How do you know if you breathe properly?
Have you ever watched a baby breathe?
When a baby inhales their belly inflates and as they exhale their belly deflates.
The proper way to breathe is when you inhale, your belly inflates, and as we exhale your belly deflates.
When I first started taking yoga classes, breathing was the toughest part of the class.
First, I did not know how to breathe properly. Secondly, it hurt my shoulders to take deep breaths.
I now know that those are signs of a weak respiratory system. Even though I'm a swimmer, my lungs had never gotten a workout in the form of breath exercises. Most people breathe incorrectly, there by not receiving enough oxygen to their brain and nervous system.
The reason my shoulders hurt as I inhaled was due to the fact that I was not taking deep breaths, but rather shallow breaths. My lungs were not accustomed to taking in so much oxygen!
A yogic breath has three parts. The first inhale is through the nose, then the deeper inhale into the chest, and finally the deepest inhale into the belly. Anything less then the full, deep breath and you are depleting yourself of oxygen.
The yogic breath is always inhaling through the nose, and exhaling through the nose, using the mouth to exhale when necessary. As you inhale the oxygen hits your olfactory senses and then your nervous system and brain, immediately offering you the space to pause and reflect.
The biggest shift I noticed in my healing Journey was learning to control and use my breath to empower me and my life. Learning how to control my breath has helped me conquer my monkey mind. Learning how to breathe deeply has allowed me the power to control my mood and emotions. Using my breath I am able to focus my attention where it needs to be.
In an effort to share the pleasure and benefits of Pranayama, I am hosting a pranayama challenge for the month of December. Every Sunday I will be sending you a tutorial on a specific breath exercise, which we will practice for that week. We start December 6th! Tutorials will be a YouTube video, for easy viewing. Finalizing details now - there is still time to join! Find me here!
Check out this breath tutorial- Nadi Shodhana (Alternate nostril breathing).
Namaste