That’s how you breathe, that’s your life

Did you know that a sufficiently experienced yogi is able to know what emotional state the person in front of him is in front of him, just by observing how he is breathing?

The way you breathe, that’s how you live. Therefore, if your breathing is right, you will be fine. This has been one of the most important apprenticeships I have done in recent years.

Breathing helps us charge ourselves with oxygen, fill us with energy and feed our body cells. Did you know that it is also key to our well-being? this has been my great discovery: breathing marks our mental, physical and emotionalstate. Therefore, if the pursuit of happiness and serenity are a priority in your life, I encourage you to start to raise awareness in yourbreath.

I propose a simple exercise. Stop for a second. Watch: What’s your mental state like? What’s your emotional state? How are you breathing?

Let’s name what you’ve observed, did you know that there are 3 types of breaths?

You may have been caught taking a high or clavicularbreath. It is vertical and ascending, chest and collarbones rise. It is associated with negative emotions (or, by not demonizing since they all have their raison d’eorry reason, also called low vibration emotions) such as fear, anger or anxiety. And also associated with altered mental states such as when we are concerned and we go around and more spins to the same topic without facing a solution. This breathing is very poor and can generate moretension. On its own it is not recommended, it makes sense when it is part of a complete breath, which we will see later in this article.

Another type of breathing is the mean, thoracic or intercostal. It consists of an expansive horizontal and lateral force. You’ll notice it if you put your hands on your chest or sides. It’s a useful breath if you do some kind of physical exertion,since it’s a quick way to get oxygen. It is therefore a good companion when you make cardiovascular efforts. However, it is not appropriate for you to hold it in time or to become, as is a common case, your default breathing.

Finally, you may also have found yourself taking a low breath, diaphragmatic or also called abdominal . It occurs when carrying more air to the lower part of the lungs, the lungs exert a downward force on the diaphragm that moves the abdominal organs outwards. It’s the breath that babies and children have, you just have to watch their gut move when sleeping peacefully. On your body you will feel it placing your hand in the area of your belly button. As you breathe in and bring air to the lower part of your lungs, you’ll notice how your hand rises.

It is the most efficient of the three because it is the one that allows us to carry the most oxygen to our cells. Its benefits are numerous, among them, it helps us relax and improves intestinal transit. Ideally it should be the one we perform throughout the day.

Yogia breathing or full breathing joins the previousthree. The goal is to make the most of our lung capacity. This type of breathing begins with diaphragmatic inhalation, continues with the mean and ends with the discharge, this makes you experience it as if it were a wave. It is fluid and without cuts. Exhalation begins from above; emptying the upper area first, then the mean and finally the abdomen. If you also gradually slow down the exhalation, you will notice how you are entering a state of greater relaxation.

You can practice it in bed when you wake up, performing six or seven full breaths to start the day well or at night at bed time to sleep better. I also practice calming myself down before making a public presentation, which sometimes keeps making me a little nervous. Its benefits are multiple:

• We’ll feel like we’re charging.
• It calms the nervous system.
• It is advisable to practice it when you have sad, tired or melancholy days, it will help you improve your mood.
• It increases the rate of oxygen in the blood and provides mental clarity.

A yoga session is ideal for working awareness about our breathing and enjoying the benefits and pleasure that provide adequate breathing.

This is one of the reasons why I find yoga such a therapeutic practice.