- According to abc-of-yoga.com, yoga is a 5,000-year-old tradition which allows practitioners to improve both their bodies and minds. There isn't any one religion particularly associated with yoga. Although it originated in South Asia with people of mainly Hindu and Buddhist heritage, yoga is practiced today by people of many religious backgrounds.
Breathing exercises, or Pranayama, are one of the three main structures of yoga, along with physical exercise and meditation. These exercises are intended to help people learn to control their breathing and thereby improve health.
Some people tend to slouch, breathe through their mouths or suck in their stomachs, decreasing lung capacity and the efficiency of the respiratory system. When people aren't breathing properly, it decreases the amount of oxygen entering the blood stream, ultimately making it harder for the body to expel toxins. Yoga breathing exercises teach you how to breathe properly, eventually without even thinking about it. - One of the best things about yoga breathing exercises (and yoga in general) is that it doesn't cost anything and requires no equipment. All you need is a little bit of knowledge and a place to practice.
Among the most important things to remember when starting yoga breathing exercises is that you should always breathe through your nose. The nose has hairs and mucous membranes that filter the air you breathe, preventing tiny particles from entering the lungs and causing damage. Some yoga practitioners also believe that Prana (meaning "life force') is absorbed through the nose.
There are three main types of breathing in yoga. High breathing uses the upper portions of the lungs. This is what you do when you raise your shoulders puff your chest out. This should be avoided, as the upper portions of the lungs are the smallest and allow the least amount of air to enter the lungs. Also undesirable is middle breathing. This is when the middle portions of the lungs are used.
Low breathing is breathing that involves the lower portions of lungs. You are using low breathing when you relax your shoulders and push your stomach out with each breath. Yoga teaches that this is the type of breathing that should be used in our daily lives, because the lower portions of the lungs are the largest and allow the most air to enter the lungs.