Hurry Up – Relax! · 2 Better yet, it’s not just yogi’s who can benefit from mastering...

1339 – 133A Street Surrey, BC

Canada V4A 4C4

© 2004 Corinne Friesen

HHuurrrryy UUpp –– RReellaaxx!!

Breathing Themes

that Make Yoga Possible

– and Even Enjoyable!

A book Proposal by Corinne Friesen

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Corinne Friesen 1339 – 133A Street, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4A 4C4

[email protected] (604) 542-1606

Hurry Up - Relax Breathing Themes that Make Yoga Possible – and Even Enjoyable!

A book proposal © 2003 Corinne Friesen

At last! A yoga book that’s not about what body parts go where! This book doesn’t contort you into pretzel position and then leave you to get out of it on your own. It won’t wax lyrical about communing with your naval. It won’t assume that, if you’re not ‘getting it’, you simply haven’t tried long enough. There are over 2000 books that describe yoga in those ways. What this book does, is show you how to be able to experience yoga on a deep level, quickly and easily – using “Breathing Themes”. Breathing Themes are what make Serenity Yoga unique. It is the only yoga system that shows you ways to breathe while doing a posture to achieve certain results. By breathing in different ways during a posture you can deepen the stretch, experience calmness or explore the mind-body unity that people want from yoga. The breathing strategies in this book go beyond discussing things like alternate nostril breathing. They explore things like the Relaxation Response: Did you know that your body relaxes as you breathe out? And that you will stretch farther when you are more relaxed? So… Breathing Theme Number One, while you’re in your pose, notice how different parts of your body are letting go as you breathe out. Voila! You’ve stretched farther than you thought possible – and learned how to relax more deeply throughout your day. The Breathing Themes can be progressive, so that skills are built step by step as you learn each new Breathing Theme. This is a unique, innovative way of learning yoga. As it turns out, it’s also a fast track to getting to calmness and that mind-body connection. More than 12 million North Americans practice yoga at some level. Many more are interested in trying it, if only they could get away from yoga drill sergeants and gymnastics. Yoga is a 12 billion dollar industry, which has doubled in revenues from three years ago. People are eager for more. The prospective student and the ardent enthusiast will find the world of yoga open with the gentle, step-by step, practical approach of Breathing Themes in Hurry Up Relax.

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Better yet, it’s not just yogi’s who can benefit from mastering breathing and relaxing. The concept lends itself to an entire series. Hurry Up – Relax for Non-Yogi’s. Hurry Up – Relax in the Office, Hurry Up – Relax for Athletes. The principles can be widely and effectively applied. The books can be supported by my existing CDs. I have already spun off a self published booklet of humour called Duct Tape Yoga. I’ve developed a series of greeting cards that go with the series. There’s a lot we could do with the concept. As the head of Serenity Yoga, I’ve seen these Breathing Themes work for thousands of people. Thousands more tap into my web site every month to learn how to make yoga work for them. (Currently I have 5,000 unique visitors downloading over 32,000 pages a month. This is growing exponentially.) There is a ready audience, eager to discover how to hurry up – relax! Sincerely, Corinne Friesen

Corinne Friesen, the Erma Bombeck of Yoga, is the founder of the Serenity Yoga system. A former CBC host and journalist, and founding Director of Caerdwyn College of Natural Health, she has been breathing for most of her life. She’s practiced yoga for over 30 years and teaching ever since she figured out how to talk with her belly stuck next to her nose. You can learn more about Corinne and Serenity Yoga on the Audio Yoga website www.audioyoga.com. That’s where you’ll also find her CDs on the Serenity Yoga program.

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Hurry Up – Relax! Breathing Themes that Make Yoga Possible – and Even Enjoyable!

by Corinne Friesen © 2004 Corinne Friesen

Outline

Red Level Breathing Themes (Relax!) Breathing Themes that help you get started.

? Breathing Theme Number One - The Relaxation Response.

o Your body relaxes when you breathe out – which increases the stretch.

o Relaxing body parts that aren’t being used in the stretch. ? The Myth of Poses ? Breathing Theme Number Two - Relaxing Even More Deeply

o The longer you take to breathe out, the more time your body has to relax & the deeper the stretch gets.

? Breathing Theme Number Three - Step-by-Step Relaxation o Drill instruction in relaxing!

Orange Level Breathing Themes (Developing Good Breathing) These themes help you get comfortable with the basics of breathing when you’re in a pose, and help you become more comfortable and more graceful in general when doing a pose.

? Breathing Theme Number Four - When to Breathe

o Procedure for doing postures, including when to breathe. ? Breathing Theme Number Five - Exploring the Edge

o Getting more out of each breath and stretch. ? Breathing Theme Number Six - Abdominal Breathing

o Training your abdominals to do some of your breathing for you. ? Breathing Theme Number Seven - Breathing with the Front of Your Chest

o Training the muscles in the front of your chest to be fully involved in breathing.

? Breathing Theme Number Eight - Breathing with the Sides of Your Chest. o Shaping up the breathing muscles at the sides of your chest.

? Breathing Theme Number Nine - Breathing with Your Whole Body o “The Wave” Breathing Technique

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Yellow Level Breathing Themes (Pacing Your Breathing) Getting the most out of each breath, while developing a sense of flow.

? Breathing Theme Number Ten - Moving with the Breath

o Starting and ending breath and movements at the same time for flow and calm.

? Breathing Theme Number Eleven - 1:2 Breathing o Beginning to learn to pace your breathing.

? Breathing Theme Number Twelve - 1:1:2 Breathing o Mastering the middle step – comfortably holding your breath for

good exchange of air. ? Breathing Theme Number Thirteen - 1:1:2:2 Breathing

o Learning to fully pace your breathing. Preparing for Green Level (Gaining Confidence in What You Know)

Relax and just do yoga. Green Level (Deeper States of Relaxation)

? Preparing for Breathing Theme Number Fourteen – The Fountain ? Breathing Theme Number Fourteen – Hurry Up, Relax!

o Relaxing in a single breath. Combining earlier Breathing Themes and The Fountain to relax even more deeply as you stretch.

? Discovery Exercise – Tension and Release o Preparing to get the most out of the rest of Green Level

? Breathing Theme Number Fifteen – The Sponge o A visualization that slows down your breathing and helps you

become deeply relaxed. ? Breathing Theme Number Sixteen – Combining the Fountain and The Sponge

o This is where your whole body can become deeply relaxed, in a single breath – even the muscles that are stretching. This encourages the stretch to go deeper, while you become very peaceful and comfortable with the pose.

? Breathing Theme Number Seventeen – Relaxing Internal Organs

Corinne Friesen – Outline

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Blue Level (Beyond Yellow and Green Levels)

As you master Yellow Level (pacing your breathing and moving with the breath) and Green Level, (becoming deeply relaxed in a single breath), you become ready to experience a serene sense of flow in the postures.

? Breathing Theme Number Eighteen – The Dance with Yourself o An extension of The Seventeenth Breathing Theme, this invites

you to as sense of deeply focused, relaxed flow. This is done as you move with the breath, feeling the flow of the breath moving through you, bringing you to a more relaxed state and giving you a deeper connection with your body. You feel more serene and peaceful.

