SIT UP AND BREATHE

Breathe deeply
Are you breathing effectively? How do you know? Take a moment right now, to feel where your breath is in your body. Can you feel its movement at all? Chances are if you're working away, you will feel it in the front of the chest or throat area. Maybe some of you can direct the breath deep down to the lower belly. Yogis are used to the concept of belly breathing, and the full yogic breath expands into the lowest part of the belly, the side ribs and right up to the chest.



BUT can you feel the breath in the back body? That is the crucial part. We have more lung tissue at the back of the lungs and expanding the breath into the back body helps us to breathe deeper and, importantly, into the lowest part of the lungs. Breathing deeply and slowly brings more oxygen into the body, and calms the mind, helping you when you feel anxious, as many of us feel right now.  ALSO, breathing deeply into the back body really helps us with our posture. Breathing can shape our bodies, just as exercise can. And, improving your posture can help your breath.

Posture and Breath
Yoga and other exercise that address your posture can also help with your breathing. Hunching forward over computers, slouching on the sofa or over a table can create structural changes in our chest cavity making our chest cage smaller and less flexible and then we are less able to expand our breath fully. So it is a spiral. 

These changes can also occur over time, and through conditions such as thinning bones and osteoporosis, according to Harvard Medical school "This makes it harder for your chest to fully expand when you breathe and reduces the volume of air your lungs can hold. Your diaphragm, the muscle that supports breathing, also can weaken with age and prevent you from taking in full breaths." Apart from addressing posture (and eating a healthy diet) they also recommend addressing "exercises to raise your heart rate and makes you breathe harder ...can help improve lung capacity."

SIT UP AND BREATHE
SEAT: A simple breathing practice you can try anytime, right now:
Sit with a lengthened, upright spine. 
My favourite seated posture for this is kneeling.
You might need props between your knees and under your sitting bones if kneeling is uncomfortable. This is known as Vajrasana, thunderbolt pose. Your spine is tall like a thunderbolt. Vajra can also mean diamond.
 (If kneeling is not for you, sit on a chair, stool, cross-legged, whatever you like).

HANDS: As a lover of mudras (hand positions which help to focus the mind) I'll invite you to bring your hands into Vajarapradama mudra, which helps you to feel the expansion of breath into side and back body.
This is known as the mudra of unshakeable trust, helping us to develop self confidence and trust in ourselves and the universe. In the Buddhist tradition, it helps us to develop clarity and clears our energy body, reflecting the diamond connotations - we are clear and bright like a diamond.


Bring your hands together, palms facing you, in front of the heart. Interlace the four fingers gently and keep the thumbs separate pointing straight up to the sky. 

 
BREATHE:
Take your attention to your breath. Breathing in and out through the nose if you can. Let the shoulders soften, relax the face. Hold the hands a few centimetres away from your body in front of your heart. On an inhale, imagine you are gently pulling the fingers apart, but keep them softly interlaced. Feel the breath expanding into the sides and back of the chest cavity.
On an exhale, feel the contraction as your hands soften and everything draws back to the centre. You might feel your T-shirt suddenly feels looser. Feel the sitting bones and thighs release down as you drop the weight down into the Earth/your support.

Keep going.  Can you feel your upper back expand and move as you breathe a full 360 degrees around through the chest? I find it helpful to visualise wings expanding from the centre of the upper back (behind the heart area) as I inhale, gently drawing the fingers and hands away from each other (without letting go!), and a gathering in of the energy as I exhale,almost as if those wings were folding back in.

EXPERIMENT AND FEEL
You do not need to use the mudra. Try bringing your hands softly to the outer edges of your ribcage and feel the breath expanding into the hands as you inhale, widening across the back. Then feeling the breath and body recede on the exhale.

As you continue, you might notice your thoughts have stopped racing and you feel calmer, more relaxed ;)
You also might notice your inhales and exhales last a little longer. Simply focusing on lengthening the exhale is a valuable way of reducing anxiety, and that sense of being so busy you don't know where to start!
 

EQUAL BREATHING
Now you could try developing Sama vritti - Sama means equal, vritti is movement (of the mind or breath). So it is equal breathing.
Research has shown that breathing in and out for a count of 6 is the most effective ratio to equalise the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems and calm the nervous system, reducing stress. However, it may be hard to do, especially for those suffering from breathing difficulties and conditions*, such as asthma, or during pregnancy, so just notice the length of your inhale and exhale and maybe try to build up from breathing in for 3 and out for 3, then gradually increasing to 4, then 5 and six. Please stop if you feel tight-chested, dizzy or unwell  or struggle for breath. Do not force it!

Try to stay seated, watching the breath for a few minutes, as is comfortable, and then let go of the control of the breath and notice any affects. Has your breath deepened? How are your thought patterns and focus? Check in with your body emotionally.

