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The teachers I've had in yoga have been phenomenal experts at pranayama and breath control but
I have also been very lucky to have very very good scientific minds teach me the anatomy
and physiology of breathing. And I'm at the point now where I think I can really share
this information well. Well, natural breathing first. I use natural
breathing in everyday life in yoga postures and I want you to understand a separate thing:
you can begin the process of learning complicated breath control exercise which can help you
at the deepest level to control your interior organs, your mind, can help you relieve your
back pain, it can help you also in terms of energy and strength.
In term "relax power" there is one of the greatest secrets of yogic pranayama. The ability
to be totally relaxed while exerting tremendous forces.
In the end the essence of breath control in pranayama in yoga is mastered and harnessed
most when you actually learn how to breath much less than normal. The physiology of breathing
is enhanced most when you can breathe with as little air as possible. And it sounds almost
contradictory to common sense but the science shows it and yogic understanding is definite
about it, that the less you breathe the better your mental capacity is and also the greater
blood flow will come into your head so the brain is nourished, the heart is nourished
better, hemoglobin, that molecules which carries oxygen in the blood is able to transfer this
oxygen to your cells throughout the body at a far greater ability when you actually breathe
less air per minute. Your mental facilities, you focus and concentration
is definitely best when you breathe less. But having said that there are many reasons
why in the beginning it is useful to breathe more. So physiologically breathing less is
the final state of yoga, the final state of pranayama, but in the beginning by learning
how to use the muscles of breathing you get definite physical benefits in breath control.
And in the deeper understanding of breathe control you can regulate your pulse.
And it's a useful thing to be able to control your pulse and your heart rate. And that's
primarily to best control. Now, another important aspect of breathing
comes with the neurological effects of breathing. And here it is important to appreciate that
whenever you breathe in that usually done with some sort of muscular control either
the diaphragm, the main muscle of breathing from the abdomen, or the thoracic chest muscles
helping breathing to chest. But exhalation can be done passively, you can just let the
air come out by itself. But, in certain passive positions such as sitting up like I'm now
if you'd like to exhale fully you need actually use muscles of exhalation.
Now, in terms of abdominal breathing the muscles of forced exhalation, the muscles of forced
abdominal exhalation include a set of abdominal muscles which draw the navel to the spine.
And when these muscles are active you actually feel a tension of muscular activity go all
the way around your back. And basically if you always holding tight your muscle of exhalation,
the muscles that hold the navel in towards the spine, -- you will never be able to breathe
properly. Many therapists and many personal trainers have told their clients to draw the
abdomen towards the spine because at one stage physiotherapists assumed that it would help
activate the muscle groups that help to spinal stability. But in the last decade it has been
more appreciated that actually the muscle groups that help your spine are better activated
in different ways. And that not the navel should pull the spine, it's perhaps only one
centimeter above the *** bone that should be drawn inwards at all. And whenever you
pull your navel into the spine it actually inhibits your reproductive system, your immune
system and your digestive system. And essentially if you're always using your muscles of exhalation
because you think that's can make you look better or make your spine more stable, which
many people think, than you never be able to breathe in the most natural way with your
diaphragm, which keeps you relaxed and calm. The diaphragm is the main controller of your
relaxation response, that part of the nervous system, that part of the autonomic automatic
nervous system which helps us relax. And these muscles of exhalation if they are used to
stabilize your back, they keep the back quite tense and a lot of back problems comes as
a result of all the tension of the low back. So if you have low-back pain, one of the best
things you can do is actually relax your abdomen.
So pretty much anyone who knows how to breathe could attend but the sorts of people who might
benefit by coming to learn this type of breath control work might be yoga practitioners -- almost
any level would benefit, and yoga teachers certain would benefit and also perhaps therapists,
such as physiotherapists, massage therapists and doctors osteopaths etc. could gain. A
lot of practical experience that I know as a physiotherapists and also knowing because
I often teach at university -- this information is not taught. And I believe I have a special
understanding because of the synthesis between my western teaching as a scientist and the
understanding of yoga practices from many great teachers that I have had. And I know
this information in the synthesized form is not available to most western practitioners.
The art of yoga, the art of breathing is one of really worth the efforts to take the time
to learn.