How Yoga Breathing Works
Yoga is a timeless method for obtaining optimum health through breathing exercises called pranayamas and muscle stretching exercises or positions called asanas.
- Prana=’life force’
- Yama=’self-discipline’
Although yoga is considered to be a spritiual practice, many people, especially in the Western world, learn yoga more for its health benefits rather than its spiritual concepts.
Basic yoga breathing exercises concentrate awareness on the length and power of your inhalation and exhalation, listening to the sound of your breath, learning how to control your breath when you are stretching the other muscles in your body and why this is important to your health.
The idea that air is the vital force in life is at the root of all yoga principles and so when you breathe, the more control you have over the ebb and flow of your breathing, the more you will be able to discipline your entire body, both mentally and physically, for optimum health.
When you do yoga breathing, you will get deep down into the muscles that control your breath and will learn how to use them for optimum health. Some of these muscles include:
- diaphragm
- abdominal
- pelvic
Beginning Yoga Breathing Exercise
A basic beginning breathing exercise is to rapidly breath in and out twenty times through your nose, making the exhalation stronger than the inhalation, and then taking one slow deep breath, holding your breath as long as you can and then slowly exhaling. This is also a good breathing exercise if you are having upper respiratory tract problems.
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