Fwd: [S-A] [Yoga-With-Nancy] Art of Effortless Effort in Breathing Exercises

[Guest guest]

" Misty L. Trepke "

Sat, 18 Oct 2003 16:40:46 -0000

[s-A] [Yoga-With-Nancy] Art of Effortless Effort in Breathing Exercises

 

I am sooo glad to see someone else teaching this as well... Many,

many of the people that I coached through Transformational

Breathing, had just this challenge...

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

The Art of Effortless Effort in Doing Breathing Exercises

By Dennis Lewis

 

Without knowing it, many of us who work with our breathing actually

try too hard. Our efforts are based on force, on will power, not on

skill and sensitivity. Instead of working with the laws of natural

breathing we work against them. The more we try to breathe

naturally, the more tension we create in our minds, emotions, and

bodies, and the more we restrict the movement of our diaphragm and

other breathing muscles. This not only wastes energy, but it also

floods the body with excessive adrenaline and metabolic waste.

Unnecessary tension increases our heart and breath rates.

Unnecessary tension also causes our sensory system to go on alert,

sending distress signals to the brain, which further increases our

level of stress and tension.

 

One of the main keys to learning " natural breathing " is a sense of

effortlessness and comfort. As you work with the belly breathing

exercise, for instance, be sure to work slowly, gently, and

patiently. When you put your hands on your belly, be sure that your

hands are warm. Really let yourself feel the warm, comforting

sensation of your hands on your belly. This will help you relax and

will attract the movement of your breath into this part of your

body.

 

As you work comfortably in this way, you will begin to work more from

the sensation of what is actually happening rather than from a

picture of what you think should be happening. This is important. It

is through increasing sensitivity to our inner sensation that we can

begin to make great strides in our work with breath.

 

Doing the belly breathing exercise, for example, you may sense that

your belly wants to expand as you inhale, but that something keeps

it from this expansion. When you sense this, there will be a

temptation to use your muscles to push your belly out. Resist this

temptation. Simply stay with whatever sensation you have there, and

gently massage all around your navel, gradually widening the area of

your massage to include your entire belly. As you continue this

gentle massage, the muscles in your belly will gradually begin to

relax. Let yourself enjoy this sensation of relaxation, and you

will soon find your belly more involved in your breath. If you

practice this exercise regularly, eventually you won't have

to use your hands at all. Simply putting your attention inside your

belly will be enough to attract your breath there.

 

To sum up: as you practice doing breathing exercises be sure to try

less and enjoy more. The key is effortless effort. For most of us,

our efforts are filled with unnecessary muscular contractions and

tensions. When our body is freed from these unnecessary contractions

and tensions, it knows how to breathe in the most appropriate way

possible in any situation.

 

 

 

 

NEW WEB MESSAGE BOARDS - JOIN HERE.

Alternative Medicine Message Boards.Info

http://alternative-medicine-message-boards.info

 

 

 

The New with improved product search