Breathing plays a key role in yoga practice. The importance of proper breathing in yoga is evidenced by the huge number of exercises and techniques devoted to breathing training. This is where the whole philosophy of yoga begins, which allows practitioners to achieve the state of unity of body and mind.

Mastering your own breathing is the basis of yoga. Controlled breathing allows a person to take control of the body and mind. And calm breathing equals peace of mind. It allows you to relieve tension and stress, calm the heart, calm the mind.

Yoga Breathing: What's Right?

We generally distinguish between several ways of breathing, although not all of them are good and he althy for us. There are three types of breathing in everyday activities: collarbone breathing (shallow), thoracic breathing, and abdominal breathing (deepest). We most often breathe in the upper part of the chest, involving, among others, neck muscles. Meanwhile, it is the diaphragmatic breathing that is the he althiest for us. In yoga, on the other hand, we combine all three breathing techniques and use them alternately. This is to make the training as effective as possible. The philosophy of yoga is to adjust the way of breathing to the type of exercise performed.

Principles of Yogic Breath

Yogic breath is modeled on the breathing of newborns. It is uninterrupted breathing - there is no pause between the inhalation and exhalation. The yogic breath is made through the nose. It is the sum of three types of breathing, so it consists of three elements: breath into the abdomen, mid-breath (into the chest), and nasopharyngeal breathing. Yogic breathing can be learned through exercise.

Learning Yogic Breathing - The Basics

Yoga breathing exercise1

We sit cross-legged on the floor or normally on a chair, with our back straight. You can also do this exercise while lying on the floor. Place the right hand on the stomach and the left hand on the lower ribs. We close our eyes and inhale the air through our noses.

First, we try to fill the lower lung with air so that we can feel the belly rises under our right hand. As we continue to inhale the air, we fill the upper part of the chest with it. Then we inhale the rest of the air, filling the nose and throat. When we exhale, we changeorder. First we exhale air from the nose, then from the middle part of the lungs and finally from the lower part. For the exercise to be effective, it should be performed for a minimum of five minutes, without pausing.

Yoga breathing exercise No. 2

You should sit cross-legged on a flat surface or on a chair with your back straight. We lower the shoulders and arms, the head should be directed straight ahead. Eyes should be blind, looking straight ahead towards the floor. The body should be relaxed.

Let's not forget about the position of the hand - the right thumb should be straightened, the second and third fingers should be bent towards the center of the hand, the rest of the fingers should be straightened. Left hand - you can rest it comfortably on your knee. The exercise consists of breathing through one nostril. One hole should be plugged with your thumb, the other with the fourth finger of your right hand. We do this by pressing down the wings of the nose alternately.

We inhale, tighten the right nostril and exhale only through the left nostril. During the next inhale, we have the right nostril blocked and count to four, and then we exhale through the right nostril to eight. Then we inhale through the right nostril, counting to four, and exhale through the left nostril, this time counting to eight. And so on alternately. There should be at least five series.

Advanced exercises based on yogic breathing

Yoga breathing exercise No. 3

Benefits: calms the mind, softens and prolongs breathing, teaches effective breathing.

Sit cross-legged on the floor or in a chair, straighten your back. Draw air in slowly - just as you do with yogic breathing. Then exhale while making a long, ooooomm sound… This sound should be at least half a minute long, and that long should be exhaling. Repeat the exercise several times until your breathing calms down.

Yoga Breathing Exercise No. 4 (Bhastrik Technique)

Benefits: body warming up, weight reduction, energy purification, more free flow of energy in the body.

At the beginning (while remaining in a sitting position) we exhale deeply and quickly, drawing in the navel. Then we move on to rapid nasal breathing, paying attention to the rapidly moving diaphragm. We make sure that the exhaust is particularly strong. The movements of the diaphragm must be clear and intense. We repeat the exercise several times in ten cycles, then hold our breath for a few seconds.

Yoga Breathing Exercise5 (Shitali Technique)

Benefits: cooling the body (exercise good in summer), cleansing the eyes and ears,Satisfying hunger, quenching thirst, and improving the functioning of the digestive system.

The most important thing in this exercise is proper language arrangement in the so-called roll and using this position in the breathing process. During the exercise, roll the tongue into a roll so that the tip of the tongue protrudes slightly outwards. We inhale as we push the air through the curled tongue and fill our chest. After inhaling, the tongue returns to its normal position and we close our mouth and hold our breath for a few seconds. After this time, we exhale slowly through our nose.

Yoga Breathing Exercise No. 6 (Skull Shining Technique)

Benefits: calming down, cleansing the sinuses, weight reduction, easier flow of energy in the body, warming up the body.

We stay in a sitting position, take a deep breath in, and then a deep and sharp exhale to pull in the navel as much as possible. After exhaling, we take a short break - we hold our breath for a few seconds. Next, we inhale the air slowly but intensively and once again exhale quickly and sharply. And again a few seconds of breath holding. One cycle of such breaths should last about a minute, and between cycles you should take breaks, e.g. for meditation.

Yoga Breathing Exercise No. 7 (Bhramari Technique)

This simple exercise involves inhaling air through your nose and exhaling it while making a sound similar to the buzzing of insects.

Yoga Breathing Exercise No. 8 (Murch Kumbhak Technique)

We breathe in slowly and gently through our nose and hold it for a few seconds. During this time, we try to focus on the point in the center of the forehead, which is to symbolize the so-called third Eye. After a dozen or so seconds, we can let out the air through our mouths, without ceasing to concentrate on the "third eye".

Yoga Breathing Exercise9 (Kevali Kumbhak Technique)

Benefits: Increased lung capacity, more efficient breathing. The idea behind this exercise is to practice air-holding to achieve the best possible result.

We take a deep breath through our nose and hold it for as long as possible. It should be remembered that holding your breath until it is no longer comfortable for us, we must not let us faint. When exhaling, make sure to do it slowly and gently. We repeat the exercise several times.

Worth knowing

Yoga: the effects of breathing exercises

Practicing yogic breathing exercises is not only conducive to achieving the state of complete meditation. It also has an impact on the quality of everyday life. Breathing exercises strengthen and cleanse the systemrespiratory, oxygenate and have a beneficial effect on blood circulation, calm the mind, improve well-being and energize.

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Yoga