UNIT 2: the Breath Tapah Svadhyaya Ishvara Pranidhana Kriya Yogaha

UNIT 2: The Breath

KEY POINTS UNIT 2: The Breath Be prepared to discuss in class. In this unit we’ll look at the breath from many perspectves, including:

▶ Mechanics of breathing

▶ Language of teaching about breathing

▶ Ujjayi

▶ Bandhas

2.1 “GETTING TO KNOW YOU”

“Knowing a little bit of anatomy and using it badly can actually be more dangerous than just describing what you see in the room and inviting people to have an experience.” —Amy Matthews

2.2 BREATHING: AN INTRODUCTION

tapah svadhyaya ishvara pranidhana kriya yogaha — Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, ii.1

Breathing is both voluntary and involuntary, restricted by our physiology. Desikachar’s interpretation of this sutra goes right to the heart of our biological process of breathing.

Tapah: changing what is changeable (how we relate to things we have control over).

Svadhaya: self knowledge, awareness (learning to recognize the difference between what you can and cannot control).

Ishvara pranidhana: surrendering to natural forces over which you have no control (how we relate to the things that we have no control over).

2.3 CELLULAR BREATHING Breathing: From Lungs to Cells and Back Again All of this movement is happening at the same time: our cells are breathing, taking in and letting go; oxygen and carbon dioxide are moving through the blood to and from our lungs and heart; and we’re inhaling and exhaling.

External Respiraton: EXCHANGE OF GASES BETWEEN THE AIR AND THE OUT- SIDE ENVIRONMENT WHEN WE INHALE: Air (a mixture of oxygen, carbon dioxide & other molecules) comes in through the nose (or mouth), travels down through the trachea and from there branches out to the right and lef lungs, and through smaller and smaller bronchial tubes untl it reaches the globes of the alveoli.

It is at the level of the alveoli that oxygen enters the bloodstream by crossing the thin membranes of the alveoli and surrounding capillaries, which are tny blood vessels.

Internal Respiraton: EXCHANGE OF GASES BETWEEN THE BLOOD AND TISSUES OF THE BODY Once the oxygen is in the bloodstream it travels on red blood cells from the lungs back to the heart, and from the heart out into the body.

This oxygen rich blood travels through smaller and smaller arteries untl it reaches tny capillaries where the oxygen can cross the membrane and be picked up by nearby cells.

Cellular Respiraton: PROCESS OF CELLS TAKING IN NUTRIENTS, CONVERTING THEM TO ENERGY, AND RELEASING UNNEEDED BYPRODUCTS ON THE CELLULAR LEVEL: Cells take in oxygen for use in their metabolic actvites, and they release carbon dioxide as a by- product of their metabolism.

Carbon dioxide released by cells travels back to the lungs almost the same way oxygen was delivered: difusing across the membranes of capillaries to get into the bloodstream, being carried back to the heart via larger and larger veins and from the heart to the lungs, then crossing the membranes of capillaries and alveoli in the lungs…

…and leaving the body during an exhale, completng the process of external respiraton.

2.4 SOMATIZATION: CELLULAR RESPIRATION 2.5 THE MECHANICS OF BREATHING Be prepared to discuss in class. In breathing, prana – air, the in-breath – moves downward. And apana – the out-breath – moves upward.

◻ Briefy describe the path that air takes as it enters your body, and then briefy describe the path that In digestion, prana – food and liquid – moves oxygen molecules take as they enter your body. downward as does apana – the waste products NOTE: you are encouraged to think about the diference between movement of air vs the process of eating and drinking. of oxygenatng the cells. The beginning of both processes is the same...

KEY POINTS Breathing is the shape-change of the abdominal and Be prepared to discuss in class. thoracic cavities. ◻ Why does Leslie use a water balloon to represent the abdominal cavity?

Thoracic cavity ◻ Why does Leslie use an accordion to represent the thoracic cavity?

Abdominal cavity

◻ Consider the common cue to “expand “The movement of the breath can travel the belly” during a belly breath. Though generally understood, why is this throughout your body, but the air only anatomically inaccurate? goes into and out of your lungs.” —Amy Matthews

KEY POINTS All breathing is 3-dimensional, and all breathing is Be prepared to discuss in class. diaphragmatic. ◻ If you don’t use the word “expand” to describe what happens to the belly when you breathe, what other language or images can you come up with that are more anatomically accurate?

