The Beauty of the Breath
We live with ourselves , every layer , every thread ,every breathe , every day.
Do we stop and listen to how we breathe , where we breathe from and how we
feel letting the breathe go? Not really , we only become aware of our breathe ,
when we have a cold, if we are asthmatic , stressed, pain, things that catch
as unaware.
We come into the world with humbleness and breath through the abdomen ,
our family watch the rise and the fall ( yes at this age we breathe rather quickly).
We reach the age of 5 ( around this period) and life become faster and we need to
get going, the breathe changes and we learn a habit where we breathe into
the apex of the Lungs.
We then start to create a dis -ease within ourselves and start to look for un outlet t
hat can help us manage our every days lives.. YOGA…OMG…
what is this practice they call prana and why am I struggling with this new way of
breathing and how comes I can’t understand this word pranayama and fingers
on my nostrils and belly pulling back.. what is all this about….STILLNESS…..
WHO AM I….
How many times have I ,as a teacher read the minds of my students ,
as they lay in semi - supine trying to breath.
So lets break down this breathe/prana
Anatomy of the Breath
There is so much information out there, i get bored reading it and just want to
know it as simple as possible.
Sit in an easy crossed legged position, maybe put a blind fold on
( great way of sensing ,feeling, listening) and just observe your breathe.
Are you breathing in and out of the nose ( this is the respiratory system -
mouth is the digestive system).
Once you have found that you have started to let go of thoughts..
allow the nostrils to flare and feel the coolness of prana as it moves towards you
and the hairs in the nostril become the filters.
Visulise the breathe moving through the pharynx, the coolness at the back of the
throat towards the wind pipe , where it branches out to the lungs..
Within the lungs is this incredible forest of bronchioles and alveoli
( I always imagine the world of Avatar) and then the diaphragm opens it
parachute towards the abdomen and to help the heart beat.
Then comes the out breathe ( the releasing, letting go) carbon dioxide that
nature needs as this is their oxygen. This moves back through the path of the in
breathe ( breath of vitality), this should feel warm and leaves through the nose..
Yes there is so much more, the blood etc..but I can assure you ,
you wouldn’t read it all.
A Simple Breath Training Practice
The best posture for sensing the flow of the breath is laying in prone
( on your front). When you are lying prone on your stomach, with arms folded at
about a 45 degree angle above your shoulders, your body will naturally begin to
breathe diaphragmatically. Follow the path of the breath as above and feel your
belly yielding towards the earth and as you breathe out allow the naval back
towards your kidneys ( convex). Even advanced students find tension in the
abdomen by the end of the day. This way offers a chance to unblock the breath
and release pent-up tension.
• First, feel the ceaseless movement of your breath as it flows out and in.
The breath will find it’s own pace, and even if you believe the speed to be too fast
or too slow, you don’t need to control it, simply let your body breathe.
• Now bring your awareness to your abdomen and feel how it presses
against the floor as you inhale and recedes (although remaining in contact with
the floor) as you exhale. Relax the muscles in your belly, and let these
movements of the abdomen become deep and soothing.
• Now shift your attention to the sides of the rib cage. You’ll find that the low
ribs expand laterally with the inhalation and contract with the exhalation.
The ribcage expands as the diaphragm contracts, and the ribs return inward as the diaphragm relaxes.
• Finally, shift your attention to your lower back. Notice that as you inhale,
the back rises, and as you exhale, the back falls. Soften your back muscles and
allow the breath to flow without resistance. This is a particularly relaxing
sensation, and you may find that it helps relieve lower back tension that is otherwise
difficult to release.
• To deepen the breath even further, you might wish to try the following
experiment. At the end of the exhalation, breathe out a little more than usual by
continuing to press the abdomen toward the spine. Then, as you slowly inhale,
soften the muscles of the lower back and abdomen, and let the back rise
( kidneys) and expand. You may feel as if the lower back is being stretched by
the deep inhalation. Repeat the extra exhalation and the
expanded inhalation for three to five breaths, until you become accustomed to the
feeling of the deep inhalation. Then return to your normal exhalation—but
continue to let the lower back expand as you inhale. Your breath will feel slower
and deeper.
The more that you bring this into your every day living, the power of the prana
will guide you to a healthier life style.. From this point the esoteric practices of pranayama will be beneficial.
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