Breathing for Inner Calm
Correct breathing is vital to your beauty and your personal sense of well-being. By using your breath, you can maximize your energy, align your posture, strengthen your immune system, increase your circulation, and promote relaxation. Your breath is a powerful tool. You can use it to nourish, cleanse, and beautify your mind and body.
Prāṇāyāma is the yogic science of breath. According to the yogic and Āyurvedic texts, breath is associated with the vital life force called Prānā. Prāṇāyāma breathing exercises energize the vital life force through the body and mind, restoring balance and wholeness.
The following is a simple breathing exercise called Ujjayi Prāṇāyāma. This exercise helps expand, lengthen, and deepen the breath. Practicing this exercise regularly will provide you with another tool to help combat the stresses that each of us encounters in our daily life. It can take as little as 10 breaths and can be practiced anytime we encounter life force sapping stress.
Begin by sitting comfortably and become aware of your breathing. As you breath out, say the word haaa (the sound you make when fogging sunglasses to clean them), and notice where the sound originates from the back of your throat.
Now close your mouth, breathe through your nose and make the same sound. Try it on both the exhale and the inhale (the sound is like light snoring). I like to call it “ocean breath.”
Continue breathing through your nose making the sound both on the inhale and exhale. Notice that when you exhale, the tighter you make your stomach muscles, the louder the sound will become.
Listen to the sound. Focus your attention on it and keep it smooth. Begin to comfortably lengthen your breathing, both on the inhale and on the exhale. Continue this cycle for the next 10 breaths.