Purple Level (Energy Flow)

? Preparing for Purple Level – Core Breathing and Ojai Breathing o Discover the experience of “breathing from your core” and apply

it to your yoga poses. Also learn Ojai Breathing – a classical yoga breathing method that will help you control energy flow. Finally, combine Ojai Breathing with Core Breathing for stronger experiences of the energies flowing through you.

? Breathing Theme Number Nineteen – Discovering Energy Flow o When Core Breathing is practiced in your yoga poses, you can

discover where you store energy, where it flows freely and where you block it. Different poses give us the opportunity to easily experience this. Other poses help us change the flow of energy toward more harmony and better health.

? Breathing Theme Number Twenty – Moving from Different Energy Centers ? Breathing Theme Number Twenty-One – Exploring the Chakras

o Core Breathing and your increased awareness of energy invites you to energize your chakras using different poses and breathing strategies.

? Breathing Theme Number Twenty-Two – Relaxing and Opening Energy Centers

o Your skill at deeply relaxing any part of you can now be combined with your understanding of energy centers, to allow you to relax and open yourself energetically.


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? Pictures of postures we talk about in this book.

? A Cheat Sheet for the Procedure for Executing Postures.

? Routines to help you learn the breathing themes.

? Breathing Themes & Routines to Make You Amazingly Flexible

? Breathing Themes & Routines for Super Human Strength

? Breathing Themes & Routines that Feel So Peaceful.


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HHuurrrryy UUpp –– RReellaaxx!!

Breathing Themes that Make Yoga Possible – and Even Enjoyable! by Corinne Friesen

I’m writing this imagining that you’ve tried some yoga and are now stuck in a

pretzel position. You’ve bounced over to your book shelf and you’re trying to get

help!

Well, I’m please to meet you. I’m even more pleased to see you’re trying yoga.

Not necessarily because of the benefits you’ll gain, but because as long as

you’re stuck in that pose, I’ve got a captive audience.

For those of you who haven’t tried yoga – this book is especially for you. Stay

with me, and you’ll soon be ahead of those with their feet duct taped to their

foreheads.

To begin with, I’ll divulge the first two secrets of yoga. Please do not pass these

on to professionals. They might get hurt.

Big Yoga Secret #1

You don’t have to be flexible to benefit from yoga.

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In fact if you’re not flexible, you have a tremendous advantage. It means you will

focus on learning about how breathing and relaxation will help your flexibility. It’s

the breathing and relaxation that are going to ripple into the rest of your life and

make you happy.

Please don’t tell anybody I told you that. Sometimes, the fact that I’m more

flexible than my students is the only edge I have over them.

Next time you’re doing a yoga pose, look in a mirror. Is your face all scrunched

up like you’ve found something very ancient in your navel? That expression is

your body’s way of saying, ‘Stop that’! The pain that follows is your body’s way

of saying “And I mean it’!

Flexibility is the technical word for a muscle that is fully relaxed. Pain is a signal

from your body that you’re definitely NOT relaxed!

If you’re in pain, your muscles are tight, being pushed past their limit and are

getting small rips and tears in them. Your body will then come to the rescue by

surrounding these tiny rips with water, to immobilize the muscle until it can heal –

in about 6 weeks! Immobilized means…. not loose and flowing with graceful

flexibility. It means hobbling around like a duck in a leg cast.

Big Yoga Secret #2

It’s not about pain!

Corinne Friesen, Hurry Up – Relax!

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So now you’ve probably figured out Big Yoga Secret Number 3.

A flexible muscle is one that will relax completely and let go, to allow you to

stretch.

Ahhh. I bet you thought this book is about Breathing Themes! You are about to

discover how relaxation and breathing are the same thing! The Breathing

Themes are going to train you to be deeply, profoundly relaxed.

Your Yoga Motto Pain no gain.

So the only real secret to yoga is …

learning how to relax !


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Breathing Themes are a way of turning anything you do into yoga.

Every stretch you can contort you body into can become a yoga pose. Do you

like to hang upside down on the couch? That can be turned into your own

personal yoga pose. Do you like to scratch your back with the bath brush?

Instant yoga pose, with prop! Got remedial exercises from the physiotherapist?

You can do these in a way that makes them yoga.

So what’s the difference?

In yoga, it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. Flailing in and out of shoulder

stand like a landed octopus isn’t yoga - it’s break dancing. However, the moment

you ease yourself into and out of the pose with some control, moving yourself

with the breath – that’s yoga.

Holding one foot in your hand and hopping up and down before you tumble to the

ground – that’s hop scotch. However, for that fraction of a second where you’re

holding the pose steady – that’s a yoga moment.

Breathing Themes allow you to connect with your body. They teach you control

and grace and help you becomes deeply focused. More than that, they teach

you to slow down and breathe better! These benefits ripple through your life.

You’ll become more relaxed. Stress will drop away from you more and more

quickly. You’ll become healthier and more energized. Studies are also starting


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to show that yoga breathing strategies will improve your immune system and

even help you prevent heart attacks.

Even more importantly, as far as Serenity Yoga is concerned, Breathing Themes

will help you learn yoga quickly, effectively and profoundly. You can use

particular breathing themes to help you learn poses and use other themes to help

you become more comfortable with them. Then you can use breathing themes to

help you become deeply relaxed while in the pose. These breathing themes can

help you build flexibility or strength, or allow you to connect with yourself while in

the pose. Some themes help you use the pose for energy. Other themes

encourage a deep sense of calm while holding poses.


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Red Level Breathing Themes

First Breathing Theme- Breathe & Relax!

I’m going to tell you the Biggest, Best Kept Secret in Yoga. It took me 15

years to discover this. I paid a lot of big yoga money to have teachers make

me figure this out for myself. Now I’m going to give it to you absolutely free

with the purchase of this book. Here’s the Big Yoga Secret:

That’s The Big Secret. I call it, The Relaxation Response. Please don’t tell

your yoga teachers I told you that. They have to make their living somehow.

You don’t have to take my word on this. You can notice it for yourself. Try the

following experiment right now:

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You’re body relaxes when you breathe out.

Take a big breath… when you let it go, notice that, for a fraction of a second, your body relaxes and lets go. (waiting, waiting, waiting while you try this …. ) (try this as much as you like!) (still waiting, cause I know this exercise can get addictive.) Throughout your day, take a second to notice this whenever it occurs to you.

If you like – go to my website and I’ll talk you through it…. www.audioyoga.com

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All of the breathing themes here develop this Relaxation Response in one

way or another. Master it and you won’t have to buy this book. However,

take this book home and I’ll help you train that Relaxation Response until you

can be very deeply relaxed in a single breath. That is a clever yoga trick that

anybody can do. It just takes a little knowledge, and some practice. It will

make you very flexible, without having to actually be flexible. And as you get

good at this, stress will start to drop aside, quickly and easily.


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Working with the First Breathing Theme

Use this First Breathing Theme whenever you are learning new poses or

routines. When you are learning something new in yoga, don’t worry about

becoming one with the universe yet. It’s enough of a challenge to remember

what body parts go where. It’s amazing if you even remember to breathe.

