baby breathing

If you want to see how we all should really be breathing, look no further than a little baby. Now, they my friends know how to breathe properly. They sip air in, their bellies deliciously take the breath in, you can easily see their rib cage expanding side to side and it moves all the way into their chest filling their whole torso. Now that was a breath! This is how we all are meant to breathe. But we're not babies forever. We grow up, become adults, we worry about money, we stress about jobs, we get scared and nervous about many things in life. All of this "stuff" takes a toll on us in a number of ways. One thing being our breathing. We become accustomed to taking shallow breaths, we suck our belly in and breathe straight into the chest, or we simply hold our breath during stressful and challenging times.

Anyone that practices yoga knows the power of their breath. Pranayama is the practice of controlling your breath. It's also one of the 8 limbs of yoga, and considered the heart of a yoga practice by many. Your breath can do powerful things. Several times througout your day (and especially stressful times), simply notice your breath. What sensations do you feel? What are the qualities of your breath? Does your breath feel smooth and deep, or shallow and forced.

And even better, practice the yogic three part breath. Find a comfortable seat and begin to inhale and exhale slowly and deeply through your nostrils. See if you can feel and envision your breath moving up your body and filling up your torso. Inhaling to fill the abdomen, then the rib cage, then the collar bones. Then exhaling and reversing the breath from the collar bones, then rib cage, then gently pulling the abdomen in to completely empty the lungs. Continue this for 3-5 more minutes. Be very happy that you're breathing. It means that you're alive!

Enjoy your breath and enjoy y0ur day. :-)