Strengthening your respiratory system helps you to build a firm physical foundation for your vyana breath, and this allows it to flourish. Use the Sandbag Breathing exercise, opposite, to enhance your respiratory abilities, especially if you find breathing exercises tiring.
The strength of your breathing mechanism depends on how much power you have in the region above your waist. This is the location of your diaphragm – the dome-shaped muscle that divides your trunk into two distinct portions. The upper part comprises your chest cavity, containing your heart and lungs. Below, tightly packed into your abdominal cavity, lie most of your digestive and uro-genital organs. While improving awareness of the way in which you breathe, Sandbag Breathing strengthens this diaphragmatic region and tones your abdominal muscles.
Yoga philosophers teach that foods high in sodium, calcium, sugar and saturated fats can inhibit your expansive vyana energy by causing it to contract. Greasy, over-sweet or salty foods as well as dairy produce are also thought to increase mucus, making breathing more difficult. To strengthen your expansive breath, eat more proteins, carbohydrates, omega-3 oils and foods rich in magnesium, potassium, zinc and selenium. Drink plenty of water. Also try to cut down on the following:
• Junk foods, fast food and ready meals.
• Bread and pastries made with white flour.
• Soft drinks, especially if very cold or served with ice.
• Desserts and sweets made with white sugar, especially after a protein-rich meal.
• Overeating (even if the food is healthy).
Practise this exercise on a firm surface: neither a bed nor soft, upholstered furniture provides the unyielding support your body needs. If you don’t have a sandbag, substitute a telephone directory. For one month practise this exercise for 3 days in a row, followed by a day off. It is a good idea to supplement this exercise with inverted yoga postures, such as the Headstand and Shoulder Stand (see pages 102–3 and 146), or, for newcomers to yoga, with the chest-expanding Fish Pose (see page 101).
1 Lie on your back on a firm surface with your legs stretched out. Position your legs apart, with your feet dropping outward, and rest your arms a little way from your sides, palms facing upward and fingers slightly curled.
2 Close your eyes, gently seal your lips and breathe through your nose. Observe your breath. Visualize your abdomen filling and rising with each inhalation, and then watch it empty and fall in your mind’s eye as you exhale. Continue for a minute or two, until you feel settled.
3 Place a sandbag (or telephone directory) on your abdomen. Try to continue the same deep abdominal breathing. The weight on your abdomen requires you to work harder to expand your lungs as you inhale. However, it makes exhalation easier. Practise for 5 minutes daily, and then relax. Gradually increase your practice to 10 minutes a day.
CAUTION: IF AT ANY POINT YOU FEEL TIRED OR YOUR BREATHING IS LABOURED, REMOVE THE SANDBAG. AVOID DURING PREGNANCY.