Until you are very comfortable with a pose, until it becomes second nature to

you, focus on the basics:

? Get the general idea of the pose, within safe boundaries.

? Come to terms with the pose. By that I mean, find ways to modify it so it

works for you.

? Remember to breathe in and out whenever and however it occurs to you,

and use the First Breathing Theme. Feel your body sinking down and letting

go each time you breathe out.

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* You’ll discover that any stretch will do here. (See the next page for my cat’s

opinion on that!) However, the later breathing themes work really well with

certain kinds of stretches. So if you’d like to get comfortable with those, you’d

be off to a good start. They include:

Abdominal Lifts

Back Bends

Bridge Poses, Pelvic Lifts

Butterfly poses

Bust Expansion,

Cat pose (of course)

Chest Expansion poses

Complete Breath

Dancer’s Posture

Elbow to Knee poses

Forward Bends, like Back Stretch

& Leg Clasps

Leg Folds

Leg Overs

Here’s how to use the First Breathing Theme in your yoga practice

Get into the stretch*. Make your best effort, but don’t get too caught up in

detail. Once you’re in the pose and have a handle on it:

? Take a moment to notice that your body relaxes as you breathe out.

? Then notice some parts of your body that are not involved in the stretch. Let

those parts relax, one by one. Feel them letting go, dropping away as you let

go of your breath.

Do this for every pose in your routine this week. This will start training you to

notice your Relaxation Response. It will start conditioning you to be more

relaxed when you’re in your yoga poses. It will start your mind believing that

you actually like doing yoga.


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Locust

Lunges & Warrior poses

Reclining Butterfly

Reverse Push Up (Back Push

Up)

Side to Sides

Side Bends

Standing Wide Angle with Twist

Twists

Triangle poses

Wood Chopper

You can see pictures of these poses in the back of this book, so you’ll have

an idea what stretches I’m talking about. If you’d like proper instruction on

them, you can go to my website:

www.audioyoga.com


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The Myth of Poses

Yogis make a habit of studying animals to understand what might be humanly

possible. Yet in all these eons, yoga has yet to master the instantaneous

transformation that cats demonstrate so easily. Cats are the greatest of all

yoga masters. They make yogic states seem effortless.

How can us mere mortals hope to achieve their sublime state? As my cat

dissolves on the window ledge, I hack away at my computer theorizing. I will

share with you what I’ve mastered so far, from the example of my great feline

guru.

You can make stretches up as you go along. No one has instructed my

cat how to stretch. He hasn’t had a course in it. He doesn’t have anyone

correcting his posture. He just goes for it! Whatever feels sooooo goooood!

You don’t need to know a lot of stretches.

What cat has more than a few really good ones?!

A few good stretches are like old friends we

linger with for a moment of refreshment. Master

a few good stretches that make you feel great!

Use them whenever the mood occurs to you. Who cares who is watching.


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Guru-Cat-san does not rush. I’ve clocked his arching stretch at 90

seconds. A minute and a half is a long time. Sit and watch your clock for 90

seconds if you want to realize just how long that is. Watch human beings and

see if there is anything they stay with as long as Guru Cat stays with that

stretch.

Accompany your stretch by good solid breathing. That arching stretch of

Cat-san is accompanied by an impossibly long yawn. Just when I think he’s

had a solid yawn and should be wrapping it up, he just yawns even more

deeply! Could that yawn possibly get any wider? Apparently – yes!


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Second Breathing Theme - Deepening What you Know

When you’re doing yoga, it’s very important to know how to relax. That’s

easy enough to say, but how on earth do you actually do it?! You may have

had a yoga drill sergeant commanding you to RELAX! But that doesn’t work

very well. You may have your own internal drill sergeant nattering at you the

whole time you’re doing yoga, “You should be relaxing, you know. You’re not

very relaxed right now. For heaven sakes, can’t you just relax! How are you

ever going to do yoga if you can’t even relax when I tell you to!”

That doesn’t work, does it?

What does work is focusing on your breathing.

Remember - your body relaxes when you breathe out. And – your mind

focuses when you breathe in. Listen to yourself breathing in and out and feel

your body letting go. The drill sergeants can’t penetrate it.

Big Yoga Secret #5

The longer you take to breathe out, the more time your body has to relax!

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Working with the Second Breathing Theme

So your Second Breathing Theme is to give that Relaxation Response a

chance to happen more deeply – by taking longer to breathe out.

My cat does not find what I wrote very riveting. He doesn’t think about all

these steps while he rolls around in the sunlight. He says that all you need is

a little instruction in Puddle Theory:

? Get into the stretch and get comfortable.

? Check for pain and make adjustments.

? Now go back to breathing in and out.

o Notice your breath as it comes and goes.

o Notice how your body is relaxing a little as you breathe out.

(You’ll notice this most with parts of your body that aren’t

doing the stretch.)

? After a few breaths like this, start taking a little longer to breathe out.

o Notice how that gives your body more time to let go and relax.

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Puddle Theory of Yoga ? Pick your favourite stretch. Pick a stretch that would feel great right now.

? Before you begin, think of how good it’s going to feel to stretch. Imagine which

parts of the stretch you want to linger over and enjoy.

? Slide into the stretch like you’re sliding into a comfy pair of slippers.

Now –this part is absolutely vital if you’re going to understand Puddle Theory:

? Every time you breathe in, feel your body opening up to welcome in each breath.

Take your time to notice your belly opening up, your chest expanding your

shoulders rising with the breath. Oh – yah! Air is good. Remember that cat

yawn. Just when you think the yawn is done, stretch it out even more!

? Take all the time in the world to let go of the air. There’s no rush. Notice how

good it feels to let their air go. Notice how your body is letting go as you breathe

out.

Of course, you don’t have to turn this into a splutter-fest, where you cough and

gag as you expel that last little bit of air. That’s not the purpose. The point is to

allow your body more time to relax, as you take longer to breathe out. At first, as

you hold any stretch, just take leisurely breaths out. Then take a little longer,

each time you breathe out. As you do this, your breathing will become slow and

easy. You’ll find yourself relaxing more and more deeply with each breath out.

Your body will let go. And the stretch will increase.

That’s how cats, puppies and babies fall asleep – right in the middle of whatever

they’re doing. We’re learning from the masters.


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The Third Breathing Theme - Step-by-Step Relaxation

(Actually, Step-by-Step Relaxation works with the First Breathing Theme, too,

by why rush?)

Step-by-Step Relaxation is a key part of your yoga training. To be a master

yogi, you’ll have to work very hard at relaxing.

Relaxation is a matter of hard, persistent training. Drill. Drill. Drill.

I’m actually serious about this. Relaxation is something we have to

remember how to do. We have to relearn how to relax. We can become

masters at it, with a little persistent training. First we learn to notice that

Relaxation Response that is already pre-programmed into you. Then we

apply it, deliberately and systematically, to letting go and relaxing. As we get

better at the Breathing Themes, we’re also learning tools to relax more and

more deeply. So, by the end of the book, I expect you to be asleep.

