As a new year begins, we often think about letting go of the past year and embracing a new year. It’s a process as old as time and one that is deeply engrained in our physiology too:

When we breathe out, we release; when we breathe in, we fill up again. 

Here is an effective yogic breathing sequence you can do to activate both the physical and psychological benefits of this releasing/re-filling cycle.

Pranayama is best practiced in a seated position, on the floor or in a chair. Let the pelvis tilt slightly forward so you’re sitting at the front of your sitting bones. This brings the spine into a long position and creates space for breath to move.

Bellows, or bhastrika, is a warming breath, perfect for cooler winter days. Place your hands on your thighs with elbows open to the sides. Remember to relax your shoulders and neck. As you exhale, begin to round your spine, bow your head, and let your elbows swing slightly forward. As you inhale, slowly straighten your spine, lift your head, and bring your elbows back to the starting point. Practice for a minute at a pace that is comfortable for your body and breath. Rest at the end. If you have the time and inclination, practice for another minute.

Downward-releasing, or apana, breath is grounding and settling, perfect for the fast-moving energies that want us to go, go, go at the beginning of a new year. Rest the backs of your hands on your thighs with elbows slightly bent. Remember to relax your arms, shoulders and neck. Begin by breathing naturally and feeling your body connect to the earth through your feet or your seat. Inhale, feel the breath enter through the nose and flow into the lungs; exhale, imagine the breath could continue down through the feet or seat and into the earth. Continue to breathe like this for a minute or two, gradually increasing to 5, 10 even 20 minutes. 

As you rise from your seat, experience balance and ease, feeling confident and settled. Take this into the rest of your day, and the rest of the year!

Check out the previous two posts about letting go. It’s just as essential for our mind as it is for our body.

This is the third post on yoga’s relationship with our respiratory system. The first two covered breathing to energize the body/mind and breathing to calm the body/mind. Now we turn to breathing that brings and maintains balance.
 
Balance, when intentionally cultivated, leads to focus, clarity and equanimity. These are exactly the qualities we need if we are having a crucial conversation, working on a project or sitting quietly in contemplation or meditation. Here are two Yoga practices that can lead the way:
 
Alternate nostril breathing: The two nostrils are aligned with our nervous system and have the special effect of being able to bring balance to the nervous system. Through the nerves, each nostril has influence over the opposite side of the brain. The right nostril influences the left brain which is logical, practical and detail-oriented. The left nostril influences the right brain which is creative, intuitive and fixed on the big picture. Depending on what we’re doing during the day, one nostril is more open and its companion side of the brain is more active. This means we do not have the full benefit of both perspectives most of the time.
 
What more could we see and understand if we brought balance to the right and left sides of the brain?
 
For this practice, it helps to use the fingers to close one nostril at a time. Over time it is possible to learn how to do this using the mind only! Sit still and close the eyes all the way or halfway. Close the right nostril and breathe in through the left nostril, then open the right side and close the left side to breathe out through the right nostril. Without changing the finger position, breathe in through the right nostril, then switch fingers and breathe out through the left nostril. This is one round. Practice for four more rounds.
 
Cross body movement: Yoga poses that ask us to move opposite sides of the body also bring balance to the brain and nervous system. Two examples are Cat/Cow/Birddog and Locust pose. Birddog begins in hands and knees. Inhale to lift the opposite arm and leg, exhale to return to hands and knees. Switch to the other arm and leg. Keep going for 10 repetitions.
 
Locust pose begins on the belly with arms and legs extending on the floor. Inhale to lift and reach opposite arm and leg, exhale to return to the starting position. Switch to the other arm and leg. Keep going for 10 repetitions.
 
Try one of these balancing exercises the next time you are working on a project, must have a difficult conversation, or are sitting in meditation. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish with enhanced clarity and focus.

