2 Practices to Cultivate Healthy Diaphragmatic Breathing And How They Work

The sandbag and Makarasana are 2 excellent ways to strengthen the diaphragm cultivating healthy diaphragmatic breathing.

Yoga is about the breath. We were born with healthy diaphragmatic breathing but have lost it over the years due to stress, anxiety, chaos, and many other environmental interferences. We start to breath somewhere in our chest and we breathe through our mouths. We must strengthen our diaphragmatic muscle and focus on sending the breath deep into our abdomen.

The breath is a barometer for the nervous system.

• As our nervous system becomes imbalanced, breathing changes. It becomes erratic, shallow, and jumpy. Sometimes we don't breath at all.

• This change registers in our mind and promotes internal distress which sustains poor breathing. This internal cycle begins and is reinforced by our poor breathing habits and stress increases.

• Learning to breathe correctly will break this cycle because deep diaphragmatic breathing triggers the body's relaxation response.

• The breath is a barometer for the nervous system. Focus is on deep, smooth, even, continuous, and silent breath.

• We relearn how to breathe in a way that is beneficial.

Breath Training Practices include strengthening our diaphragm by:

1. Crocodile Pose or Makarasana

2. Sandbag Breathing

Both of these tools strengthen our diaphragm. We are conscious of where our breath is when they are utilized.

Crocodile Pose or Makarasana

• Breathing into Makarasana for 5 - 10 minutes per day relaxes us and has an amazingly calming effect on the body and mind.

• We lie on our belly, abdomen close to the floor, arms crossed in front of us with our heads resting on our crossed arms and our legs comfortably relaxed. We focus on our breath, connecting to the mat with our abdomen and feel where our beath goes.

• As we focus on diaphragmatic breathing, our nervous system calms down. We balance mastery over the nervous system so as to balance our inner selves.

• The pressure of our abdomen into the floor also strengthens the diaphragm to be more effective.

• Our head resting with our eyes closed allows complete focus on the diaphragm and our breath

Sandbag Breathing

• lying on our back in copse pose (shavasana) and placing the sandbag on our abdomen

• feel the breath flowing in and out

• let the breath flow without pause between breaths

• our focus automatically goes to our abdomen simply because the sandbag is there

• you will notice the increased pressure created when inhaling and

• you will notice the complete exhalation as the sandbag is extra weight on the abdomen

• strengthens the diaphragm

• tones the muscles of the abdomen

https://www.himalayaninstitute.org/wisdom-library/stress-relief-secret-crocodile/