EXPERIENCING OUR BODY &

BREATHING

Right from our birth, we are

strongly conditioned to make use of
our body and breathing for various
actions and activities.
We have learnt how to sit, stand,
walk, run, jump, manipulate things
with hands, how to speak, sing,
etc.
 EXPERIENCING OUR BODY &
BREATHING
However, we seldom spend any
time to experience our body and
breathing and remain in their
awareness.
 In yoga, there is the doctrine of
“Five Bodies” (Sharira) or “Five
Sheaths of the Consciousness”
(Pancha Koshas).
Awareness of body and breathing
 EXPERIENCING OUR BODY &
BREATHING
 I want you to “Experience” your
natural and spontaneous breathing
for some time in a comfortable
relaxed body position and then some
of you to narrate the nature of your
“Experience of Breathing”, if
possible.
 It will be very useful for you to have
a good introduction to the study and
 EXPERIENCING OUR BODY &
BREATHING

 Start “Experiencing” your

breathing.
 What did you “Experience” as
Breathing?
 Can some of you narrate your
“Experiences” in a group
situation?
EXPERIENCING OUR BODY &
BREATHING
 Usually, beginners
experience difficulty in
experiencing breathing.
 They can not differentiate
between “Breath” and
“Breathing”.
 EXPERIENCING OUR BODY &
BREATHING

 I also passed through the

same difficulty.
 Therefore, I am asking this
question to the participants in
my seminar on Breathing and
Pranayama.
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 Experiencing Breathing
Movements
• You are given a sheet of paper with
the “Front and Side Views” of the
Torso to enter your internal
experiential observations.
• Those who do not have pens, will
work mentally.
• We will begin with the “Front View”
of the torso. 16
Experiencing Trunk (Body) movements
related with Normal Breathing.

• Put the palms of your hands on the

sides of the trunks at the level of
the stomach.
• Continue with natural breathing
without any kind of voluntary
modification.
• As far as possible, keep your eyes
closed while experiencing these 17
Experiencing Trunk (Body) movements
related with Normal Breathing.

• Most of us will start experiencing

movements of the trunk related with
breathing.
• Recognize the direction of these
movements during Inspiration and
Expiration.
• Enter your Internal Experiential
Observations in relation to inspiration
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Experiencing Trunk (Body) movements
related with Normal Breathing.

• Usually, we observe that the stomach

wall is moving

“Outwards during Inspiration”,

and
“Inwards during Expiration”.

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Experiencing Trunk (Body) movements
related with Normal Breathing.

• You will realize that the terms,

“Inspiration and Expiration” are
related with the movement of air;
and NOT with the movement of the
body as experienced by you just now.
• The body is moving outwards during
Inspiration and inwards during
expiration.
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 Experiencing Trunk (Body)
movements
related with Normal Breathing.
• Now, put the hands on the sides of
the chest wall and repeat the same
procedure.
• Most of us will experience body
movements related with breathing in
these areas also.
• Examine the direction of these
movements during Inspiration and 22
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 Experiencing Trunk (Body)
movements
related with Normal Breathing.
Now, put the hands on the iliac
crests at the pelvic level and repeat
the same procedure.
Enter your findings in the figure.

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 Experiencing Trunk (Body)
movements
related with Normal Breathing.

• Most of us will realize that the

breathing movements are “not
uniform” everywhere.
• There are no movements in certain
areas.
• Therefore, try to “Quantify” these
movements as +, ++, +++ where
present and just ‘X’ where absent.
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 Experiencing Trunk (Body)
movements
related with Normal Breathing.
Now, put the hands on the front and
the back sides of the stomach and
repeat the same procedure.
Look for the presence or absence of
breathing movements on both sides,
their directions and quantifications.
Enter your findings in the figure.

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 Experiencing Trunk (Body) movements
related with Normal Breathing.
Similarly work at the level of the
Chest and the Pelvis on the front and
the back sides.
Make your observations in respect of
the presence and/or absence of the
breathing movements in the front
and the back sides.
Enter your findings in the figure.
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Experiencing Breathing
Movements without the help of
the hands
 Keep your breathing as natural and
spontaneous as possible for you.
 Experience breathing movements in
all the areas where we had used our
hands.
 Make a mental note of your
observations. You can also draw the
two figures and enter your findings.
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Movements without the help of
the hands.
Do you feel any difference between
the two modes of experiencing
breathing movements:
With the help of the hands, and
Without the help of the hands??

• What is the difference, if any??

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