Breathing and breathing techniques

Mar 05, 2020

Have you ever thought about your breath? Admittedly, actually you don't have to, because breathing is automatic in everyday life. Your breath supplies your body with vital oxygen and helps to transport decomposition products from the cells. In yoga, however, breathing techniques (pranayama) play just as important a role as the actual yoga exercises (asanas), and with 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 plausible, because after all our life begins with the first breath and ends with the last. The second part of the word "Ayama" means translated as control. Put together, pranayama stands for the control of the 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 are just practising for yourself?

In this article we will show you how to check your own breathing and how to use different breathing techniques to give impetus 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 relearn it? Wait a minute - why learn? Didn't they say it was completely automatic? That's right, newborn babies usually breathe naturally and deep into their stomach. If you watch an infant, you will notice that its tummy moves up and down a lot. He's practicing natural breathing.

But when the baby grows up, eventually the stress comes. The older he gets, the more the demands increase and the more pressure is put on his shoulders. And that's what eventually hits the breathing. Because stress or mental strain can flatten them out unnoticed.

The abdomen cramps up and the breathing air only reaches the upper part of the thorax. This has very 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 breathe again under stress and pressure

What to do about shallow breathing?

Negative emotions can affect your breathing. But this effect also works the other way round: with the right breathing technique you can calm your body and mind, slow down your pulse - and generally relax better.

Imagine you are supposed to play someone in a film 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 to find the right emotional state for your role.

If, on the other hand, you breathe slowly and calmly, the exact 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 is no wonder that breathing techniques are so important in yoga.

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

You can also recognize natural breathing by the following characteristics:

1. when you breathe in, 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 is made up of muscles and closes off your abdomen and the organs in your pelvis from below. You tense your pelvic floor, for example, if you urgently need to go to the toilet.

2. when you breathe in, your collarbones lift and turn slightly upwards. As you exhale, they come down again.

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

3. your upper arms turn slightly outwards when inhaling and inwards again when exhaling.

Use a mirror here as well, if you are unsure whether your body feeling alone is enough for you to assess.

Ready? Don't panic if you notice shallow breathing: You can definitely learn to breathe 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 flat 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: Abdomen Position your hands slightly above the navel on your abdomen so that your middle fingers touch.

If you now breathe with your diaphragm, your stomach lifts and your fingertips separate. Breathe deep into your stomach several times in this way and allow it to expand in all directions.

2nd breathing technique: Middle chest area Now place your hands to the side of your ribs.

Now breathe into the chest and feel your ribs widening a little to the side. Repeat this breathing several times.

3. breathing technique: upper chest

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

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

Further breathing techniques in Yoga

Liberates and revitalizes: breathing techniques are enormously effective

As you know, in addition to the asanas in pranayama yoga, there are also pure breathing techniques that you perform sitting or lying still - without any movements. These breathing exercises have a stimulating or calming effect on body and mind. Examples are the fire breath, the alternate breath or the complete yoga breath.

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

What you should keep in mind with pranayama

You can learn pranayama yourself, but it makes more sense to practice it from scratch with your yoga teacher first. Because these breathing techniques may seem unspectacular - but they are really something special. And there is a lot to consider.

So you should approach the exercises with caution if you are pregnant or have just had a major operation. Inexperienced people can work up a lot of sweat when practicing the techniques and even have circulation problems. And according to traditional belief, smokers should even avoid the exercises altogether, as some yogis assume that too many harmful substances enter the lungs through deep breathing.

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

How to integrate conscious breathing into your daily yoga practice

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

Make a short daily ritual out of your exercises. Pranayama only develops its full effect with time. You should therefore stick to it and integrate it into your daily life. In this way you will also support your yoga practice and benefit all the more from the healing effects.

Basically, of course, you should pay attention to correct breathing when doing all your asanas. If you do not receive any specific breathing instructions in your yoga class or if you want to practice on your own, we have compiled an overview for you here.

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

Breathe in when you are in the starting position.
Breathe out when you bend forward or sideways.
Breathe in as you make a backbend.
If you have high blood pressure or heart problems, you better not hold your breath.

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

Breathing in everyday life

One final tip: In yoga class, you're usually already focusing your attention on proper breathing. But the trick is to do this in everyday life as well. Observe your breathing regularly, for example when you are standing at the checkout in the supermarket.

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

Just give it a try - maybe you'll get a taste for it so that breathing techniques are now part of your everyday life. Your body and mind will thank you for it.