Body and Breath - Yoga Shop Talk

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Yoga shoptalk, October, 2001

Question: I’ve had mild issues surrounding breathing for many years, and the bombing of the World Trade Center just a few miles south of where I live has left me feeling edgy, confused, and constantly ill at ease. I’m not short of breath and I can walk all right, but I’m always catching my breath and just on the verge of crying. I can breathe through my nose, but frequently find my mouth agape. I don’t have a car and it is inconvenient for me to leave Manhattan. Can yoga help?

Answer: Yes. Pick any sunny morning from Tuesday through Sunday and take a train or bus to Washington Heights, which thanks to its elevation and exposure to the wind has the cleanest air in Manhattan. Then spend the rest of the morning, if not the day, in and around the Cloisters Museum at 190 Fort Washington Avenue (Phone: 212-923-3700 Hours: Tue-Sun 9:30am-4:45pm). While walking around, enjoy yourself and at the same time observe your breath. Don’t get compulsive about modifying your breathing, just observe it. And don’t engage in needless conversation, but keep your lips sealed, breathing constantly through your nose. So long as you can avoid stumbling or running into something or someone, close your eyes occasionally for a few seconds and feel the sensation of the breath in the nostrils. Then, still walking, notice if you are breathing unevenly, jerking the breath during inhalation or exhalation, or holding the breath momentarily at the end of inhalation or at the end of exhalation. Then, again without getting compulsive, experiment with breathing evenly, inhaling and exhaling gently and without any pauses or jerks. Be especially watchful of the junctions of inhalations and exhalations, and merge one into the other, around and around. And then take note of your feelings, because this simple yoga practice of breath awareness will have calmed you down for the moment, and to calm your emotions for the longer run of life you need to give credit where credit is due. As you head back downtown, try to keep focused and make breath awareness part of your daily life. And leave the television off. You’ve seen and heard enough.