​We’re continuing our exploration of Yoga’s effect on the respiratory system. The last post was about how we can increase energy using the breath and this post is how we can calm energy using the breath. And this is a big deal, because a lot of people say they feel anxious, unable to sit still or quiet the mind quite often during the day. The good news is that the body has the ability to soothe itself; we just need to tap into the resources already available to us.

Heart Rate Variability is one of the cool things about the body. Very simply, our heart rate is not consistent and this is considered a good thing. You can actually experience this right now. Sit down and give your full attention to this short exercise. Use the index and middle fingers of one hand to feel your heart beat. You can place the two fingers on the muscle that runs vertically on the side of your neck, then slide the fingers about an inch toward the front until you feel the soft tissue. Press very gently to feel your heart beat. Or place the two fingers on the inside of the inner wrist closer to the thumb side. Slow your breathing and feel your heart beating at the same time. You’ll notice that your heart rate increases when you inhale and decreases when you exhale. Heart rate variability is a sign of good respiratory and circulatory health.

2:1 Breathing is a yoga exercise that makes use of this information. The aim is to breathe out twice as long as you breathe in. You can practice sitting in a chair, on the floor, or even lying down if you are getting ready to go to sleep. Become aware of your body breathing in and out through the nose. Notice how many counts it takes to breathe in (maybe 3, 4 or 5 counts). Begin to gradually lengthen the out-breathe by adding one extra count each time you breathe out, until finally you are breathing out for twice as long as you’re breathing in. Breathe in for 3, breathe out for 6, etc. 

Sometimes the anxiety is too strong and you can’t sit still to breathe. This is where breath paired with movement can bring the same calming results. 

Cat/Cow and Circular Cat are two exercises that use breath and movement to burn off excess energy so we can embrace the calm. Start on hands and knees (or face the wall and bring the hands down the wall while walking the feet back to stand in a 90-degree angle). Exhale the breath to round the spine while dropping the tailbone and top of the head toward the floor; inhale the breath to tip the tailbone and top of the head upward while allowing the belly and chest to drop toward the floor. Move slowly back and forth between the two positions to really feel the effects of the breath. 

To make the practice stronger, try Circular Cat: Walk the hands forward until you can move your hips forward, similar to a grounded Cobra pose. Take a full breath into the chest. On the exhale, keep the hands where they are as you shift your hips back toward the heels. Move slowly back and forth between the two positions to really feel the effects of the breath.

Let Yoga take you to the calm body and mind you know you need. It’s really not that hard to experience when you give some simple attention to the breath.

We are continuing our series on “Your Body on Yoga.” Today we embark on a three-part journey into the Respiratory system. The respiratory system begins in the nose and travels into the lungs and into the left chamber of the heart which receives oxygenated blood. According to Yoga, it’s the most important system of the body because it carries Prāna which is “life force energy.” 

All of this is to say that when your yoga teacher tells you to breathe in yoga class, please pay attention!!

In yoga class breathing assists us in several different ways—it increases our energy, it calms and quiets our energy, or it balances our energy. This post is part one on increasing energy through yoga. Stay tuned for parts two and three.

Lack of energy is a real problem for many people. It may be experienced as not sleeping well, waking up tired, not feeling like doing simple exercises, seeking out caffeine and sugar, and even getting sick often. I know this well! How about you?

Yoga teaches that breath is the vehicle upon which Prāna rides. Breathing well leads to a better relationship with our own energy.

The next time you are tempted to reach for food or drink to boost your energy, try one or both of these yoga exercises to increase your energy:

Move and breathe: Those of us who spend a lot of time sitting at the desk or computer have often been told to take a stretch break every hour. To make it more effective, pair movement with yogic breathing. Stand up to make more space for the lungs to move. Inhale as you lift your arms up and exhale as you lower your arms down. Inhale to lift your arms up, exhale to fold forward from the hips, inhale to stand back up and repeat several times. Inhale to reach the right arm up, exhale to lean the body to the left side. Inhale to reach the left arm up, exhale to lean the body to the right side.

