My 4 favorite Breath exercises and why
Breath exercises or Pranayamas
One of the eight limbs of yoga, pranayama in Sanskrit means literally the expansion of the life force They can be efficient tools to support your well-being, to practice on a daily basis, even a couple of minutes a day.
Today I am sharing with you, 4 exercises that resonated with me and their benefits.
1- The square breath/ Sama Vritti
Breathe in through your nose, slowly counting to 4. Hold your breath here and slowly count to 4 again. Slowly exhale to the count of 4. Hold the breath for another 4 counts on empty lungs.
Repeat steps for a few more rounds.
Benefits of the Square breath: Shift your energy, deeper connection with the body, improve focus and concentration.
If you are a beginner with breath exercises, it is an easy pranayama to start with.
2- The alternate nostril breathing/ Nadi Shodhana
We slowly breathe in through the left nostril and close the right one with our thumb. Close both nostril with your fingers, hold, and breath out through the right one. Then you swap side. You can activate your third eye by pressing on it with your index and middle fingers.
Benefits of Nadi Shodhana: Activate our masculine/feminine energies, help to ease stress and anxiety, improve brain function and calm the mind.
One, I like to do when I want to work with both hemispheres of my brain, creating connection between them two
3- The Lion's breath or Simha
Sit into your knees, press your palms down between your knees. Deep inhale, when you exhale, you stick out your tongue and let out an audible a big, “haaaa” sound, like a Lion's roar. Repeat it 3 times.
Benefits of Simha: Increase cognitive functions, balance/clear your throat chakra, calm anxiety and anger, strengthen your lungs.
Don’t be shy on this one and reconnect with your wild side ! :-p
4- The bumble bee breath/ Bhramari
Place your thumbs on the ear cartilage, index fingers on the forehead just above your eyebrows, middle fingers on your eyes, close your eyes, ring fingers on your nostrils, and pinky fingers just next to the corners of your lips. Deep inhale and exhale by humming, the sound of a bee
Knees can support the weight of your arms, or sit in half-lotus.
Benefits of Bhramari : Stimulate the vagus nerves and activate the Parasympathetic system, calming down the mind, release tensions.
In this one, we shut down all the distractions from our external world to be fully connected to our inner sensations.
Give a try ! And have fun exploring these beautiful healing practices.
Love,
Flo
