Yoga and Breathing Exercises for Building Stamina

By Patricia | November 28, 2008
Yoga To Build Stamina

Yoga And Breathing Technique

Yoga is about the correct postures and breathing techniques, so it should improve your breathing. However, if you have breathing problems like asthma or suffer from some medical problems, it’s best to get checked by a doctor and consult a professional yoga teacher before your begin doing yoga. You must also practice yoga under the guidance of a qualified yoga instructor.

Wrong Breathing Techniques: You may suddenly get breathing problems because of wrong intake of breath –

  • Shallow and quick intake of breath
  • Insufficient intake of oxygen and insufficient elimination of carbon dioxide
  • If you breathe in a shallow way, your lungs do not get exercised properly
  • Oxygen starvation which results in poor immune system and reduced vitality

Reasons For Shallow Breathing:

  • You might be getting angry, anxious or excited easily
  • Are in a hurry a lot of times
  • Get emotional quickly
  • Are under constant stress

Pranayama To Improve Your Breathing: Pranayama is about controlling the prana, the vital forces of the body. It means regulating your breath. While most of us tend to breathe in an irregular manner, through pranayama, we can develop the habit of breathing in a regular pattern. It is believed that if you can control your breath or prana through pranayama, you can also control your mind. Pranayama is said to make a person more cheerful, courageous, enthusiastic, healthy and vigorous. It also improves your concentration and increases your appetite.

Some of the most basic and important pranayama techniques include Anuloma Viloma (Advanced Breathing Technique), Breath of Fire, Kapalabhati (Cleansing Breath), Nadi Shodhana (Sweet Breath), Ujjayi Pranayama (Sounding Breath), Dirgha Pranayama (Complete or Three-part Breath), and Abdominal Breathing. Before you move on to more elaborate techniques of pranayama, it’s advisable to first master these. Since these are powerful breathing techniques, it makes sense to gradually build up your stamina and follow some basic guidelines while practicing.

Basic Guidelines For Doing These Breath Improving Techniques:

  • Before you begin, blow your nose and clear your nostrils.
  • You should practice pranayama at room temperature. If the room is too cold or hot, then that can affect your breathing in an adverse way. Fresh air is another essential while doing this. So be sure that while doing pranayama, the room has enough ventilation and there aren’t any chemicals or smoke in the environment.
  • You must breathe through your nostrils.
  • You must have fluid breathing. If your breathing becomes uneven, then just stop and recover your regular breathing.

If you feel dizzy, faint or light-headed, stop the pranayama and wait for your breathing to return to normal.

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