Practice yoga and breathe

The breathing of yoga is an important part of yoga practice and the key to whether yoga practice can receive benefits. Breathing is the link between people and the physiology and spirit. Correct yoga practice must start with the practice of breathing and should not start with the asana method. The utilitarian thinking of this era makes it too easy for people to ignore internal training and simply show it on the surface. Therefore, the practice of postures thrives while the breathing method is not valued. This is a very serious mistake in direction. The following is a comprehensive and basic explanation of the breathing of yoga that many friends ask to understand.

The more in-depth and specific techniques are very rich and effective, but only on this basis can they be practiced by the teacher face to face.

Inhaling is to gain the energy of the universe. It purifies the body and mind and guides people to achieve reality. It combines infinite spirituality with limited physiology. Just like quietly smelling the fragrance of flowers, inhale the "breath" of life as gently and slowly as possible and spread it throughout your body. When performing the breathing method, consciousness must concentrate on breathing, just like a mother caring for her child's every move with love. Before practicing yoga breathing, you must exercise your lungs, diaphragm, intercostal muscles and diaphragm through postures to allow rhythmic breathing.

Consciousness remains one with the breath until the breath becomes correct and rhythmic. Consciousness guides how the breath distributes the inhaled breath through relevant channels to cells throughout the body. Breathing ultimately reaches the inner self. The role of consciousness is to connect the inner self with the breath and body.

During the inhalation process, the practitioner changes his brain into an organ that receives and distributes energy flow. When you inhale, do not bulge your abdomen, otherwise your lungs will not fully expand. Inhaling and exhaling should not be forced or too fast, otherwise, it will increase the burden on the heart and cause brain disorders.

The so-called exhalation is to expel impure air (carbon dioxide) from the body. When exhaling, consciously lift your upper chest and slowly and rhythmically expel the air. Pay close attention to the rhythm of your breathing. You should breathe and breathe like a spider does not come and go and weave a web step by step. Some people breathe in for a long time, and some people breathe out for a long time. Just like difficulties and challenges, people's blood pressure and blood flow are also different. The purpose of practicing yoga breathing is to remove imbalances and obstacles in breathing and blood pressure, eliminate restlessness, stop your unique thoughts and hobbies, and liberate yourself from obsession.

Method of breathing in

1. Sit down in the most comfortable position.

2. Lift your chest, floating ribs and navel to straighten your spine.

3. Lower your head as far as possible to make your neck soft. Then perform the chin constriction method.

4. The source of human emotions lies between the navel and the heart. The back must always be in contact with this source of emotion. The front of your body must always be in contact with it. Simultaneously perform lifting and expanding to both sides and moving the chest upward and upward.

5. During inhalation, when the chest expands upward and to both sides, do not tilt forward, back, and left and right.

6. Do not make the diaphragm tense. Draw air deeply into the bottom of the diaphragm. You can imagine breathing in from under the floating ribs and around the waist. This is the secret to deep breathing.

7. In order to successfully receive the inhaled energy, it is important to put it in a passive state in advance. In particular, synchronize the rhythm of the inner lung with the flow of incoming air.

8. It's like pouring water into the bottom of your lungs.

9. People with underdeveloped lungs must carefully increase the lung capacity little by little before the lungs fully function.

10. The bronchi branches from the trachea and connects to the peripheral blood vessels of the lungs, where it is divided into bronchioles. How air reaches the bronchioles must be observed.

11. Just as water is absorbed by the soil, it should also be felt absorbed by cells in the body. When you feel this absorption process, you should also feel that the energy of the universe (prana) is also absorbed and permeated the body, bringing "happiness" to people.

12. Inhaled energy enters the body from the nose and is absorbed by the spirit of the body. During the inhalation, consciousness rises from the navel to the top of the chest. The practitioner must always feel that the physical, spiritual, psychological, intellectual, physiological and hierarchical aspects are integrated with the rising consciousness. In this way, the body, breath, consciousness and the God within are united.

13. Every pore of the skin must play the role of ears and ears aimed at absorbing prana.

14. If tension occurs during inhalation, the skin of the hand will become rough. Please observe the skin of your hands to regulate your breathing.

15. During inhalation, you cannot lift your shoulders, otherwise the upper lungs will not be fully expanded and tension will occur in the back neck. If you look carefully, you will find that after the shoulder is lifted, it falls immediately. In order not to lift your shoulders, you can lift your chest in advance.

16. Relax the throat and place the tongue flat on the lower jaw, but not against the teeth.

17. Close your eyes to relax. The eye should be sensitive in advance so that it can look inside and inhale. The eye is always used to turning upward. Pay attention to this.

