With Sophia’s surgery coming up, I’m trying to not make the mistakes of the past, where I get more anxious than Sophia, and I’m the one who feels like fainting in the hospital. I don’t think I breathe properly, especially when I’m nervous. I also have a deviated septum, so I tend to breathe through my mouth, which I’ve read is NOT the best way to breathe.
I remember reading an article about some sort of yoga that deals specifically with breathing. Do any of you do yoga? What does it do for you? I really know very little about yoga, which should be a surprise to you, since there are as many yoga studios as fish taco stands in Redondo Beach. I’m most interested in the breathing aspect of it, rather than the ability to flex myself like a pretzel. They do yoga at the gym, but it seems less focused on breathing than exercise. I’m also a little turned off by the pseudo-religious aspects of places like the Rising Lotus Yoga Studio:
Come join us for an evening of ecstatic chanting. No singing experience needed, only a willingness to open your heart (and your mouth) to the blissflul flow. Kirtan (from the sanskrit word for singing) is easily learned and instantly memorable. The form is simple: a lead group calls out the melodies. The crowd responds. Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, is also the mother tongue of many modern languages. But the true meaning of its sounds are in the effect they create. As everyone’s breathing becomes synchronous, a feeling of unity and timelessness arises. When we sing without restraint our heartfelt expression brings peace and joy and meditation follow effortlessly.
Am I being too judgemental? If we’re going to be singing songs to relax, why do we have to do it in Sanskrit? If we’re going to use some obscure language, why not Yiddish?
And most importantly, through yoga, can I really perfect my tantric lovemaking like Sting?
I’ll probably wimp out about going to yoga, but I’m still curious about YOUR experiences, and what type of yoga you most recommend.
A Year Ago on Citizen of the Month: Fat People
I’m not very experienced with yoga but when I was pregnant I took a self hypnosis class that taught me how to relax my body through breathing techniques. It’s incredible how you can train your mind & body to relax. And yes the hypnosis did get me through 15 hours of labor without any drugs. It’s incredible what your mind can accomplish. I highly recommend hypnosis. You may want to consider it as an option.
I hope that the surgery has gone well.
As for yoga. Yoga is religious- anything else is pseudo-yoga. I am a pseudo yoga instructor and yes- it can help, and no- it can increase stress (it can also hyperextend joints, etc). Struggling to push your body into uncomfortabe postions, while craning your neck to see the video, or see if the rest of the class is staring at you- yeah, that is stressful on body and soul. If I were you- or your instructor, at least- I’d recommend choosing only a few positions that will help your breathing, help you slow down. One of them would be the fish. And like the Hatha instructor above said- they sometimes use accessories. Goodness sake don’t buy them. Roll up bathtowels to get the right lift and lay over that. . . and I always recommend headstands- if for no other reason than some grown-ups haven’t been upside down since they were five and it is about trusting the strenght of the body- which eases one’s mind.
best of luck to you and your love!
I recommend hatha/integral.
The yogic breathing is called “pranayama.”
It can help, even if you are not into a full yoga discipline/practice.
hi neil. i may be a bit late in the game for a comment, but i actually just finished doing a kundalini yoga dvd (sound dirty, doesn’t it). it’s amazing! it focuses a good bit on breath work, both deep-breathing and something called the breath of fire, which is a light, more rapid breathing through the nose. very invigorating. kundalini yoga doesn’t require a lot of flexibility at first, but works to increase it, and it’s a great aerobic exercise, as well. i use ravi singh and ana brett’s dvds and really enjoy them(http://raviana.com/). not too new-agey, as long as you skip through the chanting at the very beginning. and ravi (narrator) can be a bit cornball, but the exercises are incredible. i don’t get along well with any other type of yoga. also, there’s very few standing poses in this type – more sitting and lying down — so it’s good for people with fallen arches (like me). enjoy!