Breathin’ Easy Through Pranayama Hopefully you have been
diligently practicing and experimenting with your breath, allowing it to
reveal how effective it can be as a way to calm and slow down the process
of life in the real world (see the September newsletter). Isn’t it amazing how
powerful a “simple” breath can be? Just the simple act of taking in air and
expelling out air can change everything. But how much do you really know
about your breath? And how much is there still left to learn? Using your breath outside of
the yoga studio to calm initial reactions is only the first step to opening
up the possibilities of breath awareness. Now it is time to get to know
your breath-truly know your breath. Many of you know my story
and how years of struggling with asthma and doctors who never seemed to ask
the right questions left me with a daily regimen of oral and inhalation
steroids to stimulate the muscles of my respiratory system. I needed help
to breath. You would think someone who
had practiced yoga for years and struggled with breathing all her life
would have gained an extensive awareness and understanding of her breath.
However, it wasn’t until I was asked the right question that I realized how
little I truly knew. One question, the right
question, sent me on a path of true exploration and discovery of my breath
and ultimately to the relief from asthma symptoms and addiction to daily
steroids. What I realized is more
questions had to be asked and more exercise needed to be focused on the
breath. I couldn’t get this through the local yoga studios. Simply telling
me to breathe was not enough. I needed to learn how to breathe. Years of shallow chest
breathing had left my diaphragm and lungs weak and even more susceptible to
irritants. I needed to retrain and strengthen my breath. So my journey
began. I started researching and
experimenting with pranayama. (breath work). Soon (with my doctors
supervision) I was able to eliminate all daily medications and only rarely
have to use a rescue inhaler (inhaler only used when needed). Now I want to share my
pranayama practice with you. On Fridays at 11:00-11:30 join me as we expand
our knowledge of the breath and exercise the respiratory muscles. True
awareness is crucial to harnessing the power of the breath and the power of
yoga. Just a few words of caution;
first, never discontinue use of any prescription medications without the
consent and supervision of your primary care provider. And since pranayama
is in effect disrupting the natural rhythm of the respiratory and the
nervous systems always use care when practicing on your own. If at any time you feel light headed,
dizzy or any extreme emotions such as anger or rage stop the pranayama, if
standing sit down and return to your normal breathing pattern. With practice and commitment
we will soon be breathin’ easy together. Upcoming Events/News Check out our new Schedule Early morning class on Wens.
From 8:15-9:45. Comments to Schedule Changes Cancellations None known at this time Check out our new schedule For the latest full schedule go to http://www.afterthemasters.org/index.php?p=1_9_Schedule Links/Resources http://afterthemasters-cindy.blogspot.com/ Medical Study on effects of
Yoga on respiratory pressures http://www.ijpp.com/vol52_2/163-170.pdf Medical Study on Pranayama
and the effects on blood pressure and heart rate: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19249921