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Working with the Third Breathing Theme

Step-by-Step Relaxation

Most people have forgotten what relaxed feels like. A great way to start

remembering is to work your body very hard for a short period of time, such

as enjoying your favourite stretches – and then lie back and feel the tension

dissolving.

Give your body a really good stretch, one that demands the most from you, so

that you can’t pay attention to anything else except the stretching. This will

focus you. (You won’t be paying attention to any of your other problems while

you’re trying to keep that stretch under control!) And a good stretch will take

the knots and tension out of your body. That’s what the stretches are for!

Then lie back.

If you’re the kind of person who likes detailed instructions on how to do things

like lying down – there are many yoga manuals that go into the Corpse pose

in detail. The library of information we have on this pose is, of course,

gleaned by interviewing many corpses for their first hand experience.

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However, you can intuitively feel your way into this posture next time you’re

dead tired. Lie back. Find the position on your back that you’re most likely to

fall asleep in. This position is, coincidentally, the one that will make your body

the most comfortable for the longest period of time, while exerting the least

amount of energy. It is the position that opens up your air passages the most

for easy air flow. It’s the position that makes you the least interested in

moving. Which is good, because one of your main goals here is to lose all

interest in moving.

Try the following position. It works really well. People who normally can’t get

comfortable on their backs will find the tip about the pillows really helpful:

? Lie on your back.

? Neck, spine, hips and legs lined up with each other.

? Your thighs supported with a pillow. (Optional)

? Your chin pointing pretty much upward toward the ceiling. (That, and lining

up your body, gives you good air flow.)

? Take a breath to settle into place.

For the first minute or so, simply notice your breathing.

Notice the flow of the air as you breathe in.

Feel your body sinking down as you breathe out.


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Now your body is settled and your breathing is settled. You might feel your

mind is starting to settle down and focus. Let’s go deeper with this.

Start taking a little longer to breathe out.

You’ll feel your body sinking down even more when you take longer to

breathe out. (Remember, the longer you take to breathe out, the more time

your body has to let go and relax.)

Notice how much more relaxed your body is after a minute or two of this.

Now, we can go even deeper.

You’re going to relax your body, step by step, addressing each part of your

body, one part at a time, starting with your feet, going all the way up to your

head and face. To do this, you’re counting on The Big Yoga Secret – that

your body relaxes when you breathe out. This Big Yoga Secret goes with

The Big Relaxation Secret:

The Big Relaxation Secret

Your body relaxes when you breathe out.

? Whatever part of your body you’re paying attention to when you breathe

out, will especially let go and relax.


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So, to relax step by step, you would start like this:

This exercise is especially helpful at night, when you’re trying to get to

sleep. Or in the middle of the night, when you need to get back to sleep but

can’t.

You can also work this into your busy daytime schedule.

Several times a day, take a minute and do this exercise wherever you are.

Standing, sitting, lying down. Do one breathe for each area of your body. It

will slow you down, focus you and help you feel less stressed! (It’s great in

the car when you’re in a traffic jam, or when you’re on hold on the phone.)

As you breathe in ? Notice your feet.

When you breathe out ? Feel your feel dissolving, feel their weight dropping down.

? Let go of their weight as you let go of your breath.

Do this for about 6 breaths. Then go on to the next area of your body.

You can parcel up the rest of your body like this:

? your lower legs ? knees ? thighs ? hips ? spine & body ? right arm & hand ? left arm and hand ? head & face. especially paying attention to your

o forehead o eyes o jaw

This will take about 10 – 15 minutes.

The more you fit this into your day, the more you’re going to be able to

quickly drop stress.

Practice! Practice! Practice!


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This Step-by-Step Relaxation exercise is one of the most important parts of

yoga to master! (Aren’t you glad there’s a teacher out there who insists you

practice relaxing?) This exercise will remind you what it feels like to be

relaxed. It will give you moments in your day when you drop stress. It will

prepare you for the Ninth Breathing Theme, (Green Level). It’s going to make

the more demanding aspects of yoga easier for you.

If you’re in a rush to relax – you can resort to the short cut. You can use

Puddle Theory from The Second Breathing Theme as a relaxation fast track.

Cats can relax their whole body all at once, instantly. They do it naturally,

and are loath to share the secret with us until we’ve gotten to it by the long

route of complex, intricate exercises, such as Step-by-Step Relaxation.


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Orange Level Breathing Themes

Fourth Breathing Theme - When to Breathe

It’s important to get comfortable with when to breathe in and out during a posture.

This will help you get the most out of the pose and help it flow better for you. It

will keep you from resisting the pose, and can increase your flexibility while doing

it.

Use this breathing theme when you’ve kind of got the idea of a pose, (you’ve

used it a few times), but it’s still not second nature.

Do this breathing theme every now and then when you practice the pose. At

other times, go back to doing the First Breathing Theme, until you’re completely

comfortable with the pose.

In general:

You breathe out while going into - or out of - a pose.

But not always. (We can’t have it that simple or yoga teachers would be out of

work.) This general rule sometimes conflicts with a second general rule:

? You breathe in when your body opens up.

? You breathe out when your body closes shut.

The Fourth Breathing Theme is simply this: practice when to breathe in and when to breathe out when doing the pose.

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You can see it’s helpful to have instruction on when to breathe in and when to

breathe out. Why not let your body be your teacher? Try doing a pose and see

when your body naturally wants to breathe in and out. Chances are your

instincts will be good.

If not, get a cat – and study them closely.


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Working with the Fourth Breathing Theme

You get the most out of the Fourth Breathing Theme when you use it along with

a full, step by step procedure for executing the entire posture. The full

procedure goes like this:

1) Prepare

2) Relax

3) Focus

4) Acquire

5) Adjust

6) Relax

7) Breathe!

8) Release

Prepare to do the Pose

Get lined up well, so that you can do the pose with the least chance of injury! If

you line up well at the start, you’ll probably get better extension when you’re in

the pose. You’ll be more amazing to onlookers!

How to line yourself up depends on the pose you’re doing. Chances are you’re

starting from standing, sitting or lying down. Learn to stand, sit and lie down

with all your body parts lined up in the right places and you’ll be pretty much on

track. There are also little tricks you can do to start off well. For that, you’ll

have to refer to my Clever Yoga Tricks that Any One Can Do (and Appear to Be

Amazingly Flexible). It’s not in the book stores yet, so nag publishers for me,

so that they’ll publish it.

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Relax

You’re just about to stick your foot behind your ear and you’re supposed to

relax?! It’s not as hard as it sounds. Once you’re lined up to do the pose, you

bring your attention to your breathing. (This will take your mind off the

impending gymnastics.)

? Take a nice breath in (enjoy feeling your body opening up!)

? When you breathe out, feel your body letting go as you let go of the breath.

? Do this for a few breaths. Particularly feel some key areas as they let go –

areas that are often tight for you. For most people that includes the shoulders,

and the lower back / hip area.

? Also take a moment to feel the muscles around your eyes dissolving and

sliding down. As go the eyes, so goes the body.

Focus

Think about what you’re about to do. (Even people jumping out of air planes

think it through first – so you’re in good company.) Imagine yourself going

into the pose and doing the pose with excellence! Imagine each body part

flowing effortlessly into just the right position.

