Pranayama - this refers to the bringing together of body and mind through breathing exercises. Abdominal breathing is the be-all and end-all for the success of many yoga exercises. You can draw healing power from conscious breathing. Find out here how you too can experience the beneficial effects of pranayama.
Healing through relaxation: the right breathing makes it possible
Breathing may not sound like something you need to practise. Our nervous system takes over this process automatically anyway - that may be so true - but as a result we also lose sight of this important function of our body a little. When was the last time you really breathed consciously? Many people find that difficult.
You can consciously influence your well-being through your breathing. An oppressive chest breathing results from tense situations: Stress, an exam, errands. Whatever is bothering you mentally - if you consciously control your breathing, you can turn negative feelings into positive ones!
To prevent incorrect breathing from becoming the norm, you can practise relaxed, easy abdominal breathing. In this way, you will also have a better grip on stressful situations. So stimulate your prana - but what exactly is that again? Prana is also called air, oxygen or energy - in principle, it stands for the life essence that makes all movements, every thought and life possible in the first place. So this is how you find strength & harmony.
Pranayama: the effect on the body
Relaxed breathing looks something like this inside you:
- The diaphragm contracts,
- it pushes your abdominal organs and abdominal wall forward,
- so that the air can flow in optimally through the trachea.
By pushing the abdominal organs towards the diaphragm, it can relax. It sinks far back into the chest cavity. This is exactly when the air can be pushed out of the lungs without barriers. This is how you find liberated breathing.
Beginners: how to perform abdominal breathing correctly
How exactly you can now train this process, we will show you in this Beginner's exercise:
- Position yourself in an upright posture. Your back and head are kept as straight as possible, your shoulders hang loosely down. Alternatively, you can lie with your back on the floor and place your hands and arms at your sides.
- Close your eyes and place one hand on your belly. Your middle finger should be on your belly button, the other hand is placed on your breastbone.
- Now try to breathe consciously and slowly into your belly. Your abdominal wall should move. At first you may only see this in the upper or middle abdominal area, but this changes over time. Your sternum remains largely motionless.
- Breathe gently and mindfully. Increase to deeper and slower abdominal breathing. Let go more and more. So do not breathe forcibly into the belly, but stay relaxed.
- You decide when you inhale and exhale. Just follow your feeling.
- Ideally, a deep calm comes over you. Then your belly should be moved gently and completely from the solar plexus to your genitals.
- Do this exercise for between 10 and 20 minutes.
Advanced: how to succeed in extended pranayama
If the beginner's exercise seems too unchallenging, then you can increase by trying the following advanced pranayama exercise:
- The starting posture is straight again, whether you are sitting or lying down.
- Let go of your shoulders and any muscles that are not actively needed at the moment.
- Now concentrate again on your abdominal wall and breathe. Deeper and deeper and more relaxed.
- Now call on your imagination - with each inhale, imagine taking in new strength and energy. On the exhale send love and light
- One help here is mental imagination. Also call the words to mind so that they are clear in your mind's eye. Inhale: Power & Energy. Exhale: light & love. Do this for about 10 breaths, even longer if it feels good.
- This is also where light press breathing comes into play. This helps with tension in the abdomen: gently press your breath into your abdomen - as you do so, your abdominal wall bulges strongly outwards. So as soon as you inhale, you have a very round belly.
- When you exhale, the abdominal wall pulls inwards again.
- Through this exercise you can fundamentally relax your belly.
- Then continue directly with gentle abdominal breathing again - now you are no longer consciously moving your abdominal wall.
The very best thing is to take 1-2 times a day to internalise these belly breathing techniques in a concentrated way for 10-15 minutes. You will see how you can find more strength, vitality, but above all relaxation through pranayama!
Conclusion
The great added value of pranayama is the lasting sense of well-being you can experience. Through pranayama you enjoy not only short-term relaxation, but longer-term release. After time, you will simply breathe into your belly automatically - it is all a form of practice and habit. Through relaxed abdominal breathing you work out healing and positivity naturally!
