Breathing and breathing techniques

Mar 05, 2020

Have you ever thought about your breath? Admittedly, you don't really have to, because breathing is automatic in everyday life. Your breath supplies your body with vital oxygen and helps to transport waste products out of the cells. In yoga, however, breathing techniques (pranayama) play just as important a role as the actual yoga exercises (asanas), and for good reason.

"Prana" refers to the life energy that permeates everything - and also to the breath, which for yogis is the most direct expression of this life energy. This sounds obvious, because after all, our life begins with the first breath and ends with the last. The second part of the word "Ayama" translates as control. Put together, Pranayama stands for the control of life energy through breathing techniques.

And the right breathing technique makes your yoga practice even more effective. That's why some teachers also tell you during the class how you should ideally breathe during the individual asanas. But what if that doesn't happen in your class or you're just practicing for yourself?

In this article, we will show you how to check your breathing yourself and how to use different breathing techniques to give a boost not only to your yoga practice but also to your body and mind through natural breathing.

The breath is the king of the mind. B.K.S. Iyengar

How's your prana?

Do you know how to breathe properly or do you have to learn again? Wait a minute - why learn? Didn't they say earlier that it's completely automatic? That's right, newborn babies usually breathe naturally and deeply into their bellies. If you watch an infant, you'll notice that his tummy is clearly moving up and down. He is practicing natural breathing.

But when the baby grows up, at some point comes the stress. The older it gets, the more the demands increase and the more pressure is on its shoulders. And that's exactly what hits the breathing at some point. Because stress or mental strain can flatten it unnoticed.

The abdomen cramps and the breath only reaches the upper part of the chest. This has little to do with restful, deep abdominal breathing. This shallow breathing no longer supplies your body with sufficient oxygen - which also affects your concentration.

Yoga helps you to breathe again under stress and pressure

What to do about shallow breathing?

Negative emotions can affect your breathing. But this effect also works in the opposite direction: with the right breathing technique, you can calm your body and mind, slow down your pulse - and relax better overall.

Imagine playing someone in a movie who is completely upset and angry. You would probably change your breathing to get into that state. You would breathe faster and choppier - and much shallower. In short, your breathing would help you find the right emotional state for your role.

If, on the other hand, you breathe slowly and calmly, the opposite happens. You notice that you become more relaxed and calm - and you have more energy overall. Even your mood improves through deep breathing. So it's no wonder that breathing techniques are so important in yoga.

You can find out whether you breathe too shallowly in everyday life by simply sitting or lying down quietly and observing your breath. Is it regular or irregular? Does your abdominal wall rise when you inhale, or do your ribs just expand? At first, just observe your breath without intervening.

You can also recognize natural breathing by the following characteristics:

When you inhale, your pelvic floor lowers and stretches. When you exhale, it contracts and rises again.

To locate your pelvic floor, the following tip will help: Your pelvic floor consists of muscles and closes off your abdomen and the organs in the pelvis from below. You tense the pelvic floor, for example, when you urgently need to go to the toilet.

When you inhale, your collarbones rise and rotate slightly upwards. When you exhale, they lower again.

Here, it can help to sit in front of a large mirror so that you can observe your collarbones closely.

3. your upper arms turn slightly outwards when you inhale and back inwards when you exhale.

Again, use a mirror if you are unsure if your body image alone is enough for you to assess.

Ready? Don't panic if you've noticed shallow breathing: You can definitely learn to breathe properly again. In the following section you will find instructions on how to get back on the path to deep breathing.

Back to depth: Three exercises for more air

If you find that your breathing is no longer natural and you are only breathing shallowly into your upper chest, try the following breathing techniques.lie on your back. For example, you can lie with your upper body on a folded blanket so that your head is slightly elevated.

1st Breathing Technique: Belly Position your hands slightly above your navel on your belly so that your middle fingers touch.

As you breathe with your diaphragm, your belly rises and your fingertips separate. Breathe deeply into your belly like this several times and allow it to expand in all directions.

2nd Breathing Technique: Middle Chest Now place your hands to the sides of your ribs.

Now breathe into the chest and feel your ribs widen slightly to the side. Repeat this breathing several times.

3. breathing technique: upper chest area

Position your hands so that your index fingers are on your collarbones. Now breathe so that you feel your chest expand slightly upwards. Here you will notice the least amount of movement and the most resistance. Repeat this exercise several times.

Ideally, you should consciously practice these three breathing techniques regularly. In this way, you will gradually return to natural breathing, which will supply you with sufficient oxygen. These exercises also prepare you optimally for the various pranayama in the yoga practice.

More breathing techniques in yoga

Liberated and invigorated: breathing techniques are enormously effective

As you know, in addition to the asanas in yoga there are also pure breathing techniques with the pranayama, which you perform sitting still or lying down - completely without movements. These breathing exercises have, depending on the stimulating or calming effect on body and mind. Examples are the fire breath, the alternating breath or the perfect yoga breath.

All these exercises can help you enormously in yoga. Because it's exactly the combination of correct breathing and asanas that makes yoga - after all, it's about the harmony of body and mind. Relaxing yoga exercises offer a perfect complement to round off your yoga practice and enrich your everyday life.

What you should consider with Pranayama

You can learn pranayama yourself, but it makes more sense to first practice it from scratch with your yoga teacher. Because these breathing techniques may seem unspectacular - but they have it all. And there is a lot to keep in mind.

So you should approach the exercises with caution if you are pregnant or have just had a major operation. The untrained can sweat profusely while practicing the techniques and even struggle with circulation problems. And smokers should, according to traditional opinion, avoid the exercises altogether, as some yogis assume that too many harmful substances enter the lungs through deep breathing.

Wow, you might think, it's just breathing. But you can see how enormously effective these exercises are. That's why it's so important that you learn them correctly.

How to integrate conscious breathing into your daily yoga practice

Once you get the hang of it, you should pick your favorite exercises and practice them regularly. Traditionally, the rule is that pranayama is best practiced daily. For example, how about doing a round of fire breathing in the morning after you get up to start the day full of energy?

Make a short daily ritual out of your exercises. Because pranayama develop their full effect only with time. You should therefore stick to it and incorporate it into your daily routine. This way you also support your yoga practice and benefit even more from the healing effect.

Basically, you should of course pay attention to correct breathing when practicing all your asanas. If you don't receive any specific instructions on breathing in your yoga class or if you want to practice on your own, we have put together an overview for you here.

The following rules of thumb have proven effective for breathing on the yoga mat:

Inhale when you are in the starting position.
Exhale as you lean forward or to the side.
Inhale as you perform a backbend.
If you have high blood pressure or heart problems, you'd better not hold your breath.

Combine these guidelines with conscious, deep breathing and you will soon notice how the execution of your yoga exercises becomes more effective and how you gradually come into harmony with yourself.

Breathing in everyday life

One last tip: In yoga class, you're usually already directing your attention to proper breathing. But the trick is to do the same in everyday life. Observe your breath regularly, for example when you're standing at the checkout in the supermarket.

If you are particularly excited, you can try the following short exercise: Simply breathe out longer than you breathe in. For example, count to four when you inhale and to six when you exhale. With this breathing technique you can lower your pulse and calm yourself down. Even if you can't fall asleep, this technique can work wonders.

Just try it out - maybe you'll develop a taste for breathing techniques that will become part of your everyday life from now on. Your body and your mind will thank you.