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Basic Breathing Techniques by Paul Thomson
“And the lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2.7). This shows that many societies
knew the importance of “The breath”. But what is breathing, how does it work, how do we
control the breath and what benefits can we gain from consciously controlling the breath? I
hope to over these and other aspects of basic breathing techniques in this essay.
Modern science has discovered what the ancient yogis have known for thousands of years:
that controlling the breath will control the mind and that breathing through the nose is the
most efficient way to breathe, as the air is cleaned from dust and harmful bacteria and also
humidified by the citiated mucous membrane. The air travels into the nose past the palates
through the pharynx, and down into larynx where the vocal cords are situated, past the
trachea where it is split into the two primary bronchi and from there into the lungs, where
these are divided into smaller and smaller bronchi, until the air reaches the alveoli. There the
two gases oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged into the blood, due to the pressure
difference of the gasses; this follows Graham’s law of diffusion (1). This oxygenated blood is
pumped around the body to be exchanged into the body’s tissues, used as the catalyst for
the chemical reaction for generating energy and in the process giving off carbon dioxide,
which is returned to the lungs to be expelled. This process is called cellular respiration and is
needed for the body to function and the person to live.
The processes of breathing especially inhalations, as exhalations are largely controlled by
the elasticity of the lungs, which are controlled by the intercostal, abdominal and diaphragm
muscles. The intercostal muscles are important when we chest breath as they expand and
contract the chest. The abdominal muscles function mostly in forced and deep exhalations
and many breathing techniques in yoga. They also serve to support the action of the
diaphragm. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle and tendon that spans the entire torso,
between the thoracic and abdominal cavities and is the principle muscle for breathing. In a
relaxed state it has a convex shape as it follows the internal organs of the body, but when it
contracts the muscle flattens out. These three groups of muscles act as a whole to increase
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the chest cavities volume in a three dimensional shape. This lowers its pressure compared
to the outside atmosphere and so the air flows into the lungs. This process is partly
controlled by the autonomic nervous system in the brain called the medulla oblongata and
Pons Varolii which in turn is controlled by chemoreceptors in the great arteries, which are
monitoring the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the blood system. It also can be
controlled by the somatic nervous system which controls conscious muscle actions such as
walking talking etc. This mindful breathing is controlled in the cerebral cortex, but these two
systems operate together in an autonomic way using two types of motor neurons,
sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system controls the body in an
emergency or when we need more oxygen, such as when we are excising or in a stressful
situation. The parasympathetic system controls our body when we need less air i.e. when we
go to sleep or are relaxing. This autonomic system is important to yogis because we can
control our heart rate, mind etc by using our breath.
There are three conditions that contribute to inefficient breathing: poor posture, weak
uncoordinated breathing muscles and stress, these together can make you breath shallower,
high in the chest or to fast (hyperventilates). The breath becomes turbulent, and the person
concerned is more than likely to breathe through their mouth and to hold their breath when
under stress; this constricts the blood vessels and slows the blood and oxygen exchange.
The resulting oxygen starvation excites the sympathetic nervous system; the heart rate
beats rapidly or irregularly, they become forgetful, confused, anxious or fearful, tense or
irritable. But if we encourage them to become efficient breathers, they can slowly streamline
the breath, making it free and easy thus engaging the diaphragm and the entire body.
Breathing through the nose filters, warms or cools the air to the correct body temperature.
With the correct oxygen to carbon dioxide levels the blood vessels dilate, blood circulates
freely and the diaphragm massages the internal organs. All this activates the
parasympathetic nervous system, which activates the relaxation response and can affect
parts of the body we would normally consider to be under unconscious control, like the
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heartbeat and blood pressure. Also it can help to produce a calm mind and a sense of
stability, which the yogis have known for thousands of years that breathing reflects the
conscious and can be altered to control the mind. The yogis have used breath control for a
long time and call it Pranayama, which is beyond the aspects of this essay as we are
covering basic breathing techniques here. But the Sanskrit word prana means to breathe
forth. It comes from the prefix “pra” to bring forth and the verb “an” to breathe, to live, to
move. The Sanskrit word Pranaka is a living being (The yoga of Breath page 18). So the
quote “As long as there is breath there is life. We can do without conscious functions of the
mind and the senses for a comparatively long time, but not without breath. Breath therefore
is the symbol of all the forces of life and stands first among the bodily functions of Prana”
(Lama Anagarika Govinda, 1977 p152-153) shows us how important the breath and Prana is
to the yoga world.
