corporate yoga brisbane

Why is the breath so important when it comes to practicing yoga? It’s more than just a soothing exercise. Breath and its many types can impact not only your yoga practice but everyday life. You’re already familiar with the idea of “just breathe” when trying to calm nerves and this is because breath control or consciously changing one’s breathing pattern can affect your emotional state. What happens, essentially, is your cerebral cortex becomes activated and sends inhibitory impulses to your hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain dealing with emotions, and therefore helps you to relax.

In yoga, the breath is believed to control the body, mind and emotions. There are 72,000 channels–called “nadis”– through which the subtle energy flows throughout the body. Three of these nadis are considered the most important: Ida, Pingala and Sushumna.

The Ida courses through the chakras (energy centres) and ends in the left nostril. Ida is associated with the energy of the moon and has a calming effect. The Pingala, meanwhile, ends in the right nostril and is aligned with the energy of the sun and has a heating effecting. The Sushumna is the central channel, where the Kundalini (primal energy located at the base of the spine) travels and is associated with balance.

Prana is the vital energy that moves the lungs and, through pranayama, you can control prana while practicing yoga. Prana should not be confused with the breath itself. Pranayama has three stages of respiration: Pooraka (inhalation), Kumbhaka (retention) and Rechaka (exhalation). The process of pranayama can break your breathing pattern, which may be more tense and shallow than you would like. As a result, you can experience clearer perception and connect with your true Self.

Breath is such a crucial part to the practice of yoga that yogis believe the speed at which you breathe will dictate the length of your life. It’s said that if you breathe 15 times per minute, you will live 75 to 80 years. If you breathe 10 times per minute, you will live up to 100 years.

Here are some breathing exercises to get you started.

Basic Breath Awareness

This is a gentle introduction to diaphragmatic breathing, also known as deep breathing, which involves contracting the diaphragm. This will teach you conscious breathing while calming the nervous system, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote self-awareness

1. Lie on your back with knees bent with feet flat on the floor and hip-width apart.
2. Place a palm on your abdomen and breathe in and out for a few moments. Note the quality of your breath. Is it tense? Uneven? Shallow?
3. Gradually begin to breathe as relaxed and as smooth as possible, pausing after each breath in and out.
4. Feel the movement of your diaphragm with your palm still on your abdomen, actively expand your abdomen when you inhale and contract when you exhale.

Sitkari Pranayama (The Cooling Breath)

This particular exercise involves drawing the air across the tongue and into the mouth, resulting in a cooling effect on the nervous system. This will also improve focus and soothe excess heat. This exercise is great as well for when you’re feeling drowsy.

1. Open your mouth slightly and place your tongue just behind your teeth.
2. Inhale slowly through your mouth and raise your chin towards the ceiling. Allow the air to wash over your tongue.
3. At the end of inhaling, close your mouth and exhale through the nostrils and slowly lower your chin back to neutral.

The Long Exhale

Prolonging your exhalation has wonderful benefits from easing anxiety to reducing insomnia and sleep disturbances. This exercise will increase your exhalation to twice that of your inhalation.

1. Lie on your back with knees bent with feet flat on the floor and hip-width apart.
2. Place a palm on the abdomen and take a few gentle breaths, actively expanding and contracting your abdomen.
3. Silently count the length of each inhale and exhale. If inhalation is longer than exhalation, slowly begin to make them equal.
4. Gradually increase the length of each exhale by 1 to 2 counts. Do not go beyond twice the count of your inhalation and never strain yourself to go more than you’re comfortable with.