Our natural tendency is to hold the breath or use tension induced breathing (short and shallow) while holding a posture, specifically in a difficult present. This creates anxiety and tension in the body. In yoga, we want to create a calm and unwinded body, breath and mind with the aware use of the breath.
There are several methods to take in asanas, and these will vary with instructor and tradition. I like to emphasize different breathing techniques or pranayamas while holding different postures. A lot of significantly, find a breath that supports your goal/intention that you"re conjuring up for the posture and/or yoga practice.
• Use Dirga pranayama in many postures. Focus on actively breathing into the chest in backbends and chest opening poses (pigeon, yoga mudra, warrior I, fish, bridge). For forward folding postures and belly down postures you can focus on simply breathing into the tummy (kid, forward fold, cobra, boat)
• Use Ujjiaj pranayama when holding strength structure postures to enhance stamina and focus (downward pet dog, standing squat, warrior III, warrior I, sun salutations).
• Use Kapalabhati Pranayama when you wish to magnify holding a posture and to strongly activate the prana in the body. Kapalabhati can also develop a strong focus throughout a difficult pose to allow us to stay present with the posture.
Breathing in Asana
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