Yoga Breathing Methods

In a world of corporate stress, traffic jams, bill collectors, and unending debt, it comes as no surprise that a large number of deaths are directly related to high blood pressure and stress. The world is a savage place in reference to the physical health of an individual. There does, however, seem to be a solution to stress related health issues that the modern world so adamantly offers. The source of this opportunity of hope does not come in the form of a pill, a shot, or a technology oriented miracle cure. It actually comes through a process that originated centuries ago. It is known simply as, Yoga.

Ninety Nine percent of the global population do not use their respiratory system to one hundred percent of its' capacity and/or potential. The daily trials that we experience cause drops and spikes in our breathing patterns, which in turn lowers or raises our blood pressure, etc. The process is long, drawn out, and can literally have diverse negative effects upon every organ and system within our body. These are some truly frightening facts. However, through the art and exercise of Yoga, we can actually retrain our bodies and minds to breath as they were originally intended, before the cruelties of everyday life sat in.


In the process of Yoga breathing, do not expect immediate results. It is a process of teaching our subconscious to act differently than it does at the moment. The subconscious can be a very stubborn aspect and you must be patient with it.

Moving on, the actual process of Yoga breathing is quite simple, once you get it memorized, and memorizing is the first part of reprogramming your subconscious. Consider a yawn for an example. Go ahead and yawn. Interesting that the mere mention of a yawn makes us want to do it. This is the old subconscious taking over again. Make it a deep yawn. Relaxing, is it not? Now, consider how you yawned, your inhalation, and exhalation. When you inhaled, the air went to your abdomen, your stomach being the first to rise. Then your chest rose. As you exhaled, your chest fell first and then your stomach. You see, for some reason, though your subconscious has allowed your regular breathing to become skewed, the yawn has remained, as it should be. Use this as a guideline to go by.

First, lie flat on your back, no pillow, with your entire body straight. Close your eyes. Breathe in forcing the air to make your abdomen rise. Then, breath out, releasing the air. Do this a couple of times. Next, inhale causing your chest to rise. Again, release the air. Practice this a few times also. This part of the process is simply warming up for the real run.

To actually practice the art of yoga breathing, remain flat on your back. Now, breath in, deeply, allowing your stomach to rise first, then your chest. Now, do the same series of events in reverse. Breath out the air, first allowing your chest to sink and then your stomach.

One way to make this process simpler to remember is to think of your body as a bottle and your breath as water. You are filling your body as you would the body. The lower part fills first, then the upper. In exhalation, if you siphoned the water from the body the upper part would empty before the lower. This is a perfect example of the order of events.

Continue this process for 21 breaths. Then, open your eyes and get up slowly. As you rise, you will notice what seems like intensity in your senses. Colors seem brighter, more intense. Sounds are clearer, more noticeable. The effect is the same on all your senses. There are medical reasons for this sudden intensifying of your senses, but they are too diverse to list here. The sensation will begin to ebb after a few minutes. Nevertheless, it is truly an awesome sensation.

In the long run, this practice could save your life. Do not, however, let it end here. Study into the art of Yoga. There are numerous forms of Yoga that can be practiced to enhance your life experience on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. There are several forms of Yoga breathing that will also enhance particular areas of your life. Give them all a try.

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Yoga Breathing Exercise Fundamentals

One of the most common comments I hear from others within my yoga class and yoga beginners alike is that they find yoga breathing exercises the most beneficial, but also the hardest set of asanas to master.

It's true when many traditional and alternative medicines describe breathing as the very essence of existing. Breathing is one of the primary rhythms we see in life which include sleep awake, birth and death, light and dark.

With this in mind, it's no wonder that significant studies have been done to examine the role breathing has on aspects of our life such as health, emotional well being, relationships and the state of society in general.


In yoga, the breath is known as a rather unifying principle called prana, a wide-reaching energy that can bridge body, mind and spirit together in a harmony that is the basis of yoga and meditation. Yoga breathing exercise then becomes the set of yoga breathing techniques seeking to maximize this universal energy that exists inherently in all of us.

Those who practice yoga believe that this state of harmony is natural and that there are many aspects of life that pull apart our inner harmony. Yoga breathing exercise is one of the basic fundamental techniques we can use to control and even eliminate the impact external forces have on our overall health and well-being.

Take our fight or flight response as one example. The instinctual fight or flight response served our ancestors well, arising infrequently to keep our ancestors out of danger and harm. Today, most of us suffer from an almost chronic, permanent fight or flight response triggering symptoms that lead to digestive problems, high blood pressure, deterioration of the arteries and many other stress-related illnesses.

Yoga breathing exercises tackle this chronic stress response by breaking through the mind-body response and re-focusing us on our natural state of internal harmony.

YOGA BREATHING EXERCISE BASICS

The good news is that we don't have to master yoga breathing exercises to realize the benefits, but it is important that yoga breathing techniques follow a few basic guidelines.

1. Practice Breathing. First and foremost is that we must give ourselves the permission, time and motivation to improve our breathing through exercise. Yoga breathing techniques are proven to help master control over our mind and bodies, but it can only work if you commit to a disciplined program over a period of several months.

2. Understand the Physiology of Breathing. A large part of advanced yoga breathing techniques involves altering the inhale and exhalation speed as well as controlling the depth of breathing exercise. The goal of yoga breathing (pranayama) is to ease the mind and heart, but also increase the oxygenation of the cells within your body - otherwise known as the process of respiration. To master pranayama, your mind pictures the exhalation of toxicity and gas while on inhale, your mind envisions clean, pure oxygen feeding your body.

3. Become Aware of your body as it breathes. Yoga breathing techniques stress the role of your body, your abdomen, your ribs, your thorax and chest as well as your lungs in the yoga breathing process. For example, when you practice deep breathing, the puffing out of the abdomen is a critical indicator that you are taking in enough breath to accomplish adequate oxygenation. Truly mastering pranayama (yoga breathing) is only possible when you become aware of your breathing rhythms in any activity at any time of day.

4. Focus on both inhalation and exhalation. When I first started yoga breathing techniques, I focused almost entirely on the inhalation, making sure I was taking a truly deep breath, without focusing at all on how I was letting the air out of my body. In fact, exhalation is just as important to the success of yoga breathing exercises. Focus on a consistent, controlled release rather than a jerky, uncontrolled release.

The long-term health benefits of yoga breathing exercise are thought to be significant, but I can tell you that the short-term increase in energy, focus, peace and brain power you gain from just a 5-minute yoga breathing technique are incredibly powerful to your overall well being, productivity and happiness.

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