What makes yoga such a powerfully positive practice for both body and mind? The focus on the breath, which has the power to transform mind and body, and to strengthen the connections between both. One of the simplest ways to do this is to begin moving from the breath.

The breath is the most direct link between the body, the subconscious, and the conscious mind. Breathing is a bodily act that is the result of the contraction of skeletal muscles, which are generally under conscious control. However, breathing is normally a subconscious act: When you forget to breathe, you are still breathing. The breath can also be directed consciously, which is easy to demonstrate. You can consciously change your breath, for example by slowing it down, or by stopping it. However, when you run out of oxygen while holding your breath, your subconscious mind compels you to breathe again. Moving from the breath teaches you to become aware of your breath. Once you become aware of your breath, you can learn to change it deliberately to affect your subconscious mind.

The Connection between Breath and Mind is a Two-Way Street

Interestingly and importantly, the interactions between the mind and the breath are two-way interactions. Not only can either your conscious or subconscious mind direct the breath, but through the conscious regulation of the breath you also have the power to influence your subconscious. Modifying the breath allows you to deliberately act upon the autonomic nervous system, which is typically not under conscious control.

Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is responsible both for stressing you out, and for calming you down. The ANS releases stress hormones into your system to make you more alert, and also lowers stress hormone levels to calm you down. When you become aware of your breath and learn how to alter it deliberately, you can consciously influence your ANS. You can breathe faster, more powerfully, and higher in the torso to increase your power output when desired. Perhaps more importantly, you can also breathe slower, more gently, and lower in the torso to move your subconscious out of stress mode.

Mind-Body Integration through Moving from the Breath

The greater integration of mind and body is perhaps the most powerful benefit of a truly breath-centered practice. To paraphrase Fritjof Capra, experiencing mind and body as a unity is spiritual experience. However, there is also a cool side benefit. Learning to move from the breath also allows you to move into (and out of) challenging poses more effortlessly, with more grace, more mindfulness, and increased safety.

This week we will learn how to move from the breath to create a truly breath-centered practice. We will learn how to up-regulate and down-regulate our autonomic nervous system deliberately using the breath. We will also focus on using our breath to take us into poses with less effort, and with more awareness, more grace, and more joy.