Pranayama – Intercostal Breathing

By Pauravi Parekh 

Breathe start when a human is born and last till the person die, but do we know how we breathe? We naturally breathe but if we know how to breathe our life will be much longer. 

Have you ever observed a baby breathing, how perfectly sweetly and naturally it is breathing there is no artificial control to it, there are gentle abdominal movements, so if you learn to breathe like this throughout your life then you can get rid of the majority of the problems? 

There is a different type of breathing problem, some are short, some are jerky some has a sound called asthma there are many reasons for such breathing problem but the major reason is our fast forward lifestyle as we are not even bothered by our food and lifestyle. So we should learn how to breathe in a relaxed way and slowly to help our self to live a longer and a meaning full life.

There are different forms of breathing techniques and Intercostal breathing is one of the forms of breathing in Pranayama 

The muscles between the ribs are called intercostal muscles. When we breathe the muscles are tightened and the rib cage is pulled up, your lungs fill with air and your chest expands

How to do Intercostal Breathing

1. You can do this pranayama in a sitting posture Sukhasana or padmasana or you can also do it in the standing position while keeping a comfortable distance between feet.
2. Place your hand on the lower ribcage, finger facing front and thumb should be back and chin parallel
3. Fingers touching each other below the chest is just to see as a measurement so do not grab or compress it. 
4. Try to breathe in through your chest and not with your abdomen or neck,  try to use your chest move sideway and not outwards 
5. So when you start breathing in your chest moves outward and the moment your chest is apart your figures will come apart automatically. This shows that you’re doing this breathing technique correctly 
6. Take 4 counts to inhale( your chest will expand sideways and fingers will apart) and 4 count exhale ( Fingers will join again) and normal breathing 
7. Do this 5 times in a row  

Limitation 

1. Suffering from fever 
2. Arthritis
3. Ulcer
4. Hypertension 
5. Heart ailments
6. Any surgery is advised
7. Ladies should not perform during menstrual periods 

Benefits 

1. Develop Mental Strength 
2. Improve Concentration and Memory 
3. Increase the good amount of energy in your body 
4. Strengthen Muscles
5. Reduce stress and anxiety 
6. Improve blood circulation 
7. Increase body Oxygen 

By.

Pauravi Parekh

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