Breathe In, Breathe Out
Pranayama (breath work) is often easy to overlook in our practice, but it is important to understand how the breath ties it all together. Breath is a reflection of mental activity in an action that is carried out by the body. Though the body does it automatically, it is something that should be practiced and controlled for overall mental, emotional, and physical health.
Physically: When we breathe, we are changing the shape of our lungs to allow air to flow in or cause it to flow out. To inhale into your chest, you contract various muscles that lift your ribcage, allowing air to flow into the space created in the lungs. The exhale that follows is a combination of relaxing those muscles as well as contracting others that depress your ribcage, causing the air to move out of the lungs. Alternatively, to inhale into your torso, you contract your diaphragm which pulls the lower lungs downward and causes the abdominal walls to expand. The following exhale comes from relaxing the diaphragm and contracting the abdominal wall muscles. What does this mean for your physical health?
Healthy breathing patterns contribute to healthy posture. Breathing fully into the ribcage is crucial to maintaining mobility in the upper back and chest, both at the rib joints and in the movement of the soft tissues. Breathing evenly into the torso stretches and strengthens the surrounding muscles for better spinal and pelvic alignment.
You are actively training your neuromuscular connections to fire properly. To have a steady inhale and steady exhale, your breathing muscles must coordinate with each other to allow that to happen – one group must relax and allow the other to contract, and then the opposite, over and over again. This is what your physical body is practicing when you are doing pranayama, and it is re-wiring these healthy patterns into your nervous system.
Mentally & Emotionally: Breath is one way that our mental and emotional activity can be seen in the body. One reason for this is the body’s physiological response to changes in stress. The autonomic nervous system controls the body’s automatic responses to its environment. Your body is in a rest and digest mode when there is no perceived threat; its resources can be used to nourish and replenish. If there is a perceived threat, however, your body must prepare to respond. Your breath quickens to bring in more oxygen as more blood is pumped to your muscles, ready for fight or flight. Or your muscles tense and your breath is restricted, frozen in place. Why is this so important?
Breath and emotions are a two way street. Just as your emotions and mental activity affect your breath, your breath can be used to calm and balance your brain. By learning to control your breath in a low-stress environment, you can maintain control of it in stressful situations, in turn building healthier mental patterns in the brain (much like we discussed with the body).
Breath & Practices: With so many other things to pay attention to during an asana practice, it is easy to let your breath go on autopilot. But remember how it is that we breathe: we change the shape. So when you need to lengthen, inhale into it. When you need to compress, let it go with your exhale. How and where you breathe changes the shape of your pose and even your energy flow. Most of all, it keeps your mind focused and integrated into the physical movements of the body.