How does this increase energy? All of the structures inside the body are attached to each other with connective tissue. Reaching the arms up allows more air to move into the lungs. And breathing deeply into the lungs stretches the spine and massages the heart and abdominal organs.

Practice Bellows Breath: Sit with a straight spine (in a chair or on the floor) and place the hands on the knees. The movement of the body is similar to Cat/Cow pose: Breathe in as you move your chest forward (spine is in a backbend) and exhale as you move your chest back (spine is rounding). Breathe in and breathe out strongly through the nose, as if you’re sucking in air and blowing it out through a bellows. Practice 10 breaths, take a rest and practice another 10 breaths.

How does this increase energy? Bellows breathing warms the body, stretches the spine, and increases the amount of oxygen flowing into the body. Just what you need to feel more alert, think more clearly, and move into the rest of your day with joy.

Last weekend I led a Fall Wellness Workshop where we explored the many ways Yoga and Ayurveda inform the transition from Summer to Fall and how we can take meaningful steps to be healthy throughout the Fall and Winter seasons. This week I’m encouraging everyone to practice Humming Breath to 1) reduce anxiety and 2) relieve congestion.

Its Sanskrit name is Bhramari which means “female bumble bee.” And it does sound like a swarm of bees when everyone starts humming as a group! Let me tell you more about these two benefits:

1)    Humming releases nitric oxide (NO) into the bloodstream. NO is a molecule produced by our body when we breathe that has a calming effect on the nervous system. Humming is so effective because it actually releases 15 times more NO than normal breathing!
2)    Humming relieves congestion in the chest, throat and head. It’s a great practice when you’re suffering from allergies or a cold. Start to hum and you’ll notice a vibration that’s able to loosen mucous. If the congestion is in your chest, hum with a low pitch. For congestion in the head, use a high pitch. Otherwise, just use a normal pitch.

Bhramari is quite easy to do. Find a comfortable seat, or practice wherever you are. Take a deep breath in and hum on the exhale. Practice 7-10 times varying the pitch if you like. When you’re done, you should feel more open, free, clear-headed and relaxed.

Guess what! You don’t need to be on a yoga mat or use any special equipment. Your breath is always with you and ready to offer all of these wonderful benefits. Enjoy

Welcome to part three in our series on news you can use from Yoga and Ayurveda to have a healthy Spring. Previous posts were focused on Spring eating and Spring movement. Let’s explore Spring breathing.

If you live in a place where allergens abound, this time of year can be challenging. And no, it is not your imagination—allergies ARE getting worse each year. Lots of factors contribute, including warmer global temperatures, poor food choices, staying cooped up indoors too much, and just overall increasing toxicity of the environment. Do not be discouraged, however, because there are things you can do to breathe better in the Spring.

Wear a mask. If you’re going to be outside pulling weeds or otherwise disturbing the plants in your yard, you should definitely wear a mask so as not to deeply inhale all the allergens. If you’ve been outside for quite some time, wash your clothes, take a shower and put on fresh, clean clothes.

Diffuse a minty essential oil. Set up a diffuser in your work space and add a few drops of essential oil, especially eucalyptus, which is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial, and peppermint, which clears the sinuses so you can breathe better and relaxes smooth muscles to reduce coughing.

Use a neti pot. Mix warm distilled water (NOT tap water) and a small amount of salt to rinse both nostrils. Salt thins the mucus and blowing your nose at the end clears it out. The neti post can be used morning and/or night, so choose the time that will bring you the best relief.

Practice Brahmari (“buzzing bee” breath): Sit in a comfortable way so that your spine is long, such as on the edge of a chair or on the floor. Inhale the breath through the nose, on the exhalation, hum. Hum so that you feel a vibration in your throat and head. Practice 10 humming breaths. Take a short break and practice 10 more. If your sinuses are congested, hum with a high pitch. If your chest is congested, hum with a low pitch. Otherwise, use a normal pitch.

May you breathe deeply and with confidence and joy for all this Spring season will bring.