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Breathing
You know the kind of fast, labored breathing you get when you run or do heavy work?
Yes, just that; in yoga forget it. It does not exist in this discipline. In yoga, breathing should be as slow and deep as possible. Many people do not notice it but breathe only with the chest, only with the abdomen or minimally with both. Yoga breathing must be complete, that is, there must be a significant expansion of both the chest and abdomen. In this discipline, the breaths are much deeper than normal and any other sport.
Why is the respiratory system important?
Basically, your respiratory system is about how you breathe. Clearly, one function is to bring air to the lungs. Hence it helps to place oxygen in the bloodstream. More importantly, our body needs oxygen to sustain itself.
Furthermore, our respiratory system rids the body of toxins. It then expels waste, such as carbon dioxide. By simply exhaling, we are able to do this. It seems like a miraculous process. As a result, we will be healthier and hope to live a longer and more comfortable life. That is, if we are able to make the system work properly.
However, the importance of the respiratory system is that it supplies oxygen to each cell. Every cell in every part of our body. The nose, mouth, nasal passages and lungs are the direct connection to this process.
Let’s quickly see how a complete breathing cycle works and which muscles are involved.
Diaphragm and intercostal muscles
The lungs alone cannot breathe. They need some respiratory muscles: the diaphragm, a thin semi-dome-shaped muscle that separates the lungs from the stomach, and the intercostal muscles, located between one rib and the other.
INSPIRATION
During inhalation, both the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles contract. In this way there is an expansion of both the abdomen and the chest.
Thanks to the contraction of the diaphragm, the lungs can also expand downwards and thus have more volume. The intercostal muscles, on the other hand, expand the rib cage and therefore also the lungs, which are devoid of muscle.
Both of these movements allow the air to enter due to negative pressure.
EXPIRATION
During exhalation, however, the diaphragm relaxes and then rises back to its original position, at the base of the rib cage, exactly between the lungs and stomach. This movement, combined with that of the intercostal muscles that relax and reduce the rib cage, allows the expulsion of air.
To explain and make you understand how correct breathing must be in yoga I will use an English acronym that in a few words contains everything you need to know. In my opinion, this acronym contains the essence of perfect yogic breathing: S.E.L.F
Soft and slow: soft and slow
Easy and even: easy and regular
Long and lingering: long and continuous
Full and free: deep and free
“In yoga, let your breath be your guide”
You must always keep breathing and never hold your breath. Only in this way will you get numerous benefits. Over time and with constant practice, I am sure that your way of breathing will also improve, but always try to keep the acronym just mentioned in mind. Don’t be in a hurry to want to change the way you breathe though. It takes time. First of all, analyze how you breathe, what is wrong and what you need to change. Sometimes it’s not easy to understand, so I’ve prepared some questions you can ask yourself:
• Do I breathe too fast?
• Do I sometimes feel short of breath?
• Is my breathing irregular?
• Is my breathing labored in stressful situations?
• Are you breathing shallowly and too shallowly?
• Do the abdomen and chest barely move?
• Do I hold my breath during a challenging position?
If one of your answers is positive, then it means that you can improve your breathing and thanks to this article you know how. Only once you understand where you are wrong can you avoid making the same mistake again.
Yoga and its benefits, including breathing exercises, have infiltrated the Western world and Western medicine thanks to the many doctors who have been able to experience its benefits on the mind and body. Taking a proactive approach to an individual’s health can help prevent some diseases and manage others. The effects of yoga on the respiratory system are miraculous. So take a deep breath through your nostrils and join a yoga class, it can be lifesaving.
A yoga breathing technique is the foundation of good yoga practice and an incredible benefit to the respiratory system. Breathing from the chest is shallow and not as effective as breathing from the belly, which uses the diaphragm more effectively than the chest. The diaphragm is crucial because it is the crucial muscle in breathing. So why is yoga so beneficial for the respiratory system and overall health?