◻ How does Leslie’s “breathing botle” model the dynamics of breathing? “The real benefit that comes from the breathing exercise is not in the *doing* of the exercise. It’s in the *undoing* of the old pattern that lets us learn a new pattern.” — Leslie Kaminoff

“If we are breathing, our diaphragm is moving.” — Amy Matthews.

KEY POINTS 2.6 LOOKING AT LANGUAGE: BREATH VS AIR Be prepared to discuss in class. Teaching language ◻ Describe how the diaphragm creates three- dimensional shape-change in the thoracic Breath cavity on an inhale. (Use the jellyfsh image a broad term that can refer to the movement of air into if you’d like.) and out of the lungs, the movement of blood carrying oxygen to the cells, movement created by breathing, cells taking in and letting go, etc..

Air

air goes into and out of the lungs; associated with ◻ What are some images you would use to external respiration. describe the shape of the diaphragm?

2.7 GEEK OUT: S-L-A-R-A THE DIAPHRAGM FORMULA Understanding the respiratory diaphragm

S-L-A-R-A: ◻ How would you describe its locaton, in relaton to your internal organs? ▶ Shape

▶ Location

▶ Attachments

▶ Relations ◻ What is a simple way to describe the acton ▶ Action chest breath of the diaphragm?

2.8 ACCESSORY BREATHING MUSCLES Accessory breathing muscles are any muscle, other than the diaphragm, that contributes to the shape change of the abdominal and thoracic regions.

Though many anatomy texts categorize accessory muscles as either muscles of inhalation or exhalation, we believe that it is misleading to divide muscles into inhaling or exhaling groups. At all times and in all positions, there are muscles from both groups that are active.

SEE-SAW BREATH: EXPERIENTIAL NOTES How was your experience of “see-sawing” between belly breaths and chest breaths? Did you discover any preferences or patterns? Did you find new possibilities of shape-change by varying the patterns in your accessory muscles?

When answering the questions below, you may answer in words or draw/shade/label your experiences on these diagrams. BELLY BREATH Where in your body did you CHEST BREATH Where in your body did you have have to engage and/or release when you shifed to engage and/or release when you shifed your your atenton to moving your breath to your atenton to moving your breath to your thoracic abdominal region? region?

KEY POINTS 2.9 “DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING”: DISCUSSION AND Be prepared to discuss in class. EXPLORATION Thoughts on Breath ◻ Refect on your own breath paterns: What is familiar, unfamiliar, comfortable & ▶ There is no one right way to breathe. uncomfortable in your breathing?

▶ We can’t predict what someone’s experience will be based only on their physical movement. It is never just which part of the body is moving that creates a psychological or emotional state.

▶ Our previous experience can have a huge effect on what we consider comfortable or familiar.

▶ There’s no automatic correlation between belly breath and ease, or between chest breath and anxiety.

▶ We cannot use babies as a model of what works for us as ◻ adults. Briefy explain why babies are not good breathing role models for adults?

2.10 HOW DO YOU USE YOUR UJJAYI Any action that produces a narrowing of the airway – valving – can be considered ujjayi.

“The point of exploring breath, and the point of exploring different breathing techniques is not to find one that we can master, but to see how many different ones we can do. How adaptable can we be?” —Amy Matthews

KEY POINTS 2.11 UJJAYI FOR STABILITY Be prepared to discuss in class. Ujjayi may be used as stabilizing breath support for ◻ Where do you think ujjayi happens? movement. And, ujjayi may be used by the practitioner or called for by a teacher for reasons other than stability.

◻ What purpose do you think ujjayi serves?

“Yoga is a controlled stress experiment.” ◻ Did you come into this class with ideas or —Leslie Kaminoff opinions about belly breathing and chest breathing? Have your ideas shifed?

2.12 BANDHAS More than a set of muscles

▶ The act of integrating breath and movement gives rise to the bandhas. Ujjayi is one way of integrating breath and movement.

▶ Bandhas help us manage the flow of movement through diaphragms and layers of our body, and in this way, they support the integration of our vertical axis.

▶ A lock, or seal, in any of the diaphragms (ex: thoracic diaphragm, pelvic floor, soft palate, vocal cords, etc) could be called a bandha.

