Yoga breathing: What it is and guide on how to breathe properly

Yoga breathing implies awareness of the breath, more precisely, raising this simple and innate human action to a higher level. By applying different breathing techniques, perfect mental and physical exercise is obtained.

Conscious breathing increases concentration and mental capacity and thus improves memorization and learning.

Given that we all breathe, and we all do it unconsciously in order to live. Many of us wonder what proper breathing is and whether it is possible for someone not to be able to breathe. The thing is, you need to use your breath for more functions than simply keeping you alive.

Breath is one of the most powerful means by which we can remove stress and almost 70% of waste from our bodies! What is an extremely big advantage of yoga breathing is that we only need a few minutes of conscious deep breathing a day to cancel out all the tension accumulated during the day.

Yogic breathing is good to use because:

• engages most of the lung capacity
• the muscles of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles are activated, while the heart, lungs, and digestive organs receive a gentle massage
• cleanses the body of toxins
• leads to better respiratory function
• relieves stress
• removes mental and emotional blockages
• leads to better concentration
• leads to the development of creativity
• increases energy
• strengthens the immune system

The positive effects of breathing techniques are also reflected in physical health, in terms of energy, alertness, and clarity of mind, faster reflexes, better respiratory functions, detoxification and strengthening of the immune system.

In addition, on the emotional level, breathing techniques improve the mood, eliminate anger attacks, nervousness, upset or excessive excitement, remove anxiety and work on awareness of mental programs that hinder us in personality development.

First of all, the desire and decision to set aside just a few minutes a day to become aware of this otherwise unconscious act. You will get other guidelines through the listed breathing techniques in this text.

Given the large number of techniques that deal with yogic breathing, here we will give basic techniques that can be performed independently and are the basis for understanding the yogic approach to breathing and the vital life force – prana.

Here are the explanations of how to perform abdominal, thoracic, and clavicular breathing.

Abdominal breathing

Stand, sit or lie down. Direct your awareness to the region of the navel. With an exhalation, draw in the abdominal wall. Then inhale slowly through the nose while relaxing the diaphragm; bulge the abdominal wall, and fill the lower part of the lungs with air.

To exhale, pull in the abdominal wall as much as possible, pushing the air out of the lungs through the nose. In abdominal breathing, only the lower parts of the lungs are filled with air so that only the abdomen performs a wave-like movement while the chest remains motionless.

Therapeutic effect: Extraordinary relief for the heart. Reduces high blood pressure, stimulates digestion, and regulates bowel function. Lower or abdominal breathing provides an excellent massage to all abdominal organs.

Middle breathing (chest)

Stand, sit or lie down. Direct your awareness to your ribs – the chest area, and especially the side parts of the torso (the ribs). After exhaling, inhale slowly through your nose while spreading your ribs laterally on both sides.

When exhaling, contract the ribs, pushing the air out of the body through the nose. In medium breathing, air fills the central parts of the lungs while the stomach and shoulders remain motionless.

Therapeutic effect: Removes pressure on the heart; improves blood circulation in the liver, bile, spleen, and kidneys.

Upper breathing (clavicular breathing)

Stand, sit or lie down. Focus your awareness on the tops of your lungs. After emptying the lungs, we inhale slowly by raising the collarbones and shoulders and allowing the air to enter through the nose slowly.

When we exhale, the process is reversed. During upper breathing, the abdomen and the middle part of the chest remain motionless.

Therapeutic action: Strengthens the lung glands and completely cleans the tips of the lungs.