Remember

Relaxed Muscles Stretch Better!


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Reclaim your breathing theme here. By that I mean, remember to go back

into your breathing theme – cause, chances are, you’ve forgotten about it!

If you’re doing the This Fourth Breathing Theme, just notice your breath as it

comes and goes. Your Orange Level Breathing Themes are simply

remembering to breathe in and out, which is the essence of yoga!

Acquire

And – you’re off into the posture.

Not! We can’t have people doing yoga willy nilly all over the place. That will

eliminate the need for classrooms – and create more unemployment.

One of the most common mistakes beginners make is to launch themselves

into the pose. This is with wholehearted enthusiasm that I admire and try to

emulate. However, you’re like to get hurt this way and you’ll lose all the

benefits of that careful lining up, relaxing and focusing.

? First make a deliberate decision that – at the next appropriate place in your

breathing – you will go into the posture.

? Then – at the next appropriate place in your breathing – go into the posture.

This is usually while you’re breathing out, but not always.


33

Try to use some grace and control here. However, if you feel like a tangled

ostrich, that’s OK. Poise is something we’ll work on with later breathing

themes. Just try to go a little slowly.

Adjust

Now you’re in the pose. Chances are, you’re already thinking of getting out of

it. However, distract yourself and buy a little time, by checking for pain. If

anything is in pain, or if you feel muscles burning, you will need to make

adjustments.

If you’re in pain, either:

? You’ve already gone too far.

? You’re not aligned well.

? You’re doing a pose that’s too hard for you and need to try a simpler pose

that builds you up to it.

Pain is your body’s way of saying “Stop That!”

Continued pain is your body’s way of saying “And I mean it!”

When you push your muscles to the point of pain, they are getting little rips

and tears in them – that’s what’s hurting. To start to repair these rips and

tears, and to protect these small injuries, your body sends lots of blood and

fluids to the muscle. This makes the muscles swell a little – stiffening them

up. So, the result of pushing yourself to become amazingly flexible is – you

become less flexible. For as long as 6 weeks!

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Yoga is not about pain! It is not about enduring suffering. The reason Yoga

masters appear to be overcoming suffering in their poses, is that they’re not

suffering! They’ve learned little tricks, they’ve learned how to execute the

poses well and they’ve coaxed their bodies into these positions over years of

practice.

Relax! (Again)

Remember the deep sense of relaxation you had just before you went into

this pose? Well, you’ve probably lost it by now. You can return to that

feeling. (Honest.) Here’s the trick. You’re going to forget about the pose.

You’re going to let go of wondering if you’re doing it right. You’re going to

stop thinking about how you’re not sure you can hold it much longer. You’re

going to stop worrying if you’re up to this whole yoga thing.

Sure. But how? Go back to thinking about your breathing. Do your breathing

theme.

Breathe!

For now, try this:

? Draw slow breaths in.

? As you breathe out, feel parts of your body letting go. Notice parts that

aren’t involved in the stretch. See how those drop away. Feel them let go

and relax as you slowly let go of your breath.


35

In time, with lots of yoga practice, you’ll be able to become deeply relaxed in

a single breath – and then you can hold the pose as long as you like, even fall

asleep in it! (Honest!)

Release

Let go of the pose. Sounds simple enough. But, we can’t make it that easy

for you. Just as you got into the pose deliberately, (with poise and grace, of

course!), you can release it slowly and carefully.

Why is this important? First, you’re less likely to injure yourself. Second, it’s by

acting slowly and deliberately that we build our muscles and gain control over

what our bodies are doing. It’s also going to give you time to experience what

you’re body is doing – which is part of that mind-body connection you hear yogi’s

talk about so much.

So:

? Start by deciding that you are about to let go of the pose, but don’t let go yet.

? At the next appropriate place in your breathing, ease yourself out of the pose.

? And – this is very important – take the time to feel the tension dissolving out

of your muscles as they let go of the stretch. Feel the muscles releasing

and relaxing. Listen to them talking to you.


36

Chances are, your muscles are saying, “Ahhhhh! Thank you for giving me that

stretch. And thank you for letting go of it!”

This moment can take about 20 seconds – which, for beginners, is about the time

it takes for 4 – 6 breaths.

When you take the time to experience this last step, you start to enjoy what yoga

is doing for you. It feels soooo good to feel your muscles letting go of a stretch.

You start to notice that you actually do like yoga. You start to realize that you do

have muscles – in places you least expected. You started to get a feeling for the

exact length and shape of those muscles. The muscles tell you how much they

needed that pose, so you start to understand which poses are great for which

muscles when your body is bothering you. And, very importantly, feeling your

muscles relax gives them the chance to let go of the stretch completely.

In order to get the most out of the next stretch, your muscles have to let go of the

last stretch completely. They are returning to their neutral state. To give you their

best, they need to start from a relaxed, neutral state.

Remember: relaxed muscles stretch better!


37

Fifth Breathing Theme - Exploring the Edge

We do not breathe in or out evenly. Every breath has several stages in it.

Some stages flow quickly, some are slower, more halting. Some stages of

breathing are relaxed and easy, some are tight.

There is no right or wrong answer here. There won’t be a test on this. If

you’re a person who needs to know how well you’re doing with this discovery

exercise, write me and I’ll give you a passing grade. Better yet, write down

your own observations. You’ll have a chance to compare these notes with

notes written by the future you. That’s the person who will be giving you your

final grade.

Take a moment to notice your own breathing right now.

When you breathe in, notice the different stages. When is your breath

tight? When does it flow freely? When is it quick? When is it slow? What

parts of your body are engaged in breathing? At what stages are you

using them?

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Exploring the Edge

Those moments when you breathe in a little more or breathe out a little more

are “the edge of the breath”. The “edge of the breath” has a lot to offer you

when you take the time to notice it. It will help you strength and tone your

body. It will help you develop richer, fuller breathing; and it will help you relax

more deeply than ever.

Next time you breathe in:

? Notice that you’ve probably only taken in a partial breath.

? Breathe in a little more.

Next time you breathe out:

? Notice that you can probably breathe out a little more air.

? Breathe out a little more.


39

Working with the Fifth Breathing Theme

You might be starting to notice that – Hey! You’re body is relaxing while you

breathe out…! And even better, as your body relaxes, that stretch is

increasing! See how flexible your body already is! That flexibility was in there

all along, you’ve just needed to coax that flexibility into action using breathing

strategies.

The more you do yoga, the more strong and flexible your body is becoming.

It’s by Exploring the Edge that you will be building that additional flexibility and

strength. This is especially powerful for building muscle strength.

Exploring the edge builds great results in this way:

You get the best results by doing yoga poses three times. The first time

you do any stretch, your body wakes up to the demands of the stretch and

gives it a fair shot. Just like when you’re first waking up and you kind of have

a handle on your day but need to get the day started before you’re in full

swing. You’re muscles are the same. They’re saying “Hey. Stretch demand

happening here. Golly, am I groggy. Feels good to stretch though!”

