Using the breath to determine the flow of yoga asana
Going at your own pace
Using your own rhythm to determine how fast or slow you move during a yoga practice can be liberating. Noticing how you are breathing during any type of movement practice can give you insight into how your body is reacting to the practice.
What does that mean?
If you are pushing yourself or forcing a posture, notice what happens to your breath. Get curious. Does the breath become shallow, high up in the chest? Do the shoulders tense and lift toward the ears? Do you find yourself holding your breath? Do you tend to speak negatively toward yourself, or even give up?
Conversely, if you are breathing easily, is it nourishing you? Are you inhaling through the nose or the mouth? Is the breath quiet? Does it start and stop or is it continuous?
During a movement practice or even meditative practices, the breath can be automatic or it can be manipulated to create different sensations within your mind and body. How would you use your breath to determine your yoga postures and flow from one posture to the next?
Let’s look at Surya Namaskar A or Sun Salutation A. Here’s the basic sequence:
Mountain pose
Reach overhead, fold forward
Halfway lift, fold forward
Step back, top of a push-up, lower
Upward facing dog to downward facing dog
Step up to a forward fold
Halfway lift, fold forward
Return back upright with arms overhead
Bring hands to heart center
The pace of the movement can be determined by the breath pattern of lengthening or shortening your inhales and exhales. You can also add pauses by holding the breath at the end of the inhale or exhale. You can also create a different practice by having no pauses between the inhale and the exhale.
Based on how you are feeling and how you want your practice to be at that moment can help you decide on the rhythm of the breath. Faster practice, less count; slower practice, longer count.
For a more invigorating practice early in the day when you want to bring heat to the body, you may try this sequence with an equal length of both the inhale and the exhale. I’m outlining the breath count as a 2-count for the inhale and the exhale. As each inhale or exhale ends on the second count, the movement ends. Here’s how Surya Namaskar A might flow:
Inhale 1,2 mountain pose, exhale 1,2
Inhale 1 reach overhead 2, exhale 1 fold 2
Inhale 1 halfway lift 2, exhale 1 fold 2
Inhale 1 step back to top of push-up 2, exhale 1 lower 2
Inhale 1 upward dog 2, exhale 1 downward dog 2
Inhale 1 step up to forward fold 2, exhale 1 2
Inhale 1 halfway lift, exhale 1 fold 2
Inhale 1 sweep arms up to stand and reach overhead 2
Exhale 1 hands to heart 2
For a different practice using this same pace, breathe in and out through the nose using an Ujayi breath. With Ujayi breathing, you constrict the air at the back of the throat and the breath is louder. According to the Art of Living, it is said to be an invigorating breath pattern for the body while relaxing to the mind due to the sound of the breath.
A third way to use the breath to change up the flow of your practice is to lengthen the exhale, so instead of a 2-count with equal inhale and exhale, you can practice lengthening the exhale to 4 count. Longer exhales compared to inhales tend to help activate the Vagus nerve which helps calm the nervous system.
For a great choice on Surya Namaskar with Seane Corn, I invite you to check out her video, Breaking Down Sun salutation A on YouTube.
Take good care,
Sharon Bullard