We have covered how we breathe, but what about how well we breathe? There are so many
conditions to a poor breather, but one of them is unable to sit on the floor unaided, so it is
important to teach the students good posture, as so many will not be able to sit upright
without back support, as they have been used to sitting in a chair or sofa in front of the TV,
on the computer, or in a car. The importance of getting the students to practice basic setting
postures cannot be stressed enough, as the hips and groin can be very tight and so making
any breathing practice difficult at best. As Patanjal says “The posture should be steady and
comfortable” Sthira and Sukham (Yoga sutras 2.46). Get them to try different types of
postures on the floor, Sukhasana (easy posture) this one is most suitable for beginners,
Siddhasana perfect posture, Virasana (Hero’s pose) or even Dandasana (Staff pose). For
the sitting postures they can use a wall for support or a chair if they find sitting on the floor to
uncomfortable. If they are sitting on the floor then they can use the edge of a block, blanket,
or their mat folded over to raise their hips higher than their knees, also support under the
knees if they are too far off the floor. Get them to practice at home maybe in front of the
television so that over time the postures will become easier.
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There are some advantages to lying down in Savasana, but this can lead to the problem of
when you lie down and breathe deeply as if you were going to sleep, many students tend to
go to sleep. (The Yoga of Breath p154) So why should we teach breath awareness to
students that have just begun the journey of yoga, as some distinguished yoga teachers
such as B.K.S Iyengar said that “Until the postures are perfected do not attempt Pranayama”
(B.K.S Iyengar 1993 p165) We should teach the students basic breathing techniques and
Ujjayi Pranayama from the start, because the beginner will probably have over the years
developed bad breathing habits with also bad posture and this should be corrected so the
student can move into new and often awkward positions they have never been in before. We
should start by getting the students to explore their own breath, and some of the habits they
have, good or bad. I would get them to lie down in Savasana or semi supine, with their
hands on their stomach and to witness their breath first of all with no control “to feel the
breathing cycle” as their belly moves up and down, and explain that this is the diaphragm
moving the organs as the lungs fill with air, Then get them to try to control the breath and
see how that changes the movement of their belly. When they have practiced this technique
they can move on to placing their hands on their chest and feeling the movement of the ribs
“to feel the movement and breath”. After a few minutes or two of this they can progress on to
sitting in a position they find comfortable for themselves.
I think we should introduce nostril breathing from the start as not only does this warms and
humidifies the air entering the lungs, but also the nerve endings in the nose allows a refined
sensitivity to the flow of the breath and this can progress on to Ujjayi Pranayama later in their
practice. Once they have got use to sitting in a comfortable position, they can focus more
readily on their breathing and introduce more advanced breathing techniques. The basic
breathing we have already covered can be used at the end of a class to bring students down
in preparation for meditation. We can use breath awareness and detachment from the breath
and ask who is the breather? When we teach these techniques we can introduce a more
refined practice, watching the inhale (abhyantara), the rest (stambha), the exhale (bahya)
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and rest again in the cycle of the breath (Yoga Sutra 2.50). After a little while of practicing
this we can add some more techniques like place (desha) or location and the students can
start to recognise where in the body the breath is moving, for instance “watch the in breath
move up through the nose, into the back of the head down the spine into the lungs. The out
breath up out at the front of chest, through the throat and out the nose.” Time (kala) how
long the inhale and exhales take. I would time the breathing cycle and try to get the students
to extend the inhale and then the exhale, by one count each time and see how far they can
take this, usually about 5 or 6 on the inhale and 7 or 8 on the exhale. And also number
(samkhya) how many repetitions of the breathing cycles they can do, this should not be for
too long as the students can get bored and restless as they can feel that they want to get up
and do “real yoga”, also they will not be use to sitting on the floor for too long. Next we can
get the students to breath into the three dimensional space of the whole body, again this
might be a good idea to get them on their backs, using the floor as a tactile aid for the back
of the ribs and the hands on their ribs as well to feel the front, on the inhales get them to feel
the ribs opening out the bottom, middle and top, upwards, sideways and backwards moving
the whole rib cage. And on the exhales let them feel the ribs closing as the air moves out
again.
