Breathe for Well Being :: Part I

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I don’t know about you mama, but when my kids got whisked away on the bus for the first day of school, there was a sense of loss and elation followed by a deep exhale that felt like a sigh of relief. Breath is telling of where we are at and tuning into it is a great way to quiet the mind.Breathe for Well Being

Did you know that breathing is the only autonomic function of the body we can control? In yoga, we say controlling the breath controls the mind. Think of a leaf (as the mind) blowing in the wind (as the breath). Calm breath, quiet mind, right? According to the ancient sage Patajali, author of the yoga sutras (rules/aphorisms in Sanskrit literature on which the practice is based), yoga is a state that is achieved when the mind ceases to chatter or move around. In other words, it’s that wonderful state where we stop thinking.

Try the following breath exercises to see what happens next time you do some yoga or anytime you need some peace of mind in your busy day. See if you can use it to create some space before you react during the trying times of the day.

Basic Breath Awareness

“Start by noticing where you already are with your breath,” says Bo Forbes, PsyD, clinical psychologist and integrative yoga therapist. Do you know when and why your breath is shallow or what makes it speed up? “This is really valuable information in creating stress resilience,” she says. Plus becoming aware of your breath tends to slow it down.

Practice: Do it anywhere, anytime. Breathe in through your nose and observe the inhalation and exhalation. Which is faster? Which is longer? Don’t change them, just observe. Continue for two to three minutes.

Ujjayi Breath (Victorious or Ocean Breath)

This classic, yogic, breathing technique, is known for its soothing sound and often compared to waves breaking (or Darth Vader). See how it can further enhance the relaxation response of slow breathing. This extends the exhalation which is calming/down-regulating.

Practice: Focus on your breathing standing in mountain pose. For the first few breath cycles, inhale through your nose and exhale through mouth creating a “HA” sound. Imagine you’re fogging a pair of glasses as if to clean them. Then close your mouth, keep the throat in the same shape it took to create the sound “HA” and exhale through your nose.

Try this: Stand in mountain pose with your feet hip width apart and your weight equally distributed between both feet as you root down through the triangular base of the big and little toe mounds along with your heels. Stack your load-bearing joints so that your ankles are under your hips, under the shoulders and aligned with the middle tops of your ears. Reach your crown actively skyward. Draw your chin a bit into your chest and ease your shoulders down your back with your arm bones lifted. Inhale Ujjayi breath as you raise your arms, palms facing up above your head. Match the breath with the movement so your fingers touch at the top of your breathe. Exhale and lower your arms so that your touch down at your sides at the bottom of your breath.

Comment below with your tips to help quiet your mind.

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