Breathing And Attention, The Keys To Yoga Posture

Breathing in yoga is fundamental to your practice because it will help with concentration and improve the techniques for each posture. Thus, breathing and mindfulness will be the keys to good yoga posture.

Breathing exercises tone up the internal organs, prevent many illnesses and favor digestion and the nervous system. When you perform a deep exhalation, more oxygen reaches our lungs and is distributed to all the organs in the body.

The starting posture for breathing is to sit cross-legged and remain still for the duration of your practice. The sitting positions allow you to sit comfortably for extended periods and relax your body.

Breathing and attention in yoga

Breathing and mindfulness will allow you to achieve good yoga posture. Breathe, stay alert and take your time with every yoga practice. Breathing correctly will improve your technique as a yoga practitioner and prevent you from being injured.

Yogic breathing (pranayama)

The practice of yoga requires complete yogic breathing because one breathes by inhaling and filling the rib cage. In yoga, you breathe in and out through your nose, because with this technique more air enters your lungs.

Yogic breathing is the integration of three fundamental aspects into a rhythmic and comprehensive movement: the abdominal, costal and clavicular breathing.

• The abdominal, present in men, is the one in which the diaphragm descends during inspiration and the abdomen swells.  This causes a constant smooth movement of the diaphragm to be maintained, favoring the proper functioning of the organs.
• The rib is one in which the ribs are separated and the chest cavity dilates.
• The clavicular happens by lifting the clavicles, where all the air is passively introduced.

Good breathing allows you to achieve concentration and relax your body to prepare you for performing the postures. If you are new to yoga practice, yogic breathing will be complex and you will feel awkward because your lungs are not used to receiving high loads of oxygen.

It is common for you to feel sick or weak when starting yogic breathing  because your body generates resistance to air. However, with practice you will improve and you will notice the changes when performing the postures.

Balance and balancing

One of the main benefits of breathing correctly in yoga practice is to improve balance and strength in the rib cage. There are balance postures that require a great deal of focus, power and endurance.

Breathing allows balance postures to develop with plumb, agility, coordination and improves concentration. Balance develops when oxygen is received in the lungs and brain.

It is also achieved by squeezing the abdomen and this can only be done by maintaining abdominal breathing, as the muscle strength helps to maintain the balance of the body. Although balance is a skill of every yogi, it can be developed with optimal breathing.

For the flexibility and resistance postures, breathing and attention are essential. At first, because they help the heart and lungs in the blood detox process. Furthermore, they keep the mind alert and focused to resist the effort.

Concentration on practice

Breathing oxygenates the brain and allows neurons to have an optimal process. This cerebral oxygenation helps with concentration and information processing is fast.

Yogic breathing benefits relaxation and inner peace because it puts the body in a state of tranquility where blood flows and body processes work without external pressure. Breathing can be accompanied by meditation, but that will depend on the type of yoga you want to practice.

In meditation, the spirit separates from the body and breathing calms the mind. Living in peace and enjoying the present is part of yoga practice, because negative thoughts will not invade your mind.