Improving Your Yoga Breath and Body

reathing is essential in yoga. However, from infancy to adulthood, we somehow manage to develop incorrect breathing habits and techniques. When we respond to stress in our lives, we tend to pull our chest down and in, effectively constricting the lungs and diminishing the amount of oxygen that is taken in. We also tend to breathe in shallow breaths in response to tension, which reduces the amount of oxygen that can be taken into the body.     

[post-img]The attention to breathing techniques is a useful exercise in self care. Proper intake of oxygen supports multiple systems in your body. Oxygen promotes healing at a cellular level, helps keep vital organs healthy and strong, is instrumental in removing toxins from the blood, and promotes the healthy functioning of the brain. In general, the proper intake of oxygen promotes the rejuvenation of our bodies and minds, and helps to keep our general vitality at full capacity.  

[tip-fact]Because yoga requires such deliberate attention to your breathing practices, it is an ideal method for practicing deep breathing. This is especially true with pranayama yoga. There are various poses and positions in this practice that promote the relaxation and stretching of the chest, back, shoulders and arms. When these areas of the body are strengthened with these exercises, the benefits of yoga breath on your body will be revealed. When done properly, these poses need a certain level of meditation and focus that will require you to pay close attention to your diaphragm.

[b-quote]When practicing yoga breath and body, it is imperative that you not only become aware of your body, but also of your breathing. Often, when you first begin to adhere to the practice of yoga breathing, it is also the first time you become aware of your diaphragm and all the work that it consistently does to just breathe in and out on a daily basis. An effective inhale and exhale require a certain level of work from the diaphragm. Learning breathing techniques during yoga practice will teach you how to breathe correctly on a daily basis.

The benefits of breathing not only help you with your yoga practice, but also help you in your everyday life. For example, improper oxygen supplies to the brain will result in sluggishness, a lack of alertness, and a slowing down of the reflexes. Your appetite can also be affected and you can start to feel irritable. In addition, memory can be affected at both the short- and long-term levels.

By learning and practicing these yoga breathing techniques, you will soon find yourself able to deal with stress and reinvigorate your mind and body.