The process of breathing is intrinsic to human life, allowing organisms to obtain oxygen to perform their metabolic functions and thus generate the necessary energy. We cannot live without breathing, but if we do so unconsciously, we end up automating it, creating unhealthy habits that can affect our health.
Breathing is responsible for keeping the flow of vital energy in motion, hence the importance of developing maximum awareness of it.
Conscious breathing is the act of being fully aware of how we inhale and exhale, the depth with which we do so, as well as the parts of the body involved.
Numerous cultures have developed systems that consider breath control to be one of the fundamental pillars for maintaining health.
In the Indian Yoga System, Chi Kung, Taoist Yoga, martial arts, traditional medicines from most parts of the world, and other forms of physical-spiritual expression, there are a wide variety of techniques aimed at developing greater awareness of breathing and the benefits it brings.
If we breathe consciously, we can not only improve our physical health, but also learn to regulate our nervous system and thereby contribute to improving the management of our inner world.
Bringing awareness to our breathing helps us reduce stress and anxiety, strengthen our immune system, increase oxygenation of our body’s cells, improve digestion and nutrient absorption, improve sleep quality, and above all, regulate the management of our emotions and the flow of thoughts that determine our relationship with the world.
There are numerous conscious breathing techniques, among which we have collected some of the simplest to apply in our daily lives to develop greater awareness of it:
Complete breathing:
This consists of unifying the three ways of breathing: abdominal, thoracic, and clavicular.
Facilitating the filling of air in each of these areas and, consequently, achieving total emptying.
First, we must completely empty the lungs in a deep exhalation.
- We inhale long and deeply, filling the abdomen and allowing the air to penetrate the lower part of the lungs.
- We continue with the rib area, allowing the air to expand the chest and widen the rib cage.
- We finish by inhaling towards the collarbone, introducing air into the upper part of the lungs.
- Exhalation is then performed in reverse, slowly and effortlessly, emptying first the upper part of the lungs, then the chest, and finally the belly, leaving the lungs completely empty.
Taoist breathing
One of the most important techniques in Taoist breathing, which is also present in Chi kung, some martial arts, and different forms of yoga around the world, is reverse breathing.
This consists of controlling the breath with the aim of moving Qi (vital energy) throughout the body.
To do this, instead of expanding the diaphragm when inhaling and contracting it when exhaling, we do it in reverse order. When inhaling, we contract the diaphragm, and when exhaling, we let it expand.
In turn, we can perform these diaphragmatic movements in a structured four-part manner.
Inhalation, retention, exhalation, and pause.
Pranayama Anuloma Viloma or Nadi Shodhana is a breathing technique present in different forms of yoga, which consists of moving vital energy through alternate breathing through the nostrils.
Sitting in a comfortable position with your back straight, we do the following with our hands:
- Using your right hand, bend your index and middle fingers toward your palm, and extend your thumb, ring finger, and little finger.
- Inhale through both nostrils.
- Close your right nostril with your thumb and exhale deeply through your left nostril.
- Inhale deeply through the left nostril, close the left nostril with your ring finger and little finger.
- Exhale deeply through the right nostril.
- Inhale deeply through the right nostril.
- Repeat this cycle for several full breaths, gradually increasing them as your capacity improves.
These are just some of the different conscious breathing techniques used by the various professionals in our Evolve and La Bohéme team.
In our Yoga, Chi Kung, Martial Arts, and other disciplines aimed at providing a broader view of holistic health, we relearn how to breathe and move in a more present way, allowing the free and willful flow of our vital energy, and consequently of our own life.