Photo: makunin/Pixabay
Breathing in yoga is indeed very important. It is the essence of the practice.
It is a good thing if you have been observing your breath and researching the breathing in yoga in general.
Breathing is very individual. Some of us take naturally long and deep inhales and exhales and some of us breathe faster and more shallow.
Breathing deeply into the stomach and exhaling so that you empty all by pulling your ribs in, is good in poses, which are easy for you and when you don’t need much strength to hold these poses. The more strength a pose requires the more difficult it becomes to keep the breathing deep as well as even.
Forcing the breath is never a good idea. That only makes us dizzy. The main thing is that you breathe naturally. You don’t necessary need to deepen your breath, and don’t hold it in the poses, just let it flow and try to synchronise the movements with the breath.
So, just breathe. Breathe in your own rhythm. Listen to your breath and enjoy the practice.
5 tips for breathing during your yoga practice:
1. Breathe through your nose.
2. Don’t hold your breath. Even in challenging poses keep on breathing. Your body requires oxygen.
3. Breathe slowly, deeply and evenly. Don’t exaggerate.
4. Exhale as you bend forward, inhale to stretch or bend backwards.
5. Let your yoga practice flow in the rhythm of your breath. Your body follows the breath.
We wrote about breathing couple of months ago. You can also read the post. Here the link:
Other articles with interesting reading on yoga practice and breathing:
http://www.inner-light-in.com/2015/07/breathing-during-yoga-poses/
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=you_asked_am_i_breathing_right_during_yoga
https://beyogi.com/golden-rules-yogic-breathing/