Friday, April 6, 2012

Breathe Properly And Benefit From Yoga

By Quinn Harris


No matter how you look at it, yoga and breathing are juxtaposed with one another. Yoga can be good for you, but it won't mean a thing if you do not know the right breathing methods.

When it comes to breathing in yoga, there are no absolute right or wrong answers, actually - this is because there are different variations of yoga and likewise, different types of breathing. For example, you should breathe in a relaxed manner if your yoga practice calls for you to be perfectly relaxed. This means long deep breaths meant to slow your heart rate and allow you to fully relax into the yoga pose. A few suggestions:

Your breath is derived from the diaphragm, and this applies for both everyday life and yoga. You may notice your stomach getting puffy as you breathe in - this is because air is filling up your diaphragm. And as you breathe out, your diaphragm releases all the air and causes your stomach to grow flatter. When you breathe, be sure that your stomach is moving, that you aren't restricting this movement in any way.

Relax every muscle in the following body parts - face, jaw, neck, shoulders, chest - in order to achieve the benefits of a relaxing breath in yoga. If you are having trouble doing this, clench any one of these body parts then totally let it go. Chances are you won't realize your muscles are stiff until you make that clenching gesture.

During yoga practice, you have to make sure you are breathing smoothly and steadily. You want to be conscious of how you breathe, but not to control it - after all, we all have our own different unique styles and rates of breathing. Be conscious, but not too conscious, and relax until you are breathing naturally.

Breathing faster, in and out, is a natural reaction to stress or excitement. With that being taken into consideration, your relaxing breath in yoga can add a much-needed accent on the exhalation. When this happens, breathe in naturally, and make your exhalation longer than the inhalation in such a way that your lungs and diaphragm are totally devoid of air.

Taking a rest between breaths could only help you relax even more. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.

When you breathe, imagine the oxygen entering your lungs and think of it as a tincture that passes through each pore of your body, providing relaxation. Your whole body deserves every benefit of the relaxing breath in yoga.

Learning to breathe properly is a technique you can adapt not only in yoga practice, but also in your day-to-day existence at home and at work.




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