Discover the transformative potential of yoga as a powerful self-care tool in our latest blog post. Learn practical tips, techniques, and mindful practices to unlock inner peace and improve your overall well-being. Dive into the world of self-discovery and embrace the benefits of incorporating yoga into your daily routine.
Read MoreBreathwork for Beginners
You take about 23,000 breaths every day. How many of them do you consciously think about?
Take a moment right now to notice your breath.
Is it deep or shallow? Are you breathing into your chest, belly or back? Did you instinctively breathe deeper the moment you brought your attention to it?
That is a clear example of the power of breathwork. As we move through the routine of daily life, most of us breathe into the chest with short, shallow breaths. What we don’t realize is that breathing from our chest signals to our body that we’re stressed. By spending time focusing on deep, long, full breaths, we can activate our parasympathetic nervous system and oxygenate the body, contributing to a more relaxed, peaceful way of moving through the world.
What is pranayama?
In Sanskrit, pranayama is made up of “prana,” meaning life force, and “ayama,” meaning lengthen. Therefore, pranayama is not the practice of breath control, but the practice of controlling your prana, or life force, through the power of breath.
It is said that the most important part of your physical yoga practice is not the poses, but the breath. The way you breathe in yoga matters. Since your inhales and exhales happen naturally, you probably don’t spend much time thinking about your breath. But bringing attention to the way you breathe in yoga and in your life is one of the best things you can do for your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
In yoga, breathwork - the practice of bringing attention to your breath - offers a chance to clear the mind, purify the body, and balance the flow of energy within. And the best part is: anyone can do it. All you need is time, intention, and guidance to feel the effects of this powerful practice on your life.
The Benefits of Yoga Breath Exercises
In yoga, it is thought that the mind, body, and breath are connected. Think about what happens to your body when you’re stressed or anxious: your heart beats faster, your blood pressure rises, and you’ll start to take fast, short breaths. Just as your state of mind can influence your breath, your breath can influence your state of mind. Taking time to focus on your breath can calm your nervous system, improve your digestion, and aleve suffering in a variety of ways.
Practicing breathwork has been scientifically proven to have an effect on the heart, brain, immune system, and digestive system.
Studies have shown that practicing yoga breath can:
Effectively treat depression, stress, anxiety, and PTSD
Improves mental focus and reduces brain fog
Help with emotional regulation
Lower cortisol levels in your body (your body’s main stress hormone)
Lower and stabilize blood pressure
Boost the immune system
Help you get a good night’s sleep
Increase oxygen levels in the body
Improve core strength
Manage poor digestion and improve symptoms of IBS
Does when I inhale and exhale really matter?
In short, yes.
Breathing changes the shape of your body. When you inhale, your diaphragm and pelvic floor descends to make space for the expansion of your lungs. At the same time, your ribs and sternum lift up and out to allow the belly to expand. When you exhale, your diaphragm and pelvic floor ascend to expel air while your chest and ribs move inward.
Your yoga instructors tell you when to inhale and exhale based on what best facilitates different types of poses in your body. Experienced yoga teachers will intelligently sequence yoga breath with movement so that you inhale during poses that open the frontline of the body, and exhale during poses that compress the frontline of the body.
Why do yoga instructors always remind the class to breathe?
While it can sound like a broken record, a yoga instructor who consistently brings attention to your breath understands the connection between asana (poses) and prana (breath).
We all have a tendency to hold our breath in difficult moments. During a challenging yoga practice, you may naturally hold your breath, which will make it difficult to hold poses. Deep, intentional yoga breathing has a calming effect on the body. Focusing on the quality of your breath while you practice will also improve your focus, mental clarity, and mind-body connection.
When to breathe in yoga:
As a student of yoga, it can be difficult to know when you should inhale and when you should exhale. If you find that you’re constantly on a different breathing rhythm than your instructor’s cues, it may help to understand what poses correlate with breathing in and out.
In general, you will inhale for:
Backbends and heart openers
Poses where you lift, like Mountain Pose and Crescent Lunge
Spine lengthening cues
Transitions where you re-engage, extend, and prepare
In general, you will exhale for:
Forward folds and surrender poses
Spinal twists, like Revolved Crescent Lunge
Side bends
Transitions where you release, surrender, and softening
What is the yoga breath called?
