PRANAYAMA & THE BREATH MODULE - Avani Yoga Academy

PRANAYAMA & THE BREATH MODULE Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 1

PERSPECTIVES & CAUTIONS TERMINOLOGY & DEFINITIONS Pranayama & The Breath Module CONTENTS BREATHING FUNDAMENTALS BASIC BREATH TRAINING & YOGIC BREATHING PRANAYAMA TECHNIQUES Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 2

Chapter Highlights HOW YOU BREATHE IS HOW YOU FEEL CONSTRICTED BREATHING PATTERNS NATURAL BREATHING Breathing affects your respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, muscular, and psychic systems and also has a general effect on your sleep, your memory, your energy level, and your concentration. Everything you do, the pace you keep, the feelings you have, and the choices you make are influenced by the rhythmic metronome of your breath. — Donna Farhi, The Breathing Book Version 1.5 1 BREATHING FUNDAMENTALS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BREATH AND EMOTIONS, CONSTRICTED BREATHING PATTERNS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL BREATHING Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE What is unique about the breath as part of the autonomic nervous system? Why is the breath a vital component of a person's overall wellness? Describe the research that shows the two-way connection between breath and emotions. In what ways may a student's breath be inhibited? What are the characteristics of natural breathing? When entering deep states of concentration, how might the breath be affected? Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 2

KEY POINTS Breathing affects every system in our body. Research shows the direct connection between breathing patterns and emotions. Although part of the autonomic nervous system, breathing can be controlled at will. Focusing on the breath is a fundamental tool for beginning to settle the mind and feel the body. BREATHING AND EMOTIONS A vital teaching for all levels of students is to maintain awareness of their breath. Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 3

YOGIC BREATHING’S EFFECT ON STRESS & PAIN STUDY RESULTS: HOW YOU BREATHE IS HOW YOU FEEL Your body's breathing center is actually in the brainstem, where The two-way connection between how you breathe and how you STRESS many of your autonomic functions are controlled, such as your feel was elegantly demonstrated in a study that observed how the heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and digestive breath naturally changes during joy, anger, sadness, and fear. process. Breathing is the only autonomic function that you can The researchers induced these four emotions in participants and control at will, kind of like a manual override. Research indicates measured the changes in breathing. They found that there were that when you manually take control of your breathing, you are characteristic changes for each emotion. In a second study, the given a little bit of control over your other autonomic functions researchers turned the observations for each emotion into as well. Probably the two most important benefits of yoga breathing instructions. They had participants change their breathing are its effectiveness in stress reduction and pain breathing according to those instructions, with no hint that the management. The most phenomenal aspect of yoga breathing is breathing patterns were connected to specific emotions. The that you are in control. You can send health-enhancing yoga study found that the breathing patterns reliably created the breathing messages to your body anytime, anywhere. emotions they were associated with, without any other emotion cue or trigger. – Larry Payne, Yoga RX 2002 p 34 – Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Yoga for Pain Relief HOW YOU BREATHE IS HOW YOU FEEL Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 4

CONGESTED EMOTIONS MAY COME UP TO BE RELEASED From a session of breath-initiated movement, it's likely that congested emotions will come up and be released from the body. I must emphasize that this work does not create grief, the grief already exists and is stored in the body. Breath-initiated movement is what liberates you from your past. When the grief comes out, something else comes out with it, and this is the most important of all: answers come out with it. New understanding of your past, resolution, reconciliation.these are the things that emerge from your breath work. – Max Strom BREATHING & RELEASE OF EMOTIONS Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 5

NATURAL VS. CONSTRICTED BREATHING Before attempting to manipulate the breath with pranayama, it makes sense that we and our students would have a felt sense of what unhindered, natural breathing feels like. Experts tell us that often people's unconscious breathing is not free but rather is restricted and incomplete. ‘I just realized that I don't really know how to breathe.' I hear this often after students encounter their constricted breath during their first experience of yoga. Even with clear instructions, it takes many weeks of practice before some students can actually breathe fully all the way to the bottom of their lungs, and even longer for some to be able to rapidly pump their bellies toward their spines in an energizing exercise like Kapalabhati. – Amy Weintraub, Yoga for Depression Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 6

CONSTRICTED BREATHING PATTERNS REVERSE BREATHING CHEST BREATHING UNCONSCIOUS STRESS BREATHING Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 7

PRIMARY VS. ACCESSORY BREATHING MUSCLES Some people are "reverse" breathers which means the belly doesn't swell on the inhale but rather contracts. And on the exhale, it puffs out (although not likely in a fully relaxed way). REVERSE BREATHING This type of breathing is associated with chronic tension, digestive issues, insomnia, and elevated blood pressure. The cause may be related to tight clothing, disease or repeated feelings of fear. Mukunda Stiles makes the amazing statement that "about half the population" breathes in reverse. (Structural Yoga Therapy) Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 8

