BREATHE

“Hence Patanjali recommended pranayama for achieving mental equipoise and peace”

As summer is waning and August is ending so is this month’s theme on body awareness. In the blog, we covered proprioception, the physical anatomy of the chakra system, and delved deep into one commonly misunderstood exercise, the squat. I cannot think of a more appropriate ending to body awareness month than by discussing the driving energy of our physical selves - the breath. This blog post will discuss the importance of breathing during exercise and yoga and I provide you with some breathing tips to keep in mind. 

PRANA

Breathing is where you receive your power. Inhaling gaseous molecules from the atmosphere driven by pressure changes in our lunges is an automatic system our physical body relies on to live. In yoga, the Sanskrit word prana is used to refer to breathe but the definition goes beyond breathing. The word prana encompasses the following: “breathe, respiration, life, vitality, wind, energy, strength. It also connotes the soul.” 

Begin to view your breath not just as air moving in and out of your lungs but more as prana and all that it encompasses (vitality, strength, energy etc.). This is a powerful mindset to have when we relate to our physical bodies and begin to connect to the full power our physical selves posses. 

BREATHING & EXERCISE

Many clients often ask me when they should inhale and exhale during an exercise. Generally speaking, exhale when you are exerting the most force, this is typically the concentric movement of the exercise and inhale during the eccentric movement of the exercise. For example during a push up INHALE down (eccentric), EXHALE up (concentric). You are exerting the most force when you are pushing your body weight up so you must exhale. Also, consider using your breath to set the tempo of your repetitions while lifting weights. You might find that this slows down your reps which may be just what your body needs to correctly engage the targeted muscles. 

Trust me, this comes with practice. If you find that focusing too much on your breath when you’re just starting out is messing up your form, don’t worry too much about it. If this is you, simply begin by being mindful of what your breathing pattern is. Are you even breathing at all? Honestly, I’m happy when I see people breathing during exercise because many of us have the tendency to hold our breath while performing a difficult exercise. I invite you to notice your breathing during your next workout and setting the tempo of your reps to your breathe. How does that feel?

BREATHING & YOGA

In yoga, there are 8 foundational limbs that are intended to help still the mind and achieve Samadhi (a super conscious state). The 4th limb is pranayama which is “rhythmic control of breath.” We can break down the Sanskrit word into two parts, prana and ayama. Ayama means ‘stretch’ or ‘extend’ and you already know what prana means. Let’s dive a little deeper into pranayama. 

Many times when performing yoga poses (asanas) we lose touch with what we are doing with our physical body because we hyper focus on perfectly executing a difficult asana that is Instagram-able. If your physical body is at that level - great! If it is not there, don’t worry about it! The unique way you practice your asanas with your physical body is yoga in itself, there is not need to match what you see on the internet. I do, however, invite you to integrate your breath into your asana practice. Sync your breathing to the asanas you are completing. This is pranayama. If you notice your breath is getting away from you while performing a more advanced pose, this is your body telling you that you perhaps need more practice building up to this advanced asana. Finding a steady, even breath during your asana practice truly captures the intention behind practicing yoga.

There is a also a methodology to breathing while practicing yoga. A few simple cues to remember is if you are folding forward such as in a forward fold or pascimatanasana EXHALE as you bend forward. If you are bending back like in upward dog or cobra pose, INHALE first as you bend back. To sum up, forward bending exhale first; back bending, inhale first. To those focusing on your breath during your asana practice - I see you and I applaud you!

CONCLUSION

Thank you for following along this month! I hope these blog posts and other informative tid-bits I’ve posted regarding the physical body have given you a deeper understanding of your physical self. Perhaps now you have developed a better dialogue with your physical body. Perhaps you have a new found sense of gratitude for your physical body. I truly hope this is the case as it was my intention for the month of August. In this new found sense of gratitude, I invite you to nourish your physical self with healthy foods, a glass of water every now and again, regular exercise, and regular stretching or a yoga practice.

If you feel as if you have not done much to nourish your body, do not feel guilty. You can begin right now, at this very instant. Sit quietly, focus on your breathing, feel the air passing in through your nostrils, past your throat, into your chest and down into your belly. Feel this energy, strength, power, vitality feeding your physical body. Whenever you feel out of sorts come back to your breath to reel yourself back to the present moment. And when you’re ready to let go, to release the energy back into the world, remember to EXHALO FORTIS. Thank you <3

Sources

“The Heart of Yoga: Developing A Personal Practice” T.K.V. Desikachar

“Light on Yoga” V.K.S Iyengar (all quoted text credited to this source)