How do you breathe? Do you think about it? Do you ever pause to notice what happens when the breath comes in? And then what happens when it goes out? The 4th limb is arguably the “easiest” of the 8-limbed path – Pranayama – aka breathing. Typically we neglect the breath until it feels strained or absent. We all breathe automatically, it’s autonomic. We don’t have to think to breathe, but there are ways of breathing that are better than others for us physiologically.
We have covered this extensively over the years, but simply put when you breathe your belly should expand out on the inhale and go back in on the exhale.
You just did that, didn’t you? What did you notice?
It’s not the inhales that make a huge difference, it’s the exhales.
When you exhale – long and slow and your belly moves in – it signals to your brain that you’re safe and that it’s ok to rest, digest, and reproduce.
But your belly didn’t move in on your exhale? Or your exhale was short? Maybe your belly went out when you exhaled? Now what?
Well, we can work on that.
Next week, we’ll go over a few different breathing techniques to help you relax – and in turn – rest, digest, and most importantly (cause you’re on Orchid Experience blog) reproduce.