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The second repetition, your body is awake and ready to give you what it

thinks is its best. This is when you can get a really good stretch and feel like

your muscles are really working for you. But your body is still holding back.

When you give it a choice, your body will hold back a little bit from it’s

maximum effort. It’s holding something in reserve, “just in case”. Stretching

at this “comfortable limit” helps you get a refreshing work out without hurting

yourself. You don’t have to pay attention too closely, because you’re still

short of the extreme limit where you might injure yourself. Working at your

comfortable limit tells you about your body’s overall, general condition.

The third repetition is where you build flexibility and strength. This takes

you to your extreme limit, (short of pain!). When your body works to its

extreme limit, it pays close attention. It likes to have a safety margin between

the demands you place on it and its limit – so your body will notice the

demands you’re placing on it and will send in an order to the muscles to build

more strength and flexibility. Your body is deciding to move its safety margin,

so that you can stretch to that limit and still have room for error. Result – you

become stronger and more flexible. Hurray!

It’s in this third repetition that you want to explore the edge of the breath and

the edge of the stretch. How do you do that?


41

Exploring the Edge can be done during any repetition of a yoga pose.

However, by the third round, your body is ready to go full out. This is when

Exploring the Edge with bring you top notch results.

Working with the Fifth Breathing Theme

When you move into the pose, explore the edge of the breath. Chances are

you can breathe out (or in) a little more. As you do that, you will discover

you can stretch a little more than you expected. Take both the breath and

the stretch to an extreme limit. (But not to the point of pain.)


42

The Yellow Level Breathing Themes – Pacing Your Breathing

Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Breathing Themes

Once you are completely at home with half a dozen to a dozen stretches, you

can use them in the Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Breathing

Themes.

These breathing themes give you a lot to think about. (You’ll see what I mean

in a moment!) So, you’ll get the most out of them when the stretch you are

using is second nature to you. If you pick stretches that you don’t have to

think about and get used to these themes, you can start getting a peaceful

sense of flow when you’re doing yoga. It starts to feel something like

dancing, or like poetry. The pose starts to feel like water moving through your

body.

Yellow

Breathing T

hemes

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Tenth Breathing Theme- Moving with the Breath

This is where yoga begins to be poetic. You might not feel very poetic at first,

as you haltingly apply the Tenth Breathing Theme – but every moment you

spend in practice is preparing your mind and body to work together with a

sense of flow. Awkwardly, at first, and then, one day, you’ll experience a

small moment of this flow. These moments of will become longer the more

you practice.

The idea is that breathing and moving are paced so that they happen together

– in the same way that dancing and music are paced to happen together.

In the Tenth Breathing Theme you match the movements of the pose with

the breath, so both breath and movement start and stop at the same time.

For example, if you’re going into a pose while breathing out, it would go

something like this:

? You start breathing out at the same time that you start moving into the

pose.

? You pace your movement and your breath together - so that you have

stopped moving into the pose when you’ve stopped breathing out.

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Working with the Tenth Breathing Theme

There are some poses that are great for practicing the Tenth Breathing

Theme. They invite moving with the breath. An important part of these poses

is the feeling of movement that goes with them. That’s a great time to be

pacing the movement with the breath.

Bridge Poses, Pelvic Lifts

Butterfly poses

Bust Expansion,

Cat pose (of course)

Chest Expansion poses

Complete Breath

Dancer’s Posture

Elbow to Knee poses

Forward Bends, like Back Stretch

& Leg Clasps

Leg Folds

Leg Overs

Locust

Lunges & Warrior poses

Reclining Butterfly

Reverse Push Up (Back Push Up

/ Wheel)

Side to Sides

Side Bends

Standing Wide Angle with Twist

Twists

Triangle poses

Wood Choppers

You can see pictures of these poses in the back of this book, so you’ll have

an idea what stretches I’m talking about.

Many of these poses are described on my website

wwwwww..aauuddiiooyyooggaa..ccoomm

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There are thousands of excellent books that describe in detail how to do

poses. There are also many great teachers who can safely and kindly talk

you into these positions for maximum benefit without injury to yourself or

others.


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The Eleventh Breathing Theme- 1:2 Breathing

There is no right or wrong answer here. (You can’t fail at yoga. Honest.)

What you’re trying to do is get an idea of how long it’s taking, on average, for

you to breathe in right now. So take some one, two or three minutes to get

the hang of that. You don’t need to make your breaths too full or too empty.

About two-thirds full and two-thirds empty will do nicely.

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? Lie back in Corpse pose.

(What a name for a pose! I prefer to call it “Puddle of Sunlight” pose.)

? Take a moment to enjoy the mere fact of breathing.

o Feel air flowing into your body as you breathe in.

o Feel your body releasing as you breathe out.

Now… wake up…. and get back to the exercise.

(Work. Work. Work.)

As you lie there,

? start counting how long it takes you to breathe in.

Count mental seconds or heart beats, any steady pace that allows you to

keep track of how long it’s taking you to breathe in.

47

If you end up gasping for air, then shorten up the exercise by taking faster

breaths in.

I call this exercise 1:2 breathing. It’s going to open a window to peace and

serenity, once you get the hang of it. It’s also a great breathing theme to use

when you want to develop your flexibility, (as opposed to building your muscle

strength with Exploring the Edge).

? Once you've figured out how long it's usually taking you to breathe in, start

taking twice as long to breathe out.

If you took 3 second to breathe in, you want to take 6 second to breathe out.

You'll have to pace your breathing here. Try breathing out through your

mouth, like you're blowing a kiss. Or imagine you're blowing across the top

of a pop bottle, trying to get it to make a sound. Use whatever count applies

to you. (At this point in the program, breathing out through you're mouth is

OK. We’ll address that detail later.)


48

Working with the Eleventh Breathing Theme

First things first.

? Get the idea of 1:2 breathing.

1:2 breathing can be easier said than done. Take a few days or weeks to get

solid with it. Try it whenever you have a minute.

Next

So you’re now very good at counting and you’re managing this 1:2 breathing

without gasping for air. How do you get from there to the inner quiet and flow

that yoga is so famous for?

The magic is in “moving with the breath”. (This is where being good at the

Tenth Breathing Theme is going to come in handy.)

This is making you pace your movement and your breathing. It’s making your

body move in a controlled, slow, even way. That is building muscle strength.

It’s also building poise and grace and training your mind and body so that,

one day, you’ll experience flow.

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When you’re going into a pose, you’re going to “move with the breath”, just

like with the Tenth Breathing Theme. Only this time, you’re also counting

your breath.

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Deepening What You Know

As you used to using this Eleventh Breathing Theme, you can start using it to

“explore the edge”. (Remember wayyyy back to the Fifth Breathing Theme?)

(I told you there would be lots to think about!)

? In those last moments of breathing in, you can probably breathe in a

little more, adding a second or more to your count.

? Breathing out will also take that extra bit longer.

? While you’re doing that, you’ll also be watching what is happening to

the stretch, feeling it go deeper… stronger.


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The Twelfth Breathing Theme- 1:1:2 Breathing

You’ve got breathing in and out down pat. After a life time of practice and

several weeks of intensive training with this book - air comes in, air goes out.

Got it. That’s half the skill of breathing.

