Yoga and the Turtle ~ Breathing 101

"Anybody who wants to can practice yoga. Anybody can breathe; therefore anybody can practice yoga. But no one can practice every kind of yoga. It has to be the right yoga for the person."

 ~ T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga

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Breathing is the heart of yoga, and if you only ever learn one thing from me about yoga, I hope you find it in this blog post about breathing. Focusing on our breath pulls our thoughts inward and away from what's stressing us - whether that be a cranky boss or baby, or maybe a strenuous yoga pose.

Today I’m going to lead you through a simple yoga practice and you don’t even have to leave your chair. Come on, it will be really good for you and I think it's a fun experiment. All you have to do is follow along...

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Step 1 – Take a deep breath and notice what that feels like for you. Everyone…deep breath... Did you inhale through your nose or mouth? Did the air intake cause your chest or tummy to expand? Now take another deep breath and notice it. Don’t try to change anything yet – just notice.

Step 2 – Sit up tall. Imagine there's a string hanging directly above your head with a small bead dangling at the end of it. The bead is hovering right at the center of the top of your skull, just above your head. I want you to sit or stand so straight and tall that the top of your head could almost touch the imaginary bead. Lift yourself up toward that bead.

This means you will probably have to lift from your ribcage. You will no doubt need to lift your chest, your collar bones, your chin, shoulders round back and down, neck extended upward… Play with this bit, and see how tall you can make yourself without tensing any muscles. Stretch up toward that bead.

Step 3 – Notice how it feels to sit up tall. Notice how that simple action creates more space in your ribcage and diaphragm. Think of the pressure this simple action takes off of the space intended for your lungs and other organs. By sitting tall and lengthening your spine, you've created more room for your lungs to expand.

Step 4 – Now take another deep breath. And this time inhale slowly through your nose and focus on pulling the air down into your abdomen and lower rib cage then into your chest, filling your lungs from the bottom up. Try this a few times and practice inhaling as slowly as you can – breathing in as much air as you possibly can, and then exhaling completely. On your exhale, imagine the air in your lungs emptying from top to bottom. And remember, breathe in and out as slowly as you can - beginning to practice the art of controlling your breath. And for added benefit, try it with your eyes closed. Repeat the inhaling and exhaling five to ten times, sitting tall and focusing on your breath. I’ll wait…

Step 5 – Notice how you feel now, after all that yummy oxygen. Use this technique when you are stressed, when you need to refocus, when you need an energy boost.

Step 6, from here on out... - Remind yourself from time to time to stop and notice your breath. Learn to slow it down and deepen your inhale. It may take some time and practice, but the benefits will amaze you!

Oh and guess what? You just did yoga.

You’re welcome.

Namaste.

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PS: There are some great articles online about the benefits of deep breathing. I liked this one, and you can find more through a Google search here.
PS: Thanks so much to those who took time to complete my yoga survey last week. I will have a post in the near future with an overview of the results and answers to your questions. xo