PRIMARY VS. ACCESSORY BREATHING MUSCLES In this case, the person chronically holds the abdomen in, inhibiting the diaphragm from moving fully. This forces the breath to be experienced only up in the chest. CHEST BREATHING This typically results in chronic tension, digestive issues & anxiety. The cause can be stress or holding the stomach in to appear thinner. See Diaphragmatic Contraction Bulges Belly But Can Also Expand Rib Cage for Leslie Kaminoff's important clarification that an expanding rib cage does not necessarily mean a person is not fully using their diaphragm. Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 9

Most practitioners come to find a direct relationship between mental state and breath. This translates to certain patterns during stress: holding the breath, irregular breathing, short breaths and quick, short exhalations. Perhaps the most profound shift we could make in ourselves and the world is to—upon noticing that we feel agitated, anxious, depressed or angry— bring awareness to the breath. It's quite likely we'll find the unconscious stress breathing patterns. We can then begin to bring ease to the breath, taking a gentle breath in and a relaxing breath out, without hesitation or strain. UNCONSCIOUS STRESS BREATHING When we engage in such practices, we're working with the monumental fact that breath is the link between body and mind. Thoughts and emotions affect the breath. And the breath affects thoughts and emotions. Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 10

NATURAL BREATHING Also known as free breathing, belly breathing, yogic breathing, diaphragmatic breathing and essential breathing. BREATHE THROUGH THE NOSE ALLOW RIBS AND TORSO TO MOVE ALLOW BELLY TO SWELL ALLOW BREATH TO BE EFFORTLESS KNOW WHEN TO LET DEEP BREATHING GO Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 11

BREATHE THROUGH THE NOSE Unless one has a respiratory illness, deviated septum or other reason, the yogic practice is to breathe through the nose rather than the mouth. Sinuses and nostrils filter, warm and moisturize air going into the lungs. Nose breathing creates more resistance than mouth breathing, providing the lungs with an appropriate time for oxygen extraction and enabling a balanced oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. There are times, however, when breathing through the mouth is beneficial. Breath moves more quickly to the lungs and with greater ease and quantity through the mouth. See also: Respiratory Anatomy 12 Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved.

ALLOW BELLY TO SWELL Upon inhale, the diaphragm moves down, pressing on the abdominal cavity, causing the belly to swell. Holding any muscles in chronic contraction—including abdominal muscles—weakens them. To function properly, muscles must relax between contractions. While a strong abdomen supports the back, chronically contracted abdominal muscles will increase tension and stiffness, and ultimately weaken. (An example for students is how a bicep curl involves contraction & release. If we hold a dumbbell in an endless curl, the bicep will weaken.) This is a very important teaching for students who—for a variety of cultural & personal reasons—have tightness or tension in their belly. With new students and those under stress, this teaching is fundamental and critical. However, this should not be confused with practices for more advanced yogis. The practice of keeping a slight tone in the belly between the navel and pubic bone is a I'd say that without that relationship [between the diaphragm and the breath in yoga class] it's not actually a yoga class. It may be stretching or calisthenics, but what makes it yoga is the conscious integration of movement, mind and breath. practice that has many benefits. With growing awareness, students may learn to keep low belly tone while allowing the upper belly to expand, thereby still allowing the diaphragm to move through its full range. See Yogic Breathing for distinctions related to beginners and advanced practitioners. – Leslie Kaminoff, YogaAnatomy.net Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 13

ALLOW RIBS AND TORSO TO MOVE Allow the height, width and depth of the whole torso to move out and move in with the breath. Envision not just the front ribs but the whole 360 rib cage. While beginners are unlikely to expand the rib cage fully, asana practice (along with awareness and breathing practices) can help to develop this mobility. Feel the breath in the low belly, upper chest and back body. Keep the throat soft. The inhalation starts with the gentle swelling forward of the abdomen and then moves upward to expand the rib cage fully. The breastbone rises and swells forward as the shoulder blades slide down your back. These actions increase the distance between the top of the thighs and the bottom of the ribs—the area of your waist— and it is this increased space that gives the diaphragm freedom to move. As you exhale, allow the ribs to relax and come back to center without losing the spinal length you achieved with the inhalation, and then gently pull the abdomen inward. Breathe like this in all the poses throughout the practice. – Erich Schiffman, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 14

ALLOW BREATH TO BE EFFORTLESS Rather than pulling the breath inside with outer muscles of the body, let yourself be breathed. Let the breath expand in all directions, radiating outward. Let the breath feel calm & smooth. Yoga Teacher Central 2016. All rights reserved. 15