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Breath of Fire Yoga : How to do, Types, Benefits and Risks

Fire Yoga Pose

Yoga has grown to become one of the popular ways to get mental peace. If you want to get in shape without lifting those heavy dumbbells, yoga is the best alternative to those intense workout sessions at gyms. While some yoga poses are incredibly easy and require little effort, some techniques, like Breath of Fire, are difficult to master. You might need training in Kundalining breath of fire to understand its types, risks, benefits, and the right ways to do it. Let’s start with the correct method to perform the breath of fire yoga.

Table of Contents

How to do Breath of Fire Yoga?

Breath of Fire, as the name suggests, is a rhythmic breathing pattern that requires practice. Your instructor will tell you how to sit, where to perform, and how to perform the Kundalini breath of fire. Here’s what this meditation includes.

Close your eyes and sit in the standard meditation position with your hands on your knees. Keep your mouth closed when inhaling and exhaling. The goal is to draw the power to breathe from inwards. Your belly should move inward toward your spine as you exhale, and it should be pumped outward as you inhale.

The speed is the only difference between a normal and breath of fire breathing pattern. The latter involves a fast-paced rhythmic breathing cycle that involves no pauses between inhale and exhale and is done quickly. You might have to practice this yoga to get the hang of it. If you are doing it correctly, your abdomen, hands, and chest must feel relaxed.

Your full concentration must be on your breathing. At first, it might look tricky to breathe in rhythm without slowing the speed, but as mentioned above, regular practice will make it easy.

Let’s check out the step-by-step process to perform breath of fire yoga.

  1. Sit in a peaceful place with your back straight and hands on your knees in an open-palm mudra. Keep your eyes closed and your full focus on your abdomen as it expands and contracts with your inhale and exhale.
    Concentrate on your breathing and feel your belly going inward toward your spine and outward as you breathe in.
  2. While you breathe in and out through your nostrils, yoga has a deeper route. It involves your navel point, which, as mentioned above, is pumped in and out repeatedly.
  3. When you understand your diaphragm movement with your breathing, open your mouth and start panting like a dog. This will help you understand the rhythm.
  4. Gradually increase the pace of your breathing, but make sure you inhale and exhale at the same pace. Breathe in and out at the same rate without taking any pauses. You must complete 2-3 cycles every second.
  5. Once you have decided to stop, release your last breath slowly and start breathing normally.

Beginners should start with 1-3 minutes of this exercise and increase the pace gradually. Your chest should be lifted, and your abdomen must be relaxed. These are the signs that you are doing the yoga right.

Benefits of Breath of Fire Yoga

Relieves Stress

A study suggests that Breath of Fire can lower stress levels. The effects are better when the yoga is combined with a sound. It calms your mind, reduces frustration, and reduces anxiety or stress. Although more research is needed to know the benefits of Breath of Fire yoga on your stress levels, experts say that it helps you achieve a sense of relaxation by reducing the activity of your fight-and-flight stress response.

Flushes Out the Toxic Air

The air contains many toxic gases that enter your respiratory system through breathing. When you breathe through your stomach instead of your lungs, the toxic air inside your body is replaced with fresh air. Thus, it’s a great way to detoxify your respiratory system. You should practice breath of fire once a day to flush the toxins out of your body and fill your skull with fresh air.

Good for Respiratory Problems

Breath of fire is considered good practice for asthma patients and those with other respiratory problems. It’s an excellent exercise for your respiratory muscles and is great for your diaphragm, which is responsible for providing air to the lungs. In addition, regular and fast-paced rhythmic breathing pattern improves your lungs’ capacity to take more air, as it broadens your airway passages, allowing air to enter and exit easily. In fact, regular practice can activate the deeper sections of your lungs, which aren’t normally used for breathing.

Boosts Concentration

One of the most common reasons people practice breath of fire yoga is to enhance their concentration. It improves your brain function, attention, and reaction time. Earlier, we mentioned the stress-relieving properties of pranayam. Well, this benefit is related to the pranayama’s stress-killing effect. It’s obvious that a mind free of stress focuses better. If you are having a hard time concentrating, try this yoga to increase your concentration and mindfulness. Breath of Fire yoga increases the oxygen supply to your brain, improving your focus.

Tones Your Abdomen and Improves Digestion

In Breath of Fire, you breathe through your belly. This exercise involves your abdominal muscles. So, regular practice can help you get a toned abdomen. It can also improve your digestion. Although there’s no research regarding this, it’s obvious that regular contractions increase abdominal muscle activity, which eventually helps tone your belly.

Improves Your Digestion

A 2013 report shows that Breath of Fire helped a 62-year-old man get rid of gastroesophageal reflux. It might be because of the stress-relieving effect of the pranayam. Experts also suggest that you should include this breathing exercise in your routine yoga practice to relieve irritable bowel syndrome. However, there’s no clinical research proving the benefits of this exercise in regulating bowel movements.

Improves Decision Making

It looks like there’s no connection between your decision-making skills and yoga, but Breath of Fire does affect the areas of your brain that make you alert and improves your ability to make an informed decision. Detoxification of the air and a lightness in your skull promotes the feeling of calmness. By reducing stress and keeping us alert, the Breath of Fire yoga is a wonderful way to help us in decision-making.

Risks of Breath of Fire

  • The feeling of Dizziness: Rapid breathing isn’t the usual breathing pattern, so it’s natural that you might feel lightheaded and slightly dizzy when starting this exercise. If you can’t stand because of the dizziness, stop the breathing pattern right there. Beginners should start slowly and increase the duration once they become familiar with the rhythm. Your body feels dizzy because the toxins are flushed out through your nostrils, and your lungs and skull are filled with fresh air.
  • Wrong Technique: Any yoga practice, even a simple meditation exercise, can have risks when you practice the wrong techniques. Most people associate Breath of Fire with hyperventilating, but it involves a totally different technique. You should take shallow breaths. Keep your focus on breathing instead of moving or taking too much air out and in your lungs.
  • Might Interfere with Your Existing Condition: Breath of Fire shouldn’t be practiced when you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or menstruating. The long, deep breathing exercise is safer for such times. Likewise, people with vertigo shouldn’t try this rapid breathing exercise, as it might trigger the spinning sensation and make your symptoms worse. In addition, heart patients or those with other medical conditions must avoid Breath of Fire.

Tips for Practicing Breath of Fire Safely

Lightheadedness and dizziness are common for beginners. Since you are shifting the breathing pattern, it’s normal that you might feel its effect on your head for some time. This dizzying sensation will fade once you learn the rhythm and get used to fast breathing. Still, if you are facing trouble with the exercise, here are some tips that may help.

Start with other Breathing Patterns: Breath of Fire is a comparatively challenging form of breathing pattern. To be comfortable, you should start with Ujjayi breath and full yogic breathing.

Work your Way Up Gradually: Beginners often make the mistake of taking rapid breaths or holding their breath for too long to do it correctly. Breath of Fire can be exhausting for people who haven’t mastered the techniques to hold breaths for a while. The best practice involves shorter increments initially and then working your way up as you get used to the method.

Build Your Core Muscles: Weak diaphragm muscles might make expelling air difficult. So, you should focus on building your diaphragm muscles and work on them first before you practice Breath of Fire.

Conclusion

These were the benefits of Breath of Fire and the right techniques to perform this Kundalini yoga correctly. Breath of Fire is a great way to build your abdomen muscles and increase your lungs’ capacity. When done correctly, it helps improve your digestion, mindfulness, and concentration and might also help regulate bowel movements. Beginners must work with an instructor to practice this yoga technique safely. Always take short increments and practice them in a peaceful place.

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