connection - breath
Our focus on connection, in yoga, continues this week: connection with the breath, and the body.
In yoga we often synchronise movement and breath. In focusing our attention in this way, we give the mind an anchor, or a rope; something to hold on to.
We might start with a focus on the body, and then a focus on the breath, and at some point connect the two. This could be through co-ordinating movement with breath, or observing the breath and the body, at the same time. When you’re new to yoga it’s often more than enough to focus on the pose, then over time, the breath awareness can be added.
You may stay focused for a few seconds, or even a minute, as you do this. You may begin to notice, in class, focusing on the movement the body is making, and co-ordinating this movement with the breath, helps you to stay present throughout the class. Each class is different. One week it may be really easy to focus in this way, the next week the mind may be exploding with it’s thought patterns.
Remember, the intention is to focus on the here and now, not the past, or the future. Of course the mind will wander, it’s what the mind does. In a yoga class, you are guided to come back, through the teacher’s cues and prompts, leading you back to focus on the body and the breath. This practice of focussing, then mind wandering off, and then coming back to focus has a relaxing effect for the body. When the body relaxes, the mind begins to settle, even if just a little. The parasympathetic nervous system is activated and the body can start to ‘rest and digest’, or recover and heal.
Our movement through the various yoga poses also supports good breathing. As the body is placed in a pose which expands the torso and limbs, the breath is supported to flow in more fully. With a pose that contracts the body, the breath is encouraged to fully release. Breathing in this way is an effective way for oxygen to flow in, and circulate around the body.
In class we take time to feel the expansion through a long stretch (eg across the upper body or in gentle twists and shoulder openers) and the contraction when knees move toward the torso in various poses.
The body is a great means to focus our attention. We carry it around with us wherever we go. We can forget about our body when we spend our time busy and problem solving, in our thinking minds. Yoga helps us connect back with the body and over time, develop a new relationship with our body, and a new respect for it in the process.
The breath is with us from the moment we are born until we leave our physical body. We carry it with us wherever we go. It’s free. Remember you can use it to connect with the present moment anytime you wish.
Our meditation and yoga classes help with this, and we offer 1:1 coaching in yoga and meditation.
Nicky’s yoga classes are a gentle, hatha style, suitable for beginners.
Along with teaching weekly yoga classes in Beaumaris, Bayside Melbourne, Nicky is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (PACFA), coach and mindfulness meditation teacher.
Get in touch with Nicky to find out more.