Breathe to Relax your Brain

by Brenda Bryan - CYI, RYT  

In a culture of much thinking and doing, we don’t often consider relaxing the brain as an important aspect to creating overall health and well-being. The practice of becoming more aware of and working with our breath—pranayama is a wonderful tool to calm and settle the ever-active mind. In fact, calming an agitated or overly active mind is one of pranayama’s hallmarks. Working consciously with the breath allows the energy (prana) within the breath to reach, expand and relax all areas of the body, including our busy brains. An added bonus to using the breath to relax and settle the mind is that when you do need to kick into thinking and doing mode, you may be surprised to find your mind more clear and focused.

Putting Pranayama Into Practice

Try this simple, yet powerful breathing technique to settle the mind in stillness. Sit on the floor, using a cushion if needed, or in a chair with the spine long, shoulders heads back and collarbones broad. Allow the tailbone to descend gently downward. Take a moment to settle and just observe the breath. Soften and open to something greater.

When you are ready, raise your right arm and close off your right nostril with your thumb. Inhale through the left nostril and exhale back out through the left nostril. Repeat 12 times. When you are finished, release your right hand back to your lap and raise your left arm and close off the left nostril with your thumb. Inhale through the right nostril and exhale back out through the right nostril. Repeat 12 times. When you are finished, drop the technique and breathe normally for several seconds. Notice how you feel.