W 1.4 Basic Breathing Techniques
▼ Explain the difference between awareness of uncontrolled habitual breathing and
conscious controlled breathing. Discuss how you would introduce breath awareness to your
students in a class situation, including a variety of possible basic breathing techniques.
Do one thing... Breathe
“Breathe. Let go. Remind yourself that this moment is the only one you
know you have for sure.” Oprah Winfrey
We breathe to stay alive. It is the only means of supplying our bodies and
its various organs with oxygen which is vital for our health. It controls the
functioning as well as the mental and emotional responses of the body.
We breathe in and out about 21,600 times a day.
It is controlled by the autonomic nervous system from a part of the
brainstem called the medulla oblongata (breathing, heart rate and blood
pressure are similarly regulated by the autonomic system).
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The brain stem connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord.
Its superior portion, the midbrain, is the centre for visual and auditory
reflexes; examples of these include blinking and adjusting the ear to
sound volume. The middle section, the pons, bridges the cerebellum
hemispheres and higher brain centres with the spinal cord. Below the
pons lies the medulla oblongata; it contains the control centres for
swallowing, breathing, digestion, and heartbeat.
According to a yogi, breathing is the most important link between the
mind and body, as it helps in contolling the mind.
In normal or uncontrolled habitual breathing most people do not breathe
efficiently, as a result use only a fraction or their lung capacity. When
people are stressed or anxious they breathe from their chests, taking
rapid shallow breaths or worse they hold their breaths. Without sufficient
oxygen, we become fatigued and lethargic.
Yoga breathing or pranayama revitalises the body, steadies the emotions
and creates great clarity of mind. In a yogic point of view, proper
breathing is to bring more oxygen to the blood and to the brain, and to
control prana or the vital life energy.
“When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is
still, so is the mind still.”
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▼Discuss how you would introduce breath awareness to your students.
The most basic breathing practice is simple breath awareness. Come into
a comfortable seated position - cross-legged, kneeling, or in a chair. It's
important to have the spine straight, so that the lungs and torso have
room to expand in all directions as you breathe. To lengthen the spine,
consider sitting with a folded blanket just under the hips (cross-legged) or
between the hips and heels (kneeling).
Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Begin by simply
noticing each breath as it happens. As you inhale, notice that you are
inhaling. As you exhale, notice that you are exhaling. Continue this
noticing until you feel your awareness settling comfortably and reliably on
the breath. You can then refine your awareness, by noticing more subtle
aspects of the breath.
Notice the breath entering and exiting the body at the tip of your
nose.
Notice the breath move through the airway, from the nose to the
mouth to the throat as you inhale, and from the throat to the
mouth to the nose as you exhale.
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Notice the quality of your breath: Does it feel jagged or smooth?
Does it feel rushed or slow? Does it feel shallow or deep?
Notice the sound of your breath: Can you hear it? What does it
sound like?
Notice the length of each inhalation and exhalation. Are they
even? Is the breath slowing down or speeding up?
Notice the belly moving with the breath. Place your hands on your
belly and feel the belly expand and contract.
Notice the rib cage moving with the breath. Place your hands on
your rib cage and feel the ribs expand and contract.
Notice the chest and upper back moving with the breath. Wrap
your arms around your upper chest and shoulders, and feel the
chest and upper back move with the breath.
Notice the full dimensionality of your breath: radiate out, in all
directions, with each breath.
Continue to notice whatever you notice - go deeper with this awareness
practice and notice the subtleties of your own breath. With this practice,
you are not trying to consciously control the breath. However, as you
become more aware of the breath, you may find that the quality of your
breath changes. Allow this to happen naturally, without strain or effort.
Suggested Practice Time: 5 minutes or longer. Practice several times a
day, if possible. This is a practice that can stand on its own, whenever
you have the chance to practice it.
▼A variety of basic breathing techniques
With the ever-increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular and nervous system disorders, the time has come for us to
address this ourselves, fair and square WITHOUT external dependence.
Did you know that reprogramming your natural breathing technique would
not only help in preventing these problems but also help in the “reversal”
of several such harmful conditions? Yes, it’s not only possible but proven
too. In fact leading cardiac experts are advocating the benefits of
“correct” breathing to their patients.
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Surprising as it is, almost none of us use the full capacity of our
respiratory organs. This is aggravated by our sedentary lifestyles and
leads to several complications popularly called - lifestyle disorders.
The first question that comes to mind is – “How can I alter my natural
breathing process?” Well, astonishing as it may seem, it’s true. By training
our body to breathe in a particular fashion, we re-program our involuntary
system to adopt this new way of breathing.
This breathing technique is called the “Full Yogic breath” or simply Yoga
breathing.
First, lie down on your back, relaxed, with hands and legs outstretched
and eyes looking up at the roof. Gently close your eyes and relax.
Step 1: Abdominal breathing
Observe your natural breath. You will notice that as you inhale the
abdomen rises and then falls with exhalation. Watch this for a few
moments to check this flow. Now begin to deepen, lengthen and extend
that movement. That is, while inhaling, let the abdomen rise to its limit
and at exhalation let it fall completely. Keep the chest still during this
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entire process – only move the abdomen. Continue this for 20 breaths and
then rest.
