Pregnancy isn't the only time to be proud of your beautiful belly.
So, take a deep breath in right now, stick out your tummy and fill it up with life-giving goodness. That's right, just let it all hang out while I tell you a little story about me...
When I first began my yoga journey back in my 20's, I admit like many others, I was initially drawn in purely by the physical asana (postures). As a child I had struggled with undiagnosed gut issues and food intolerances, which eventually led to an eating disorder in my teens. I was generally quite unhappy and miserable most of the time, but I hid it well.
While things spiralled out of control for a few years, the one thing I could control was the shape of my body. That became my focus. After being a gym junkie for many years, curiosity took me to my first yoga class, thank goodness! Somehow, mastering the ability to control my body during slower paced movement or long holds, was very appealing.
Thankfully, underlying all of the physical body issues, was also a strong desire for inner balance. Which leads me to my next point...
Like with most things if you practice for long enough, the experience evolves, and the focus begins to shift. I was discovering many other hidden benefits as I gained a deeper understanding of what yoga actually was. It became very clear that there was so much more to this ancient practice than meets the eye. Physically my body was changing and becoming stronger and more flexible on the outside, but I also began to feel a shift in my inner world. I wasn't feeling as anxious and unhappy, and my self esteem was much healthier. I remember the exact words my first yoga teacher said in class, which completely changed my life.
You can tell a true Yogi not by the body, but by the breath.
Learning to breathe deeply and consciously has brought me from a place of misery and sickness to abundant good health and inner balance. For the first time in my life, in that moment, I made the connection between my stressed out emotional state and the way I was feeling physically.
Yoga literally means union of the Body, Mind & Breath. Until then I had always treated my body with equal parts disconnection and dissatisfaction. It was a constant cycle between expectation, willpower and disappointment. I felt like my body was always letting me down, so I pushed it harder.
Part of this self-punishment began when I was only four years old. I had perfected the habit of constantly holding in my tummy since being a very young ballerina. It resulted in me living in a constant state of fear. The fight or flight reflex always at the ready in case my ballet teacher would catch me with my little belly hanging out. I was physically whacked with a ruler on more than one occasion, and at one point I actually fell off a concert stage as a result. Is it any wonder I took this fear right through into my late teens? I learned to associate deep belly breathing with being lazy and unladylike, not to mention a failure. Wow!
Fast forward to my twenty year old self in my yoga class, and not only was I given full permission to let my belly out during pranayama, but it was encouraged! The knots of tension I had lived with in my chest and throat since childhood had literally changed my gut into a very diseased and stressed out place, unable to digest much at all. I had fed it on a constant diet of adrenaline all my life. Not only had I been breathing in reverse, sucking the belly in as I inhaled in my pretty little ladylike way, but my breath was constantly shallow. I was literally suffocating.
Finally, at the ripe old age of 20, I let out a huge sigh of relief. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in my life. My nervous system began to respond by moving me from the constant flight or flight state, to the rest and digest mode.
For me the game-changer was learning the three part yogic breath ( Dirga ). I was shown how to inhale deep into the ballooning lower belly, and then allow this expansion to rise up into my rib cage and upper chest, before exhaling from the top down, much like emptying a jug of water.
Pranayama as it is called in the yogic tradition, is the formal practice of controlling the breath, which is the source of our prana ( vital life force energy ). We draw prana from sunlight, water, living foods and all natural surroundings. We need prana to grow and thrive, just like plants need sunlight. Our brain is the organ of the body that requires the most prana. When our brain is infused with adequate prana then it can support the healthy function of all other organs. Not only this, but it's effects also flow into our emotional state.
Every emotion and thought impacts the breath. By learning to consciously control the breath we are actually learning to control our emotional state.
My anxiety was decreasing, and the constant knot of tension in my belly and throat was dissolving. My yoga teacher Peter would always remind me to take this breath awareness into my daily life. We take on average 22,000 breaths per day, so it really made sense. Every time I felt anxious I would slow down and take deep belly breaths. I had found a really simple, free and effective way of bringing myself back to health.
In Yoga the breath is given the honour of being the all important bridge between the body and the mind.
Not surprisingly, a deep fascination and respect for animals ( many postures are named after them ) was behind a lot of the development of pranayama practices that we still use today. Ancient yogis observed that the animals with the longest lives, such as the elephant, tortoise and python, had the slowest respiration rate. The ones with the fastest breathing tended to have shorter lives.
So if we breathe more slowly, we live longer. Pranayama really is the most effective anti-aging medicine there is! Was that a long sigh of relief I just heard? How about we do that again...and again...and again.
It has helped me in so many ways, and continues to be a part of my daily yoga practice.
Since becoming a yoga teacher I love to infuse a strong breath-based mindfulness practice into all my classes. My own personal experience of how learning to breathe properly transformed my life, continues to be my biggest inspiration to help others improve their health and wellbeing.
I hope I have inspired you to read a little more about the life-changing practice of pranayama, so you too can experience the wonderful benefits, not just during your next yoga class, but as you move through your everyday life.
It really is relevant even today, with many other breath techniques available to combat just about any emotional or physical imbalance. Nadi Sodhana ( alternate nostril breathing ), Kapalabhati ( skull shining breath), Bhastrika ( breath of fire ), and Sitali ( cooling breath ) to name a few of the fundamentals.
A good place to learn more and to begin your practice is:
If you would like to learn more about Yoga, Pranayama, Meditation and Mindful Living, we run regular classes and workshops in Kin Kin, Queensland.
Also on offer is a private or online mentoring program where I design a unique home practice just for you, depending on your lifestyle and needs. You can reach out via email or direct message, or by subscribing to our mailing list.
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Sending lots of love, light and deep belly breaths from the sunny Noosa Hinterland.
Namaste!
Danielle & Tony ( Frankie & Georgie) xx
ps. And in case you're wondering, no I'm not having another bay at 47! ;)
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