YOGASANAS - IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS

BREATHING EXERCISES

1 Normal Breathing:

Sit cross legged. Keep spine straight. Place left palm on your legs & right palm on left palm.

Just pay attention to the way you normally breathe.

Do not regulate your breath, don’t force just watch silently.

Observe the pattern of your breathing. The point upto which it goes inside. Just keep watching silently.

This may be done first thing in the morning.

2 Deep breathing:

Assume position as in 1 above.

Try to breath to the diaphragm. Keep your chest relaxed. Do not hold muscles tight

Allow your belly to rise

Breathe calmly

Exhale slowly allowing diaphragm to relax

Inhalation & exhalation should be of equal duration

Initially inhalation & exhilaration may be adjusted to count of 4

Continue for 2 to 5 minutes.

3 The healing sound of Lung – Lung sound

The exercise may be done sitting on a chair or in standing position.

Keep body relaxed, spine straight, neck straight

As you inhale, raise your hands, palm upward in front of your body. Inhale to a count of 4.

Eyes should follow your raising hand. Bring hands above your head, look up.

Close your jaws so that the teeth meet gently.

Allow your escaping breath to exit between your teeth.

Wile exhaling, very gently make sound s-ss-ss-… Exhale to a count of four.

While exhaling feel as if heat is radiating out of your lung position.

When exhalation is complete, lower your hands down. Take two normal breath.

Repeat the above process.

Repeat 4 times.

4 The Abdominal Breath:

o Exhale & pull in the abdomen towards the spine.

o Do not use force, do this comfortably.

o Inhale slowly through the nose.

o Fill the lungs with air. Breath down to the diaphragm and feel it push downward.

o Abdomen should expand all sides.

o When reached to full without straining, exhale slowly, contracting the abdomen.

o Inhalation & exhalation should be low & of the equal duration.

o Do atleast 3 times.

5 Bhastrika – The Breath of Fire:

o Sit comfortably in any posture, cross legged or lotus posture (Padmasana)

o Let the eyes be closed

o       Start quick & forceful breath through both the nostrils, at least twenty times. This
   should be rapid. After this inhale deeply through both the nostrils & hold the
   breath.

o Breath may be hold & simultaneously perform Jalandhar.

o Breath out to the full contracting abdomen and perform Uddiyan Bandha.

o This completes one round.

o Take normal few breath before starting second round.

o Initially start with one round & may be increased upto 5 minutes.

6 Anuloma – Viloma Pranayam – Alternate breathing by both nostrils:

Sit in comfortable position, Padmasana or Sukhasana or any easy sitting posture.
This is started with exhalation
First close right nostril, exhale from the left nostril.
After exhalation is complete, inhale from the left nostril.
Inhale slowly to the full. Hold breath closing both nostrils.
Close left nostril & inhale through the right nostril
After full exhalation, inhale through right nostril
Hold breath
Exhale though the left nostril
This completes one round
Here, keep in mind that the inhalation is done through the nostril from while exhalation is done.
Once inhalation is done, the exhalation is done through other nostril.
Breath may be held to the comfortable level only. Do not strain.
Take rest after one round
Increase round slowly.

Thoracic Breathing

This is done after abdominal breathing.
Lie in shavasana or sit comfortably in Meditation posture.
Make body calm & still. Watch the breath.
Bring awareness to the middle portion of the trunk in thoracic region.
Feel the movement of ribs outward and upward. Keep awareness at the ribs.
Inhale and expand the chest as much as possible. Feel the movement of ribs during inhalation. Hold for few seconds.
Exhale by relaxing the chest muscles. Feel the rib cage contracting and forcing the air out of the lunge. Breathe out completely.
Do not use diaphragm
Pause slightly. This is one round.
Continue thoracic breathing for a few minutes, pausing slightly after each round.

Clavicular Breathing

§ This is done after thoracic breathing. This is final stage of total rib cage expansion Here little more air is inhaled as was done in thoracic breathing.

§ Lie in shavasana or sit in meditative posture.

§ Relax whole body. Watch the breathe

§ Perform thoracic breathing for a few minutes.

§ Inhale and fully expand the rib cage.

§ When the rib cage is fully appended, inhale a little more air until you feel expansion and pressure on shoulders and collar bones. Here collar bones should also move slightly.

§ This will need some effort.

§ Exhale slowly. First release air from lower neck than upper chest, than the rib cage back to starting position.

§ Pause slightly. This is one round.

§ Continue for few more breathe (round) observing the effect of this type of breathing.

Yogic Breathing

§ This breathing combines abdominal breathing, thoracic breathing and clavicular breathing. This gives control over breath, increase oxygen intake and correct poor breathing habits.

§ This may be practiced at anytime. This is very useful for stress control, for anger control and for calming the nerves.

§ Inhale slowly and deeply. Allow abdomen to expand.

§ At the end of abdomen expansion. Continue inhalation & expand chest outward & upward. When ribs are fully expanded, inhale little more so that collar bone move up. Some tension should be felt in the neck.

§ Feel the air has filled from abdomen to upper lobes of the lungs. This complete inhalation. This all will be continuous movement.

§ Pause.

§ Start exhalation slowly.

§ First start from lower neck, than contract downward from thoracic to abdomen. All in continuous and harmonious movement.