Now it’s time to get the most out of each breath

Each breath has four parts to it.

1) Breathing in

2) Holding the breath so you can exchange of fresh air for used air

3) Breathing out

4) Waiting before you breathe in again.

You can give the breath more time to linger in your lungs for a full air

exchange. (“Out with the bad air, in with the good.”) After you breathe in, if

you hold your breath a little, you will give the oxygen more time to get into

your body. You will also give your body more time to dump waste air into

your lungs, ready to be exhaled.

It sounds simple enough, but we usually forget to do this. We rush straight to

breathing out.

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Wherever you are, whenever you have a minute, try this:

If you get dizzy or lose your rhythm, take a break. Breathe however you like

for a couple of breaths and then go back to the exercise. Or, for dizziness, try

pausing a little between breathing out and breathing in.




? Settle into 1:2 Breathing

o Do this long enough to get a good rhythm going.

Now add a step to your breathing:

? Breathe in, counting it.

? For every second you took to breathe in, hold your breath for a second.

(Hold your breath for the same length of time as it took you to breathe in.)

? Now breathe out.

(Still taking twice as long to breathe out as you took to breathe in.)


52

Working with the Twelfth Breathing Theme

You work with the Twelfth Breathing Theme in much the same way that you

applied the Eleventh. Only now, you’re going to be sure to put a pause in

your movements when you’re holding your breath. The Cat Pose is a great

stretch that helps you train in the Twelfth Breathing Theme.

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In the Cat Pose

You breathe out while you’re going down to the floor.

You breathe in as you’re sweeping along the floor and arching upward toward the ceiling.

As you arch up, you add a pause as you hold your breath. Your back is stretching, arching upward, while you’re holding your breath.

This gives you time to notice how good the stretch feels!

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In the Sitting Forward Bend (“Back Stretch”)

With some poses, holding your breath is a chance to do an extension of the

pose.

You breathe in and stretch up.

Pause as you hold your

breath.

While you’re paused you’re fully stretched up, and you lean back – this strengthens your abdominals.

Then you breathe out and come forward.


54

The Thirteenth Breathing Theme - 1:1:2:2 Breathing

I’m sure, before you picked up this book, you felt you already knew how to

breathe. And in fact, I would agree with you. Your mere continuation on this

planet proves that you do know the basics. The fact that you’re still here

grants you your Bachelor’s degree in breathing.

No matter how complex breathing training gets, you can always go back to

the basics. Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep breathing in and out and you’ll

pass my courses. Breathing in and out is the essence of yoga.

But a yoga teacher’s existence is dependent on making the simple complex…

so that they can show you later how simple it’s been all along.

Which brings us to the last Yellow Level Breathing Theme, 1:1:2:2 breathing.

In these exercises we’re going to develop that last part of your breath – the

pause that is meant to happen between breathing out and breathing in.

Usually, by the time we’ve breathed in slowly, held our breath and then taken

soooo lonnng to breathe out, there is only one thing on our minds – breathing

in again!

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While you’re breathing out, your brain starts shouting at you, “Let’s get a

breath in here! It’s time to breathe! Finish up this breathing out thing so you

can get some oxygen coming in again!” So the last thing you want to do is

stop and wait.

But that’s exactly what you’re going to do. That moment between breathing

out and starting the next breath is where you are going to discover peace,

serenity and inner stillness – as soon as you can convince your brain to calm

down about it.

The fact is, your brain understands that breathing is good. Getting oxygen

into the body is good. The brain doesn’t want to take any risks here – get

oxygen coming in. So, your brain puts up a very wide margin around this very

essential task. Long before you actually need to take a breath in, your mind

starts signaling you to do it. After a lifetime of giving you that signal, 12 times

a minute, your brain forgets that there’s a big safety margin here, and it’s OK

to wait.

You are going to help you brain discover that it’s OK to wait a while. That’s

what this exercise will do.

This exercise starts off a lot like 1:2 breathing and like 1:1:2 breathing. You can

do it wherever and whenever you have a minute.


56

Anti-Splutter Tips

This exercise can be difficult to master. Most people have trouble waiting

such a long time before breathing in.

This is not cheating.




? Settle into 1:2 Breathing


Now add a step to your breathing

? Settle into 1:1:2 breathing:


Now add a step to your breathing

? For however many seconds it took you to breathe out

? Wait that many seconds before breathing in again.

If you like, you can build up to it.

Do the waiting part for a second or two.

As you master that, add a second or two, until you can do the full wait

comfortably.


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Big Yoga Secret #6

You can’t cheat at yoga.

Or rather

The only way you can cheat at yoga is …

by not doing yoga.

Feel free to cheat in this way all you like.

When you do, just don’t expect results.


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Working with the Thirteenth Breathing Theme

You work with the Thirteenth Breathing Theme in much the same way that

you applied the Eleventh and Twelfth. Only now, you’re going to be sure to

put an additional pause in your movements when you’re between breaths.

This pause is your chance to discover how peaceful and still your body

and mind can be. After all that moving into and out of the pose, and holding

the pose and all that breathing you have to do – now you stop moving, you

stop breathing and everything feels very, very still.

You can use any pose for this. You might like to try using the ones I

suggested for the Tenth Breathing Theme. As always, its best to use poses

you feel very comfortable with so that, on top of everything else, you don’t

have to worry about what body part goes where.

While you’re mastering 1:1:2:2 breathing

Try including The Fountain or The Sponge visualization as the relaxation in

your routine. The Fountain lays the foundation for the Fourteenth Breathing

Theme, and The Sponge is the basis for Fifteenth Breathing Theme. (See

those themes for how to do these.) They are visualizations that can help you

relax deeply. The sooner you start practicing them, the more prepared you

will be for the Green Level Breathing themes.

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Gaining Confidence in What You Know

In typical yoga guru fashion, I’m going to congratulate you on your progress

so far… And now tell you to forget everything you’ve learned.

The Breathing Themes are here to serve you, not the other way around.

What they have done for you so far is:

? helped you slow down your breathing

? helped you become more deeply relaxed with every breath

? helped you feel more connected to your body and the poses

You can return to the first thirteen Breathing Themes whenever you want to

become more confident with different parts of your practice.

Sometimes it’s good to let go of Breathing Themes and techniques and

instructions, and just do yoga. Remember Cat Guru. He’s doing whatever

feels soooo gooood! Go with whatever naturally happens for you.

By the time you get to the Green Level Breathing Themes, it’s good to let

yoga “just happen” from time to time. It’s also good to revisit the First to

Eighth Breathing Themes from time to time. You’ll come to new levels of

understanding of them whenever you do.

Preparing for G

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60

Then, when things start getting stale or boring or you feel like you want to be

moving forward with your practice, learn a new Breathing Theme and work

with it closely for at least a week.


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Green Level – Deeper States of Relaxation

The Fourteenth Breathing Theme

I’m sure you’ve been diligently practicing how to relax. You might even

qualify for your next reincarnation as a cat in a puddle of sunlight. Now that

you’re getting good at doing nothing, we can take your yoga practice to new

depths.

The Fourteenth Breathing Theme

In this Theme we ”hurry up and relax”.

