Hi :
Can some one explain me what is the reason when one should breath-in and when one breath-out during poses.
eg. during standing poses breath out when you sit down and breath in when you stand up…
what is the physiological reason for it ?
nature (al)
In general when compressing our body we exhale. We would not want to inhale fully and bend so there is pressure internally. Especially when doing trikoasana ,triangle pose.
[QUOTE=Layman;76646]Hi :
Can some one explain me what is the reason when one should breath-in and when one breath-out during poses.
eg. during standing poses breath out when you sit down and breath in when you stand up…
what is the physiological reason for it ?[/QUOTE]
Layman,
In the practice of asanas, the most Yoga teachers and students follows breath in and out in a manner as:
- Breathe in either whenever bend forward or whenever front side of the body parts are brought closer to each other.
- And breath out either whenever bend backwards or whenever backside of the body parts are brought closer to each other.
The rules as above two pointer are followed as it is not only, physically, easy to do so, but also it is in line with laws of nature of the human body.
Hmmm I see the above point in the exact opposite manner.
Exhalation is the breath of death, the breath of release, the breath of surrender. As such that breath (exhalation) is used coming into Uttanasana, Paschimotanasana, Janu Sirsasana, Trikonasana, Parsvakonasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana et al.
Inhalation is the breath of life, of coming into the moment, the breath of rising, the breath of aspiration, as such it is the breath of Virabhadrasana I, Utkatasana, Bhujangasana etcetera.
Generally speaking when the spine is rounding forward as in Balasana and the first set I mentioned the breath is exhalation. To hold the breath there or to inhale there is to create compression int he diaphragm and that obviously pressures the heart which makes it ill-advised.
Generally speaking, when opening the frontal body (anterior spine) this is done on an inhalation. Think about the function and movement of the diaphragm relative to breathing and consider what goes with it and what goes against it.
Additionally it should be noted that the Tibetan Rites does not use normal yogic breathing but rather its opposite. Ergo it is an exception to the “rule”.
Absolutely agree with InnerAthlete. Additionally, the breath is an anchor in each asana, because it fixates the postures. Also, it is important to let your breath guide you because once there is a feeling that your breath is too frantic or shallow or out of control in some way, you are pushing yourself too hard or doing something wrong. So the breath can serve as a very useful source of information for the practitioner, who learns to listen to it.
Thanks everyone for taking time out to give such a detailed replies!
[QUOTE=Layman;76646]Hi :
Can some one explain me what is the reason when one should breath-in and when one breath-out during poses.
eg. during standing poses breath out when you sit down and breath in when you stand up…
what is the physiological reason for it ?[/QUOTE]
The important Stages of Breathing in Yoga
Puraka (Inhalation)
A single inhalation is termed Puraka. It is a process of drawing in air and is expected to be smooth and continuous. If a person should pause one or more times during the process of a single inhaling, the process might be spoken of as a broken Puraka rather than as a series of Purakas.
Abhyantara Kumbhaka (Pause After Inhaling) Full Pause
Kumbhaka consists of deliberate stoppage of flow of air and retention of the air in the lungs, without any movement of lungs or muscles or any part of the body and without any incipient movements. A beginner may experiment by using some force to keep such pause motionless. Quite elaborate instructions and techniques have been worked out for this purpose.
Rechaka (Exhalation)
The third stage, Exhalation, is called Rechaka. Like inhalation, it too should be smooth and continuous, though often the speed of exhaling is different from that of inhaling. Normally, muscular energy is used for inhaling whereas exhaling consists merely of relaxing the tensed muscles. Such relaxing forces air from the lungs as they return to a relaxed condition. Muscular effort may also be used for both inhalation and exhalation. You can force air out with muscular effort like when you sit or stand erect with your abdominal muscles under constant control. When you deliberately smoothes the course of your breathing and hold the cycle in regular or definitely irregular patterns, you are also likely to use muscular energy at each stage, including the pauses. However, in a condition of complete relaxation, you should expect to exert some effort for inhalation.
Bahya Kumbhaka (Pause After Exhaling) Empty Pause
The Fourth Stage of Breathing, the pause after exhaling, is also called kumbhaka, especially when the stoppage is deliberate or prolonged. This empty pause completes the cycle which terminates as the pause ends and a new inhalation begins.
Layman,
There is yet one more physiological reason not yet mentioned above: when we inhale, we physically let go of the muscles that generally stabilize posture, shifting from voluntary to involuntary muscles, at which point alignment and balance play a greater role: engaging with inhalation strengthens stability.
siva
Interesting info. Thanks Siva!
Layman,
Yes. You can think of in and out breath as a switch between these two mechanisms.
siva