By Kalidasa Brown
Proper breathing while doing asanas (postures) is of paramount importance. There are many different breathing techniques that can affect your pose in many different ways. Most styles of yoga use various breathing practices to bring about a desired effect. Following is a short discussion of five of the main breathing technique that are used with asana practice.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is one of the most important breathing techniques. This is breathing in the belly and not in the chest. I sometimes call it "belly breathing." One of the most important things about diaphragmatic breathing is how it stimulates the part of the central nervous system that causes the body to relax.
Many asana techniques involve relaxing. Even when activating a pose it is important to relax the parts of the body that are not active as well as the muscle or muscle group being stretched.
Doing diaphragmatic breathing while working a pose stimulates the part of the nervous system that causes relaxation.
Three Part Breathing/Deep Breathing
Three-part breath is filling the lungs from the bottom up. This breathing technique starts with a diaphragmatic breath that then moves up to fill the lower chests/diaphragm area, finally filling the upper chest. Since this breath moves up into the chest, it stimulates the part of the nervous system that causes the body to go into the fight flight response.
This isn't necessarily as bad as it may sound. The nervous system goes into this state simply by walking or even standing upright. That is why it is important to sit while eating so that the nervous system can go into a digestive or relaxation mode. Deep breathing can be an important part of an asana practice that involves strenuous activity such as while doing Sun Salutation.
Breath of Fire
Breath of fire is done with quick and forceful contractions of the abdominal muscles to push the air out of the lungs. How fast the breathing is done depends on ability and your current condition. You can get faster with practice.
Start with a deep breath and a relaxed exhale to relax the diaphragm muscle, so your chest and lungs are relaxed. Once no air is moving in or out, a series of contractions are done with the belly muscles as though someone were pushing or punching you in the belly and thereby pushing the air out. After 20-50 or more of these contractions a deep inhale is taken, usually through the left nostril, with the breathe being held for as long as is comfortable. The exhale is a relaxed letting go with the air released through mouth, nose or both.
This technique brings in a lot of hot energy very quickly. This can allow for a lot of purification and cleansing of the energy channels. Even more and deeper purification can happen when it is coupled with asana practice.
Holding the Breath In
Holding a full breath allows the prana or life energy in the breath to be absorbed. Holding the breath in while in a pose has this same benefit added to the energy of the pose.
In general, a hold can be used with most poses. It is particularly powerful to hold the breath in poses that activate the upper chakras (energy centers). That is, from the diaphragm to the crown. There are asanas that should not be done with a hold of the breath. For example, shoulder stand because of the extreme compression on the throat, and head stand because of the energy shift.
Holding the Breathe Out
With this technique the breath is held after exhaling completely. It is little taught because not many people understand it. This is one of the strongest ways to purify the energy channels when done correctly with appropriate asanas. It should only be done with asanas that activate the first, second or third chakra.
This technique drives the upward flowing energy down, and the downward flowing energy up.
These two energies meeting is one of the deepest states of yoga that happens in deep meditation. When done in conjunction with appropriate asanas, the purification can be felt immediately. A sensation that often happens is of feeling lightheaded, and like you are waking up and opening your eyes.
Cautions For Holding The Exhale Technique
Holding the exhale should never be done by pregnant women. Too much of this technique can leave you in a condition where it would be dangerous to drive. The purification can be so deep that you might be spaced out for an hour or more.
If done at night, this technique can cause sleeplessness.
There is a lot more to each of these techniques, especially how they relate to the various poses. And, there are many different breathing techniques. You can learn more about these practices and more at http://yogawithkalidasa.com/ You can find your quality yoga videos there as well including beginners videos that feature beginners as well as videos for the more experienced.
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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 6:04 PM
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