Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Take a Deep Breath
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The breath is the most fundamental aspect of any yoga practice. It holds the power to heal and unlock our body’s potential. Full of prana (life-force energy), it touches every atom of our being, cleansing and nourishing all of our cells. Bringing in new life on the inhale, and releasing old strife on the exhale, it heals the body, mind and heart. We experience elevated levels of well-being and life.
The ujjayi (ooh-jy-yee) breath is a closed-mouth breath. An audible sound is created through the whisper muscles in the back of the throat. This sound gives our mind something to focus on, so we can begin to drop our thoughts, allowing the energy of the mind to spread throughout the body. The body is then re-sensitized and we begin to feel, instead of think. Feeling is not always easy, but it is necessary for growth and connection. Feeling allows us to move beyond thoughts and into the intuitive body: our innate guide and inner physician. It’s like an inner compass that helps guide us to wholeness, centeredness and inner peace.
Besides focusing our mind and connecting us to our intuition, the breath builds an inner fire. In yoga, it is called tapas, or purifying heat. Heat is an expanding force. So as the cells and tissues receive breath and heat up, they open up. Toxins are released and replaced with fresh pranic energy, healing the body from the inside out. Arteries and veins dilate, increasing blood flow and decreasing blood pressure; muscle tissues relax into new length and strength; digestion is stimulated, increasing metabolism and elimination; parasympathetic nervous system is activated, soothing our cells, creating a calming effect throughout the mind and body that brings clarity and vitality. The breath is a true healing elixir!
I have been practicing Vinyasa yoga for five years and teaching for four. Before I discovered yoga, I ran competitively through college and spent two more years running at a semi-pro level. A torn hamstring brought me to my first yoga class. I was anorexic, depressed, amenorrheic and taking medication for an under-active thyroid. Within three months, my hamstring healed and a light broke through my dark space.
The 90-minute practice became my daily therapy, my “heaven on earth.” It wasn’t so much the postures as the breath, I realized, that was the healing force. Focusing on my breath allowed me to rise above my thoughts so I could see and feel how ridiculous they were! Fear and doubt, guilt and shame, pain and sadness clouded my head and tensed my body, holding me back from the intuitive space beyond thoughts. The intuitive space is the healing space, the silent space of nothingness where anything is possible and everything arises. As I began to let go of the thoughts and feelings I so dearly held onto, space opened up so breath could fill in with its healing energy.
Since I began practicing yoga, I have fully recovered from anorexia, amenorrhea and depression. I took myself off my thyroid medication, against my doctor’s wishes, and now have a thyroid gland that functions normally. It’s all been a shock to me, but a process I will never stop. And it all began with one breath. In the words of Paramahansa Yogananda, “Each cell and tissue is a living, intelligent structure. Life [breath] energy can always renew it.”
On the yoga mat or off, the breath is a life-giving energy source always available to us. Instead of tensing and yelling in the middle of traffic, let go and take a breath. As you go about your day, check in here and there with a breath. Before you react to a situation, pause and take a deep breath. Notice its instant effects and be on your way!
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