Yoga can lead to stress reduction, increased fitness, management of chronic health conditions and weight loss, according to the Mayo Clinic. One core element of yoga is a focus on the breath. Practicing yoga with proper attention to your breath can enhance your practice and lead to other benefits as well.
Yoga Breathing Basics
During most forms of yoga, the yogi practices a method of breathing called ujjayi breath. Ujjayi is translated as to conquer, or to be victorious. To carry out ujjayi breath, inhale through your nose. Then exhale with your outgoing breath going across the back of your throat, making an extended "haaa" sound. Practice a few times exhaling through your mouth. Then close your mouth so you're inhaling and exhaling through your nose. You shouldn't lose the soft hissing sound as your breath moves across the back of your throat.
Benefits During Class
According to "Yoga Journal," ujjayi breath serves three purposes. It slows your breath down and focuses your awareness on your breath. It also regulates the smooth flow of breath, since you should be continually monitoring and adjusting the sound as you move through your yoga poses. During your practice, this quiets the brain, too, allowing you to be in the present moment and use your practice as a form of meditation.
Nervous System Benefits
The National Institutes of Health says meditation can affect the involuntary nervous system, which regulates functions such as heartbeat, sweating, breathing and digestion. One element of the nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, helps mobilize your body for action. The other, the parasympathetic nervous system, slows your heart rate and breathing rate, and dilates your blood vessels, thereby improving blood flow and increasing the flow of digestive juices. Researchers theorize meditation may work by reducing activity in the former and increasing it in the latter. Using breathing techniques to slow the mind and the breath and bring your thoughts to each exhale and inhale thus can benefit you during yoga practice. It also may have health benefits that stay with you long after you've stopped doing yoga for the day.
Benefits for Daily Life
The breathing techniques you learn during yoga can calm down your senses in tense situations. Seeing how your breathing affects your movement during classes will also serve you as a reminder of the body-mind linkages during daily life. This can make you more aware of the importance of making healthy choices for your mental and physical health and wellness.
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