Inside Yoga 51 (20/3/12)
We do it every day and every minute of our life, yet there are plenty of moments in our life when we are not in control of it, let alone aware of what it is doing.
I am writing about the exhalation of our breath. It is a simple part of life yet it is one that when neglected has such a harmful effect on our well-being, be this our physical or psychological health.
In yoga asanas (physical exercise) practice as well as pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation practice the exhalation is a vital component.
For example, we are making an effort to move our body into a posture, such as trikonasana, and we get our legs, torso and arms to move, more or less, to point which feels like a triangle, but there is one step we can often forget or neglect. When we get into the position physically the first action we next take is to perform a long slow exhalation.
We then keep breathing out slowly: and again and again. Whether we feel this is a hard or easy position, the breathing and in particular the exhalation will make the difference between a poorly performed posture and a beneficial one.
The exhalation will help release tension in the body as well as reduce psychological tension – eg stress and worry. It’s such a simple process, yet it is one we forget so often. The key to perfecting yoga asanas lies in the mastery of the breathing, and if we spend a little more time focussing on how we exhale the whole process of practice will improve.
And by the way, the inhalation will take care of itself if we are extending the exhalation because quite simply, if we have a long out breath our lungs will be emptied and a deep inhalation will be automatic.
The yogic text, Hatha Yoga Pradipika states: “When the breath is irregular, the mind wavers; when the breath is steady, so is the mind. To attain steadiness, the yogi should restrain (control) his breath. As long as there is breath within the body there is life. When breath departs, life also departs. Therefore, regulate the breath.”
The exhalation is the physical component of the teaching of “letting go” frequently seen within spiritual texts, including yoga and Buddhist teachings. The opposite experience of letting go causes much of the suffering we experience, from a minor irritation that we experience at work or perhaps at the shops, to a very serious crisis, such as depression or bereavement.
It is our tendency to “hold on” to something or someone, which causes many of our problems and the process of “letting go” is seen as the antidote. And yes, letting go can be very hard and feel almost impossible. That is why the practices of yoga, meditation and so forth, are there, as they provide the steps that we can take gradually and thereby move towards a release of our tension and problems.
Breathing is one of these key components in the process of letting go; and the exhalation is the driving force in this action. All we need to remember is to breathe out slowly and steadily, and to cultivate this ability. Sounds simple? It is really, but practice and keeping this practice going is the hard part – but it is worth it.
We will notice that life is filled with waves of experiences with some of them being very turbulent and difficult, and some slight ripples. Either way, we learn to use our breath to learn to ride the waves, like a surfer learns how to ride the waves and also learns to spot the difficult and the easy waves.
Watching our breathing helps us to cultivate self-awareness and it is with this self-awareness that we learn to release and let go, and also to ride the waves of life.
