E28. “Practice With Awareness”

Today, Eli and Inga wrap up their four-week discussion on the breath and its importance in yoga and general health. They discuss some of the key takeaways from the previous episodes, including the fact that taking deep breaths is not necessarily better and that carbon dioxide is crucial to the effective use of oxygen in the body. They also emphasize the importance of holding one's breath and explain why it's a technique that should be practiced more often. Inga leads listeners through a practical exercise to measure their sensitivity to carbon dioxide buildup, and they discuss how this can be used to increase one's tolerance to carbon dioxide and improve physical and mental health. Overall, the episode aims to help listeners achieve a better and healthier life through a better understanding of the yogic perspective on breathing.

In this episode of Decoding Yoga, Eli and Inga continue their series on demystifying yoga and breathing myths. They discuss the benefits of holding your breath and how it can help restore natural breathing and functional breathing.They explore the production of carbon dioxide in the body and how it can be beneficial for healthy breathing. They explain how holding your breath after an exhale can help you understand how well your body tolerates carbon dioxide, and why this is important for breathing regulation. Join Eli and Inga as they decode the myths around holding your breath and how it can be a useful tool for restoring healthy breathing.

In this episode of The Decoding Yoga, Eli continues her discussion with Inga about the topic of breath in yoga. They discuss the misconception that big, heavy breathing is healthy, when in reality it can be correlated with health issues such as asthma, heart disease, anxiety, and panic attacks. In contrast, healthy breathing is subtle, inaudible, and always through the nose. Inga explains the benefits of breathing into a bag during a panic attack rather than taking a deep breath in and sighing it out. You will learn about the importance of healthy breathing and the negative effects of big breathing, and gain insight into how to breathe properly for optimal health.

This podcast episode is a conversation between Eli and Inga, where they talk about breath misconceptions in yoga.Inga, a yoga teacher, shares her experience of discovering the science behind breathing and how it blew her mind. The episode covers the importance of understanding the way we breathe, how our body adapts to our lifestyle, and the effects of chronic stress. The conversation also explores the impact of breathing on our mental and physical health and how the practice of yoga can help regulate our breathing patterns.

I hope that by now we all know that yoga is not only about postures. It’s one of the many methods we have to learn to live this life in the best possible way!Pranayama is the fourth limb of the Yoga system, but if you think that it’s only about breathing, I’ll invite you to listen/watch this episode and decode the real meaning, use and benefits of pranayama.

There is no doubt that Yin Yoga has gained popularity in recent years. And I believe it’s only the beginning!Today I share my top three reasons why yin yoga is the next big thing!Are you practicing Yin Yoga already? Yes? Awesome!No? What are you waiting for!

From the traditional yoga techniques (not only asanas, but kriyas, pranayama and meditation practices) of the ancient yogis, to ‘broga’ (brother + yoga = yoga for men), beer yoga, goat yoga, nude yoga… and beyond…We have seen an evolution, transformation, and deformation of the practice of this philosophical method throughout the years and the different cultures that become more and more ‘creative to attract followers and likes…Well, yin yoga hasn’t escaped from this madness… “Hot Yin”, “Yin only at Night”, and “Go-for-it Yin” are only a few practices I found questionable.

I started listening to podcasts when I started training in personal finances.And on one occasion, my mentor mentioned that once a podcast show hits 30 episodes, it depicts consistency.Well, guess what? Today we mark our 30th episode!And to celebrate -and thank you all for your support- I challenged myself to find 30 solid reasons to practice yin yoga!To many more episodes decoding the what’s, why’s and how’s of yoga!

Don’t get me wrong… I love Yin Yoga! But after so many years training people from all over the world to become yin yoga teachers, I only have one reason to explain why Yin has become Restorative Yoga; teachers play music during classes, and not everybody enjoys teaching yin yoga…And that’s because of the “ugly” truth about yin yoga!Let’s talk about it in today’s episode.

Today, I close this series named “Decoding Yoga Cues”. We have reviewed the cues most yoga teachers use over and over again, and have tried to explain the meaning of them -at least- from an anatomical perspective.In this conversation with Inga, we explore the possible connotations of this vague instruction.My hope is that, after these two months of decoding yoga commands, you will be able to practice from a place of awareness!