Breathing

The importance of breath during a yoga practice is enormous! It is what will bring you the relaxation as well as the energy through an asana practice. It was not until I started taking the SmartYoga classes that I learned to breath in a rhythmic cycle. And it was a very important tool that helped me get it.

The greatest thing ever for my breathing during a yoga practice has been the breath cycle cd’s that my teacher created. The cd’s have a cycle of 3 or 4 second inhales and exhales (depending on the cd) with an Om to signal the inhale. This controls the length of my breaths as well as reminds me to breathe. It is a great partner to any practice. It also helps me to keep track of how long I hold each side of a pose. For my standing postures I will hold each side for 5 breaths. For seated work I like to hold things longer so I will go for 10 breaths or more.

The cd is 120 minutes long so it is a perfect length to get a good practice in.

When I first started studying with Jesse he was using the 4 second breath cycle and after a few months he switched to the 3 second breath cycle. I prefer the 3 second cycle because it keeps a good pace to my practice and doesn’t get lethargic.

3 seconds seems fast for an inhale and exhale at the beginning of a practice, so sometimes I switch to taking an inhale for 6 seconds and exhale for 6 seconds. This opens up my lungs and I find I have more powerful 3 second inhales and exhales during my practice. The 3 second cycle feels perfect without any straining or need for more breath.

My mind is so trained now that when I listen to music I will inhale and exhale based on the songs rhythms! So you could really use anything that has a regular rhythm to track your cyclical breathing. Or a metrohm! I found an online metrohm you can use. It sounds a little boring on its own, but with some other music in the background it will work great!

If you would like to purchase your own breath cycle cd there are a few options. The cost of the cd is $10. It is on sale on craigslist and ebay. Or of course you can contact him: jesse@smartyoga.ca.

Jesse is also offering some SmartYoga progressive courses and a workshop coming up soon. Check out the My Teacher page for more details!