Yoga Breath Blog » pranayama yoga http://yogabreathblog.com Pranayama Yoga Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:19:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Yoga Breath and Back Pain http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/yoga-breath-and-back-pain http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/yoga-breath-and-back-pain#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:07:59 +0000 admin http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/yoga-breath-and-back-pain A practice of yoga breath exercises and yoga postures can help you if you suffer from back pain. It is unfortunate how many people suffer from backaches regularly.  It can limit your ability to move and impair your enjoyment of life.  Too little exercise can cause an increase in back pain, which in turn causes you to limit your exercise and experience even more back pain.  Back pain is a complaint commonly seen by medical practitioners but often there is no medical disorder causing the pain.  Which brings me to the relationship between back pain and yoga breath exercises.

Back pain can be caused by any number of things, including stress, muscle tension, poor posture and poor muscle tone of the core.  Yoga breath exercises can relieve stress and tension and encourage good posture.  Those good habits can relieve back pain. 

Practicing yoga postures can relieve tension and stress and can strengthen abdominal and back muscles.  A stronger core leads to better posture.  So practicing yoga can be a good remedy for your aching back.  It can do for you what medical science cannot do.

Of course, some back pain is attributable to an underlying medical cause, such as a herniated disc.  Yoga cannot remedy that type of back pain and can, in fact, aggravate it.  So if you have chronic back pain, you should check with a doctor before you start a yoga practice.

If your doctor finds no underlying medical cause, however, consider starting a yoga practice.  Go slowly at first, taking care not to overdo so that you avoid further harm to your back.  Yoga postures can strengthen your core muscles which will improve your posture and reduce the incidence of back pain with practice and time.  You can relieve stress and tension and bring a sense of well-being which can remove some of the soreness by practicing yoga breath exercises.

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]]> http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/yoga-breath-and-back-pain/feed 2 Deep Yoga Breath: Easy Instructions http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/deep-yoga-breath-easy-instructions http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/deep-yoga-breath-easy-instructions#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:06:59 +0000 admin http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/deep-yoga-breath-easy-instructions Here are some instructions for a yoga breath exercise called the “Deep Yoga Breath.”

As with all pranayama yoga sessions, you should prepare yourself by eliminating as many distractions as possible.  Go to the bathroom if you need to.  Put on a sweater if you are chilly.

When you are ready, sit in a comfortable position with your back straight.  The traditional posture is to sit on your heels with your knees together.  You can also sit in the lotus position or a modification of it.  But if those positions are difficult for you, don’t pass up on the yoga breath.  Simply sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your palms on your thighs.  But be sure that your back is straight and that you aren’t leaning against the backrest.

First, close your eyes. 

Then relax and breathe naturally for a moment or two, inhaling and exhaling through your nose.

Welcome a sense of calm into your mind.

Take some deep breaths to empty out the air in your respiratory tract.  Then start the Deep Yoga Breath.

Empty the lungs by exhaling through the mouth.  Hold your breath with your lungs empty for a count of four.

Inhale slowly through the nose, filling your lungs up, to a count of four. 

Then hold your breath with your lungs full for a count of four. 

Exhale again through the mouth, slowly and maintaining control, for a count of four.  Don’t let your breath scream out of you. 

Hold your breath, with your lungs empty, for a count of four.

Repeat the deep breathing process for a few minutes.  With each breath, inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, then hold for a count of four.

Then relax.  Breathe naturally for a minute or two.

Then start the Deep Yoga Breath again.  Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four.  Keep it up for a few minutes. 

Then relax your breathing again and breathe normally for a few minutes.

And then do a third set of the Deep Yoga Breath, inhaling for four, holding for four, exhaling for four, holding for four.  Practice this for a few minutes.

Then relax your breathing again and breathe normally for a few minutes.

Finish by lying down, if you can, and breathing in a relaxed fashion.  Allow your breath to return to normal and focus on it, simply observing it for several minutes.

Rest in a sense of peace and calm. 

As you slowly get up and return to your day, carry the peace and calm with you. 

