Yoga and its accompanying breathing exercises, or pranayama, can be a great aid to smokers wishing to kick the habit. Doing pranayama helps you quit because it substitutes a healthy habit for a harmful one, says Patricia Dunning of Namaste Yoga Studio in Temple Hills, Maryland. Spending a few minutes meditating on your self worth will also help you prize your health over a quick nicotine fix.
Pranayama
The word "pranayama" comes from the Sanskrit words "prana" and "ayama." "Prana" means vitality, energy, life and respiration. "Ayama" means to lengthen, expand or restrain. So pranayama connotes the control and expansion of the breath. The components of pranayama exercises are inhaling, exhaling and retaining. Yoga teachers often say that a person's life is measured not in years, but in the number of her breaths.
Deep Breathing
Breathing is an autonomic function, meaning we do it without having to think about it. But normal unconscious breathing is not very deep. To start a pranayama practice, you must first pay attention to the breath. Find a quiet place to sit. Keep your back straight. As you inhale, feel the breath come into the lowest part of the lungs first, so that your stomach protrudes. Then the breath comes higher, filling the rib cage, and eventually it comes all the way up to the chest and throat. When you exhale, gently but firmly push out as much air as possible. Breathe slowly and deeply in and out, through your nose.
Adding Breath Retention
Once you get the hang of deep breathing, you can further control the breath by retaining it. First, make sure you are breathing evenly by counting out the duration of the breath. You can count your heartbeats, or silently count "one Mississippi, two Mississippi" or whatever is comfortable. Try for an inhalation and exhalation of six counts. After you establish a comfortable rhythm, try holding your breath at the top of the inhalation for three counts before exhaling. At the end of the exhalation, pause for three counts before inhaling. Continue this pattern for a few minutes.
Brahmari
Sukumar Shetty is a yoga therapist and spiritual teacher who lives in the village of Samse in South India. He produces audiobooks to help people stop smoking. One of his recommended exercises is bhramari, a breath which he says "imitates the sound of the female bee." Take a deep breath in with the back of the throat slightly constricted to slow air flow. On the exhalation, make the humming sound of a bee. According to yoga teacher B.K.S. Iyengar, brahmari is also helpful for curing insomnia.
Patricia Dunning's Seven Steps to Quitting Smoking
Patricia Dunning is a firm believer in smoking cessation through yoga. Her seven-step program begins with the intention to stop smoking. Next comes commitment to a daily yoga and pranayama practice. Step three is to expand the time between the impulse to smoke and giving in to that impulse. Then comes awareness and reflection about the results of your habit. Cultivating fearlessness, a requirement for success at any big change, is step five. The last two steps are creating a vision for your future, and practicing your new patterns of pranayama, yoga poses and meditation.
