Breathing itself is movement. In this module, you begin coupling breath movement with contact movement. Whenever there is contact, practitioners exhale. You make contact—you breathe out. You receive contact—you breathe out.
Find your sound
Exhaling will feel and sound different for each person. Explore what works for you in each situation. Let your breath become responsive, not just functional.
Safety consideration
Exhale through your teeth or with a partially open mouth—this helps align the jaw in case of impact. This is typically the safest and most accessible option. As your LMA practice deepens, personal preference may override this—so long as it still supports safety and ease.
Output-input cycle
In LMA, high energy output prioritizes exhaling. Your body will remember to breathe in, but not always to breathe out—especially under cognitive load. When demand is high, your brain may "borrow" from autonomic functions like exhaling.
During recovery or input phases, prioritize breathing in to replenish air and restore regulation. For example, a boxing round is output, and the 1-minute rest is input. That rest period is also a time to refuel, stretch, and de-escalate.
The activity
Touch
Practitioners pretend to hold fragile eggs in their fists. Take turns touching each other's midsection—without breaking the egg. The task is only to touch. Keep your gaze on your partner's chest. Move and adjust to stay within touching distance and recover balance. Soften your body when receiving.
Depress
Now, touch and depress the midsection. This is a deeper, longer contact—still without breaking the egg.
Depress and push
Extend the depression into a push. The giver guides the receiver out of the way. The receiver softens and allows themselves to be moved. Both return to face each other and continue exchanging roles.
The video
In the video, practitioners extend the touch to match the length of their exhale—softening the touch. This occurred organically. Letting breath shape contact fosters co-regulation. Co-regulation is not just about shared space or practice—but shared time.
Circle time
In the Learning Lab, practitioners noticed how directional softening mattered during "depress and push." Some directions felt like listening; others felt out of sync.
Sometimes, a practitioner turned toward their partner's push and nearly collided—realizing they had pre-decided how to move instead of listening. They weren't present in the room with their partner. They were isolated in their head, giving their body orders—internally guessing instead of externally perceiving.
Other questions emerged:
Why was it easy to look at your partner until it was time to push?
Why did it feel easier to push when looking away, treating the partner like a door instead of a person?
What happens when you stop seeing your partner at the point of contact?
Not looking at where you're touching can create safety risks—and can make your partner quite literally feel unseen. Risk can arise not only from mechanics but from subtle relational discomfort. When you're not present with your partner, are you honoring the experience they consented to?
Being seen is part of safety, both physical and psychological. So is staying in communion, even through contact.
– Sam