This blogpost offers an introduction to deep belly breathing at the office! For over ten years, St. Louis Corporate Yoga has offered more than 2,500 yoga classes to the corporate clientele in St. Louis, Missouri. Learn here in this wonderful blogpost why deep yoga breathing works and how easy it is to implement a daily deep breathing yoga practice.
Deep yoga breathing unlocks the diaphragm muscle, associated with courage. When we breathe correctly, we ignite the parasympathetic nervous system and calm the anxious mind. Breathing deeply massages all the internal organs, reconnects us to our lightness, strength and inner peace. When our mind is calm, the body is at peace. Widespread scientific evidence tells us that deep relaxation and breathing lowers blood pressure and causes a decrease in the bodies cortisol or stress hormone levels.
Breathing correctly reignites our natural presence and desire to be open, curious and explorative both in our thinking and discussion with others. Deep breathing ignites our courage, up levels of positive thinking, and increases feelings of trust, connection, motivation and appreciation. Breathing soothes the nervous system, helps us to remain grounded and seek out solution based practices. Shifting our focus onto the breath, wherever we go, we can find the natural ability to awaken and realize our natural state is joy!
Wayne Dyer once said, change the way you see something and what you will see changes. Friendly people live in a friendly world, hostile people live in a hostile world, same world.
Here is a beautiful yoga breathing exercise written by one of our favorite yoga teachers, Nicole Thompson, who currently teaches corporate onsite yoga for St. Louis Corporate Yoga.
Breathing Practice
“Lie flat on your back and close your eyes. Breathe naturally. In through the nose, and out through the nose.
Begin to deepen your breath. Inhale, 1,2,3,4. Exhale, 1,2,3,4. Feel the breath fill your lungs. Exhale slowly, completely. Inhale. Feel the space it creates between the ribs. Exhale slowly. Breathe into your side ribs. Notice how the chest expands, creating space from your collar bones down to your abdomen.
With each inhalation, scan your body. Notice any tightness or tenseness and breathe here and as you exhale, release the tension. With each breath in, locate some area where you’re gripping or holding tension, even just a little bit, and with each exhale, release that part of the body. You can start to cultivate Ujayii breath and ride the breath in and out of the body. We do this by slightly constricting the passageway in the back of the throat to create an audible hissing sound on the inhale and exhale. It can help throughout our practice to return to this breath when our mind begins to wander or we find ourselves struggling in a pose.
Place your hands on your belly and breathe into your belly. Let the inhale pour into the belly and fill the lungs. Exhale completely, getting rid of all of the old air to make space for fresh air. Feel your belly rise and fall slowly with each breath. The breath is a wave. Follow that wave in and out of the body slowly, consciously. Listen to the sound of the waves.”
If you are interested in reaping the tremendous benefits of onsite corporate yoga and joining the ranks of our many different corporate yoga clients, why not set up a personal consultation phone call to see how onsite yoga classes can bring positive change at your company. Just give us a call at 314-630-1677! Namaste.