I spent last weekend at a very inspiring workshop on Salt Spring Island with Michael Stone, at the Ganges Yoga Studio. The tradition of yoga is such an enormous and ancient one, and it is fairly rare to find yoga teachers these days who possess a truly extensive – and better yet, experiential – understanding of it. I'm really grateful, for my personal practice as well as my teaching practice, that I took the time and attended his workshop.
The very first thing we did, when we actually got down to "doing" rather than "listening", was to breathe. Ah yes, the good old breath. How many times can we practice doing this most basic thing, and still learn and experience new things? Apparently many! Sadly, most of us, no matter what our occupations, don't breathe properly. Years of bad posture, emotional tension, and never having been reminded how to do it naturally lead to chronic bad breathing habits. Computer users need to be aware of this, as a forward slouched posture tends to constrict the diaphragm and inhibit natural and full breathing.
The good news is that practicing good breathing is actually a pretty pleasant way to spend a few minutes a day. It's extremely calming and it feels really good! So read this through, and then go lie down on your floor and practice. Go on, do it. It's good for you.
Three-Part Breathing
Lie on your back with your knees raised, so the soles of your feet are flat on the floor. Rest your hands by your sides, and feel yourself settle down into the ground. Exhale fully.
You're going to divide up your inhale into three parts: belly, solar plexus (around your lowest ribs), and chest. Begin your inhale by taking 1/3 of your breath into your belly, feeling it rise as you do. Pause. Then take 1/3 of your breath into your solar plexus. Pause. Finally, inhale the last 1/3 of your breath right up into your chest. Pause at the top, and then reverse the whole thing. Exhale the air from your chest, your solar plexus, and finally your belly.
Repeat this a number of times. For many people, the hardest part to get is the solar plexus. Try and imagine your ribs expanding out to the sides as you breathe into them. So the belly rises UP, the ribs move OUT, and the chest expands in 3D. Try that out a few times. And as you move from one section to the next, you can just naturally release the previous area (so you can let your belly fall naturally as you move on to inhale into your solar plexus).
Work with this three-part breath for a few minutes, and then slowly come back up to sitting. If you have a yoga practice, see if you can find that same sense of complete breath in all your poses. And whether you regularly practice yoga or not, see if you can find that same sense of full and easy breathing in the rest of your day. It's a good thing to remember in odd moments when you find yourself sitting a bit tense at your computer.
Your breath... it's always there. Isn't it time you paid some attention to it?