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]]> http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/deep-yoga-breath-easy-instructions/feed 2 Slow Down And Breathe http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/slow-down-and-breathe http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/slow-down-and-breathe#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:09:59 +0000 admin http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/slow-down-and-breathe Here is an easy way to bring quiet and calm into your daily routine.

Slow down.

Just stop rushing.

Slow down and breathe.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the bustle of life, especially if you live and work in a city.  You take on the stresses and urgency of others and you become stressed and under the gun, too.  Your breathing becomes rushed and shallow.  Your mood becomes anxious and nervous.  And your relationships with others may become curt and rude, even if that is far from the way that you want to relate to others.

It happens when we are not mindful in our living.  It happens when we surrender to the rushed, negative atmosphere that surrounds us.

There is another way to approach it.  Just slow down and breathe.

Keep mindful of your breath over the course of the day and you will be mindful of other things, too.  Like how nervous you are.  And how unnecessary that nervousness it.

I still recommend taking a few minutes to sit and do nothing but a yoga breath exercise.  But here I am suggesting something else.  I am proposing that you try to remain mindful of your breath all day, as you go about your daily routine.

Try it for a day.  Have a deadline?  Slow down and breathe.  Unexpected traffic making you late for an appointment?  Slow down and breathe.  Being snapped at by a co-worker?  Slow down and breathe.  You may still have the deadline, the traffic, the stressed-out co-worker.  But you do not have to take the stress on yourself.

And something else may happen.  Do you work faster and more accurately when you take your time and breathe, instead of getting tense and out of sorts?  Does your calm change the interaction between yourself and your co-worker?  Try it and see.

You don t have to let the stress of daily life get the upper hand.  Take it slowly.  And breathe.

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]]> http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/slow-down-and-breathe/feed 0 Some Health Benefits of Yoga http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/some-health-benefits-of-yoga http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/some-health-benefits-of-yoga#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:56:59 +0000 admin http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/some-health-benefits-of-yoga Yoga means “union” and refers to the union of body and mind.  The practice of yoga has benefits both for the body and the mind and improves both physical and mental health.

First of all, the practice of yoga relieves stress.  Many diseases experienced in modern day America are caused or influenced by stress.  So relieving stress, which may have its most direct impact on your mental health, can also reduce physical disease.

Yoga strengthens and detoxifies your muscles and organs.  It lubricates your joints and improves range of movement to people who may be limited in how far they can reach.  Yoga helps you improve posture and strengthen your bones and spine.

Yoga has a beneficial effect on blood pressure.  It improves circulation and lung capacity. 

Yoga improves your stamina and raises your energy level.

Yoga can help you get a good night s sleep.

Yoga can improve your self-esteem and reduce anxiety and depression.

I can t think of any downside to yoga.  Yet it has all these benefits.  It seems like an easy decision to make.  Introduce yoga into your life and you will reap mental and physical health benefit.

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]]> http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/some-health-benefits-of-yoga/feed 0 The Sun Salutation http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-sun-salutation http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-sun-salutation#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:53:59 +0000 admin http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-sun-salutation

Part of the practice of yoga breath includes physical exercises to strengthen the body so that you can engage in pranayama yoga and meditation without fatigue.  The Sun Salutation  is a classic physical exercise of yoga. It is a great way to start the day.  I do the Sun Salutation three or four times when I wake up, then I sit down and do a few minutes of a yoga breath exercise.  


Here are the 12 steps of the Sun Salutation:

 

