~ T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga
♥
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...
♥
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!
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
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.
♥
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
8 comments:
Lovely reminder :). And I will check out those links too. Your rolled up mat looks very inviting!
That was lovely. I really needed that - so stressed at the moment. I shall keep practising and doing the deep breathing to relax when it all gets on top of me.
What a great post, I shall be putting it into practice whenever I feel tensed up.
My son loves transcendental meditation and does that daily. There's a lot to be said for taking time to just concentrate on the simple acts of breathing and clearing your mind.
Great post! Thanks for sharing. I will practice this once I get off work. Crowded office!
So I've been practising yoga since I was 10 years old. Who knew? I wish my teacher had used the bead on a string example. Instead she used to make me stand tall by pulling on my pony tail!
I've been using deep breathing ever since my first child birth class---that would be almost 35 years ago. Never thought of it as yoga!
Well this is a cool little post! I like it. You will have done some good with this one
I loved that. Great post.
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