, but you will have better sleep if you do that. And then second, tart, oh my goodness, I'm having a hard time here. Uh, tart cherries or tart cherry juice, they have a natural component in it that contains melatonin and a small glass of tart cherry juice in the evening can support sleep onset and recovery, especially if you are training consistently. It also helps with muscle recovery. And then, third, magnesium-rich foods. You guys know how much magnesium helps, and you can take a supplement. You can also add some things into your diet. Magnesium helps calm the nervous system and supports GABA, which is one of your calming neurotransmitters. So think pumpkin seeds, almonds, spinach, even dark chocolate. I personally don't eat dark chocolate too close to bed just because it kind of wires me a little bit and I'm sensitive to that. But if you like it and it works for you, go for it. And then this next one, it might surprise you just a little bit. Protein, of course, I'm gonna say protein, right? And carbohydrates at dinner. If you undereat all day and then have wine at night, your blood sugar can swing hard. And low blood sugar at 2 a.m. spikes cortisol. And that's when you're gonna get that. Why am I wide awake? Huh. So make sure you have a balanced dinner with adequate protein and slow carbohydrates that actually support serotonin production. Um, and then that will convert to melatonin. And it's not about eating perfectly, it's about supporting your system instead of fighting it. And just like breath work, these are small shifts that compound over time. I hope this was helpful. I hope you will share it with a friend or share my social media post. I'll make sure that I get that up so someone else can benefit from this information. You guys, thank you so much for listening. And please reach out if you have any questions. My email is info at Spandex and Wine. You can also text me at 913-392-2877. Take care. Thank you for listening. If you're enjoying this podcast, be sure to follow Spandex and Wine so you don't miss an episode. To do this, just go to the podcast and click subscribe or follow wherever you're listening. Look for the plus sign or follow button. This is one of the best things that you can do for the podcast. If you'd also be willing to give a five-star review, that would be amazing and much appreciated. Lastly, please share an episode with a friend or five to keep the love going. And join the Spandex and Wine community in our private Facebook group by searching Spandex and Wine. Feel free to reach out to me at any time by emailing info at spandexandwine.com or text me at 913 392 2877. I appreciate you. Thank you.