Gemma Murphy Yoga
Today in the 3rd week of our ‘Breathe and Bend’ Yoga Flow series, we looked at the space between the inhale and exhale. We practised a breathing exercise which harnesses the power of the pause between the inhales and exhales. Known as Box or Square breathing, this breathing technique is easy to do, quick to learn and retrains your nervous system to breathe properly. It also helps to clear the mind, relax the body, and improve focus.
Ineffective breathing is a really common problem with modern lifestyles. It’s brought on by poor posture and long periods of sitting or driving.
So when you breathe shallowly (called “chest breathing”), the air only enters your upper chest and very little enters your lower chest.
This causes a lack of oxygen to your blood vessels, which can create strain on your heart and lungs. Learning to breathe deeply will increase your oxygen supply, which, also helps to reduce stress and anxiety levels.
The breath work that we focussed on this week in our ‘Feel Good Friday Yoga Flow’ from Rugby is called the 3-part breath or Dirga Pranayama. Dirga means complete. Pranayama means breath extension. Practising Dirga Pranayama teaches you to breathe fully and completely.
It’s one of the first breathing exercises that I remember learning many years ago.
The soft tissue of the lungs can grow, stretch and expand. This breathing practice helps to not only extend the breath but really increase the volume of the lungs and stretch the soft tissue of the lungs.
Fancy giving yoga a go and coming along to Feel Good Friday Yoga in Rugby? Head over to my registration page to get started!
We inhale and exhale around 20,000 times a day, yet very few of us are conscious of our breathing
Breath is what makes yoga, yoga! Yoga translates into “union” or “yoke” in English – it’s the union (or yoking) of breath, body, and mind.
In fact, when yoga began centuries ago, it was only really about the breath and meditation; postures did not play a part in it!
I’m super excited to be launching this brand new 6-week yoga series which blends building strength and flexibility whilst harnessing the power of the breath. You will work into your hips and hamstrings, strengthen your core and connect to your breath. Through learning powerful and effective breathing techniques, you will breathe energy into your body, increase your focus and calm the mind. You will leave ready to tackle the rest of your day.
Thinking of starting a yoga practice? Or perhaps you already practice yoga but fancy a change? New Feel Good Friday Yoga Flow starting Friday 26th February. If you’re wondering what this yoga class is like, then have a look at this earlier post.
All sequences are carefully planned and inclusive to all. I provide options for all students to ensure those of all levels and abilities have something to work on. I love to combine thoughtful sequencing, a spirit of liveliness and a dose of inspiration to help you deepen your practice. Regular attendance helps firm muscles, improve balance, increase flexibility and calm the mind.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are widely regarded as the authoritative text on yoga, often used to guide contemporary yoga practices. In my time training to be a yoga teacher, we spent a great deal of time studying the sutras.
The sutras are not just for contemplating your practice on the mat. They are also highly effective taking outside the mat, in your work-life, in leisure time, in your roles as a partner, friend, parent, student, manager, co-worker, etc.
Today in the forth week of our ‘New Beginnings’ series, we looked at samskaras. The yogis believed that every experience leaves some kind of residue in our system. And it’s something that remains in us from every experience that we’ve had over the course of our lifetime. This accumulates and develops into patterns.
Today in Feel Good Friday Yoga in Rugby, we practised the art of “letting go.” The idea here is that when we release what we are grasping onto, we find more freedom and with every letting go, something good is waiting to fill that space.
Today in Feel Good Friday Yoga in Rugby, we looked at the Beginner’s Mind. Whether you are brand-new and stepping onto your mat for the first time, or years into your yoga practice, we practise yoga with a “beginner’s mind.”
Today in Feel Good Friday Yoga, we explored intention-setting. An intention or “sankalpa” is bringing your awareness to a quality that you wish to develop.
Think of intention as a guiding principle for how you want to show up in the world. What you think, you become. Thoughts become things. Intention creates our reality.