According to the British Heart Foundation, taking part in a regular yoga practice not only increases flexibility, balance and focus, but also provides more oxygen in the blood to help lower blood pressure.
Yoga helps to work on breathing techniques, with the aim of educating to breathing itself; also improving the symptoms of respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma. In fact, asthma sufferers are often advised to swim due to the variety of muscles used, as well as to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Yoga has a similar ethos, but it has the added benefit of focusing on spiritual well-being, body strength, posture, and body relaxation while opening the airways. The use of yoga techniques can be a barrier against the symptoms of the common cold and other ailments. By focusing on the overall health of the body and supporting the immune structure, potential ailments or diseases will stay away.
Pranayama is the practice of controlled breathing, whether alternating through the nostrils (Nadi Sodhana), or Sama Vritti, in which the duration of the inhalation time is equivalent to that used in exhalation. These practices are not a cure, but an aid to good health.
Diaphragmatic Breathing: The best way to breathe to advance your yoga practice
You’re probably used to belly breathing, which is an excellent introduction to breath awareness for beginning yogis. Yet diaphragmatic rib cage breathing is a skill you’ll need if you really want to advance your practice while improving your overall health. Here’s how to do it. At some point along your path as a yogi, you will probably hear breathing instructions like these: now lie on your back and we will do diaphragmatic breathing. Breathe into your belly, letting it rise from the inhale and drop into the exhale. Do not let the rib cage rise. If the rib cage moves up and down but the abdomen does not, you are not using the diaphragm. Belly breathing is the deepest breathing.
Those instructions are full of myths and half-truths. But even if they are anatomically inaccurate, they are not wrong. The practice they describe, known as diaphragmatic belly breathing, is perfectly legitimate. It is true that emphasizing abdominal motion while keeping the rib cage relatively still engages the diaphragm and creates a wonderfully relaxing breath. But it is not true that allowing the ribs to rise or hold the abdomen always creates shallow, non-diaphragmatic breathing.
Diaphragmatic breathing vs. Belly breathing
It is understandable where this myth comes from. Many of us come to yoga as “chest breathers,” which means we are used to an unhealthy pattern of starting the breath from the chest, which can be agitated. When you fall into an isolated upper chest breathing pattern, you overuse the neck and upper body muscles (known as accessory muscles of inspiration) and underuse the diaphragm. During strenuous exercise and in emergency situations, you need these accessory muscles: they come into action to complement the action of the diaphragm by moving the rib cage up and down more vigorously, helping to bring more air to the lungs. But unlike the diaphragm, which is designed to work indefinitely, accessory muscles tire more easily, and overuse will eventually make you feel fatigued and anxious. All of this makes upper chest breathing exhausting, rather than restorative, in everyday situations. It is therefore not surprising that most yogis avoid it.
We will call this diaphragmatic rib cage breathing, because it uses the diaphragm to raise and spread the ribs when inhaled and lighten them on exhalation, keeping the belly relatively still. Belly breathing, which massages the abdominal organs more than rib cage breathing, often feels more natural and relaxing and is easier to learn. It is an excellent introduction to breath awareness for beginners and a good way to teach people to calm down quickly, especially during an anxiety attack, because it strongly discourages the use of accessory muscles of inspiration. Diaphragmatic rib cage breathing is more difficult to learn and, if done incorrectly, can deviate to ineffective and anxiety-promoting breathing. But when done correctly, it is calming and much more powerful for strengthening the diaphragm, deepening inhalation, lengthening the lungs, and more effectively aerating all parts of the lungs.
To understand the action behind diaphragmatic breathing of the rib cage, it is helpful to know how the rib cage, abdomen, and diaphragm work together to move air in and out of the lungs. Think of your torso as a partially flattened cylinder divided into upper and lower sections. The upper section, the walls of which are formed mainly by the rib cage, is called the thoracic cavity. It is almost entirely filled by the lungs, but it also contains the heart. The lower part, the walls of which are formed mainly by the abdominal muscles, is called the abdominal cavity. It contains all the other organs of the trunk (liver, stomach, and so on). The divider between these two cavities is the diaphragm, a roughly dome-shaped sheet of muscle and tendon that serves as both the ceiling of the abdominal cavity and the floor of the thoracic cavity.
