small black ashes

it is the exhalation that has to learn to be free
and to carry out of the body
all the unnecessary deposits
then the inhalation is just beauty, novelty
it comes, you don't have to think about it
but in the beginning
the exhalation has to be encouraged
to tke away all these small black ashes
that otherwise stay inside

-- Sandra Sabatini (Breath: The essence of yoga)

After each exhalation there is a yawning release that happens in the body, right through to the palms of the hands and down to the soles of the feet. You just have to let it happen.

It's not about doing, but letting these tiny little messages travel as far as the hands and as far as the feet allowing you to feel fully in contact with the ground.


(Source: Daniel Minnick)

Under a magnifying glass

observe the breath
as if it were under a magnifying glass
be interested-
as if it were something foreign, unknown
be curious
as to what happens
everytime you breath in
and breath out
so that you can see every step

just watch
this rhythmical dance between
the external world
and the inner world
this exchange that takes place all the time

-- Sandra Sabatini
(From Breath, the essence of yoga)

Found here

The rib cage, breath and extending...

The rib cage is the major limiting factor in all movements of the thoracic spine, and it is a usefull exercise to see how they influence the spine as we breathe.

When we breathe in, the ribs elevate. The lower ribs tend to widen and the upper ribs and sternum lift forwards and upwards. you will feel wider in the lower trunk and deeper from the front to back in the upper trunk.

See if you can feel what happens in the spine in relation to the ribcage as you inhale.

The ribs do indeed lift and push the sternum forwards, but can you also feel the thoracic spine is at the same time pushed backwards? Every inhalation is accompanied by a gentle forward bending of the thoracic spine.

On every exhalation the opposite happens. Try and feel it!

As you breathe out the rib cage moves back in towards the center line of the body and the spine moves into extension.

There is no exception to this action so it makes total sense to move into extension (or back bend) postures as we exhale, if our intention is to access the thoracic spine. Which lets face it, it usually is!

Anything else will be going against the intelligence of the body.

Found here

Become the rhythm of your breath.

Folk Dance (1928) | Cyril Edward Power linocut from iswasandwillbe