Deepening the Practice of Yoga: “The breath is my friend”

Friday, July 12 • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Nurture Saddleworth .

Description

This workshop will explore the essential role of breath awareness in yoga based on both the traditional teachings and more recent scientific research.

The breath is a bridge between the body and the mind—changing the breath has a direct influence on both. The breath is also a bridge between the voluntary and involuntary functions of the body. Feeling the breath is both feeling the process of breathing moving through the body and feeling the effect of breathing on the mind.
For our long term health, breathing should be as effortless as possible.

Through simple and accessible practices we will learn how to cultivate effortless and pleasant breath, followed by gentle breath regulation in Ujjayi to support asana sequences and then moving into gentle prĀnāyāma..
The subtle nature of breath support is often missed out in modern postural yoga which can overly emphasise the postures at the expense of the other limbs of yoga.
In this session we will place the breath at the centre of the practice, working with sankalpa (intention)bhava (recall of uplifting experience),Mantra and above all deep kindness.
There will be mildly active postures in this session which can be practiced effectively from a chair or in standing.


The Yoga Sutra (II.50) emphasizes breath regulation in the form of long (dīrgha) and smooth or subtle (sūkṣma) breathing in the key instructions on the practice of pranayama.
This is also why we find breath regulation emphasized in asana practice itself in the teachings of Krishnamacharya. We do ujjayi breathing in asana to develop the skill of regulating the breath— making it longer and smoother. Breath regulation capacity is a key pillar of pranayama.
For our long term health, the effort of breathing should be as minimal as possible. This has relevance at the performance side of the spectrum too. To optimize our performance in sports, including the recovery after exercise, we should manage the work of breathing to be at its most efficient. On the disorders side of the spectrum, the work of breathing is typically increased in most respiratory disorders, so decreasing that effort increases energy and wellbeing.

£25 7-9pm