KEY POINTS 2.13 PRANA-AYAMA Be prepared to discuss in class. The traditional definition – breath control – comes from dividing the word into prana and yama. Prof. T. Krishnamacharya, a master grammarian, broke it down as prana and ayama, implying a broader definition: breath un-obstruction, consistent with the reality of the voluntary and involuntary aspects of our breath. prana life force, breath yama restrain, control ayama lengthen, extend, stretch

“Nature, in order to be commanded, must be obeyed.” —Sir Francis Bacon

Anatomy in Acton NOTE: There are no right or wrong answers to the questions below. As teachers and yoga practitioners, we believe it’s very valuable to be able to ask these questions in any context, and our breathing habits are no exception.

This is how Amy likes to ask it:

▶ “Do you know what you are doing?

▶ Do you know why you are doing what you are doing?

▶ Are you doing what you want to be doing?

▶ Can you make another choice?” In short, can you identify your current habits and then choose if you want to continue them, or make a change?

UJJAYI ◻ How do you use ujjayi in your current practce? If you don’t currently use ujjayi, how might it ft in to your practce? Do you fnd that this breath patern emerges when you need it and fades away when you don’t? How ofen are you conscious of “turning it on” and “turning it of”?

◻ How do you talk about ujjayi in your style or school? How does it get cued to students, if at all?

◻ How has this unit supported or challenged your previous ideas about ujjayi?

BANDHAS ◻ Think about how you use bandhas right now in your practce. Do you feel like they emerge when you need them and fall away when you don’t, or are you conscious of trying to “engage” them?

◻ How do you talk about bandhas in your style or school? How do they get cued to students, if at all?

BREATH AND YOGA ◻ How has this unit supported or challenged your previous thoughts about breath & breathing in yoga?

◻ What are some ways you could play with these ideas in your practce to try to embody them?

UNIT 2: Terms & Defnitons abdominal cavity cellular respiration the area below the diaphragm containing the cells taking in oxygen across their membranes digestive organs; the back of this cavity is and releasing carbon dioxide back out bounded by the spine and the top is within the diaphragm lower ribcage. the primary muscle responsible for the shape- accessory breathing muscles change of breathing any muscles other than the diaphragm that can external respiration participate in shape-change of the abdominal inhale and exhale; air into and out of the lungs; and thoracic cavities exchange of gases between the air and alveoli in alveoli the lungs deepest part of lungs, at the ends of all the internal respiration branches; where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange of gases between blood and tissues in are exchanged between the air and blood; the body; the movement of oxygen and carbon surrounded by capillaries dioxide through the blood to and from cells; ayama includes cellular respiration to lengthen or extend, remove restraints (lit. ishvara “stretching, extending”) aspects of nature we cannot change (lit. - bandha “master, lord, supreme soul”) support, seal a diaphragm of the body (lit. “bind, prana fasten, restrain”) life force (lit. pra “first, before” + ana “breath”) capillaries pranayama tiniest blood vessels in the body; small enough breath control, or breath extension, to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass un-obstruction through thin membranes

S-L-A-R-A svadhayaya characteristics of the diaphragm: study of oneself, introspection (lit. – sva “self” + adhyaya “reading”) S = shape double dome shape convex cranially (concave tapah caudally) changing what is changeable, working against habits (lit.“heat”) L = location the top is behind the nipples within the thoracic cavity ribcage and the bottom extends to the lumbar the area surrounded by the ribcage above the spine behind the navel diaphragm; contains the heart and lungs; the back of this cavity is the spine A = attachments lower attachments are to lower margins of ujjayi the ribcage and front of lumbar spine, upper breathing technique that produces sound, attachments are to central tendon involving a narrowing of the airway (lit. udana “upward breath” + jaya “victorious, conquering”) R = relations heart and lungs are attached (via connective yama tissue) to the superior surface; the abdominal to restrain or control (lit. suppress, restrain)How organs are attached (via connective tissue) to do you talk about ujjayi in your style or school? How does it get cued to students, if at all? the inferior surface

A = action Suggested Reading in Yoga Anatomy the action of the diaphragm is to increase ▶ Chapter 1, pp. 4 – 21 the volume of the thoracic cavity three- dimensionally by approximating its upper ADDITIONAL RESOURCES and lower attachments. http://fundamentals.yogaanatomy.net/glossary/

▶ Video Glossary – Diaphragm Attachments