Maybe you've been wondering what kind of results you can expect from practicing a yoga breathing technique.
Well, I sure did and I ended up doing an informal study of my yoga students to find out if indeed, measurable results were possible. I'll explain the design of my study, some of the results, the benefits, and then you can try out the first technique we practiced.
The Design
In our study, we collected data from two college PE (Functional Yoga Training) classes; 63 students taking class with me twice a week for a full semester (roughly 16 weeks).
This twice a week practice was critical to achieving a measurable result!
We measured over 11 significant parameters involving strength, flexibility, lung capacity, sleep levels and the ability to relax; performing assessments at the beginning, middle and end of the semester.
The first measurement we took was the 'length of a breath'. And I'm going to share the framework of this parameter with you.
To extend breathing capacity we worked with three very specific Functional Yoga Training breathing techniques, known in yoga as 'pranayama'. Part of this practice also included using these specialized breathing techniques while working in twisting poses, to increase respiratory capacity.
Here are some of the results:
At the beginning of the semester Group I (34 students) started out with a class average of 22.6 seconds - from the beginning of the inhale to the end of the exhale - that's roughly an 11 second inhale and an 11 second exhale.
Some of the students in the group had a total breath length of only nine seconds from inhale to exhale. That's roughly a four second inhale and a five second exhale, not unusual for a person who's never been introduced to breathing techniques.
Take a moment right now, to measure your breath from the beginning of the inhale to the end of the exhale, and find out the length of your breath. Grab a stopwatch or use a count of 1 - 1000, 2 - 1000, 3 - 1000... Make of note of this for later.
By the end of the semester, practicing the Functional Yoga Training breathing techniques we learned in class; the length of a breath (class average) was 32.2 seconds! That's a 43% increase!
Combining the results from both groups, a startling 40% (25 out of 63) of these students achieved greater than a 50% increase in the length of a breath! These 25 students had an impressive breath length at the end of the semester that ranged from 22 - 60 seconds!
These results are entirely possible for you, if you're willing to practice at least twice a week. And, if you practice even more frequently, your results can surpass what we observed in the study.
So by now I'm sure you're ready to learn one of these techniques. This first one we'll cover is a building block for all the other breathing techniques we used. This is the start of acquiring a relaxed longer breath, like the students in the study and it's called an Ujayi breath.
The Technique
Ujayi Breath:
Seated comfortably
Inhale through the nose to the back of your throat
Stay with your inhale as long as comfortable
Feel and listen to the sound of your breath as it passes the throat
Exhale from the back of your throat back out through the nose
Feel and listen to the sound of your breath as it passes the throat
Try to match the length of your exhale with the length of your inhale
Repeat for five breaths
This type of breathing conserves energy and calms the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve while breathing. You might wonder why that's important, I'll explain:
The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves. It is a remarkable nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), lungs, heart, esophagus, and the intestinal tract as far as the transverse portion of the colon.
The vagus nerve also brings sensory information back to the brain from the ear, tongue, pharynx, and larynx.
Information travels through this nerve to and from your central nervous system.
Since 1997 there's been a form of therapy available for severe clinical depression, when standard drug therapy fails, known as Vagal Nerve Stimulation. A pacemaker type of device known as a pulse generator is surgically implanted into the chest wall with a wire attached to the left vagus nerve in order to send electrical signals along the vagus nerve to the mood centers in the brain. With this therapy the hope is that these signals will improve the symptoms of depression.
Did you know you can stimulate your own Vagus nerve with Ujayi breathing by having a focus on the sound of your breath as it passes the throat?!
Try the technique again. It's listed above, and focus once again on the sound of your breath, and the feeling it creates within your body.
How do you feel now compared to before practicing the Ujayi breath?
With a calmer nervous system, your body can take in additional oxygen and metabolize it more efficiently, leading to all kinds of positive benefits, including those signals back to the brain affecting your mood centers.
With this breath you can literally calm your own nervous system. Aside from learning how to lengthen your breath, a calmer nervous system will allow you to feel more relaxed, and we all want that!
Save the breath measurement you took at the beginning of this article, you'll need it for reference as you continue your practice.
Copyright 2010 Julie Downey - Functional Yoga Training, All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Julie Downey
juliedowney.com juliedowney.com
Julie Downey is a pioneer in the field of yoga training for athletics. She's been teaching yoga techniques to professional and college sports teams and athletes since 2003.
Her instruction focuses on Functional Yoga Training; addressing the unique needs athletes have for increasing strength, flexibility and energy, while reducing the incidence of injury.
Click on the link above to find out how Julie can help you bring in the missing link to your training with cutting edge Functional Yoga Training techniques for you, your team or your school!
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