Singing, speaking, shouting, blowing and whistling
Through singing, speaking, letting out screams, snorting and whistling we train our breathing instrument; through this lung tissues and breathing muscles remain elastic.
Those that sing a lot and whistle become more balanced and looser, physically as well as emotionally. Because where you find singing you can fearlessly go, as wicked people have no songs, is what a proverb quite fittingly says about it.
Sounding with fine vibrations in conjunction with movement exercises loosens up and at the same time allows us to check whether we are allowing the breathing to flow or are restraining it, whether it is flowing evenly or unevenly (see also under exhaling). \bwels and consonants open and release resistance, wanting to hold on, constriction and cramps in the mouth area.
Why Is Breathing Important In Yoga Photo Gallery
Moving and straightening up
With movement I would like to differentiate between two types that influence the automatic breathing. Firstly the movement, which allows the individual to become aware that they have respiration, namely when they become breathless, when they run out of steam. This is the case with strenuous exercises such as running on the spot, cross-country running, climbing stairs, skipping, during hikes and mountain climbing and other sports activities; our breathing is not well adapted, we have to post-breathe. In sports physiology in this case one speaks of an oxygen-debt, which tends to arise e.g. after a sprint. Then the movement should be mentioned that stimulates the breathing.
In Chinese breathing therapy, according to Breathing and Meditation (15) by Stephan Palos, to stimulate breathing the external strengthening exercises, the exercises that protect the health are performed in slow movement sequences with natural and quiet breaths after first sitting still. They are still used today regularly in China by wide sections of the population as a preventive measure against disease, and also to create a balanced general state of well-being.
Counted amongst the external strengthening exercises are also massages of different body areas, like the shoulders, the ace and neck, further massages of certain body points, like e.g. the central Tan-t’-ienpoint, located somewhat below the navel. In Hatha-Yoga the Asanas not only promote the blood circulation, they allow the released Prana (= air, breath), the life energy flowing in with the breath, to propagate beneficially throughout the whole body, when the trainee has made the body permeable, strengthened it and made it more orderly, and furthermore has learnt to breathe through the nose and the correct diaphragm movement with the breathing technique of Hatha-Yoga.