18. The muscles of the ears, face, and forehead should also be relaxed in advance.

19. Correct inhalation can eliminate laziness, stimulate the body and mind, and enhance vitality.

How to exhale

1. Adjust the posture by referring to points 1-4 of inhalation.

2. Exhale slowly. For this reason, do not allow the intercostal muscles and floating ribs that are lifted during inhalation to relax. Otherwise, it will be difficult to exhale smoothly and gently.

3. The exhalation starts from the upper chest. So don't take this part back. Exhale slowly until your navel contracts and your breath is completely exhausted. At this time, the body and spirituality merge together.

4. Before exhaling, lift the spine and its left and right sides to make the whole body as stable as a tree rooted in the ground.

5. Do not shake your body, otherwise it will disrupt nerve and mental activities.

6, do not withdraw the chest, slowly and smoothly exhale. If the breath becomes coarse and urgent, it is because the chest and back fall back and attention is not paid to the flow of breath.

7. During inhalation, the skin of the upper body tends to be tense. But during exhalation, relax the skin on the upper body. But don't let the inside of your back sink.

8. The skin of the arms and chest must not touch each other under the armpits. But you don't have to stretch your arms outward, just leave a little space under your arms.

9. Exhale calms the nerves and brain, so people become humble and no longer insist on their own opinions.

Effects and methods of breath-holding

There are two types of breath holding, namely breath holding after exhalation and breath holding after inhalation. Suppression of consciousness through the sensory organs and sensory organs allows consciousness to be concentrated on the spiritual foundation, the starting point of consciousness. Breath-holding will calm down the practitioner's body, emotion and spirit.

Don't hold your breath and put tension on your brain, nerves and body. The purpose of breath-holding is to revitalize the nervous system, so it must be done while the brain is relaxed.

Breath-holding is divided into subjective will and spontaneous. Breath-holding using subjective will is called Sahita breath holding in Hindi. There are two types of Sahita breath-holding method: one is performed after inhalation and one is performed after exhalation. The natural breath-holding is called Kaiwala breath-holding in Hindi. Kiwala holds his breath and could be happening at any time. Breath-holding that occurs when a painter is concentrating on painting, and when a priest is concentrating on praying, falls into this category. Before Kaiwala's breath-holding occurred, the body would shake for no reason, hallucinations would appear in the mind, and horrific scenes would be seen. Tolerance and endurance can help practitioners transcend this state. Kaiwala breath-holding is instinctive and intuitive. It allows practitioners to be separated from the outside world, combine with the object, and experience extraordinary and incomparable calm joy. This can be said to be a state of integration with infinity (spirituality).

Breath-holding after inhaling is called Antara breath holding in Hindi, and it helps practitioners obtain the god in the form of energy from the universe. During the breath-holding process of Ontara, the god and the inner god of the practitioner merge into one.

Breath-holding after exhalation is called Basha breath holding in Hindi. Practitioners dedicate their self expressed in the form of breath to God and make it dissolve in the universe. In addition, the practitioner is fully integrated with the god.

Yoga classics use metaphors to illustrate the various sacrifices that yoga practitioners should pay to become one with the divine nature. There are three types of breath holding in yoga breathing methods: breath holding after inhalation, breath holding after exhalation, and natural breath holding (Kaiwala breath holding). The practitioner's body is the altar for offering sacrifices, the breath is the sacrifice, and the breath is the fire that burns the sacrifice. Breath-holding is the state when the sacrifice and the burning fire become one. Yoga practitioners should know how to control their breathing. The upper thoracic cavity is the basis for inspiration, and the lower thoracic cavity is the basis for exhalation.

The vibration that occurs in the body during breath-holding is similar to the vibration of a steam locomotive that is ready to start. At this time, prana (energy) tremors in the body, and consciousness relaxes, waiting for the idea to start exhaling.

Like educated, bold and meticulous children, you should keep your senses sharp, don't make yourself lazy, straighten your waist and stretch your upper body skin.

Don't exceed your ability to hold your breath, otherwise abnormalities will occur in the nervous system. When the brain and body feel tense, it means that consciousness has failed to follow the flow of Upper Plana during breath-holding.

You can't hold your breath. Red eyes, lazy body, and anxious mood are all dangerous signs that you are holding your breath too much.

The purpose of breath-holding is to calm breathing. When you hold your breath, your language, feelings and hearing are controlled. In this state, consciousness is freed from various emotional entanglements such as disgust, greed, sexual desire, and jealousy, and becomes one with Prana.

Hold your breath and evoke the divinity hidden in your body. (Internship Editor: Wu Jinyu)