Monday, February 08, 2010
BREATHING EXERCISE: How to Chill Out
Our goal today is to learn how to cool the body
(generally we're talking about internal inflammation
from stress and lame food), relax the body, and
find some focus.
So let's get started:
BELLY BREATHING
1 - Lie down on the floor, flat on your back,
arms at your sides, palms facing up.
2 - Take your right hand at put it over your
belly button. Relax completely.
3 - Inhale completely but don't breathe into
your chest... instead let your abdomen fill up as
much as possible (this is difficult at first).
4 - Now exhale, allowing your belly to hollow
out completely.
5 - Once you're comfortable with this motion
(chest stays still, belly fills like a balloon, then
empties completely), now we'll count the breaths.
6 - Inhale to the count of 1-2-3-4 *PAUSE* at the
top. Now exhale to the count of 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Again, inhale 1-2-3-4... *pause*... exhale 8-7-6-5-
4-3-2-1.
Do 10 rounds and then rest.
CHEST BREATHING
1 - Lie down on the floor, flat on your back,
arms at your sides, palms facing up.
2 - Take your right hand at put it over your
belly button. Relax completely.
3 - Inhale completely don't let your belly move,
instead your chest fills and rises up toward your
chin (this is usually easier than the previous
exercise).
4 - Now exhale, allowing your chest to fall toward
the floor.
5 - Once you're comfortable with this motion
(belly still, chest inflating and deflating), now we'll
count the breaths.
6 - Inhale to the count of 1-2-3-4 *PAUSE* at the
top, chest bulging. Now exhale to the count of 8-7-
6-5-4-3-2-1.
Again, inhale 1-2-3-4... *pause*... exhale 8-7-6-5-
4-3-2-1.
Do 10 rounds and then rest.
HOW THIS WORKS
A handful of scientists (and a boatload of yogis) have
studied this 1-to-2 ratio breathing pattern (here we
did 4 to 8... same ratio), and what they've discovered
is that by simply extending the exhale, it stimulates
that vagus nerve and immediately has a calming effective
on the body.
Labels: belly breathing, breathing, calming, relaxation
Friday, February 05, 2010
Breathing Lessons 101
BEFORE WE START
(1) Take your index finger and put it underneath
your nose like this:
http://www.yogabodynaturals.com/yoga-breathing-101
(2) Exhale through your nose quickly a few times.
(3) Notice which nostril is MORE open (more air comes
out).
RIGHT NOSTRIL DOMINANCE* is associated with the left
brain activity and is conducive for active states like working,
eating, exercising, etc.
LEFT NOSTRIL DOMINANCE* is associated with the right
brain activity and is conducive for meditative states, relaxation,
sleep, and creativity.
HOW NOSTRIL PREFERENCE WORKS
As your brain activity changes throughout the day, so
does your dominant nostril. And simply sticking your
finger under your nose is the easiest way to get an instant
read on where your head is at.
When you're super hungry, for example, you'll almost
always be in your right nostril.
When you're about to fall asleep, almost always it'll
be your left (and if you're not, you should get there...
more on how to do that later).
Naturally, your body will switch every 90-120 minutes
(there's no rule on this). So our breath tells us which side
of our brain is most active; and the cool thing is that we
can turn around and use the breath, control the breath,
to influence our brain.
It really does work.
This is why people get so excited about pranayama,
or yoga breathing. It's a very powerful tool for "mind
control."
Labels: breathe, breathing deeply, pranayama, yoga
