PRANAYAM AND MEDITATIION are bliss.

PRANAYAMA.........controlled breathing.
PRANAYAMA is the 4th Limb or state of Yoga....
PRANAYAMA is an integral and vitally important part of Hatha Yoga.....
PRANAYAMA is closely linked to MEDITATION.
PRANAYAMA is simply breathing in for a determined number of seconds then out for a determined number of seconds...eg...in for 3 counts hold for 3 counts exhale for 3 counts and hold for 3 counts.
PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME IF YOU HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR ANXIETY.THE BREATHING WORK MUST BE SUPERVISED BY AN EXPERIENCED HATHA YOGA TEACHER.

ALL YOGA CLASSES BEGIN WITH 20 MINS OF PRANAYAMA.......
PRANAYAMA or controlled breathing is very simple....the less effort applied...ie: the less 'EGO '
applied the better.......

20 mins of PRANAYAMA will gently change the BLOOD GASES, creating a positive domino affect within the bodies’ delicate physiology....potentially uplifting your mood at the very least.

WHY IS PRANAYAMA SO IMPORTANT?
We know unequivocally that our well being depends on healthy food, a good amount of clean water, and enough sleep.....BUT, when was the last time your G.P., asked if you were you breathing well? More than likely the answer is never....
Sadly, humans beings in the 21sth century ignore that which gives us life...BREATHING or PRANANYAMA.....

As you sit and read this bring your attention to your breathing....ask yourself...HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TOTALLY AWARE OF YOUR BREATHING FOR MINUTES AT A TIME? ....some of you who already do yoga may have done pranayama, but most of us take the quality of the breath and its vital importance entirely for granted.....

...I believe my journey to perfect health has been in part due to the fact that I do approximately 20 minutes of pranayama at least 6 times a week, every week...
Yes, This is challenging to some people, unless you are totally aware of the benefits , it might seem a silly thing to do....After all it has never been considered a good idea in the west....we were never given gold stars at primary school for breathing well....in high school, the levels of stress growing rapidly, were never tamed by pranayama.....As an adult enduring the hardships of life, were we never told that if we sat and breathed well for a couple of minutes, our physiology would alter, thus our brain chemistry would change and a better mood would be moments away ....

NO, none of these things happened....
BUT, now that YOGA is mainstream we do have the opportunity to breath well...unfortunately PRANAYAMA is often neglected even by yoga teachers....

SIMPLE PRANAYAMA TO DO AT HOME
CAUTION*****DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME IF YOU HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE/ HEART DISEASE /ANXIETY /STRESS DISORDER OF ANY KIND*****IN THE CONTOLLED ENVIRONMENT OF THE YOGA ROOM , WELL SUPERVISED IT IS SAFE.

It is important to NOT be ambitious..in fact the more you try the LESS relaxed you will become. Therefore in the beginning of your practice its best to keep it simple, which is exactly what I do in every class.....LESS IS BEST..

TRY THIS...
breath in through the nose for 3 counts...breath out through the nose for 3 counts.....

Almost seems too simple...don't let that fool you....TRY TO SUSTAIN THAT FOR 5 MINS.

REMEMBER...all Pranayama must be done through the nostrils....
all pranayama must be done with out EGO..ie keep it easy...very easy...the second you begin to compete with yourself you are no longer doing yoga breath....
CAUTION****** if you do pranyama with too much effort (sadana) you will raise blood pressure / anxiety / heart rate.
ONLY WHEN WE EXTRACT OUR EGO IS IT SAFE.......
If you were to repeat this simple breath loop for 5 mins you will feel the difference...the difficult thing is concentrating for five minutes...
some of my students say they couldn't possible concentrate for that long at home, which of course is not true...as they concentrate for much longer than that throughout the day...ie...when we drive we concentrate...when we are working we concentrate....BUT....the difference is we are all such great multitaskers, especially mums. So, even though we can concentrate for 5 mins we are usually doing more than one thing at a time......
What we must learn to do is do only ONE thing at a time.......

TRY IT AND SEE HOW HARD IT IS....But for some of us, until we learn to do less, we will not get better.....

My advice to everyone I know including myself....
.......DONT THINK, B R E A T H ........