Using Breath To Deepen Your Yoga Practice

If you're a practitioner of yoga, you know how important it is to breathe correctly when going through the poses. Traditionally you are told to inhale and exhale fully as you move deeper into a pose to enable your body to stretch further, bring more benefits to you.

There are many other ways that yoga practitioners have used breath through the centuries, and in fact a whole discipline of yoga is devoted to the breath. But even if you don't want to fully explore pranayama as part of your practice, you can use these techniques to bring more energy and vitality into your life.

To yogis, the most important place where we take in life force energy is through the nerve endings in the nose, so it is vitally important to breathe in and out through your nose whenever you want to give yourself an energy boost.

Another important aspect of breathing in yoga has to do with the fact that the brain's pulse is connected to your breath rather than to your heartbeat. Altering the breath therefore alters your brain wave patterns, which is important in meditation but also for getting a feeling of relaxation and energy from your yoga practice.

There are many different ways to breathe, of course, and different yoga teachers and practitioners have their personal favorites. But there is actually a rhythm at which you can breathe that is optimal for hooking up with the rhythm of the brain.

It's really easy to do: breathe in through your nose for six heartbeats, hold for three heartbeats, and exhale through your nose for six heartbeats. When your lungs are empty, inhale again immediately with no break.

If you are feeling stress or a low energy level, doing this for a couple of minutes will make you feel refreshed. You can also practice this breathing when you're doing yoga and no particular method of breathing is suggested for a particular pose.

This method of breathing is also great if you would like to do a little meditation at the end of your yoga practice. Lie in corpse pose or sit comfortably on a meditation mat or pillow. Close your eyes and begin this cycle of breathing.

As you breathe, give yourself a body scan from the toes up, relaxing any tension you might still be feeling in your body. Relax and feel the vitality of this deep breathing course through your body.

After practicing this breathing method a few times, you will find yourself doing it throughout the day to relieve stress or when you need to clear your mind.