TrumpetChat

son-of-sam · High C Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 68

Here follows a yogic breathing technique which I find very beneficial for producing a large airflow and enlivening practice sessions. Try it out - the benefits are many!

Standing or sitting:

Keep spine and head upright.
Place finger tips on shoulders.
Breathe in through the nose as you bring the elbows towards each other.
Raise elbows and draw big outward circles with the elbows.
As the elbows descend exhale through the nose. As they come together, inhale and keep the breath and movement going.

Keep this going in a circular motion, working SLOWLY and to the rhythm of your breath.
Soon your body will "tell" you how many times to do this: some days 5, others 7 or 9....
Learn to "listen" to your body and work with it. Each day the body will have different needs and respond a little differently, some days it will become very open and others it will be tighter. Yogic practices teach us to work with the body and never against it.

After a pause repeat in an anticlockwise direction, breathing in as the elbows come out and up, exhaling as
they come together and down, repeating cyclically and doing the SAME NUMBER of rotations as you did in a clockwise direction.

Sam