Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out
by Beccy – City of London – Aug 2018
Of all the exercise I do, yoga makes me most mindful of my breathing. Not only to give a rhythm to the movements, but to remain centred. To block out the other noises around me. To focus internally. To ease the muscles that little bit deeper into each stretch. To keep the body flowi
ng.
Breathing is something that comes second nature, without thought, every day. But when it’s brought to the forefront of your mind in a yoga class it can be difficult to understand its importance until you see drastic improvements.
I’ve been practicing yoga on and off for 10 years, but until early 2017 hadn’t felt any real improvements in my movements, balance or flexibility for a long time. When I started with Three Jewels, the first difference – to any other class I’ve taken – was being told to focus on my breath instead of the movements.
My mind had always been focused on getting into position and thinking “I’m doing yoga’’. I didn’t quite understand the importance of focusing on how I was breathing until I noticed how much longer I could hold warrior postures and downward-facing-dog. Then how much deeper into these postures I could get. Then how much closer I could get to my legs in a forward bend. How much easier it felt to hold balances. How much easier it was becoming to push my body to go that little bit further with each practice.
All because I was told to focus on my breath, letting the movements flow with my breathing instead of the other way around. It’s the key element to any practice I do now, and I’ve seen more improvements in my own ability in the past 18 months than I had done the 8 years prior.
All because I was told to breathe.
THREE JEWELS WELLNESS 