Yoga Without Duct Tape

edit post make sticky lock thread delete thread Your Body Relaxes as You Breathe Out Corinne said Aug 6, 10:15 AM:

Your body relaxes as you breathe out.

That's the big yoga secret. Please don't tell your teachers I told you that. They have to earn a living somehow.

This experience, of your body letting go a little every time you breathe out, is a natural reaction in your body. You don't have to make it happen. It's pre-programmed.

Try it now, as you read this. Take a nice breath in, then as you let it go, notice your body is sinking down inside, letting go a little.

This is your Relaxation Response.

You can cultivate your Relaxation Response so that it goes very deep, very quickly. When you do, all kinds of doors open.

You learn to be more relaxed, more deeply, whenever you want. You become more present minded. You let go of your problems more easily. Your mind begins to be more under your 'control'. You pick and choose more what you want to think about.

You can stretch more deeply without forcing it or without injury. You can use this to burn more calories. You can build body strength more deliberately. You can become more flexible. You can improve your immune system and reduce your risk of heart attacks. You can sleep better.

That's a lot of benefits from simply breathing out.

How can you use this in your yoga program? There's another magical connection that happens as you breathe out. Since muscles stretch better as they relax, then, as you breathe out, you relax and your muscles stretch better.

So, today, as you do your practice, or any time you need a break at the office, Choose a stretch you like. Slip into it like you slip into a familiar pair of old slippers. Hold the position at a comfortable stretch - not so deeply that it hurts.

Notice, each time you breate out, that your body is letting go, relaxing, and that the stretch is magically increasing by itself.

If you can't do a stretch, just notice, deep inside your body, something sinking down and letting go when you let go of your breath.

A few breaths like these and you're ready to get back into your day.