The upper part of the dome of the diaphragm, known as the central tendon, is made up of tough, fibrous tissue. To get an idea of where it is, touch your fingertips in the center of the breastbone. They are now approximately level with the highest point of the dome, which lies deep inside the chest behind the breastbone.
The walls of the dome of the diaphragm are made of muscle tissue that connects the top of the dome to the base of the rib cage. To feel where the lower edge of the diaphragm is attached to the rib cage, move your fingers to the notch at the base of the sternum. From there, trace the lower edge of the rib cage down, around the side of the body and up to the back until you can feel it. The diaphragm is attached to the inside of the rib cage along this path.
Each time you inhale, your brain signals the diaphragm muscle to contract. In diaphragmatic belly breathing, this contraction of the muscular walls of the diaphragm pulls the top of the dome towards its base at the bottom of the rib cage. As the dome moves down, it pushes organs and fluid into the abdominal cavity, causing the belly to swell outward, in much the same way that a water balloon will stick out if you place it on a table and press it. This requires relaxed abdominal muscles.
The lungs sit on top of the diaphragm and cling to its upper surface. Then, as the diaphragm descends, it lowers on the lungs, stretching the lungs longer and creating additional space within them. Outside air naturally pours into the lungs to fill the extra space, resulting in what we know as inhalation. When the inhalation is complete, your brain stops signaling the diaphragm to contract, the muscle relaxes, and all the tissues that moved during inhalation return to their original position, forcing the air out of the lungs and creating an exhalation.
Diaphragmatic breathing of the rib cage is quite different. At the start of an inhalation, the front abdominal muscles gently contract to prevent the belly from swelling. This action pushes the abdominal contents inward and upward against the bottom of the diaphragm; therefore, the top of the dome cannot descend easily, as it did in the belly breath. The top of the dome, now supported from below, serves as a relatively stable platform. And the strong contraction of the muscular walls of the diaphragm lifts the base of the rib cage towards it (even if the top of the dome moves slightly downwards).
The lower edge of the rib cage rises more because the diaphragm is attached directly to it. As the ribs rise, they also swing outward and away from the body, expanding the lungs from side to side and front to back, making the chest cavity wider and deeper.
The sides of the lungs cling to the inner walls of this cavity, so they also extend outward. Extra airspace is created within them, causing inhalation. Relaxing the diaphragm lowers the rib cage and raises the top of the dome, returning the lungs to their previous size, forcing air out and producing exhalation.
Some of the breath control skills learned in diaphragmatic rib cage breathing can enhance your asana practice. Because they require continuous lifting of the sternum, the posterior curves lock the upper ribs in the “inhale” position while keeping the abdominal muscles long and relatively relaxed. This makes it difficult to exhale, as it is not possible to expel air from the lungs by lowering the upper ribs or by strongly contracting the abdominal muscles. The less stale air you exhale, the less fresh air you inhale, so you end up with too little oxygen and too much carbon dioxide in the body. There is a way to expel more air: Relax your diaphragm completely so that it no longer pulls up on the six lower ribs, and uses the accessory muscles to keep the upper chest lift. This will cause the lower ribs to descend and move towards the midline of the body. The “down and in” movement of the ribs will push the air out of the lower lobes of the lungs, creating additional space for fresh air on the next inhalation. By truly relaxing the diaphragm at the end of each exhalation and moving the lower ribs down and in as in diaphragmatic rib cage breathing, you can breathe more deeply in the pose without compromising its shape.
Before trying this technique, become proficient in supine rib cage diaphragmatic breathing, paying attention to the process of letting some extra air out of the lungs at the end of exhalation by releasing the lower ribs towards each other without contracting the abdominal muscles.