Taking the Yoga Breath from the Yoga Mat to Our Everyday!

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Right at this moment, as you read this, pull back your shoulders, take a deep breath to fill your lungs completely, and then gradually exhale. You cannot deny that you feel a lot better and relaxed than you did ten seconds ago! While most of us remember to concentrate on our breaths, and breathe deeply while on the yoga mat, we forget all about it immediately we step back into reality. However, the trick lies in making the ‘yoga breath’ the only way you breathe.

This does not mean going about taking loud, deep breaths, and making it known to everyone that you are breathing differently. It can be done in perfect silence, with the same ease that we take the shallow breaths that we are so used to. We simply need to work on our posture, to make sure our lungs and diaphragm are properly aligned, and then lengthen the duration of each breath, so that our lungs are filled to their capacity each time we breathe.

Breathing properly, while practicing yoga, is pivotal to maintain the rhythm of our practice, as well as to increase the flexibility of our muscles. However, it must not end there! It is just as important to breathe deeply as we go about our daily activities. A proper breath is one that starts at the diaphragm, fills the lungs completely, and is gradually exhaled. The most evident benefit of such breathing is on the mind. It helps us to combat stress and remain focused and peaceful. It also increases oxygen supply to all the vital organs, increasing our energy levels, and general wellbeing.

In the fast-paced lives that we live, it is difficult to remember to breathe deeply, and our basic instinct is to take quick, shallow breaths, without even noticing that we are doing so. The effects of this are visible on all aspects of our bodies and mind. Decreased oxygen supply to the brain means reduced mental efficiency, increased anxiety, stress, and emotional outbursts. The vicious cycle extends to our bodies as well, with the vital organs being deprived of the oxygen that they need for their optimal functioning. We unknowingly convert our bodies into junkyards for toxins and carbon dioxide, which has a deleterious effect on our wellbeing.

When we breathe deeply, this serves as a pump for the lymphatic system, which is like the drainage system of the body. While the lymph glands get clogged and sluggish with shallow breaths, breathing correctly helps to get the lymph flowing, clearing the body of these harmful toxins. Deep breathing has also been found to be helpful in depression, anxiety and other stress disorders, as reported by Richard Brown, MD and Patricia Gerbarg, MD.

Have you ever noticed how our breathing becomes rapid and constricted when we are in a stressful or scary situation? The advice to “take a few deep breaths” usually works like magic to make us feel relaxed and under control. This is because the mind receives a signal to relax, which slows down the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for stress responses, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, causing us to relax instantly.

Just imagine how positive the effect on your mind would be, if you always breathed deeply, and kept the stress levels under check! A simple way to do this is to place reminders to ‘breathe’ at different spots at your home and workplace, to remind you to keep breathing deeply. It is undoubtedly the easiest thing you can do to boost your wellness! So let your resolution now on, be to BREATHE!