Friday, October 2, 2009

Yoga Breathing styles and Techniques



Yoga Breathing Styles and Techniques

Different kinds of yoga breathing styles:

Steps to Develop a Breathing Procedure:

The following are the steps to be followed to develop breathing procedure from Ujjayi Pranayama yoga:

Begin the breathing technique by taking five deep breaths. This helps us in relaxing our body and mind. Begin Ujjayi breath by closing the mouth and constricting the throat muscles enough to control the amount of air flowing in and out. If done properly you will hear a soft hissing sound in the back of the throat. Make sure not to tense the jaw or clinch the teeth.

The important point in this step is to breathe through the throat instead of through the nose. Visualize as if you are in a calm and peaceful beach with only the sound of the waves. Continue this exercise until you relax completely. Like anything controlled breathing takes practice, in time Ujjayi breath becomes very natural and you will automatically switch into this breathing technique when you find yourself in a stressed situation.

Advantages of Ujjayi Pranayama technique:

It performs inner purification, activation, relaxation and is revitalizing.

Ujjayi Pranayama strengthens the lungs and abdominal wall. Ujjaya breath will help to heal lung related problems, and is extremely beneficial to lessen the condition of Asthma.

It lowers the blood pressure.

This technique provides ultimate relaxation while you go to bed and try to sleep.
It will help you fight successfully against sleeping disorder.

Enhances digestive capacity and improves proper functioning of the respiratory systems.

Know your body; prevent yoga injuries


How to Prevent Yoga Injuries?


Yoga is a great fitness exercise and has numerous benefits for all categories of people ranging from small kids to athletes to sports persons to adults. It can improve your breathing techniques, balance, flexibility, strength and tolerance. It also helps you to stretch your hard muscles and increasing the strength of weak ones. Even though there may be many advantages, there is also a chance of injuring yourself as in any other physical activity.


Most of the yoga injuries occur due to one or more of the following reasons:


1.Thinking you can "do it all" on your first day of Yoga.
2.New and inadequately qualified yoga instructors. You won't find this problem at Yoga Bala.

3.People just pushing themselves deep into yoga and not considering the body conditions. Everyone can benifit from Yoga but not every "Body" is the same.


Some Valuable Tips to prevent Yoga Injuries:


Find a skilled teacher:
This is the very essential thing. You must first find a yoga teacher who is well trained in all departments of yoga. Yoga, like any other exercise, is very safe if it is practiced with well trained and experienced teachers. This will put an end to most of the injuries.


Personal Safety Measures:
If you practice yoga, then you must be well aware of your body condition. Your teacher will help you learn body awareness. You must not strain your body too much. You are the best judge of your body and you need to decide when you can practice yoga and when to stop.


Don't compare yourself:
A large number of yoga students get hurt when they try to practice yoga at the speed of other student or at the pace of the instructor. You must understand well that yoga is not a contest and it is for the betterment of your own personal health. You will be benefitted the most when you practice yoga the way it needs to be practiced.


At Yoga Bala we respect the practice, your instructor will encourage you to push past your self imposed limitations but value your body condition and trust no one knows your body like YOU!