Diaphragmatic Breathing

I've just got back into a regular meditation practice and the first question that sprang to mind was “What is the right way to breathe? Do I use any of the Pranayama methods?” Casting my mind back to the time – years ago – when I was first taught how to meditate, I could not recall my teacher giving any instruction on the matter. So I have researched the question afresh and the answer appears to be diaphragmatic breathing – the breath the body automatically uses during relaxation and deep sleep. This sort of explains why my first yoga teacher didn't think it necessary to mention it, but it is nice to have it spelt out (thank you Swami Janaeshvara Bharati for doing that).

The concept “diaphragmatic breathing” is very often used as synonym to “abdominal breathing”. I do not think merging the two is helpful, and I will personally use the former to designate breathing powered by the diaphragm only, without abdominal or any other muscles involved.

The diaphragm is a wide muscle dividing the thorax from the abdomen. It is shaped like  an upside-down bowl, whose concavity increases on the out-breath. On the in-breath, the diaphragm contracts, flattens and pulls down, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity and pushing downwards the digestive organs underneath. As a result, the upper abdomen passively expands (without any abdominal muscles having to engage in the movement). The lower ribcage also flares out passively, solely as a result of the diaphragm's contraction, with no thoracic muscles needing to be activated.

Practising diaphragmatic breathing

The aim of the exercise is to make your breath as deep as possible by contracting the diaphragm only. Awareness of abdominal and thoracic muscles you have developed using other breathing methods helps – the better this awareness the better you will be at leaving those groups of muscles  relaxed during this exercise.

I have personally found that it is easiest to practice diaphragmatic breathing in a seated posture. While lying down, the abdomen sinks a lot further at the end of the out-breath, which in turn calls for a deeper in-breath and the temptation to engage the abdominal muscles. Perhaps lying down is useful at a second stage of practice, to add an extra challenge.

1. Sit comfortably on a chair or on the floor, in a sitting pose.
2. Start by focusing on an out-breath. Breathe out as far as you can and wait for the inhalation reflex to kick in by itself.
3. On the in-breath, feel your diaphragm pushing down into your abdomen. If you need to develop more awareness of your abdominal and thoracic muscles, placing one hand on your lower belly and the other on your upper chest can help – these parts of your body should not move during diaphragmatic breathing
4. Relax into the exercise.
   Diaphragmatic breathing is the most relaxing of all types of breathing, so the more you practise it the more relaxed you should feel.

My New Approach to the Cobra Pose

Many years ago, when I was first learnt the Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), I received a set of instructions very similar to those given by the "Yoga Journal" website: “Straighten the arms to lift the chest off the floor, going only to the height at which you can maintain a connection through your pubis to your legs”. I was quite flexible at the time and I thought I was doing this posture quite well,  following my yoga teacher's instructions to the letter.

Fast forward twenty years and three yoga teachers later. One important thing I have learned in all this time is that  approaches to yoga vary hugely from teacher to teacher, even staying within the Hatha Yoga domain. After relocating and becoming unable to attend the classes of my very first yoga teacher, I found it difficult to warm up to different teachers and different styles. But at some point I realised that listening to different points of view was useful. And that comparing approaches and making up my own mind about the best or most useful way to execute a posture was after all a good thing.

The Cobra pose is a good example of questioning and re-learning. The first piece of information that made me question my Cobra execution is in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga" by Joan Budilovsky and Eve Adamson. They make the point that a snake doesn't have arms, so “you shouldn’t rely on your arms for this pose”. The following image is the illustration of Bhujangasana featured in this book:




Compare this with the Yoga Journal photo, and you will notice straight away that the arms are bent and the arching of the back is nowhere as impressive. And no, this is definitely not because we are looking at a beginners' book. One of the instructions given by Joan Budilovsky says: “your heels and toes are together”. If you try the posture this way, you will find  that keeping the feet and legs together seriously limits the arching of your back. Maybe this is not the pose you want to show in the photo that could prove to the world what an accomplished yogi you are. But the point is this: Joan Budilovsky's version of the posture is the one that really works the back muscles. As the authors point out, Bhujagasana is about “allowing the strength of the spine to move you”.

Joan Budilovsky is not the only one to take this view. Check out this website - Advaita Yoga Ashrama written by Swami Atma and you will find a very similar approach to this asana.

My own conclusion about the Cobra is that the version described by the "Yoga Journal" is about spine flexibility - the arms carry the weight and the back lets itself be bent as much as the flexibility of your spine will allow it. But if you want to strengthen your back muscles through Cobra, then you should follow the advice of Joan Budilovsky and Swami Atma.