If you’ve never done yoga before, or if you haven’t done it in a long time, you’re probably wondering why you should start doing yoga again. The answer is simple: yoga is a great way to improve your health and overall wellness. It’s proven that regular practice of yoga will improve your mood, improve your ability to focus, improve your balancbeee, improve your sleep quality, and more. Yoga is also a great way to improve your life. It’s proven to reduce stress, reduce pain, improve your energy levels, and more.
Yoga is also an effective exercise routine that will allow you to improve your health and well-being. If you’re looking to start yoga, but you’re not sure if you should do it, here are many reasons why you should start practicing yoga today.
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Benefits of Yogic Breathing Exercises
The concept of Yoga has been around for centuries. In fact, it goes back to ancient times. The term “Yoga” means union or joining together. And the ancient Yogis were the first to discover that breathing exercises can have a profound effect on our body, mind, and soul.
And while some people practice Yoga for relaxation, others have discovered that doing the breathing exercises regularly will improve their performance on the job, increase their productivity, and even help them to sleep better at night.
So what are the benefits of practicing yogic breathing? Let’s take a look.
Improves Your Immune System
Did you know that practicing yogic breathing for 20 minutes a day can improve your immune system? By regulating your breathing, you can boost your energy and help your body to fight off diseases.
If you suffer from allergies or asthma, you may be able to stop taking allergy medications once you learn to control your breathing.
Helps you Relax
If you have a stressful job, it can be difficult to relax and unwind when you are stressed out. But practicing yogic breathing will help you do just that.
Studies show that a slow breathing pattern, like the yogic breathing exercises, can be as effective as meditation in helping us to relax.
Increases Your Productivity
If you need to get things done but you feel overwhelmed and stressed out, try practicing yogic breathing. This will help you stay calm, focused, and energized. You will be able to perform better in school or at work, and you will be able to deal with everyday stress without getting frustrated.
Relieves Stress and Anxiety
When you practice yogic breathing exercises, you will be able to relax your body. This will make it easier for you to cope with the stresses of life.
Stress is one of the main causes of anxiety and depression. By using the yogic breathing exercises, you will be able to manage your stress levels.
It can also be helpful if you feel that you are going to have a hard time sleeping. And if you have trouble sleeping, it can be even harder to get out of bed in the morning. But if you practice yogic breathing, you will feel more relaxed and refreshed.
Enhances your Mood
By learning to control your breathing, you can help improve your mood. Studies show that yogic breathing can make you happier. In addition, you may find yourself having more positive thoughts and emotions.
Reduces Insomnia
If you are struggling with insomnia, you can practice yogic breathing to help you relax and sleep better. This will help you to get the rest you need to feel better.
Decreases the Effects of Chronic Pain
If you have chronic pain, it can be tough to function during the day. But if you practice yogic breathing, you can reduce your pain.
Chronic pain is a difficult problem to identify because it often does not have a single physical cause. Many experts believe that pain is more of an emotional than a physical experience. It may be that chronic pain is a result of a person’s psychological fear of experiencing pain again. For example, a person who has broken a rib may continue to feel pain years later because they are afraid of being injured again.
Improves Heart Health
If you have problems with your heart, you may have noticed that your blood pressure has been elevated. And if your blood pressure is high, you run a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease. But if you learn to control your breathing, you can lower your blood pressure.
Decreases High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can cause your arteries to become narrow and hardened. This can lead to strokes and heart attacks. But if you learn to control your breathing, you can help your blood pressure return to normal.
Because heart rate variability causes unhealthy fluctuations in blood pressure, slow abdominal breathing techniques were used to reduce heart rate variability in participants with blood pressure problems, which was successful.
Prevents Aging
Many people worry about getting older. But if you practice yoga, you can help prevent the effects of aging on your body.
Better Digestion
Yogic breathing exercises have a great influence on the digestive system. They can strengthen it, so we can digest properly our food. We also have to keep our digestive system clean. Impurities are removed through a clean digestive system. This leads to our strong body and mind.
Deep breathing not only massages the intestines, it also has an effect on the nervous system! Deep breathing stimulates the “chill” hormones that help the body to “rest and digest”. In other words, it tells the body that it’s time to digest the food that’s been eaten!
Better Sleep
When you practice yogic breathing exercises, you will be able to develop a better sense of your body. As a result, you will be able to fall asleep quickly and have a peaceful night’s rest.
You will be able to overcome the obstacles that you encounter during the night.
Better Concentration and Focus
As you become more aware of your breath, you will develop a better sense of your body. As a result, you will notice that you are paying more attention to your body than before.
If you were to go through a day without doing any breathing exercises, you would likely notice that you spend a lot of time worrying about things that are not important.
When you start practicing yogic breathing exercises, you will be able to overcome your worries, fears and anxieties.
6 Yogic Breathing Exercises
Alternate-Nostril Breathing
Nadi shodhana, or alternate-nostril breathing, is a breathing pattern in which you block off one nostril at a time as you breathe through the other, and then alternate between nostrils. It is best to practice this type of breathing in a seated position in order to maintain good posture.
Alternate-nostril breathing is a type of yogic breathing technique. It has been used since ancient times by the practitioners of yoga.
An alternate nostril breathing technique involves breathing through the left and right nostril respectively during a certain set of breathing exercises.
