Breathing Yoga
As a yoga teacher, I’ve heard a lot of excuses for why
people can’t do yoga. It doesn’t fit
into their schedule because of work, kids, school, church, their extensive
collection of rare and ornate action figures that must be cataloged. I’ve heard people say they can’t do yoga
because they’re too old, too fat, too weak, too uncoordinated, too drunk. Yoga’s too expensive. They aren’t flexible. They don’t have a mat. Their pastor forbids it.
But try this: first, sit up straight. Lengthen your spine to reach the crown of
your head upward. At the same time, feel
your sit bones root into whatever you’re sitting on. Take a deep inhale. Then exhale.
Take another deep inhale, without strain and without
lifting your shoulders. As you exhale,
let your shoulder blades melt down your back.
Take another deep inhale, and another exhale.
In a moment, I’ll ask you to close your eyes. When I do, close your eyes and take 10 slow,
deep breaths, letting the inhales and the exhales be of equal length (for a
slow count of four, for example). Try to
avoid reading ahead to find out where all this is leading. Take just this approximately one minute to
breathe deeply. Let your attention focus
on the rhythm of breathing as it moves through your body, expanding your
ribcage, puffing up your belly as you inhale, pressing your navel back toward
your spine as your ribs contract on the exhale.
Keep your attention on each long, slow breath.
Okay. Close your
eyes for 10 steady, slow breaths.
As you open your eyes, see if you can maintain this
steady breath. See if you can sustain it
at least to the end of this article.
Congratulations.
You’re doing yoga.
This does not discriminate on the basis of age, fitness
level, experience or flexibility. You
can do it without a mat. You can
practice it with your cat. You can do it
while you eat green eggs and ham. And I
don’t imagine God would deny you the gift of breath.
I grant you, breathing doesn’t delve immediately into the
deeper practices, philosophies and epiphanies of yoga. Initially, it seems, perhaps, a little absurd
that something this easy, this natural, could even be considered in the same
league as, say, Uttanasana, Astavakrasana, or Eka Pada Sirsasana (Standing
Forward Bend, Eight-Angle Pose, and One Foot Behind the Head Pose,
respectively). Not to mention that
claiming this level of simplicity is practicing yoga seems dismissive of the
vast literary, traditional, historical, mythological and cultural wealth and
depth of what is possible to experience when one embarks on the yogic path.
Even so, breath runs through it all, just as it runs
through all of life. The steady control
and witness of one’s breath is the beginning and constant companion of the yoga
practice, regardless of one’s proficiency or knowledge base.
Take one last, deep inhale as you expand your lungs. Slowly and gently release your navel back
toward your spine.
Enjoy your breath.
Enjoy your yoga.
Namaste.
Biography
Joe Lopez, RYT, has been teaching for nearly
two years after receiving his 200 hour certification from Corepower Yoga in
Boulder, CO. In February, 2010, he took
over instruction with Denver Nude Yoga, where he taught until May of 2011. Joe currently teaches Hatha Flow and Vinyasa
classes at the University of Washington IMA Center and 5focus Movement Studio
in Seattle, WA, where he encourages his students to explore their practice with
humor, playfulness and curiosity, while bringing total attentiveness, tinged
with gratitude, to each moment. For more
information about Joe and his company Purple Cat Yoga, please visit
www.purplecatyoga.com.
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