Pranayama

When I studied yoga in the Iyengar cell in Leicester many moons ago we were always told that a pupil had to have mastered the opening out of the chest area before they should attempt pranayama. We were also taught that pranayama should be taught on a one-to-one ratio; one pupil, one teacher.

Prana means Vital life in Sanskrit and the ancients had noticed the correlation between breathing well and feeling well.

In South Wales there was a wonderful man called Phil Jones who had problems in his lungs caused by working in the mines. I remember being in a class in the seventies, where he talked about lying in bed more or less waiting to die and picking up a library book that had been put by his bedside on yoga. The postures were a dream away, he didn't have the strength to get out of bed but he decided he could try deep breathing which he did.

Slowly, slowly the deep breathing began to work its magic and he felt better and better and started to experiment on the more advanced breathing exercises.

When I met him he was practising Hatha yoga too and looking amazing.

So never underestimate the power of breathing well.

I'm going to encourage you to focus on your breathing and to discover your normal breathing style. Then we will work on deepening the breath and develop a few gentle breathing techniques that will bring a peaceful feeling of well-being.

And if you are already doing the breathing exercises I offer, and want to know more; do please look for an advanced teacher of pranayama with whom you can explore the subject safely.

The lady sitting in a good position for pranayama is about seven months pregnant.