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by
Marianne Woods Cirone, M.S., R.Y.T., Certified Yoga Teacher
Breathing practices are a very important part of the practice of Hatha
yoga. In the eight limbs of yoga, the control of prana,
or life force (known as pranayama) is closely tied to breathing
practices. Throughout history and across the globe, the terminology
for "breath" and "spirit" have been closely linked. Focus on the
breath is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hatha yoga, and is
an important aspect of the poses, as well as a practice in itself. While
prana is not the breath, techniques of breathing have been widely known to
guide the movement of prana and yield great physical, mental and spiritual
benefits. There are many other techniques of pranayama beyond
breathwork that are discussed at length in classic texts such as B.K.S.
Iyengar’s Light on Pranayama, a text directed toward the serious
yoga student.
Scientists
and doctors today continue to document the many benefits of breathing
practices on many medical conditions as well as the strong impact on
emotional states. Andrew Weil, a Harvard-training M.D. and
Integrative Medicine expert has created a set of tapes/CDs called
Breathing: The Master Key to Self-Healing.
He discusses that all of his patients, no
matter what their conditions, have benefited from the healing powers of breath work. One of the reasons why certain breathing techniques are so
useful is because they allow the body to relax and turn down the effects
of an overactive sympathetic nervous system.
He has successfully used breathing techniques for patients with
conditions such as panic attacks when no other treatment was successful.
Two
excellent books on breathing techniques
include the
Science of Breath
by Swami Rama, R. Ballentine, M.D.
and Alan Hymes, M.D. (see left) and
The Breathing Book
(see right)
by Donna Farhi.
These are both excellent resources that should be in any yoga library, and
contain a great deal of detail and scientific data, and are widely used by
Hatha yoga teacher’s training programs. The Science of Breath
gives a lot of detail on the respiratory function and specific breathing
techniques, while The Breathing Book
provides "inquiries" to
dismantle harmful breathing practices and allow the natural breath to
flow.
Veteran
teacher Richard Freeman has a new audio tape/CD
called
Yoga Breathing.
This master teacher offers the fundamentals
of yogic breath work, or pranayama on this CD. He offers a wide range of
techniques and guidance to release the energy of the individual on this
CD. Freeman also has a video tape which focuses on breathing
techniques called Yoga: Breathing and Relaxation
(1997). This video
is based on the Ashtanga (or "power") style of yoga, and is not
about sitting still and breathing.
In this video, he focuses directly on
the breathing techniques, and less on the poses.
Because
techniques of pranayama can be very powerful, many of the techniques are
suggested to be practiced under the guidance of a qualified teacher.
A simplistic explanation is that these techniques can intensify a
state of mind, or bring the unconscious into consciousness, thus if one
has an agitated state of mind this state may be magnified or increased.
The techniques which Dr. Weil suggests on his tape, according to
him, have been practiced by hundreds of his patients with only positive
results.
For
more information and specific breathing techniques, please see the article
below:
The
Breath: A Path to Simplicity and Wholeness
by
Marianne Woods Cirone (This
article appeared in the Simple Living Journal in Summer 1999)
Are
you breathing? If
you’re reading this, it can be pretty safely assumed that you are in
fact breathing. However,
as obvious as that might sound, the truth is that through the development
of bad habits and stress, we do tend to fall into breathing patterns that
negatively affect our mental and physical states.
Under stress, we often tend to hold our breath or breath rapidly
and shallowly. These
habits lead to a stress cycle which is perpetuated because they lead to
more physical and mental anxiety.
Two physicians who have popularized “integrative” medicine,
Drs. Christiane Northrup and Andrew Weil, advocate taking time to
“become still” and to “observe the breath,” respectively, as their
major single recommendations to improving health.
It is encouraging that “just sitting and breathing” may improve
our health as much as other more complicated and expensive
health-enhancing practices.
Thousands
of years ago, the yogis of ancient times did not experience the
distractions we face today:
television, telephones, computers, traffic or carpooling.
The quiet and austurity of their lifestyles allowed them to spend
generations of lifetimes observing the subtle energy patterns of the body
which are called prana.
Over the centuries, the yogis became expert in the art of
conciously controlling the prana through breathing practices.
This art is known as pranayama, and it can be used for
self-development, healing, and mind control.
The following breathing practices are beginning points for
improving your health and reducing stress that require no equipment or
expenditures and require little time:
- Observe
the breath. Sit,
stand or lay so that the head, neck and trunk are in alignment and
simply observe the breath going in and out of the nostrils.
This practice of single-pointed focus on the breath is a very
basic form of meditation and helps to create harmony in the mind, body
and spirit. This
will offer the best results if practiced at least twice daily.
- Engage
in deep, slow breathing. “Diaphramatic” breathing allows the
full expansion of the lungs on inhalation such that the abdomen pushes
forward. The breath first fills the bottom of the lung, then the
mid-lung, and then the upper lung. Upon exhalation, the abdomen
contracts.
- Practice
a cleansing breath. Known as kapalabhati, or “bellows
breath” this practice is considered cleansing and activating for the
body. Inhale through the nostrils and then exhale with a quick
contraction of the abdomen, and then inhale allowing the lungs to fill
again. Repeat this inhalation/exhalation up to fifteen times.
The action should mimic a pumping or a bellows in its mechanics.
As you continue with this practice, slowly increase the number
of breaths to twenty to fifty breaths for three rounds. This is a more
powerful practice best taught by a qualified teacher.
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Pranayama
