Posts In: ujjayi

by Monique Minahan

“Yoga is the only thing that makes sense right now,” a student commented to the teacher before class.

It was a simple yet powerful statement that most of us can relate to. We’ve all been there at some time in our lives. Life becomes so busy, overwhelming, crazy, problematic, or stressful, and yoga provides a kind of virtual sanctuary that allows us to rest, recharge, and refuel on a deep internal level.

Physiologically, when we experience stress, anxiety, frustration, or other negative emotional states our breathing is impacted. Our breathing rate increases as our depth of breath decreases. This change in our respiration has a direct impact on our heart rhythm, which in turn affects our entire body.

When we go to yoga we are asked to do something very simple. We’re asked to turn our attention to our breath.

When we consciously lengthen and deepen our breath, such as through ujjayi pranayama, we are actually changing our heart rhythm and thus the neural patterns that are sent to the areas of our brains that regulate our emotional and mental functioning.

Effectuating positive change on the level of the breath, the fourth of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga, we find ourselves better equipped to face our inner and outer worlds after an hour of yoga.

On top of this breath awareness we layer asana, the postures we practice and the third limb of yoga. Asana has been shown to raise our brain’s GABA levels. GABA is a neurotransmitter in our brains that has a calming effect on our central nervous system.

It makes me wonder what would happen if we practiced all eight limbs of yoga instead of just the two most common ones, breath and posture.

The phenomenal thing about yoga is that it never changes. We change.

The poses don’t change, the breathing doesn’t change, the process doesn’t change. Where we are in our lives changes, where our body is at changes, what we’re experiencing on emotional, physical, and spiritual levels changes.

Your first down dog at the beginning of class doesn’t feel like your last one. Tomorrow’s hip or heart openers may be easier or harder than today’s. Each movement and each breath is a doorway into your present moment, your present body, and your present state of being.

Yoga brings us home to our bodies, although I find it’s sometimes more like a vacation home than a real home. I visit it when I do yoga and sometimes leave it uninhabited when I head back (literally head back) out into my “real” world.

B.K.S. Iyengar says, “It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.”

Through our body and through our breath we tap into deeper, freer levels of being that get buried under the stress or busyness of our lives.

This is unmapped and uncharted territory that requires vulnerability, compassion, courage, and a willingness to meet ourselves where we are on any given day.

Our yoga practice brings us to the doorway of our body and welcomes us home. How long we choose to stay is up to us.

 

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

by Laura McCorry

When was the last time you consciously breathed? Was it the last time you went to yoga class? Even though pranayama (breath control) is one of the eight limbs of yoga and essential to life, yogis and individuals still need to be reminded to consciously breathe.

Nothing worries me more as a yoga teacher than to have a room full of students in the middle of practice and hearing nothing. One of the most powerful commands I’ve ever heard from a fellow teacher was in the middle of a long hold in Warrior II when she said “Breathe. Smile.” That was it. Those were her alignment cues and the whole room re-animated. People came back into the present moment with heightened awareness and back into the experience of being in their bodies.

Of course respiration will happen naturally whether or not you consciously tell yourself to breathe – which is awesome, right? Phew! Thank goodness we don’t have to add that to our to-do list. (Wake up, breath in, get out of bed, breath out, walk to the bathroom, breath in – how exhausting that would be!)

However, unlike other natural rhythms in the body such as the heartbeat, over which we have limited control, the breath is an amazing tool we can use to maximize well-being. Yogic tradition teaches us that breath control is an essential component for meditation and the first step towards enlightenment. Any time you take a deep breath to stave off reacting negatively to stimuli you know the great power it wields.

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathing consciously has more immediate physical effects too – more oxygen is incorporated into the blood stream which results in better circulation and works to lower stress. You may think you’re going to yoga to sweat and stretch and exercise the body and those are wonderful benefits of the practice – but that euphoric feeling of clear-headed wellbeing at the end of class? The quality and expansiveness of your breath played a major role in getting you there.

Perhaps the biggest benefit yoga has to offer is not muscle strength or flexibility, but simply providing you with an hour or more of directed breathing!

Now take a deep breath and slowly let it go. I bet you feel better already!

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com