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I feel the need to talk about this again because it seems as though so many people forget this fundamental exercise. In fact, many clients I come across have never been shown or taught anything about the diaphragm.

A great teacher of mine told his students this, and truthfully I’m not sure if it’s his quote or someone else’s but I thought it was worth sharing.

“Eight to twelve times a minute, every hour of the day, year in and year out, we take a breath. Nothing is more fundamental to life than breath, and natural, free and full breathing is something we take for granted, so much so that we don’t ever even think about it.

Yet, here is a staggering statistic for you: One in four Americans suffer from breathing problems, particularly the elderly or those with a sedentary lifestyle. While our breathing muscles, ie: mainly the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, may seem immune to the usual loss of muscle mass that occur with age, they are not. Like an muscle in the body, unless challenged on a regular basis, they will suffer a similar loss of muscle mass and function, as do other muscles in the body. The result is often dyspnea, a chronic shortness of breath. And since every cell in our body depends on a plentiful supply of oxygen moment by moment, that in turn predisposes you for the negative mood states like anxiety and depression, and a host of other health issues.

All of which is a very long way of saying, “if you breathe well, you will live long on earth.” as the Sanskrit proverb reminds us. So, welcome news is a recent study showing that yoga breathing practice can improve breathing even in the elderly with long-term breathing difficulties. An important reminder to all of us of the important role simple yogic breathing techniques like the Uyaji breath plays in our practice.”

Caroline Iwasaki, RMT