Remember the Step-by-Step Relaxation from the Third Breathing Theme?

No doubt it’s been helping you let go. You can fine tune this so that you can

be very deeply relaxed in a single breath. (If you haven’t been doing the

Second Breathing Theme, now’s the time to go back and learn it. When you

feel very comfortable with it, come back here. That should take at least a

week of daily practice, so, see you then!)

Learning the Fourteenth Breathing Theme

You can do this standing, sitting or lying down. While you’re getting used to

the Breathing Theme, lying down might be your best choice, because this can

take 5 – 10 minutes.

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Getting Started

? Settle into a comfortable position – just as if you are going to do the Third

Breathing Theme, step-by-step relaxation.

? Take a few breaths to settle into place.

? Take a moment to enjoy breathing in and out. Feel your body sinking down

and letting go each time you breathe out.

Once you’re feeling settled and more focused,

? start taking a little longer to let go of your breath.

? Feel your body relaxing even more deeply with each breath out

now that you’re giving it longer to let go.

Step 1

Relax your body step by step

Using 4 breaths for each area.

Step 2

Starting at your feet again

Relax your body step by

Using one breath for each area.

Step 3

Starting at your feet again


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Relax your whole body with one breath.

How do you do that?

Relaxing your whole body with one breath

? Start breathing in and notice your feet.

o Notice any tension there.

? As you continue to breathe in, draw your attention up your body

o Notice any tight spots along the way.

(Especially notice key areas that are often tight for you. Most people

have a few spots where they particularly hold their tension. Pay special

attention to these areas.)

When you breathe out

? Feel the weight in your body drop down

o starting with your head

as you continue to breathe out,

o feel your shoulders sinking back

o your chest dropping down

o your hips sinking

o the weight in your legs dissolving

o your feet dissolving into the floor.

Repeat every time you breathe in and out.


64

Working with the Fourteenth Breathing Theme

Remember

So, by practicing Step-by-Step Relaxation during a yoga pose, you’ll get more

out of the stretch. You will also fight the pose less. Some people master this

theme to the point of falling asleep in their poses!

(Tip If you can’t hold the pose that long either pick another pose, or shorten

up the relaxation by combining body areas. Legs can be done all as one

area. Both arms can be done together. etc.)

Working w

ith the Fourteenth B

reathing Them

e

Relaxed Muscles Stretch Better

1. Start your practice with a Yellow Level Breathing exercise, like

1:1:2:2 breathing. Do this for a few minutes, like a meditation. This will

slow down your breathing, connect you with your body and focus you.

2. Move on to Step-by-Step Relaxation.

Close the relaxation by practicing the Fourteenth Breathing Theme.

Spend a few minutes relaxing your whole body in one breath.

3. Pick a pose, any pose.

Once you’re in your pose, do Step-by-Step Relaxation of your whole

body, from your feet to your face.

? Use one breath for each area.

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If you get muddled, go back to relaxing your body one piece at a time, one

breath for each area.

If you get really good at this, in one breath you can be relaxing your body

while also seeing if it wants to stretch more as it relaxes.

The more you do this, the more skillful you will get at it, and the less stress

you’ll carry with you throughout your day.

Office Break

Any time it occurs to you, do the Fourteenth Breathing Theme for a

breath or two. Relax your body, bottom to top, in one breath.

For your second & third repetition of the pose

? Relax your body from bottom to top in a single breath.


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Discovery Exercise

Do this any time of day, anywhere. It will help you prepare for doing the

Fifteenth Sixteenth and Seventeeth Breathing Themes.

This happens to many muscles when you release a yoga pose. It’s very

helpful to be aware of that feeling of your muscles relaxing, “flattening out” as

they release tension.

If you’ve been giving yourself time in between yoga stretches, you’ll be very

familiar with that feeling by now. (If not, see Working with the Fourth

Breathing Theme.) You’ll probably be getting a sense of the size and shape

of different muscles. You’ll probably notice how they “talk to you” while

they’re releasing their tension after the pose is done.

Discovery E

xercise

Ball your hand up into a tight fist

Quickly release the fist. Relax your hand.

Notice the muscles in your lower arm as they relax.

Notice how the muscles feel like they’re lengthening (which they are).

Notice them “softening” and “dissolving”.

See the muscles in your wrist ‘flattening” as you loosen your fist.

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Once the muscles feel “flattened”, once they’ve “stopped talking”, they’ve

returned to their neutral state and are ready to work for you again.

You can try this discovery exercise with many muscles in your body. Tense

and release them. See if you can discover the muscles exact size and shape.

Can you detect the exact moment the tension is completely gone?

As you prepare for the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Breathing

Themes, do your yoga poses paying close attention to that feeling of the

tension dissolving out of your muscles as you let the pose go.


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Fifteenth Breathing Theme - The Sponge

The Sponge is a visualization that slows down your breathing and helps you

become deeply relaxed. During poses, it’s going to help you relax muscles

that are stretching and working.

Doing The Sponge

This is best done lying down – but you can do it sitting or standing.

You also get more out of it if your eyes are closed.

Fifteenth B

reathing Them

e

Imagine you are a sponge, lying in a pool of warm water.

Imagine yourself bobbing at the surface, gently supported by the water.

Imagine the pores of your body are like pores of the sponge.

As you breathe in, feel yourself drawing in this warm water through every

pour in your body.

As you breathe out, feel the water soaking into your whole body. Soon

the water bathes each cell in warmth.

As the water soaks into your body, you begin to feel heavy and your

weight sinks down.

Each time you breathe in, you are drawing in more of this warm water

through your pours.

Each time you breathe out, the water is soaking into your bones, your

muscles, your cells, until your whole body is warm and heavy.

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Just as a sponge does nothing quickly, your breathing becomes slow and

even as you practice this visualization. Your body deeply relaxes, feeling

heavier.

(If you have a fear of water, you can imagine lying in a cloud of light. Pick any

colour of light you like.)


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Working with the Fifteenth Breathing Theme

The Sponge will help you relax muscles that you are using during a yoga

stretch. To use it, start by picking any stretch… Then, once you’re in the

stretch, do The Sponge.

This may feel like your muscles are flattening, dissolving, the way the did

during the discovery exercise. As your muscles “warm and flatten”, they are

relaxing. As they let go, you can feel them getting longer. They’re ready to

stretch more.

Now notice if the stretch is increasing.

Working w

ith the Fifteenth B

reathing Them

e

Especially imagine the warm water is soaking into the muscles that

are stretching.

Feel your breath “carrying the water to the stretching muscles”. As your

breath flows out, your body is sinking down. Imagine the breath is

following your body’s movement, until it reaches the muscles that are

stretching.

Notice the stretching muscles as the warm water soaks into them.

Notice them feeling heavier.

Notice them dissolving.

Can you feel the water traveling along the full length of the muscles?

Can you feel the muscles flattening as the “water” soaks into them?

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Don’t force it.

Don’t push it.

See what is naturally ready to happen as you imagine warm water soaking

along the length of those muscles.


Hurry Up – Relax! · 2 Better yet, it’s not just yogi’s who can benefit from mastering...

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