Don't Forget to Breathe...

Breath control is essential to practicing yoga and conscious relaxation techniques.

When we are born, we naturally breathe from our bellies or diaphragms--watch a newborn and see how his/her lower abdomen expands and contracts as he/she inhales and exhales bringing nourishing oxygen deep into the chest cavity. As we age, though, we are trained by society (suck in your gut so you look skinnier) and poor habits (slumping and rounding our chests) to breathe more from our chests (watch the shoulders of an adult go up and down as they breathe).

Did you know that the average adult typically only uses about 18% of his/her lung capacity? By relearning how to breathe correctly through basic pranayama techniques, you can actively improve your overall emotional and physical health.

Yogis & yoginis (yoga masters/teachers) have used pranayama ("Prana" means "breath" and "Ayama" means "lengthening") for thousands of years to actively relax their bodies, quiet their minds and prepare their bodies for meditation. In fact, many believed that individuals were born with a specific number of breaths in a lifetime and by "lengthening" these individual breaths, a person could also lengthen their overall lives.

There are a number of different basic pranayama techniques that you can try in order to re-train your mind and body to breathe properly (diaphragmatically):

• Mindful Breath: Sitting with your current breath & just observing it
• 3-Part Breath: Using the placement of your hands on your belly, solar plexus and chest/ribcage to FEEL your breath and how it expands and contracts the parts of the chest during the breathing process.
• Ujjayi Breath: Contracting the upper part of the throat so that when you exhale, you can hear an audible "Haaaa" sound. This is a very helpful breath when you want to clean out toxins in your body and/or hold a challenging position.
• Nadi Shodhana: Using your thumb, pinky and index finger to close off one nostril at a time. You will close off the right nostril and inhale through the left nostril and then close off the left nostril and exhale through the right nostril. This technique is very helpful in calming the body during stressful situations and balancing out the two sides of the brain.

Should you ever get frustrated with the more complicated techniques, just revert back to the "mindful breath." This will allow you to refocus and recenter your energy before trying again.

Try these various techniques and see which one you prefer and when you like to use it--each one has its own unique purpose, but all of them will help you in improving your breath control so that you can increase your overall quality of life.

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The Basics: A Meaning & History of Yoga

The literal translation of Yoga is, "to unite" or "to yoke." When you practice yoga, you do so to unite your body, mind and spirit in order to achieve a higher level of balance and awareness.

Yoga originated in India over 5000 years ago and was originally passed from a Master to his student in a verbal fashion--there were no texts in the beginning and the practice did not see women join the ranks until the early 1940's.

Also, as an interesting piece of trivia, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are thought to be the first Americans to really introduce yoga to the Western world.

There are Six Branches of Yoga

1. Jnana--Self-Study to Build Wisdom
2. Bhakti--Practice of Devotion
3. Karma--Focus on Service
4. Raja--Practice of Control
5. Tantra--Ritualistic Rites of Passage
6. Hatha--Physical Practice Focusing on the Balance of Effort & Ease

There are many styles of Hatha Yoga practiced in the United States and throughout the world.

Some of the most popular are:

• Ashtanga--Think Sun Salutations or Vinyasa (flow) Style Yoga
• Bikram--26 Specific Poses Are Practiced In A Hot, Humid Room
• Iyengar--Constantly Working on Alignment & Helping The Individual Achieve the Pose
• Kundalini--Lots of Chakra Work to "Uncoil The Spirit" & a Focus on Breath

I personally practice FYB (Feel Your Best) yoga which is an "eclectic blend of different Hatha Yoga styles" with a focus on "the PERSON and not the pose."

UPCOMING NATURAL HEALTH SEMINAR IN OCONOMOWOC ON AUGUST 23RD!

Sheryl S. Duchess, Certified Naturopath and Master Herbalist from Tampa Bay, will be at Olympia Resort and Conference Center next Thursday (8/23) from 6:30 - 9:30 to speak about basic principles for natural care and preventative health.

Do you have a chronic health condition and wonder if there is a better way to take care of your body using more natural methods? Are you interested in taking charge of your health so that you can focus on your wellness instead of your illnesses? Are you tired of paying for medicines that treat symptoms instead of root causes because you don't know a better way?

