Breathing Routines for Energy Harnessing

TAKING FIRST BREATHS

Morning routines needn't be taxing on energy or time – they can be as gentle as simply breathing. Our essentials for life are breath, water, sunlight and love. These simple energy-enhancing benefits, can all be activated from the comfort of our home, park or anywhere there's a space to focus.

From the moment we wake from sleep, to the moment we climb back into our beds, we are breathing in and out thousands of times. The action of breathing is both autonomous and we can direct our breath consciously. Amazingly, we are never taught to breathe and many folks, who have issue with anxiety, also have issues with breathing – and visa versa. 

Yoga has many benefits for health and one of its founding practices, focuses purely on breath. Box breath (even breaths), is just one of the many beneficial breathing techniques that can create calm and balance before your day begins. 

Dragon's Breath

Troy Casey's video above, captures simple breathing techniques we can all follow. Some of the greatest benefits to health can be achieved through these yogic breathing practices where the breaths are forced in and out in rapid succession. 

Often when we wake, there will be fluid retention in the lungs. This is normal as one of the lung's major functions, is as our waste disposal system, riding us off accumulated toxins, which are purged in the night while we sleep. We can often wake with a 'froggy' chest, which requires some coughing to remove mucus and phlegm. The Bhastrika and Kapalabhati breathing techniques, coupled with engaging our body's 'locks', help to move energy around and have been likened to having a shot of strong coffee, a cold shower and even an out-of-body experience (watch the video above).

The Moola Bundha lock

Locks serve us for directing energy movements around the body. There are actually four locks located throughout our body. These locks align with the main chakras. One based at the 'root' chakra, from the perineum (pelvic floor muscles for bowel, bladder and sexual functions), one around the 'sacral' chakra stomach area (diaphragm located at bottom of the rib cage for activating lungs), one near the throat chakra (the glottis for vocal chord tension) and one at the base of the skull (which contracts the cerebral fluids around the brain).

Activating the buddhas, whilst holding breath, can create pressure in the lungs, which aids with improving lung capacity, and oxygen absorption and positively affects the nervous system, for better-releasing anxiety and for increasing feelings of calmness.

Wim Hof has been one of the greatest teachers in modern times, for helping people train their breath, to improve health and vitality – simply by investing 10 minutes in the morning, taking 3x rounds of 30 focussed deep breaths.

These techniques from above, are ancient teachings, practiced by monks, yogis and warriors throughout India, Asia and are now to be found everywhere around the world – including bedrooms and parks. The lifeforce enriching techniques, taught here – are free and take little time to learn, practice and benefit from.

Mantak Chia has been another master teacher, sharing how we can heal ourselves, through Daoist breathing, energy harnessing and focussed inner-gazing. The techniques he reveals on YouTube, for scanning the body and focusing on healing, are reported to bring miraculous changes in health. Check out the microcosmic orbit scanning technique – really useful practice before bedtime for activating healing while we sleep.