*As always, you could check with your doctor if you do have any conditions

in rhythm with the seasons

In rhythm with the seasons

I often take my inspiration for my own practice and my classes from what's going on around... Sometimes World events, but more often the cycles of nature, seasons, and phases of the moon.
Right now, in the northern hemisphere, we're in the Imbolc time of the year, when the stirrings of spring are happening, often deep underground, so for me it feels right to honour those feelings in our own bodies and minds. Many of us have felt the need to stay huddled inside or under layers, feeling a little closed in, conserving energy and appreciating staying home. That can be a good thing, like nature we need to honour that need to hibernate and recharge our batteries! But sometimes it can make us a little lethargic and our bodies feel tight, closed off, perhaps even our minds and emotions, dwelling on ourselves...?!

Imbolc then, is a time to recognise the signs of life in our bodies, planting or nurturing the seeds of what will sprout later this year. Can you feel the turning point from dark winter to light? It's the perfect time to shine a light on your practices, both physically, easing those limbs into action, cultivating strong roots, and mentally, tuning in to your breath, taking time to create space in the mind to discover what you need.

What sort of practices?
Again, with the analogy of plants, simple grounding practices, attention to your foundations, toe exercises to awaken your feet, watching your standing and sitting posture, using blocks between thighs and hands - in utkatasana (chair pose) or tadasana (standing tall/mountain pose), and salabasana (prone lengthening/simple backbends) to cultivate that sense of hugging in to expand, alongside gliding, wriggling movements to plump up the fluids in the body.

Simple breath practices, such as watching the pauses between at the end of the inhale and exhale and welcoming the turning point of the breath. We need to let go for the next cycle to begin.

It's also a full moon this Sunday, and my favourite yoga practices are circular helping to lubricate and strengthen the joints.

Join me, or a yoga teacher near you, or just get moving, at home. Then when you come to stillness you will notice those signs of life inside!

SIT WITH ME

Morning Magic
Ever had one of those days when you wake up with a lengthy to do list and seem to be running from one job and place to the next, whizzing between chores like dealing out cards in a busy casino? Every day? Stop right now! That used to be me, and still is if I am lured off course! I have found that even a few minutes of silence and inner focus first thing, can improve my day immensely and make it a little more productive or at least give me thinking space and chance to put things into perspective!

I have always done some yoga when I got up, even if it's just 20 minutes of lying on my back and rolling around followed by a sun salutation or two. I know I can move more easily and genuinely feel better, more alert, afterwards. But for the past year or so I have been able to establish a meditation practice to go with it. This has been the catalyst, bringing much more peace to my mornings and hence my days.

It's not easy! Three mornings a week I am up well before everyone else in my home as I'm up between 5 and 5.30 am to teach early classes. I have always had a set morning ritual which is an essential part of those early morning starts for me (though at that time it cannot be long as I need to be at the studios where I teach in time and don't want to have to get up before 5 when I haven't got home from teaching evening classes til 10 pm sometimes).

The place is totally quiet and feels completely different in the magic of those early mornings. I can even go outside now it's not always raining and feel the early sun on my skin — if I have time to unlock all the bolts on the door! Sometimes I have to share my outdoor space with local cats or foxes, but often it's just the birds, insects and me!

The other days when I am up an hour or so later, the family are milling around and my other half switches on the radio even before his eyes are open — and does the same in every room he enters including the bathroom! If you have little ones jumping on you, you will find it very hard to start the day with silence. And you won't want to get up much earlier than you have to when sleep is such a luxury for most parents. There are ways to integrate silence and meditative thought into even the busiest lifestyles. Sometimes just concentrating on your breathing or chanting repetitions of a simple mantra can clear the mind and calm the nervous system, and little children may want to get involved in a good way! If they know what you are doing they will get used to your habit rather than thinking you are ignoring them ;)

You can start with just a few minutes of focusing on the feel of the breath flowing in and out - maybe as soon as you wake up, or maybe by the kitchen window or when you pop off to the bathroom. (I have a yoga mat rolled up in the shower room and often escape there even though I have a studio on the floor above.) Your practice will build gradually and become a comfortable and comforting habit. Many people consciously think of three good things to be happy about or thankful for the moment they wake up and that helps give the day a rosy tint, so they don't get out of bed with a sinking feeling in the belly. That can be a good starting point for meditation.

And once you have cleared the mind, it will be easier to work out which of those pressing chores need to be sorted first as everything gains a little more perspective!  The other time I like to meditate and always found easier, is in the evening. Sunset is supposed to be a magical time, though it's hard to be around at the right time. For me, meditating late at night helps to clear my mind, calm me down and help me sleep a little more easily.

If you want more tips and encouragement on meditation and breathing practices, go along to a class! I have three public Pranayama and Meditation sessions coming up in Stoke Newington. Saturday June 9th, June 23rd and July 21st at 5.15pm to 6.15pm at YogaHome, N16.

It would be lovely to have solitude and a quiet place to sit for morning meditation.... but the real joy is being able to focus inwards in the midst of the hubbub of daily life!