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MASTER THE ART OF YOGA BREATHING By J. L. Thompson
MANY PEOPLE THINK OF YOGA AS A SERIES OF POSES AND MOVEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE TO GET JUST RIGHT. WHILE THE POSES AND MOVEMENTS ARE INTEGRAL TO THE PRACTICE OF YOGA, THIS VIEW MISSES THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER YOGA BREATHING. PROPER PRACTICE OF THE POSES AND MOVEMENTS IS ONLY POSSIBLE WHEN YOU BREATHE THE RIGHT WAY.
Breathing to Relax
One of the main goals in yoga is achieving a deep state of calm and relaxation. Breathing in yoga tends to be deep and slow, because slow, deep breathing tends to have a calming, relaxing effect on both the body and the mind. That is why people who are too excited or upset are told to take long, deep breaths. In yoga, your exhalations should be a little longer than your inhalations. Also, after you breathe out, you should pause for a moment before you breath in again.
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The Diaphragm
When most people breathe, they expand and compress their chests to work their lungs. This is the natural method of breathing that most people learn when they are young and it is fine for most purposes. However, in yoga you are supposed to fully empty and fill your lungs; to do that, you need to learn to breathe from your diaphragm. The diaphragm is an internal wall of muscle lying underneath your lungs. If you breath in by pushing your stomach out and breath out by pushing your stomach flat, you are pulling the diaphragm down and back up again, causing your lungs to fully empty and fill with each breath. Many singers and martial artists breathe this way, to get the most out of each breath.
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