While there are a variety of yoga breath exercises practiced in yoga, the term “yoga breath” usually refers to ujjayi pranayama, also known as the victorious breath or ocean breath. This is the type of breathing you’ve probably encountered in vinyasa classes, where it’s used to bring power and focus into the body.
Ujjayi pranayama is practiced by inhaling and exhaling through your nose while slightly constricting the back of your throat to produce a gentle sound like an ocean wave. When you breathe through your nose, your perceived exertion during exercise is lessened, making your workout feel less difficult. But studies have also shown ujjayi pranayama can increase oxygen consumption in the body by as much as 50%.
Next, we’ll explore Ujjayi pranayama as well as other yoga breath exercises you can do to clear your mind, feel present, and deepen your yoga practice.
Ujjayi Pranayama - Victorious Breath in yoga
Sometimes called in yoga “ocean breath,” Ujjayi pranayama is a yoga breath exercise practiced throughout asana to bring power and focus into the body. Practice it by inhaling and exhaling through the nose while slightly contracting the back of your throat. The breath should sound like oceanic white noise.
Yogic Breathwork Contraindications
You should not practice breathwork on your own if you:
Are pregnant
Have a history of aneurysms
Have uncontrolled hypertension, epilepsy, or seizures
Have high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems
Have vision problems or a panic disorder
Take heavy medication
Recently underwent surgery
Are healing from a recent physical injury
Breathwork: Take a deep breath
In the yoga tradition, the individual soul is called “Atman.” From the Sanskrit root “at,” meaning “to breathe,” a soul is defined as “That Which Breathes.”
Our life begins with a breath. We know that a baby has been born successfully when we hear a loud cry. Our life ends with a breath. When a body exhales then no longer inhales, we know the soul is gone. If breath is what defines life, breath IS life energy. In yoga, we call this “prana,” which simultaneously means both “breath” and “life-force energy.” The two are seen as virtually the same thing. It follows that there is no quicker way to transform your energy than to alter your breathing pattern.
OUR HEALTH & BREATH
Like training our bodies or training our minds, our breath can also be trained. Not because it’s bad and needs to be fixed, but so that it can be harnessed to work more effectively for us. We are made up of body, mind, and breath, and the breath for many of us is the last frontier. If you’ve been doing practices for the mind and body, but are still struggling with stress or your mood, you may be skipping yoga’s “secret sauce.” Breathwork is the most effective practice for your vibe, otherwise known as your feeling tone or how you show up in the world.
One of the quickest ways to determine if someone is healthy is to examine their breathing pattern. If the breath is slow or shallow, rapid or irregular, you know that something is off. While doing breathwork cannot replace seeking medical help, it can be used to shift your energy and state of mind. For example, when someone is having a panic attack, we’ve all been taught to have them breathe into a paper bag. The idea is that if a person is panicking, they are usually also hyperventilating. The panic alters the breath cycle and the altered breath cycle creates more panic. This can quickly become a downward spiral.
The wise, old method of breathing into a paper bag does two things. First, it makes the person breathe in more carbon dioxide, which they’ve been losing through their quickened breath. Second, because the bag creates a sort of drag, it slows the breathing down. When the breath is slowed, the body takes the cue and thinks there is nothing to worry about. The act of slowing down your breathing is incredibly potent. Think of it like lifting weights with your lungs. It can be done by anyone, at any time, through techniques that are thousands of years old. It doesn’t require you to be spiritually elevated or psychologically evolved. On the contrary – it costs nothing and is simple to learn.
YOGA & BREATH
Just like yoga and meditation, breathwork has a variety of styles and techniques with corresponding benefits. it can leave you feeling uplifted, focused, calm, or ready for sleep—depending on what type you do. There are energizing practices that require quick, short breaths and those that lengthen the breath for a more relaxing effect. Some techniques retain the breath at certain times or direct you to breathe out of just one nostril.
While some of it can seem a bit unusual at first, just like embarking on your first downward dog, have an open mind and a sense of adventure. However, remember that no matter what the teacher says, you are in charge of you. If a teacher says “Twenty more like this,” and you feel that you need a break—take it! If nothing else, you are practicing to have a better sense of yourself.
While it may appear simple on the surface, in the yoga tradition, breathwork was often taught as one of the most advanced practices. Introduced to students after they had mastered physical yoga, breathwork is essentially the synergy, the alchemy, the powerful combination of all yogic practices.
