If you are new to yoga and have attended a few classes at your yoga center, then chances are you are becoming familiar with the oft-repeated refrain of the instructor: breathe.

Initially, the instruction to do something that is almost involuntary may sound confusing. “Of course I’m breathing, how can I not?” you may wonder. Most newcomers to yoga are more focused on attempting to make and hold the new poses they are learning rather than using their energy to focus on something which is happening anyway. As time goes on however, and a person becomes more acclimated to the practice, they will eventually come back to the question of breathing.

Breathing is important because the way our bodies function is affected by the way we breathe. For instance when a person is experiencing anger or anxiety, he or she may be encouraged to “take a deep breath.” Another example is that of women preparing for childbirth. Many mothers-to-be take Lamaze classes which focus on rhythmic breathing to help relieve the pain that comes with labor and delivery. Even athletes work on breathing techniques to improve their performance.

In the Sanskrit language the word for breath is the same as the word for life, Prana. Pra stands for constancy, and na means movement. Prana is a force in constant motion.  The challenge for the new yoga practitioner is to have the body or the “self” be in sync with the breath.

Let’s take a look at some simple yoga breathing exercises:

Focused Breathing - the basic foundation of yoga breathing

1. While sitting in a chair, place your hands on your thighs. Palms can face up or down.
2. Make sure your back is straight and that you’re sitting up tall.
3. Close your eyes.
4. Observe the patterns of your natural resting breath for a few cycles.
5. Begin making your inhalation and exhalation longer, deeper, and smoother.
6. Notice the natural pause between the inhale and the exhale. This pause helps lengthen your breath.
7. Feel your body expand with each inhale and contract with each exhale, and also feel the air entering your nose and filling your lungs. In doing so you will help connect the body and the mind.
8. After five minutes, allow your breathing to gradually return to normal.

Belly Breathing – helps with relaxation and pain relief

1. Lie comfortably on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor about hip-distance apart.
2. Observe the patterns of your breath.
3. When you inhale, expand the belly in all directions—front, sides, and back. As you exhale, contract the abdomen. This supports the natural movement of the diaphragm.
4. Remember to pause after each inhale and each exhale. Try and keep the chest as still as possible.
5. Spend five minutes doing these breathing exercises.

Cooling Breath - drawing air in across the tongue and into the mouth calms the nervous system

1. Sit comfortably either in a chair or on the floor. Place your hands on your thighs.
2. Make sure your back is straight and that you’re sitting up tall.
3. Curl both sides of your tongue and have it protrude slightly from your mouth. (Alternatively, you can pucker your lips as if you are going to suck air in through a straw.)
4. While inhaling, tilt your head back slightly while slowly sucking in the air through your mouth.
5. When exhaling, tilt your chin down while slowly letting the air out through your nose.
6. Spend three minutes doing these exercises.

These breathing exercises should help you with your yoga practice. To benefit properly from the breathing techniques, remember that your movement should be contained within the breath. In other words, start with the inhale, proceed with moving through the pose, and end with the exhale. When holding a pose, you will continue to breathe through the pose ending on an exhale.