Step 2: Thoracic (chest) breathing
Again observe your normal breath, this time focusing your attention on the
chest. You will notice the chest moving slightly up at inhalation and down
with exhalation. Again observe this pattern for a few moments. Now again,
begin to deepen, lengthen and extend that movement. This time, on
inhalation expand and lift the rib cage, filling the lungs completely. Then
on exhalation, let the lungs collapse fully, sinking to the limits. In this
step, keep the abdomen still, moving only the chest. Do this for 20 breath
cycles and then stop
Step 3: Full Yogic breathing
This combines the above 2 steps in the following way :
First inhale by filling the abdomen and then CONTINUE inhaling as you
expand and fill the chest. Then exhale first from the chest as it empties
and falls and then CONTINUE exhaling from the abdomen as it draws
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inwards completely. This is one round of the full yogic breath. Repeat this
for 20 rounds.
Remember the pattern… Inhaling - abdomen then chest; Exhaling – chest
then abdomen.
GOLDEN RULE: All of the above steps should be done WITHOUT strain.
The natural tendency is to heave with effort. The right way is to make it
smooth and effortless. Go slow and easy.
Initially you will experience unevenness or bumps in this breathing
process – as if there are 4 separate parts to the full yogic breath. This is
natural considering the years we have spent breathing improperly.
Instead, try to picture this breath as a continuous wave like pattern – as if
the breath moves up from the navel to the throat with every inhalation and
then, down from the throat to the navel with each exhalation. It may take
a few weeks of practice to perfect a “SMOOTH flowing pattern with
MINIMUM effort and with MAXIMUM capacity.”
This is the desired effect!! Over time, the yoga way of breathing will come
naturally to you.
And now for the all-important benefits…
The full yogic breath is the basic building block of the powerful yoga
breathing techniques, also called ‘Pranayama’ in Sanskrit, which are
known for their multifarious benefits.
But the tangible benefits of the full yogic breath are that it:
Releases acute and chronic muscular tensions around the heart
and digestive organs.
Helps sufferers of respiratory illnesses such as asthma and
emphysema to overcome the fear of shortness of breath. It actually
increases lung capacity.
Encourages proper nervous stimulus to the cardio-vascular system
Dramatically reduces emotional and nervous anxiety
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Improves detoxification through increased exchange of carbon
dioxide and oxygen
Amplifies the auto immune system by increased distribution of
energy to the endocrine system
Calms the mind and integrates the mental / physical balance.
And the real icing is that it contributes to both vitality and relaxation
through this single practice.
With such powerful all-round benefits, do you really need to be “motivated”
to get going?
Go ahead, and take charge of your life like never before.
▼Ujjayi Breathing
Ujjayi Breath
The Ujjayi Breath is practiced by half closing the epiglottis at the back of
the throat. This partially restricts the flow of air, and causes a rasping or
hissing sound in the back of the throat as you breathe in and out. Often
people breathe like this when they fall asleep. Do not try to make the
sound loud enough for others to hear. Instead your breath should sound
like a gentle, soft whisper. With practice you will be able to breathe easily
in this manner.
Ujjayi Breath allows you to listen to the sound of your breathing, and thus
helps to focus the mind on the breath. Ujjayi Breath can be used with
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diaphragmatic breathing, complete breathing, and alternate nostril
breathing exercises. In fact, it can be used with almost any breathing
technique with the possible exception of Breath of Fire, bellows breath,
cleansing breath, or other similar techniques involving forceful and sharp
contractions of the diaphragm.
Therefore I think that it’s a good idea to teach ujjayi to our beginner
students. In my personal experience ujjayi definitely helped me to
lengthen and deepen the breath as my normal breath was quite shallow
reflecting my restless personality.
▼Personal experience
I had a laser lasik surgery on my eyes a few years ago since then
whenever I feel tired, the first signal is that my eye vision becomes blurry.
I enter the yoga class with this and in a few minutes’ yogic breathing with
eyes closed and I open my eyes with a clear and normal eye vision. So I
find it that the conscious controlled breathing has got same benefits
which come from a sound resting or sleeping that revitalises our body.
In terms of yoga practice, the way breathing affects posture and the way
posture affects breathing. During the early years of my yoga experience,
my Korean yoga instructor has always emphasized on proper breathing
followed by each posture saying ”The only physical movements without
yogic breathing are not any better than doing no exercise” . To be honest I
didn’t take this seriously at that time as I was only interested in building
up the physical flexibility however the more I do yoga the more I’ve got
haunted by this saying. And I’ve started to realise that yogic breathing is
critical not only for deepening postures but also controlling the mind
which would listen to the body the way it is knowing the limit.
▼References
Coulter, H.David ‘Anatomy of Hatha Yoga’
(Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 2007)
Muktibodhananda, Swami ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’
(Bihar School of Yoga 1998)
Satyananda Sarawati, Swami ‘Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha’
(Bihar School of Yoga 1997)
www.buzzle.com/articles/basic-breathing-techniques.html
www.healthandyoga.com/HTML/news/yogicbreath.html
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www.yogaatwork.co.uk
▼Images
www.besthealth.com
www.deccanchronicle.com
www.edb.utexas.edu
www.mariacalderon.com
www.ulrichhahnle.com
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