The one thing I consistently struggle with in yoga is the breathing – it’s left fairly far behind my asana practice, and not something I give much thought to because…seriously…who cares.
Now, halfway through the course, I find myself slowly appreciating pranayama as a practice – the techniques and benefits that come with it; its importance within the overall world of yoga. It is always said that yoga isn’t just about the physical movement but also the movement with breaths. I tend to forget that, especially during asanas because I’m fixated on mastering a certain pose. But it really isn’t a myth that breath can get you to the eventual pose and elevate the yoga experience. Can’t say I’ve grasp the techniques as well as some of my other fellow yogi course mates, but as the cliche goes – yoga is a journey.
But perhaps most importantly for me, breathing calms the mind and heightens the self-awareness of your own body. I take to asanas and other forms of intensive exercises because for that hour, my mind is a world away from daily worries and stress. But, really, there’s only so much cardio I can or want to do in a week. Pranayama almost becomes that tiny baby step to meditation and taking your focus to your breath inevitably seem to make all the other (mundane) thoughts melt away. Everything just happens after that.
So while I’m not the most diligent student, I plan on (trying) keeping pranayama as a mainstay to my overall practice. Cheers to some regular skull-cleansing from hereon.
Cheryl
YTT March 2018 (Weekend)
