DEVADARU YOGA & HEALING ARTS
  • WELCOME
    • ABOUT CEDAR
    • KIND WORDS
  • YOGA WITH CEDAR
    • YOGA CLASS SCHEDULE
    • PRIVATE YOGA THERAPY
    • WORKSHOPS
    • ... MORE ABOUT YOGA
  • BREATHWORK
    • GROUP SESSIONS
    • PRIVATE BREATHWORK
  • INTEGRATION COACHING
  • VIDEOS
  • CONTACT
  • INSPIRATION
  • LINKS
  • Blog

BLOG

3 Part Breath

10/27/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture

3 Part Breath

I wrote a post the other day about my first yoga class where we were taught "3-part-breath", or "yogic breathing", and that I learned in that first class that my own breath pattern - my habitual and unconscious breath pattern - was actually the opposite of this and called "reverse breathing".  
I think of 3-part-breath as our natural breathing pattern. It's natural to us, but often lost as we navigate life and the inevitable stresses, conditioning and trauma of being in a body in this world.  
If you watch babies, and most young children and animals when they're relaxed, you'll notice that they're whole body moves in sync with the breath, in a coordinated way.  The inhalation expands the lower belly, that expansion rises up into the rib cage, the ribs gently flair out & then the chest and collarbones expand.  On the exhalation, the belly draws in toward the spine, and the cycle continues.  It is a wave-like motion; the breath flows in & expands the abdomen, ribcage & chest, subtly arching the spine, then flows out, and the subtly flexes.   
With stress and trauma, or social conditioning, we might develop a habit of unconsciously bracing the abdomen, or holding the belly.  This compromises the natural flow of our breath, and over time can cause a number of health issues.  
"Reverse breathing" means that instead of the belly expanding when we breath in, the chest expands, and the abdomen draws in.  
The good news is, that with time & patience, we can re-train the body to breath better.  It is worth the effort, as every system of the body, and our life-force and energy levels are impacted by our way of breathing.
A consistent yoga class with a teacher who understands the importance of breath, or a well rounded breathwork practice, starting with a breath assessment with a yoga therapist or qualified breathing specialist is a good way to start the process of re-establishing a natural and beneficial breathing pattern.
1 Comment

What is Yoga Nidra?

10/3/2022

0 Comments

 
  • Yoga Nidra is so much more than savasana, or simply guided relaxation, or guided meditation that you take in the posture of savasana.
  • Yoga Nidra is sometimes referred to as "yogic sleep", which has been taken literally to mean a relaxation technique to help you sleep.
  • Yoga nidra, sometime called "yogic sleep" is a term that refers to a specific brain state between theta and delta brain waves.  It is, specifically, a state of deep sleep with awareness retained.  
  • When we first start practicing yoga nidra, we may indeed fall asleep.  This is common & and it's okay!
  • We may practice yoga nidra for years and only briefly touch in to that deep state of yoga nidra, or state of "deep sleep with awareness" & we will still gain immeasurable benefits from our practice.  There is a natural progression to the deepening of our yoga nidra practice, and wherever you are is absolutely valuable and good.
  • The potential of yoga nidra, though, is to attain this deeply relaxed but alert awareness, and in this state we can direct our consciousness toward healing and self-realization.
  • In Yoga Nidra, we make use of "sankalpa", which is an intention of heart and mind, a solemn vow, resolve or determination.  The samsara is used as a tool to resolve problematic samskaras (tendencies/ habits/ beliefs), or encourage and develop positive sanskaras (tendencies/ habits beliefs)
0 Comments

    Author

    Cedar Sorensen

    Archives

    October 2022
    May 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed



​

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • WELCOME
    • ABOUT CEDAR
    • KIND WORDS
  • YOGA WITH CEDAR
    • YOGA CLASS SCHEDULE
    • PRIVATE YOGA THERAPY
    • WORKSHOPS
    • ... MORE ABOUT YOGA
  • BREATHWORK
    • GROUP SESSIONS
    • PRIVATE BREATHWORK
  • INTEGRATION COACHING
  • VIDEOS
  • CONTACT
  • INSPIRATION
  • LINKS
  • Blog