Breathing is the most repetitive activity we do as humans yet we know very little about the true potential of our breath.
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Message from Our Yoga Teacher Jude:
My journey with breathwork 🧘🏾
I stumbled upon meditation over a decade ago while looking for ways to understand my anxiety & depression. Before calming my mind, I had to understand how breath works in the body. I can tell you from my own experience and breathing with others, clarity, peace, joy, balance - all good things start with inhale & exhale 🍃
5 Pranayama Breathing Techniques
There are a few different Pranayama exercises that anyone can try, such as:
1.Ujjayi. Also referred to as “victorious breath,” Ujjayi is a pranayama breathing technique that uses the diaphragm and requires a gentle restriction of the flow of air at the back of your throat. To practice Ujjayi, start in a seated, relaxed position. When you’re first starting out, you can breathe in through your nose then out through your mouth with a gentle “huh” sound (like you’re fogging up a mirror). Once you have a hang of this, you can begin to do this same thing with your lips closed.
Benefit: it soothes the nervous system, calms the mind and increases psychic sensitivity. It relieves insomnia, slows down the heart rate and lowers blood pressure. It is a tranquilizing pranayama, but it also has a heating effect, stimulating the process of oxidation.
2.Nadi Shodhana. Also known as “alternate nostril breathing,” this technique involves alternating inhalations and exhalations through the right nostril and left nostril.
Benefits: Correlates with the emotional and logical halves of our brain. The balancing aspect of this technique can be calming and aid in concentration.
3.Kapalabhati. often called “skull shining breath,” involves gentle inhaling and forceful exhaling. This technique is used to purge the body of toxins and clear your energy channels.
Kapalabhati is considered to be so cleansing to the entire system that, when practiced on a regular basis, the face shines with good health and radiance. In fact, traditionally Kapalabhati is one of the six internal cleansing exercises (shat kriyas) rather than a form of pranayama. Even though it is traditionally classified as a cleansing exercise, Kapalbhati is an excellent breathing exercise to warm up the respiratory system and internally warm up your body in preparation for the following physical practice. It is an easier version of the pranayama Bhastrika and is suitable for most levels of experience and fitness.
Benefits:
Cleanses the nasal passage, drains the sinuses, and eliminates accumulated mucus
Strengthens and increases the capacity of the lungs and intercostal muscles
Removes bronchial congestion and spasm while also helping to relieve asthma
Removes stagnant carbon dioxide and oxygen in the lungs, due to the forced exhalation
Massages the intestines, stomach, liver, spleen, heart, and pancreas through the movement of the diaphragm and abdominal contractions
Strengthens your abdominal muscles and improves digestion
Refreshes and invigorates your mind and increases alertness as a result of the increase of oxygen to your brain.
4. Bhastrika. Bhastrika, also known as “bellow’s breathing” or “stimulating breath,” is a form of Pranayama that involves aggressive inhalation and exhalation patterns, which can have an energizing effect and help calm the mind.
Benefit:
Favourable effect on the respiratory and digestive system.
Drains excess phlegm from the lungs.
Oxygenates the blood increasing the vitality of all the organs and tissues
Strengthens and tones the abdominal region.
Calms the mind
Energizes the entire body and mind.
5. Bhramari. Bhramari breathing, also referred to as “humming bee breath,” involves taking long, deep inhales, coupled with a “humming” exhalation. The humming sound and gentle vibration can give the practitioner a calming sensation to focus on, helping calm a busy, buzzing mind.
The goal of this pranayama practice is to help you regulate your breath and reduce the body’s sensory inputs. This can bring balance to the nervous system and boost one’s mental and emotional well-being in miraculous ways.
Benefits:
Calms and quiets the mind
Releases cerebral tension
Stimulates the pineal and pituitary glands, supporting their proper functioning
Soothes the nerves
Relieves stress and anxiety
Dissipates anger
Lowers blood pressure
Bolsters the health of the throat
Strengthens and improves the voice
Supports the healing of bodily tissues
Induces sound sleep
Join our Yoga retreat to know more about Pranayama techniques, limitations, the best time to do and which style is good for coping specific situations.