Yogic breathing

The breath is magical as the body breathes, whether or not we remember. Which is a good job as we have enough to do!

With coughs and colds, we can sometimes become breathless or our breath can become shallow. This breathing exercise encourages you to breathe more deeply, using the full capacity of your lungs.

The lungs are the prisoner of the ribs - we need to create space in the diaphragm to enable expansion
Judith Hanson Lasater

We often talk about “belly breathing” in yoga, which is misleading as there are no lungs in the tummy. But wherever, there are ribs there are lungs. Did you know there are more lungs in the back of the body than at the front?

This exercises retains the breath for a few moments but if at any time you become dizzy or lightheaded please return to your usual breathing pattern.

You can do this exercise sitting or laying down in a comfortable position and with space around you to take your arms away from the sides of the body. Make sure you won’t be disturbed for 10 minutes and enjoy being present with your breathing.