Beginner yoga students often think that breathing is just something you do in the background while you’re making all those shapes with your body. But the breath is what ties the movement, stillness, and relaxation together: if you’re breathing in a tense, short way, your muscles will be tenser and your balance will suffer. If you lengthen your inhalations and especially your exhalations, you’re sending the message to your body that it’s okay to relax and release, even if your overall shape doesn’t change at all.
One way to feel this for yourself is to place one hand on your abdomen and the other hand on your chest, and breathe in through your nose. Which hand moves first? If you’re like most people, you’ll see your chest hand rising while your abdominal hand barely moves at all. This kind of breathing doesn’t give your body as much oxygen as it needs, and it also makes your shoulders and upper body tight and tense. If you consciously try to send the breath down so that your abdominal hand moves first, you’ll help your diaphragm function properly so your body gets all the oxygen it needs, and after just a few deep breaths like that you might feel your shoulders relax down and your jaw unclench, even though you didn’t think about either of those things directly.
In transitions between shapes, the breath can function as a kind of metronome to keep you from moving too quickly. For example, if you fold forward from standing, try moving on your exhalation so your torso can release toward your knees, rather than just dumping forward as you exhale. Then inhale to come up to standing again, which will support your spine and help you feel longer and more lifted. One thing you might find yourself doing, especially in vinyasa classes where you’re moving quickly, is trying to move faster than your breath, which can make your movements feel jerky and strained. Instead, try to match each movement to a full inhalation or exhalation.
If you take just 15 minutes to lie down and practice your breathing, you might be surprised at how much more easily you can practice the rest of the time. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor, and notice how you’re breathing without trying to change it at all. After a minute or two, you can start to lengthen your exhalations just a little, while keeping your inhalations comfortable. You can also add some simple movements to help yourself coordinate your breath with motion: for example, you could lift your arms up toward the ceiling as you inhale, then lower them back down as you exhale.
When your mind starts to wander (and it probably will!), you can always come back to the sensation of the breath moving in and out of your nostrils. Don’t try to force your mind to stay on your breath; just allow yourself to come back to it whenever you feel like it. Some days your breathing will feel easy and free, and some days it might feel a little stuck or strained. Either way is fine, and the more you breathe mindfully, the easier it will become. Eventually, it will stop feeling like something you need to do, and you’ll start to feel like it’s just something that happens and helps your whole practice.