Breath & Pranayam Practice
Breath brings in the prana and charges the system as well as bringing in oxygen.
Pranayam is a Breath Meditation used to control prana, the life force energy. It is used at the start of a yoga practice or yoga class to bring breath awareness, focus and to start moving energy.
Take a moment after each pranayam to assess the changes that occurred and to
appreciate them as you integrate the benefits.
Breath of Fire
Benefits:
Cleanses the blood and other fluid systems, strengthens the navel & nervous system.
It charges and expands the aura ( magnetic energy field around the body) so you become less reactive and fewer external things bother you.
It expands your lung capacity and brings vital oxygen into the cells.
How to do Breath of Fire:
Keep the spine, neck, and head straight (head over heart center, heart center over pelvic).
Can be done standing, sitting, or lying down (easier to start lying down).
Arms stay above the armpits, ideally at 60-degree angle above horizontal (which powers up the aura and makes a connection so your aura holds your arms up for a win-win). Stretch from the armpits. Find your balance where you can transfer the support from your arms to your shoulders, to your back and finally to your hips. the hips can hold your arms up all day.
The breath effort is on the exhale and the inhale is automatic. As you exhale pull the navel in toward the spine and up. For some people it is easier to think of the exhale as a snort pushing the air out and letting the navel relax with the inhale when the snort is relaxed. The result is the same. Air fills the lower lungs when the navel is relaxed so the diaphragm drops out of the way. All the air is pushed out of your lungs on the exhale.
Do not pause between inhales and exhales. And do them as rapidly as you can do them correctly. Find a pace you can sustain. That way you can do Breath of Fire for a longer duration.
(If you make a mistake just start again. If confused stick your tongue out and pant. It will train your body to pull the navel in on the exhale. Then resume Breath of Fire through the nose.)
Duration: 1 minute, 3 minutes, 7 minutes, 11 minutes. Yogis: 31 minutes
More Great Yoga Breaths
Long Deep Breathing: Calm and Control Mind, More Oxygen, Purify Blood
Yogic 1 Minute Breath Goal: Builds Stamina & Strong Nerves, More Oxygen, Calms
(This is the easiest way to achieve the 1 minute breath. Most people can do 12 second segments. Build to 15 second segments. Let the mind regulate the breath and stay steady while suspending the breath.)
4 to 1 Breath: Segmented breathing, Calms and Relaxes Body & Mind. Helps stop and prevent anxiety and panic attacks.
As you practice these Pranayams (detailed below) and get the rhythm down, slow them to gain more benefit. Let the mind’s job be to regulate the breath to stay present.
Focus on 1 breath at a time.
