Can you breathe?

Do you find it hard to breathe?  I’m interested in this as I definitely do and I can’t always tell how people feel about breathing. Breathing is key to yoga, or at least to the kind of yoga that I do. The breath is the connection between the mind and the body and changes with the least provocation to reflect what is going on in the mind as well as the body. 

I did a fantastic workshop on Saturday with Brighton’s Gary Carter reminding us how you can breathe space and freedom into the body.  He had us relax completely in Savasana and then gently clench one fist. Immediately I felt my breath start to speed up with just that small movement. 

Kids and animals have a beautiful ability to breathe fully and naturally: if you have a pet or a child spend a few minutes watching them breathe while they loll around sleeping, its incredibly relaxing.  We on the other hand build up tensions over the years thanks to bad posture, tight clothes, and emotional stuff.  Notice how you hold your breath when you’re scared or anxious,  this serves to stave off facing the emotions so you can deal with the issue at hand but can become chronic if you do it over and over. 

One of the techniques we’re learning in classes at the moment is the full yogic breath which for lots of us is a whole forgotten way of breathing.  To begin with, it’s important just to observe your normal breath and if you haven’t done any breathing practises just do that, watch how your normal breath behaves.  Try spending a couple of minutes a day maybe while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil (can you really spare that long?!)  and observe your breathing.  Let me know how it goes.