Yoga and More
Time tested technologies for health and well being.
Workshop on Breathing
Breathing
is the the most immediate important thing we do. Most of the time it
is done without thinking. Smoking breathing and yoga breathing are both a conscious form of
breathing. Both involve a pattern of consecutive breaths. The pattern
of a full inhale and complete exhale over the course of
about five minutes or six minutes is what I remember most about
smoking.
Yoga breathing and smoking
breathing are similar because the breathing is conscious and measured. I
remember the measured series of exhales with my lips in an "O" shape to
blow smoke rings. There are yoga breathing exercises that put your lips in an "O" shape and most yoga breathing exercises are measured
breathing. Different breathing patterns produce different effects upon
one's physical state, mental state and emotional state.
Certain yogic breathing patterns can eliminate stress, which sometimes can beget an urge to smoke. Other breathing patterns can evoke relaxation, which sometimes is also a reason to smoke, even if one is not stressed out.
Smokers often wake up in the morning and
do some coughing to clear the lungs. There are breathing patterns that are cleansing. There are
breathing patterns that create alertness and sharpness of mind. And
breathing patterns can be used to warm you up, cool you down, evoke
the sympathetic nervous system, evoke the parasympathetic nervous
system, and balance your brain.
Any breathing pattern
or exercise can be completed in one to three minutes. More than one
breathing exercise can be practiced to attain a desired effect. One,
two or three breathing patterns can be performed within the approximate
five minutes and fifteen seconds it takes to smoke a cigarette. And many can
be performed anywhere, without being noticed.
Because breathing patterns affect the mind, breathing patterns are used in meditation. Breathing and meditation go hand in hand, just like breathing and smoking go hand in hand.
