Whenever we talk of yoga you will notice that breath is included. All the asanas have a special mention of how your breath should be. When you should inhale, how long you should hold the breath and when should you release the same. Infact we studied about straw pranayama in a previous article but have you ever wondered what the connection between Yoga and the breath is?

Breath vs Yoga

This is exactly what we are about to discuss in this article. Yoga is incomplete without breath. Just learning the asana is not enough you must also know when to breathe and when to release the same. The connection comes from the fact that the first act of life is breath and it is the last action in one life too. How deep the connection is isn’t it. Can you imagine life without breathing? You cannot and you will never be able to either.

Yoga and Breath

An Subconscious Activity

Although breathing is so vital we often tend to forget it. We take it for granted. When was it last that you thought of your breath. The activity that keeps you alive and moving is often lost in the middle of all that is not important.

In yoga the attempt is made to teach people their essence. It is taught to remember the elements that make them and the elements they will get back to someday. Yoga says that when you learn to breathe right all your problems whether it is mental or physical will end. The first few classes in yoga are solely dedicated to learn breathing techniques.

Yoga Asanas

It is easy to learn the asanas in yoga. The most difficult part is to master the breathing.  Pranayam is a form of yoga that completely concentrates on breathing technique. This helps to do away with the negative energies in the body and feel a new sense of positive energy. Pranayam combines the word prana which means breath. No matter how complicated the asana is you can definitely do it with correct breathing technique. This is proved and accepted by many yoga experts.  Each asana for example the suryanamaskar has about twelve steps. Each step has a particular method of breath in and out. When you learn a asana. Always try to learn it along with all the breath in and out techniques.

Why Focus On Breath?

Yoga is an art that gives prime importance to the breathing. It is the air that you breathe in that carries with it all the energy and positivity into the body. As you breathe out the toxic components of the body is thrown out. Next time when you are free just concentrate on your breath in and out for some time. The pace of the breathing will make you relaxed and make you feel at peace. Just a few moments can make you feel so good.

Then imagine how you will feel when you do the same on a regular basis. In the modern yoga classes the breathing techniques are not given so much importance. Just tell your teacher that you want to learn the breathing techniques well before you move on to the other levels of the yoga. The teacher will be able to guide you the best. Be prepared that at least ten regular classes will make you effective enough to get the breathing techniques right. Have the patience and know that all that you are doing is for your long term benefit alone.

We hope that by reading this article you were able to understand the connection between yoga and the breath. The connection is deep and cannot be ignored.  So if you want to learn yoga then do try to spend few hours and days in learning the breathing techniques. Do not lose patience. If you do yoga without the proper breathing you will not be able to get even fifty per cent of the benefits that is associated with the yoga asanas. As life begins and ends with a complete cycle of breath. It is something that we must be aware of completely to make the most of yoga.