Pranayama for the Root Chakra
Pranayama is a very powerful and focused breathing technique that directs your energy flow for self-realisation and healing. In her study of the human bio-field, Dr. Valerie Hunt found this out. She established that people who felt ungrounded and lacked vitality often missed a certain energy frequency that’s associated with that of the Root Chakra.
Ungrounded states, where you don’t necessarily feel within your body lack physical vivacity and represent an imbalance in your energy spectrum. If your Root Chakra power is low, it’s a signal that you may be drawing less of it from the Earth. This often results in forms of numbness and dissociation.
Hypo states like hypoglycemia, hypotension, and hypothyroidism show that you’re likely to be having insufficient subtle energy in your body’s grounding realm. The same applies to depression, fatigue, weakness, and general body under-functioning.
Pranayama is the Answer
While many think of Pranayama as breath work, it has to do a lot also with the breathing, attunement, and direction of energy. Your intention in practice is to draw in power to replace the missing frequency in your biofield. In the case of being unground, the colour red misses from the energy biofield’s spectrum.
Steps:
Find a disturbance-free spot
Adopt a sitting or standing position. It’s preferable to get the soles of the feet on the floor
Relax, turn inward to your inner stillness, and set your attention on your breath. You can utilise Ujjayi for a more in-depth focus and generation of heat
Follow your breath for a few moments, inhaling through the nose and allowing the breath to expand the belly, lungs, and ribcage.
Exhale through the nose
Continue with the breathing pattern above before using the following visualisation technique:
Imagine that roots are spreading down from the soles of your feet to the Earth’s centre anchoring you to the ground.
During the inhale, imagine you’re inhaling red life-sustaining energy from the Earth, up to the roots and through the soles of your feet.
Continue breathing in this energy upward through the legs and into the pelvic floor and the Root Chakra’s revolving, rich red cortex. This is where you’ll feel the absorption and distribution of the power through your body.
If you wish, hold the breath for a short natural pause at the end of your exhale
From the Root Chakra, exhale down the legs, through the feet, and down your roots back to the Earth’s centre
Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on how grounded your hips and legs feel with the flow of energy
As an optional exercise, you can breathe the red energy of the Earth further up your body and into the rest of the chakras. You can also do so into any of the areas that are associated with hypo-functioning to feel the energy’s stimulating effects upon it. Exhale down back to the Earth’s centre. Repeat this cycle of breaths a few times.
Start Today
Pranayama is the best exercise when it comes to directing your flow of energy for healing and self-realisation. It helps you draw the power that’s necessary for the replacement of the missing frequency in anyone’s biofield. Try Pranayama today to get these benefits.
Moving Beyond Asana with Morgane Stroobant
Morgane TIY’s very own Bhakti Yogi. She has been practicing yoga for 15 years and shares her learnings and discoveries beautifully with her students. We sat down with Morgane to find out more about her practice and the passion behind it.
Can you tell us why this is an area you are passionate about and want to share with others?
That could be written in a book, or many books. For me, although I need the physical practice to get into my body, the practice has never been just about the physical asana. So like everyone, I need the asana but I am not attached to it, I never really was so I don’t have this obsession that students can commonly have like ‘I need to nail this pose’, ‘I need to nail that pose’, ‘I need to go deeper’.
I do the work and I do strong practices. I practice with Ari for that reason, because I need to get into my body and my breath and do a practice that makes sense and that actually allows you to go deeper into the asana practice, so you can let go of the asana practice. It’s one of the sutras - steady, effort, ease and surrender. We do the part that we need to do, we practice, we welcome all the limitations we face on our mat and we get excited about that. We encounter all the physical limitation in the asana but also the mental, emotional and spiritual limitations. These will present on your mat pretty obviously if you are open and curious, that is what I get excited about - how can we use the practice to welcome those limitations and beyond so we can live the yoga outside of the studio. That's where life happens, that's where pandemic happens, that's where losing jobs happen, relationship issues happen. So if we can’t take the practice beyond the mat and asana, we are not going to feel that peace and freedom when life gets messy, and it does all the time. I think finding tools to go beyond the asana, beyond the mat is how we find that peace. The asana is one tiny part of the picture so we can have all these tools in the box meaning we not only have the physical practice but we can also tune in to the breath, mantra and meditation at any time. Tune back in to that space of higher self - that inner wisdom, that internal landscape and when you're in a meeting with your boss, or driving, or dealing with drama/ trauma you're not going to break into an asana practice but you have these other tools ready to come and support and bring you back to peace, freedom and equanimity. You can use these in any situation and you can hopefully share that with others as well. There’s that ripple effect, like when you meet others who have this grace and wisdom, like Ari and some of my others teacher, they practice their yoga and they embody the yoga off the mat and practice what they teach, that’s what I try to do but it’s not easy, it’s difficult.
