Beginner’s Level Pranayama That Senior Care Providers Should Learn About
Pranayama is the practice of deliberately using the human breath to smooth out the fluctuations of an actively thinking mind, or ‘Chitta’. It’s a doorway to practicing mindfulness in the most essential function in life, mastering the breath. The awareness of art of breathing is an art that has been around for centuries. The breath typically flows an average of more than a dozen times per minute in our bodies. Per data from the American Lung Association, that’s nearly 20,000 cumulative breaths each day. Practitioners from both beginner and expert levels can stand to gain from the incorporation of some of the beginner’s pranayama techniques listed in the following sections, whether they do so on their mat or just any time that life proves hectic. You only need a few minutes, a pose like siddhasana, a comfortable seat, & time and space devoid of distractions.
1) Natural Breath Is A Powerful Storyteller
Just breathing and taking note of your natural breath are two things that precede all pranayama. These are required steps for practitioners of every level. The human breath is the only body function that can be both voluntary and involuntary, while also revealing you unconscious mental, emotional, and physical patterns. These patterns are only transformed or healed after we actually choose to identify and recognize them. If not, your breath is going to continue telling the story of you, regardless of whether or not it has an audience. Once you know that you have the power to influence your breath through sound, rhythm, and depth, you’ll understand the true power behind pranayama. Do this immediately:
- Breathe in, noticing any thoughts that come up
- Breathe out, again noticing thoughts as they might disappear
- Allow yourself the opportunity to release any attachments you have to these thoughts during your time of meditation
- Go back to your life with a mind that is open, clear, and calm
2) Sahita Pranayama Provides Helps Still The Mind
Kumbhaka is a resting state, and it exists in a layer between the active process of both inhalation and exhalation. The practice of this method is able to increase both physical and mental endurance, putting a focus on stillness, provided you make no effort to hold your breath forcefully, as this would create additional anxiety. If you’d like to benefit from this without extra stress, do this:
- Inhale a focused yet natural breath, and then pause
- Hold your breath, long enough for you to enjoy some stillness, but not so long that you struggle or get uncomfortable
- Exhale your natural breath before pausing again
- Hold your breath, again noticing the stillness
- Repeat this sequence for as long as 5 minutes prior to taking Savasana
3) Bhramari Is Great For The Busy Bee
Bhramari roughly translates as ‘big bee’. You might want to save this calming form of pranayama for when you actually get a few minutes to yourself, because this form can get noisy. You’ll get the biggest gains if you make the most audible sounds you can, given that the vibrations send out a soothing wave across your nervous system, which should create homeostasis between your body and mind.
- Inhale totally through both of your nostrils
- Exhale, and while doing so, make the buzzing sound a bee would
- Repeat this sequence for as long as 5 minutes prior to resting in Savasana
4) Dirga Goes With Your Gut
This is also called 3-part breath by some senior care providers. The technique incorporates sequential breathing:
- Start your breathing from your diaphragm, first filling up your abdomen
- Then, move the same breath into the lungs
- Finally, end your breath by lifting up your upper chest
Dirga pranayama is most easily learned by beginners if they practice it laying down with a sandbag or thick blanket over their belly, letting it rise and fall respectively during inhalation and exhalation.
5) Lion’s Breath Can Help You Roar
Also known as simhasana, this will help build up throat muscles for the more advanced practices of pranayama. Beginners typically feel a bit shy about making the Lion’s face, but inhibitions are released through this pose, allowing practitioners the chance to discover their true and authentic voice, which helps them get rid of extra tension.
This is how you can u can get in tune with the universal energy that lays within (your soul):
- Settle into a position where you are kneeling upright, placing your hips onto your thighs with your palms resting faces down
- Inhale through your nose deeply, before exhaling with a wide mouth, sticking out your tongue with eyes wide open, and as you let your breath go, do so with an “HA” you and others can hear
- Repeat this a few times before following it with a resting pose, like Savasana or Child’s pose
- Typically, when our breath fades into the background and gets out of focus, it is a reflection of how our lives are going: barely heard, shallow, and taken for granted.
The next time you show up on your mat, look for deeper meaning. Speak your voice with power and from your center, so that you may appreciate yourself and others around you. Inhale peace, and also exhale it too. For more information on the services offered by our senior care providers, contact us today or give us a call for immediate assistance. Make sure to check out our blog for related content.
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