If you are breathing you are doing yoga. The breath is known as Pranayama in Sanskrit. Breath is the tool we use to stimulate the energy flow especially within your physical practice. It can also be used to dislodge blockages to keep the flow of energy. Bernie Clark says, “To achieve liberation, the tantric or Hatha Yoga traditions required cleansing and opening the major pathways, the nadis, and stimulating the flow of prana through them.”
Energetically speaking there are two reasons to practice yoga. The first is to stimulate the movement of energy and the second is to remove the blockages. I invite you to think of your abandoned garden hose, the hose that has lived in your back yard for years. It has gone through the freeze-thaw cycles and years of neglect. The hose collects dirt, grime, the slow trickle of leaking water, insects, and the occasional rodent. One day, you decide to use the hose. When you fully turn on the water, nothing happens. Just as when you decide to start your practice. Turning on the water is akin to stimulating the flow of energy or prana. You cannot expect the “hose” to flow.
We must start the practice. We need to bend it, twist out the kinks, loosen the blockages and get the water flowing freely. Just as when you start to do our yoga practice. We need to bend it, twist out the kinks, loosen the blockages and get the energy flowing freely. The best way to start is via our breath.
Here are some tools and techniques to connect your body and breath:
