Uniting Mind and Body with Breath

     24 Hour Fitness offers mind/body classes such as yoga to help strengthen not only your physical self, but to help you connect more deeply with your true self. Your practice is enriched tremendously when you focus on your breath. From "Yoga for Beginners," here are the basic principles of yoga breathing. This brief introduction ends with a detailed explanation of one type of pranayama that we use to begin, to focus, and to balance our practice together.
     Breathing is a vital element of yoga. Practicing yoga breathing, or breath control in yogic terms is called pranayama. The word "pranayama" can be broken into two parts: Prana means life force and Yama means control. By conscious control of the breath, you can create a proper rhythm of slow, deep breathing.
     Pranayama breathing exercises are the link between the physical and mental disciplines of yoga. Because the breath, body and mind are so closely linked, a change in one immediately affects the other two. By developing control of your breathing, you can bring about beneficial changes in your body and mind. Yogic breathing energizes and cleanses the body, calms and relaxes the mind, and serves as a perfect warm-up for practicing yoga poses. In coordination with yoga poses, the breath unifies mind and body, balances opposing energies, and helps the body relax deeply and safely into each pose.


Physical Benefits of Pranayama Breathing


     Proper breathing provides sufficient oxygen for the correct and efficient functioning of every body cell. Without sufficient oxygen, the cells cannot metabolize food properly. Nutrients, including precious vitamins and minerals, are wasted. Proper breathing allows the body to metabolize food efficiently and to rid itself of all the noxious gaseous by-products of metabolism, especially carbon dioxide. It nourishes the muscles and organs with oxygen. It dispels fatigue and anxiety.
     Brain cells have a high rate of metabolism, so the brain requires much more oxygen, relatively, than any other organ of the body. A lack of oxygen results in sluggishness, fatigue, confusion, disorientation and a loss of mental balance, concentration, memory and control of the emotions.
     A mastery of yoga breathing techniques is the best - and most readily available - tool for stress reduction. The common remedy for stress is to take a deep breath. Supplying the brain with sufficient oxygen is the greatest tool in stress management.
     Yogic breathing exercises help to keep the two sides of the brain in balance. As well as controlling opposite sides of the body, the two halves of the brain deal with different functions and different aspects of our lives. The right side of the brain is calming, intuitive, inner-directed, emotional, subjective and deals with simultaneous reasoning and spacial and nonverbal activities. While the left side of the brain is aggressive, logical, outer-directed, rational, objective and deals with sequential reasoning and mathematical and verbal activities. Proper breathing helps the two sides of the brain to work together.
     Pranayama deepens breathing which stretches the intercostal muscles, strengthens the respiratory system and aids conditions such as asthma. Pranayama breathing has helped one class member regulate her asthma, and keeps her from dependence on a nebulizer.


Mental and Emotional Benefits of Pranayama Breathing


     By exercising control over breathing, you can learn to control the energy within the body, and ultimately gain control over a restless mind. In yogic breathing exercises, the breath is seen as the important link between our physical and mental aspects. Pranayama cleanses and strengthens the physical body, but its most important benefit is for the mind.
     Proper breathing soothes the nervous system; calms, steadies, and clears the mind; improves concentration, focuses attention, and increases the ability to deal with complex situations without suffering from stress.
     In addition, proper breathing calms the emotions, increases emotional stability, helps with emotional control and equilibrium, reduces craving and desire, combats depression, helps in the relief of grief and sadness, puts you in touch with your inner self and gives you poise and serenity.

Alternate Nostril Breathing: Calms and balances the mind and body, aids relaxation, improves concentration, and strengthens respiration.      In class, before we begin our practice in earnest, we often use this pranayama exercise to focus and balance our energies. Use Alternate Nostril Breathing whenever you need to find your own mental equilibrium. If you're in the middle of a tense meeting or other challenging situation, imagine your right hand on your nostrils as you focus on your breath.

Sit comfortably in a cross-legged position on the floor. Keep your spine and neck straight, but not tense. Do not lean forward. Place a cushion under the buttocks or the knees if you need more support. Rest the left hand on your left knee. Extend the thumb, ring finger and little finger of your right hand and fold down your other two fingers into your palm. Start by closing your right nostril with your thumb and inhale slowly and deeply through the left nostril. Then press the ring and pinky fingers against the left side of the nose, sealing the left nostril closed while keeping the thumb against the right nostril, and hold. Lift the thumb from the right side of the nose, opening the right nostril. Exhale slowly and fully through the right nostril. Inhale slowly and deeply through the right nostril, still holding the left nostril shut. Cover the right nostril with the thumb and hold. count. Release the left nostril and exhale through the left nostril. Repeat sequence five times. Practice alternate nostril breathing, working up to the ability to maintain each inhale, hold, and exhale for a count of eight.