There are many visualisation aids we can use, light entering the lungs, dark exiting the
lungs. Breathing in energy (prana) breathing out fatigue (apana). Also you can get them to
feel the air going in at the top of the nose and out at the bottom. All these breathing
exercises should be introduced over several weeks and can be done at the beginning and
end of every class, to give the students a thorough understanding of their own breathing
habits.
Even though Ujjayi (conquerors breath) breathing is a Pranayama it’s so important to use in
any asana, it should be taught to beginners as soon as possible. This breathing exercise is
through the nose as is most basic breathing techniques and Pranayama, with a slight
restriction in the back of the throat that causes a vibration in the larynx. This makes a sound
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that is only just audible to other people, but the vibration helps the students to focus on his or
her breath, thus making them more breath aware and also to show them when they are
pushing themselves too far, as the breath will become laboured and harder to maintain. I find
the best way to learn this is to start with them breathing through their mouths and pretend
that they are fogging up a mirror, but to do this on the inhale and exhales, then to try this
through their nose. This should be encouraged at every opportunity during the class and to
get them to use this Pranayama during their asanas or vinyasa style of practice. The basic
breathing exercises can also be used as well with these basic flowing asanas like Viralasana
(cat pose). Setu Bandhasana (bridge pose). Viralasana (cat pose) too Utthite Balasana
(extended child pose), and then you can add Adho Mukha Savasana (down dog).
Jathara Parivartanasan (Revolved abdomen pose) with bent knees in semi supine, this one
would be good one to do at the end of a class before meditation. Another one that I find very
good, is to stand in a relaxed Tadasana, flow the arms to shoulder height in front of you
breathing in all the way, then breath out as the arms are on the way down, do this two or
three times. Then breathe in arms going up, keep breathing in as the arms going out to the
side, at shoulder height. Then breathe out arms back to the front and then down arms by
your side, repeat again two or three times. And then breathe in arms up, arms to the side
and arms up to the sky, breath out arms down to shoulder height, forwards and down again
two or three times. This is a very good lung capacity exercise and calms you down very well.
Top view
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These breathing practices have a number of benefits to the mind, body and soul. Namely
your breathing will become slower; you will be able to handle stressful situations better. The
breath will use up less energy; you will have more energy for everyday activities. Your breath
mind and body will be more efficient.
References
Brown C. (2003) The Yoga Bible: The definitive guide to yoga postures. Codsfield Press.
Coulter H.D (2010) Anatomy of Hatha Yoga: a manual for students, teachers and
practitioners. Body and Breath Inc.
Desikachar T.K.V (1999) The Heart of Yoga: developing a personal practice. Inner Traditions
International.
Govinda A, (1977) Foundation of Tibetan Mysticism. New Delhi BI Publications.
Iyengar B.K.S. (2001) Yoga the Path to Holistic Health. Dorling Kindersley.
Kaminoff L (2007). Yoga Anatomy. Human kinetics.
Rosen R. (2002) The Yoga of Breath: a step by step guide to Pranayama. Shambhala
publications Inc.
Saradanada Swami (2009) The Power of Breath. Sterling publishing Co. Inc.
Satchidananda Swami. (2010) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali/ translation and commentary by
Swami Satchidananda. Integral Yoga Publications.
Stephens M. (2010) Teaching Yoga: Essential foundations and techniques. North Atlantic
books.
(1) http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kinetic/henry.html
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