If you said yes to any of these questions or you are just interested in learning more about your body and how to treat it well using natural products, then you should attend this local learning event! Tickets are $15.00 and special topics to be discussed are:

• Understanding Your Body Systems
• How to Maintain PH Balance for Natural Health
• Detoxifying Your Liver
• The Power of Omega IIIs
• Balancing Your Super Hormones
• Understanding the Benefits of Isotonic Supplements

Tickets can be purchased in advance from Barb and Fred Boldt by calling 262-567-0034. Space is limited.

Cultivating a "Yogic Lifestyle"

There are Eight Limbs (Astanga) of Yoga which serve as a guide to living a more full and balanced life.

These limbs, much like a strong and flourishing tree, are sequential and dynamic; meaning a strong root foundation must first be created from which the trunk, branches and leaves can stem AND the tree must always be growing and taking in emotional and physical food so that it may reach its full potential.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga Are As Follows:

1. Yamas/Root of Tree: How we treat the world
2. Niyamas/Trunk of Tree: How we treat ourselves
3. Asanas/Branches of Tree: Postures
4. Pranayamas/Leaves of Tree: Breath control
5. Pratyahara/Bark of Tree: Sensory withdrawal
6. Dharana/Sap of Tree: Concentration
7. Dhyana/Fruit of Tree: Meditation

Of these Limbs, the Root and Trunk portion or the Yamas and Niyamas, are most critical to master in our every day lives.

Again, they create the foundation for the rest of the limbs and determine the likelihood of achieving higher consciousness through the upper limbs (Dharana and Dhyana).

There are five specific Yamas which teach us how to build strong personal ethics and integrity:

1. Non-Violence/Ahimsa
2. Truthfulness/Satya
3. Non-Stealing/Asteya
4. Moderation/Brahmacharya
5. Non-Greed/Aparigraha

There are also five specific Niyamas or steps for creating self-discipline and spirituality in our lives:

1. Cleanliness/Saucha
2. Contentment/Santosa
3. Simplicity/Tapas
4. Self-Study/Svadhyaya
5. Surrender to God/Isvara Pranidhana

Free Pre-Natal Class!

Please join me for a free, one-hour pre-natal yoga class every Monday night from 6-7:00 PM at Destination Maternity in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Space is limited to about 6 people so make sure to contact the store and sign up early. We focus on a different topic every week and I do hands-on adjustments during class to ensure participant safety and benefit.

Short Centering Meditation

Sit in simple cross-legged pose or in any pose where you are comfortable and the energy can flow freely through your body.

Now just close your eyes and be with your breath for a few inhalations and exhalations.

Listen to your body and how you are currently breathing. What does your breath sound like? Is it short and shallow, or fast and choppy or maybe deep and even? Whatever it is, just hear it and feel the sensations in your body as you breathe in and out and in and out.

With your next breath, place one hand on your belly & the other on your solar plexus.

Feel your belly expand and then collapse back toward your spine as you inhale and exhale. Continue to hold you hands where there are as you feel your breath travel in and out of your body bringing nourishing oxygen in and releasing carbon dioxide and other toxins out into the universe.

Now place one hand on your solar plexus and one hand on your heart so that you can further feel your breath going up and down your body as it expands and contracts. Feel your hand move away from your heart as you inhale and then come back closer as you exhale.

Open your heart further by inhaling deeper and exhaling longer. Nourish you body more by allowing your breath and the oxygen it brings with it to fill you and then cleanse your cells by strongly exhaling the toxins from your body.

Now let's take a few moments to visualize blowing bubbles with a large wand as you inhale and exhale. This is a happy and calming memory for many people and it will help you to relax further and breathe more deeply.

Inhale and dip your wand into the bubbles.

Exhale and slowly blow the bubbles out through the wand sending all your worries and stress with them.

On your next couple of inhalations, dip your wand into the bubbles and visualize the clear sparkling soap filled with joy and love--so as you inhale, bring that warm and healing feeling of joy and love into your body and allow it to flow down to your toes and out to your fingers allowing you to relax and slow your body down.

As you exhale, blow any type of anger or frustration, tension or stress that you have carried throughout the day into these wonderful soap bubbles and send them all floating away from you—just release these negative feelings and let them go--making more room for joy, love and warm healing energy in your body.

On your last two inhalations, visualize pushing the wand deep into the soap bubbles and scooping any final feelings of frustration or stress into the wand so that you can blow them all away causing you to blow huge bubbles into the air above you. As you do this, imagine laughing and smiling as you see the bubbles taking your stress far up into the clouds and away from you.

You now feel relaxed and centered and ready to return to your normal functions. Open your eyes and stretch out your arms and legs before getting up.