If you've been attending yoga classes for a while, you're quite accustomed to hearing the instructions to breathe through your nose as you inhale and exhale.
Aside from the obvious reasons of allowing the nasal hairs to filter out particles in the air and to regulate air temperature before it enters your lungs, it appears that our bodies produce a gas in the sinus cavities that increases our breathing efficiency. The gas, Nitric Oxide (NO) is drawn into our lungs when we inhale and it relaxes the blood vessels in our lungs. The blood vessels in the alveoli are expanded and more oxygen is absorbed by the blood.
There's a 10-15% greater volume of NO absorbed by the lungs when we breathe through our noses. That's it, just breathe through your nose as you inhale and exhale.
It helps to be in a comfortable position, laying on your back with your arms out to the side to expand your chest. Raise your upper body slightly by lying on a folded blanket or bolster so that your belly is slightly lower than your diaphragm, and your chin a little lower than your forehead. Close your eyes and start by simply noticing the air as it passes through your nose when you inhale and exhale. As you being to relax, allow your breaths to lengthen, just a little with each breath.
If you're not able to find a yoga class that teaches the basics of breathing in a comfortable and relaxed manner, you might be interested in a simple device called the Resperate, which will teach you to breathe slower and deeper. There is a side effect though, it has been proven to lower blood pressure.
Illustration: Adam.com
Resources: (1)Eddie Weitzberg, M.D., Ph.D., Breathe Through the Nose, Bindu Magazine, Number 13.