The technique was first documented in the ancient Indian treatises on Yoga called the Panchakosha. The technique was later known as Panchkarma, which means “five actions”.
How to Practice Alternate Nostril Breathing?
Practicing alternate nostril breathing can be a bit tricky at first. But with practice, you’ll be able to master it easily.
- To begin, close your right nostril by pinching your nose with your ring finger and thumb.
- Now, while keeping your right nostril closed, breathe through your left nostril.
- Inhale through your left nostril, then exhale through your right nostril.
- Continue this cycle for a minute or so.
- When you are comfortable with your breathing, you can open both your right and left nostrils.
- Inhale through both nostrils, then exhale through both nostrils.
- Continue this process for a few minutes.
In case you are having a hard time controlling your breathing, you can also practice it lying down. Try it out for a week or so to see how you’re feeling. If you’re having trouble getting started, you can also start with slow and steady breaths.
You can practice alternate nostril breathing anywhere. However, it’s best to practice it in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.
Belly Breathing
Belly breathing is not just for adults. It’s important for kids too. They need to learn how to breathe properly so that they can stay healthy and strong. Breathing is one of the first things that kids learn, and it’s an important part of every single day routine.
How to Breathe Correctly:
For starters, you need to be in a seated position. And since this is a yoga tutorial, you should use a chair.
- Next, place both of your palms on top of each other. And then, inhale through your nose and slowly push your chest up and down.
- Don’t forget to push your chest up, but don’t push your chest down. You should be going up and down.
- Do it in a slow and controlled motion.
- And once you’re done exhaling, take a big breath in. This will fill your lungs and expand them.
- You should also make sure that you are using a relaxed breathing pattern. This means that you should be exhaling from the bottom of your lungs, not the middle.
- Next, you need to repeat these steps ten times. That’s right. Ten times.
- Each time you breathe, you should be moving the entire torso back and forth. So if you’re doing this correctly, you should be breathing for about 15 seconds.
The whole point of this is to give your body enough oxygen.
If you’re doing this correctly, you should feel your heart beating faster after you’ve completed your belly breathing exercise.
And because your heart is beating faster, you’re giving your body enough energy.
After you’ve completed your belly breathing, you can rest for a few moments.
Box Breathing
Doing this exercise is a very effective method for relaxing the mind and calming the body. And since it doesn’t require any additional equipment, you can do it anywhere. Plus, it is a low-impact exercise that won’t cause pain or injury.
The breathing exercise known as the “box breathing” is a popular yoga practice that is used to calm the body, mind, and spirit.
Here’s how you can perform the exercise correctly
- Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position, with your back straight and your shoulders relaxed.
- Place your hands on the floor next to your hips.
- Take a deep breath in, hold it for five seconds, and exhale slowly through your mouth.
- Inhale for another five seconds and repeat.
- Continue with this cycle for ten breaths.
- Finally, inhale deeply for three seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and exhale for seven seconds. Repeat the cycle.
You can also do the box breathing using a belt instead of a rope. Just tie a rope around your waist and put one end on your hand. Then breathe normally.
You can perform the box breathing anytime you need to calm down. But it is especially useful before bedtime, or when you are stressed out, anxious, or angry. You should avoid doing the box breathing when you are sick or feeling weak because it can cause stress.
4-7-8 Breathing
You can also combine yoga poses with breathing exercises to enhance their benefits even further. These breathing exercises are called “pranayama”, and there are 4-7-8 breathing exercises which you can practice in order to improve your overall health.
How to do the 4-7-8 Breathing
The first thing you’ll need to do in order to perform 4-7-8 breathing is to count your breaths. Simply sit in a comfortable position and begin counting your breaths.
- Begin by inhaling through your nose, and count 1.
- When you exhale, count 2.
- Repeat this process until you reach 4.
- Then inhale again, count 5, and continue to count until you reach 7.
- Finally, exhale once more, count 8, and repeat until your last breath.
While this seems complicated at first, it’s actually fairly simple. If you are counting your breaths slowly enough, you will begin to feel relaxed. And when you are relaxed, you will begin to feel more balanced.
Lion’s Breath
When we feel stressed or anxious, our breathing becomes faster and shallow. We are unaware of it, because the body and mind become disconnected. This causes stress and anxiety to increase.
Let’s try this breathing exercise!
- Sit in a comfortable position.
- Close your eyes.
- Take a few slow deep breaths in through your nose.
- Hold that breath for as long as you want.
- Slowly release it through your mouth.
- Repeat this step 3 to 4 times.
- Do it again.
Keep repeating this step 3 to 4 times every day.
Resonance Breathing
Resonance breathing is a technique which helps to increase oxygenation, decrease muscle tension, and relax the body. It’s a type of breathing which has been around for centuries. In modern times, it has gained popularity due to its health benefits and ease of application.
Resonance breathing is based on the idea that your brain controls every cell in your body. This means that when you inhale, the oxygen flows into your body, and when you exhale, the toxins flow out.
How to Do Resonance Breathing:
- Sit comfortably.
- Relax your eyes and take several slow, deep breaths.
- While exhaling, gently say “ooo.” Then pause for a moment.
- As you inhale, say “aaa” and hold your breath for a few seconds.
- Exhale slowly and softly.
- Repeat steps 1 through 5 several times.
- Let your body rest for several minutes.
- Repeat steps 1 through 7 several times.