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Breathing Exercises
An
intrinsic part of yoga, in fact inseparable from its proper practice,
is pranayama, the control of the breath. The breath, and how deeply or
shallowly, slowly or rapidly we engage in this prerequisite for staying
alive, is intimately connected to how we feel. It reflects our emotional,
mental, and physical states in every moment. Changing the breath, consciously,
can alter these states.
1. Cleansing Breath: Get comfortable in a chair or in your
car seat. Loosen tight clothing or belts. Relax. Breathe normally.
Now exhale forcefully and then begin to inhale deeply. When
the lungs are really full, exhale through your nose. This is
done rather quickly. Assist this exhalation by contracting your
stomach muscles. Let the stomach relax completely as the air
begins to come back in through your nose. Fill lungs again,
exhale through nose quickly once again with the aid of those
stomach muscles. (If the exhalation is really complete, you
will find that the act of breathing in again is quite sudden
and automatic, so that a rhythm is established) Do this inhale-exhale
pattern four to six times. Depending on time constraints, you
can repeat this cycle once more.
2. One Nostril Breathing: Close one nostril with a finger. Breathe
in slowly through the other nostril, and exhale through this
same nostril. Continue breathing thus through one nostril for
five breaths. Then switch sides. Having completed this pattern
on both sides, you may repeat the pattern if time allows, adding
one repetition per day. Two repetitions will still be quite
effective, however.
3. Alternate Nostril Breathing: Using your right hand, close
the right nostril with your thumb, and breathe in through the
left. Having inhaled thus, now close the left nostril with the
pinky and ring finger of the same hand, and breath out through
the right nostril. Immediately breathe in again through that
same (right) nostril, and exhale through the left. This pattern:
in left, out right, in right, out left, is one unit. Repeating
this unit four times makes one round. One is enough to begin
with. Increase by one round daily, again depending on time constraints.
4. Complete Yoga Breath: Sitting straight, standing, or lying
flat when possible, begin by expanding the abdomen and breathing
into the lower lungs. Continue filling the middle lungs, expanding
your lower ribs, then the middle ribs, then lifting the upper
ribs, expand the upper chest. Finally, to get that air into
the lungs highest areas, contract the abdomen just a bit. Hold
your breath for just five seconds, no more. Finally, exhale
through your nose, slowly, again contracting your stomach muscles.
Now, relax all over. Breathe normally for a breath or two, and
repeat the complete breath. Twice is good; daily, gradual increases
are beneficial.
Breathing
Tips
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