Liberated Yoga
Yoga is for everyone!
Topic: Pranayama
Cooling Down with Ayurveda
Pitta - fire and water, passion, anger, jealousy, leadership, courage, understanding, knowledge, vision, digestion (of food and ideas), acid, status, goal-orientation, accumulates in the small intestine, causing such outward signs of imbalance as acne, rash, diarrhea, temper tantrums, feeling hot (hot-headed, as well), adrenal fatigue, kidney problems. Pitta is increased by red meat, alcohol, high-stress job (wall street, CEO, managing a busy household with small children). Pittas l...
Breathing Techniques: Seetali
This is an excellent Pranayama for the times when we are stressed, agitated, overheated, suffer from Pitta aggravation or hot flashes of menopause, inflammatory processes in the body, neck and shoulder tension (and tension headaches). In my previous blog I have described the energetic implications of Pranayama, so I am just going to jump right in with Seetali. Most Yogic breathing is done through the nose, because exhaling through the mouth too fast leads to a carbon dioxide deficiency...
Breathing Techniques: Alternate Nostril
In my previous post we discussed The Three Part Breath , which should be mastered first before attempting more advanced Pranayama. Of the more advanced breathing practices, Nadi Shodhana is my favorite. It is very soothing to the nervous system and it can be adapted to whatever needs I may experience at the moment - it can energize me if I am tired, or calm me down when I am stressed. In order for you to fully appreciate the Alternate Nostril breathing technique, also called Nadi Shuddhi in s...
Breathing Techniques: Three-Part Breath
In my previous post I described the benefits of proper breathing and the dangers of dysfunctional breathing, as well as a simple breath awareness technique. In this post I will take you a bit further into a more structured approach, where we are crossing into the territory of Pranayama. First, a bit of a refresher on the terminology. Pranayama is sometimes translated from Sanskrit as "breath regulation", but that is not correct. The Sanskrit grammar dictates that the same vowel at the e...
Breathing Techniques in Yoga: Breath Awareness
In my previous post I talked about how overbreathing and Sympathetic response of our nervous system create health problems once they become habitual. The practice of Yoga is centered around the breath, and it is the aspect that sets it apart from other types of "exercise". We begin every class with Breath Awareness. Breath Awareness is easy to do and requires simply to pay attention to the breath as it comes and goes. It is a great place to start, and the funny thing is that as soon as y...
Take a Long Breath... OUT
You probably have heard the age-old advise for stressful situations: "Take a big breath in!" However, if we examine the physiology of breathing, we will realize that actually we should do the opposite. Understanding how our nervous system works will help us be more aware of how stress affects our breathing, and how, in turn, with breathing, we can affect the levels of stress. Let's begin the with the basics. You probably know that the nervous system has two states - Sympathetic and Para...
Yoga for the Brain - How to Balance Right and Left Hemispheres
We have two hemispheres of the brain, both quite distinct and even though both are used in all the tasks we perform, they are used in different ways. For the Yogini, the relationship of the brain activity to their practice can be a valuable tool in cultivating a deeper, more enlightened practice. When you practice, observe which nostril is more open, and you will find that sometimes it is the left, sometimes it is the right, and sometimes both. The left nostril correlates to the right side o...
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Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.
God grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change (exhale), courage to change the things that I can (inhale), and the wisdom to know the difference (hold). With a regular breathing practice you can alter the blood chemistry and literally change who you are. When we are stressed and the mind is agitated, we take short, shallow breaths and the blood becomes too oxygentated from over breathing and hyperventilating. This causes other problems, such as more stres...