  1. Stand facing the east with your feet slightly apart.  Bend your elbows and bring your hands together in a prayer position.  Bring your hands in front of your chest and touch your breast bone with your thumbs.
  2. Inhale deeply while slowly raising your hands over your head, bend backwards as far as you can without straining.  Hold for a few seconds.
  3. Exhale slowly as you fold forward from the hips.  Keep your knees straight as you bend to place your fingers on the floor.  If you can’t touch the floor, bring your hands to your shins.  Continuing the exhale, bring your forehead in toward your knees.
  4. Slowly inhale, bend your knees, then place the palms of your hands on the floor beside your feet.  Step back into a lunge position by sliding your right foot behind you as far as you can go.  Arch your back and raise your face to the ceiling.
  5. Bring your left foot back and place it beside the right foot and straighten both legs.  You will be supporting your weight on the palms of your hands and your toes.  Your back and legs should be in a straight line, like a flat plane.  Avoid hiking the hips up or letting them droop.
  6. Bend both knees to the floor as you exhale.  Bend at the hips to lower your chest and forehead to the floor.  Your forehead, chest, hands, knees and toes will be on the floor and your hips will be in the air.
  7. Inhale slowly, look up and let your head pull the rest of your body into a backbend.  So your head is bent back, your gaze is to the ceiling and your chest is bending back and off the floor.  Your palms are on the floor and your elbows are slightly bent.  From the navel down, your body should be on the floor.  Hold this position for a few seconds.
  8. Exhale slowly and raise your hips until your body forms and inverted “V”.  Your feet and palms should be flat on the floor.  That’s not easy to do.  You may have to adjust by bending your knees.
  9. Inhale slowly and step forward with your right foot, bringing it in between your hands.  You should be in a similar position to Step 4, but with the right foot forward and the left foot back.  Your left leg should be straight behind you.  Raise your face to the ceiling and arch your back.
  10. Exhale slowly and bring your left foot forward next to your right one.  Straighten your legs, raising your hips to the ceiling and keeping your fingertips on the floor.  Bring your head toward the knees.
  11. Slowing inhale, raise your arms up and stretch back as in Step 2.  Hold for a few seconds.
  12. Slowly exhale, lowering your arms to your sides.  Relax. 

 

Repeat the series at least once more.
   
Although it’s called the “Sun Salutation,” I know that many people practice this series in the evening.  Like much in the practice of yoga, it is both refreshing and relaxing.  Following it with a yoga breath exercise leaves me very centered.

 


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]]> http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-sun-salutation/feed 0 The Yoga Breath Is All In Your Head http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-yoga-breath-is-all-in-your-head http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-yoga-breath-is-all-in-your-head#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:43:59 +0000 admin http://yogabreathblog.com/yoga-breath/the-yoga-breath-is-all-in-your-head Breathing is an involuntary function of the brain stem.  You don’t have to think about it.  You just do it.  That may be why so many of us do it mindlessly.  The yoga breath, or pranayama yoga, aims to bring mindfulness to your breathing.

The aim of pranayama yoga is, first, to become conscious of your breath and, then, to gain control over it.  For that reason, I would say that the yoga breath is all in your head.  Your breath affects your entire being:  physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.  And as your breath improves through the practice of pranayama yoga, all these areas of your being improve. The practice of pranayama yoga can have an effect on your respiration, heart rate and blood pressure, causing an improvement in health.  It can focus your concentration and mental acuity, causing an improvement in your school or career performance.  And it can have an effect on your subjective feelings of relaxation and well-being, causing an improvement in your emotional state.

Pranayama yoga starts with physical breathing exercises, which cleanse the respiratory system and increase oxygen to the blood stream and then to the body’s internal organs.  With pranayama yoga, we learn to breathe more deeply, avoiding the shallow, chest-breathing that most people use.  By breathing correctly, we allow the breath to do what is is designed by nature to do:  remove toxins and body wastes from our body.  This improves health.  It can also aid in digestion as the metabolism improves. 

The yoga breath goes beyond the physical to the mental.  It develops concentration and aids us to focus.  Removing stress helps to remove preoccupations that interfere with our mental discipline.  When we have greater peace of mind, and can relax instead of stewing over our troubles, our self-control improves.  When we can react to life’s situations from a place of calm instead of a place of agitation, our reactions are usually more mature and based on our life’s principles.

Then, as we continue to practice pranayama yoga, we improve our union with the life force.

The yoga breath is part of a process in yoga.  It should be accompanied by yoga asanas.  The asanas and the yoga breath together strengthen the practitioner’s body, mind and spirit and prepares the practitioner for meditation.

Start by listening to your breath.  You will start on a journey to greater health, peace and well-being.  Embrace the yoga breath.

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