Why Teach Breathing in Yoga?
A friend wrote to me that she was having anxiety problems, and that her husband is having difficulty sleeping. "Aren't you both still practicing yoga?" I asked. "The breathing is usually really great for stress and sleep problems." "Oh, yes, we both still go regularly, but more for the stretching and flexibility and less for the breathing." Two weeks previously I had attended a yoga class at a community center, and I believe I heard the words "inhale," or "exhale," approximately four times in an hour. When I tell people about the benefits of yoga and they take a class that doesn't emphasize breathing, I feel like I recommended a great restaurant and they ended up in the fast food place next door. Yoga taught without incorporating breathing is like eating food without nutrition. It may make you feel good but ultimately it doesn't sustain you. I understand. The benefits of any practice are highly dependent on the teac...