Abdominal Breathing & Yoga

Abdominal breathing is one of the main breathing techniques used by yogis. Roger Cole, an Iyengar instructor and sleep researcher from Del Mar, California, teaches that abdominal breathing helps people breathe with their diaphragm, rather than just their upper chest, which often fatigues the body. Try yogic breathing techniques at a casual pace so you do not aggravate your body.

History

The Yoga Sutras, written by the ancient sage, Patanjali, list Pranayama (breathing or breath control) as one of the eight limbs of yoga. Through the control of breath, yogis believe they can regulate the body and mind. When students practice the yoga limb of Asanas, or yoga poses, they also learn to breathe deeply and evenly while holding the pose. The Yoga Sutras also teach that Pranayama is a tool for leading the mind into meditation.

Significance

In many schools of yoga, breathing is a connection to the divine or to the life force of the universe. In the Kriya Yoga style, students learn to control their breath. According to Kriya International, the breath directly affects the mind, to the point that breath-mastery leads to self-mastery. The abdominal breathing technique is one of the first that all yoga students learn because it is less complex than many others.

Function

Abdominal yoga breathing helps build heat in the body, regulates the parasympathetic nervous system, reduces stress and makes meditation more accessible. Many yoga instructors teach abdominal breathing in the beginning of a class to get students into a yogic or meditative state, or throughout a class, to bring awareness to core muscles and to keep students focused on yoga poses. Yoga students often use their breathing techniques, such as abdominal breathing, to gauge their performance of a yoga pose. If they are holding their breath, then they might not be practicing to their fullest.

Technique

The easiest way to learn abdominal breathing is lying supine. Place one hand on your belly, just above the belly button. On inhales, try to make the belly rise. On exhales, feel the belly sink down, toward the spine and floor. Next, try the technique from a seated or even standing position. This time, the belly should push out in front of you on inhales, and pull in, on exhales. With practice, you will feel as if you are slowly filling up, then emptying, every part of your lungs with air.

Considerations

Sivananda Yoga Europe reminds students that complete yogic breathing is actually a combination of abdominal, clavicular and thoracic breathing techniques. As Cole emphasizes, most people use shallow chest breathing, so starting with simple techniques, such as abdominal breathing, can gently correct poor habits. Once you are proficient at abdominal breathing, you can try other Pranayama exercises such as breath of fire, complete yogic breath, alternate nostril and diaphragmatic breathing.