So many people can’t tap in to meditation and I wasn’t able to for a long time until I found mantra so it’s just giving people an awareness of what other tools are out there. I am excited to share what I love most and what works for me and to support the community and to help provide the tools to stay curious and work through stuff with strength and grace and wisdom. A lot of people feel they don’t have it but it’s there, we just need to tap into it.
For many, the physical asana practice is what draws them to yoga - as you touched on earlier. Why do you believe it is so important to grow beyond that?
For those who are attached to the physical practice, I think it is good to understand that as westerners, this helps us to find yoga because we need to move, it is important to move the body. When we move the body we can tap into the breath and it is much easier to breathe when sitting down than when the muscles start to shake or the mental constructs come into play e.g. I'm not flexible enough, I need to do more, I should push more, I'm not bendy enough, why is this person in a deeper backbend than me etc. So for those who love the asana practice, it is a great way to introduce you to yoga and then find out through that the tools that may lead you to something that is a bit more holistic.
It will still be a strong physical practice and we need to move, we need to be in our body and to get the breath and energy going, so that will be a big part of it. We’re not ignoring the physical part at all, we are just using it as our point of departure and then we see if we can go a little bit deeper, a little bit further than that.
Is tHIS PART OF THE PRACTICE SUITABLE FOR everyone?
Yes it is accessible to everyone, anyone with a curious mind. Whether you love a progressive class or you want a slow flow, there will be that, whether you have touched on meditation and mantra or not, there will be that as well. It’s worth mentioning that mantra is not religious, it is accessible to everyone, regardless of our background or culture. It was not religious the way I was taught it and that is how I teach it. We use mantra to transcend the mind, to go beyond the thinking mind, using sound to go back to that inner sound, that place of stillness and silence and equanimity. That is the mantra practice itself. They say it is the fastest journey to that space because we are using this practice that goes right deep in to the cells and parasympathetic nervous system, that’s why there's always silence after we sing or chant. That's what students have told me as well, for the 60 minute asana practice they have still been caught up in their head but then comes savasana and they hear me sing or chant and can just let go. So it is powerful but not religious. Pranayama is self explanatory, it's how to come to your breath. Meditation is the nectar, what happens after all of that. The asana practice should be accessible to everyone because I teach in a similar way to Ari, who is my teacher and mentor so we have a similar sequencing style in that you can choose if you want a more chilled practice or to spice it up.
What exactly is meant by ‘the higher self’?
The higher self is that space of, well, some people call it love, soul, spirit, higher consciousness. Something that is greater than the self, greater than the personality, the body, the meat suit in this lifetime and that is something that we try to connect to. That's the practice of yoga, the practice of connecting to oneness. Whatever we want to call it - soul, love, god, universe. We have our personality in this lifetime, our karma, our purpose, but we also have this place of oneness, connection to something greater. Something that is divine without being religious, if you get what I mean. So you don't have to be religious to understand that there is something a little greater, you may be connected to the earth, the ocean, just that place that is bigger than us and that we reconnect to, where we step out of our way and find a little peace. Once you connect to that space you find more freedom and equanimity and that's the space where there's no fear, anxiety, wishing, resentment, holding on to the good stuff. That's the higher self.
is there anything else you want to share?
As we know, the asana is only one tiny 8th of the yoga tree. I want students to gain the tools they can explore further and that have hopefully I made an impact on them to take their practice beyond the asana. Also understanding that the physical practice doesn't matter in the end, it's how you breathe and how you sit. The point is to come back to silence and that space in between where there is peace and freedom, which is definitely not relying on your level of asana practice or whether you can get into a handstand, do full splits or a deep back bend. It’s not about what you see on Instagram. It's about how we can bring the yoga into our lives when things get complicated. That's the yoga and hopefully these tools can support students in their lives and perhaps make them a little less asana obsessed in that if they can’t make it to their mat for whatever reason, they understand that there are still other ways they can practice yoga regardless.
Click here if you would like to learn more about Morgane!
Author: This is Yoga