We always hear that the breath is important to yoga, and yet collectively as a society, we most often only celebrate the external shapes of the yoga postures – who can bend the most, who can demonstrate strength enough to stand on their hands, who has the best balance, etc.
Since it is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to see how someone breaths, whether in videos, photos, and even in person, it makes sense that we look to the more obvious physical shapes to assess development and skill level in others and ourselves.
And yet, yoga was never meant to be a performance. If all we strive for is a beautiful shape in our yoga classes, then we miss out on the most valuable jewels of the yoga practice – a transformation of our outlook on life from fear, anger and sadness to one of positivity and serenity. If that is something you would like to achieve, then it is important to prioritize and focus on the inner experience of the breath during our yoga classes more than what shape the body makes, or how our muscles feel when the body makes that shape. Let’s take a look at how to do that.
Steps to serenity.
Understandably, there is a concern for practicing the yoga positions “correctly,” meaning with healthy physical alignment that won’t cause strain or injury. And so the first step in yoga is to pay close attention to the physical instructions the teacher gives. This, however, is only step 1. Once you arrive in the position, you’ll immediately want to do step 2 – go inside and observe the breath. The magic of yoga happens when we are able to spend more time, a lot more time, in the position focusing on breath, than we spend getting into the position.
What does it mean to observe the breath? There are actually several different ways to observe the breath, I’ll list a few below:
Wait until you notice a change.
Many times we release from a yoga position after we’ve sensed change in the body – we stretched a bit further, or our muscles fatigued. You can apply this same technique to the breath; release from the yoga position after you’ve sensed a change in how you breathe. Ideally, you’ll release the position once you notice the breath lengthen, or become more steady. But if the breath starts to shorten and/or become shaky, that’s a sign to release from the position, too. If your breath doesn’t seem to change before your body gives out, then I recommend trying a different method of breath observation…
Count your breaths.
Another method is to count your breaths once you’ve arrived in the position, and release the position after a prescribed number of counts. The standard number of breaths to count is five, but you can hold your positions longer if you prefer. Just keep in mind that you’re going to hold all the yoga positions in the class for that same number of breaths (and inversions for twice as long), whether the pose is easy or difficult. So I recommend selecting a number you’ll be able to sustain during your most challenging position to hold!
Fun fact: counting breaths is also a method of meditation. So using this method of observing breath during your yoga postures class gives you the added bonus of bringing meditation into your practice!
Use the breath to create inner space.
For this method, once you arrive in the yoga position, actively encourage yourself to keep inhaling deeper breaths and allowing the breath to slowly seep out on the exhale. A little bit of effort goes a long way with this method; please don’t work so hard at inhaling that your face turns beet red! Instead, choose a gentle approach. Simply inhale to your maximum, and at the top of your inhale, keep trying to inhale just a smidgeon longer, not even a full second longer. Then, without holding the breath, immediately allow yourself to exhale with as little force as possible. Be sure to cultivate the patience to make sure you’ve exhaled completely before you breath in again.
What happens after breath observation?
The word yoga means “to bring together/to unite” and partly this refers to uniting the body with the mind and the spirit. With all three of these breath observation methods, we train the mind to focus on and pay attention to the breath and its movement. Focusing the mind on the breath also means guiding the mind off of its usual pattern of thoughts. If you are in a yoga class practicing yoga positions, your mind isn’t actually united with your body if you’re thinking about your grocery list, or remembering your errands, or replaying in your head what your boss told you yesterday. It doesn’t matter if your thoughts bring pleasure or discomfort, they are distractions away from the present moment. Observing the breath means you’re observing the present moment. And once you are in the present moment, you have achieved yoga, otherwise known as inner peace!
