Breathe: Give your inner sunshine with Surya Bhedana

breathing techniques have been of central importance for yoga practice since hundreds - if not thousands. While nobody knows exactly how old yoga is (estimates range from 12,000 to 2,500 years), old yogis knew about the power of breath and the many ways to work with it.

What is pranayama?

The yogic word for breathing techniques is pranayama. Prana means 'life energy', a bit like the word qi in Chinese medicine and yama means "control" or "reluctance". In this sense, the word pranayama is all about control of the way we breathe. Another way to translate the word is to read it as a prana, and a-yama, whereby the letter "A" means "not" before a word in Sanskrit. Translated, Pranayama is no longer about checking and curb, but extending and freeing it. If you want to learn more about Pranayama, books like BKS Iyengarsgar Light on Pranayama and The small book of yoga breathing are revealing and practical books to expand your knowledge and practice.

types of breathing techniques

There is breathing techniques to improve concentration and energy, to cause calm, improve sleep and to promote the flow of subtle energy through the body. There are breathing techniques that are particularly suitable for practicing at sunrise, before eating, while meditation and accompanied by visualizations. Yogis thought breathing through the nose was extremely important, not only because the nostrils are connected to two vital channels that are. Ida nadi are connected to the left nostril, and pingala nadi to the right, but because of the multitude of advantages that are connected to the nasal breathing.

Advantages of nasal breathing

• improvement in oxygen saturation
• compensate for cognitive skills
• increase in the energy level
• Fear reduced
• filtering allergens and bacteria and thus prevents diseases and respiratory infections
• maintaining a strong immune system
• maintaining a balanced digestion

While some people are unable to breathe through the nose due to sinus problems, constipation, allergens or blocked nose, many people simply breathe with their mouths. Ordinary mouth breathing can be attributed to stress, anxiety, constipation or overexertion, but whatever the cause, everything can be more inflammation, more respiratory infections, reduced digestiveness, fatigue, brain fog, poor oral health and children lead people who chronically mundsats, probably develop bad growth, a weakness. If you have the feeling of breathing a lot through your mouth, forget unusual pranayama exercises and first concentrate on conscious nasal breathing. Use a balm like Eve & Keels Breathe Balm to restore the feeling of space in the airways and calm body and mind with ingredients such as eucalyptus and green mint. As soon as they are able to breathe through the nose, it is time to experiment and improve your breath to improve your prana and life energy.

Pingala Nadi & Surya Bhedana

connected with sun, vitality, energy, dynamics, fire and a more male force, yogis concentrate on breathing through the right nostril if you are interested in the pingala nadi. Interestingly, there is evidence that breathing through the right nose hole is not just a "woo-woo" -yoga theory, but real insights that are underpinning. In his book breath, James Nestor tells how breathing mainly increases blood pressure, body temperature, the cortisol, blood pressure and heart rate. All of these reactions show that breathing through the right nostril stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (the "fighting or flight" page of the nervous system) and puts the body into a state of vigilance and readiness. Even if we don't want to be in this state all the time, it is very useful if you need a motivation and energy boost or to compensate for lethargic, low conditions. Breathing through the right nostril also sends more blood to the left side of the brain and to the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with logical thinking, productivity, decision -making, language and computers.

The specific yogic name for breathing through the right nostril is surya bhedana, or "sun -activating breath". In this way, breathing can arouse our inner sunshine - the light, powerful, warming and stimulating energy that we feel on days on which the outside world is also sunny. This type of pranayama practice is perfect for the morning to arouse body and mind and compensate for the circadian rhythm. Together with tongue scratch and write diary , I can warmly recommend it as one of the best things to set a positive tone for the day.

For these times when you need a little more inner sun, an energy boost, some motivation or brain performance, try to practice surya bhedana:

How to increase your energy with your breath

• sit down in a comfortable position and use neck roll or (link removed) to support a high spine.
• practice with the right hand surya mudra by pressing the ring finger into the palm with the thumb.
• Close your left nose hole with your left hand.
• breathe in and out in an even rhythm through the right nostril.
• add the mantra to each inhale the mantra - a mantra to honor and call the energy of the sun while being inhaled of the golden, bright beams of the sun.
• Repeat twelve breathing rounds with mantra, mudra and visualization, then rest your hands and breathe normally through your nose until you are ready to end the exercise.

something like that? Then you might like that: how to cope with fear through your yoga-atem