slow vs. fast breathing

[Guest guest]

Hi,<br><br>I am wondering about the rhythm of

breathing.<br>Breathing at my own pace I seem to do the routine slower

than almost anybody in the class.<br>I am comfortable

with the breathing, only it takes a lot more time to

do my routine and as I am pregressing and adding

more asanas to my routine my practice will last even

longer. And I'd rather it did not take so

long.<br><br>Does anybody know if lower or faster breathing has

different kinds of effects? Should/could I go on trying to

speed up my breathing rhythm?<br><br>In my class I have

noticed that the more people have practiced the faster

they do their routine.<br><br>Thank you all in advance

for your comments.

[Guest guest]

> the more people have practiced the faster

they do their routine.<br><br>This is a common

pattern, but I think it's more to do with sticking

strictly to the correct vinyasa/breath pattern than with

the actual pace of individual breaths - no extra

breaths getting in and out of "difficult" asanas, no

little unauthorised rests. I very much doubt if advanced

students would be deliberately breathing

faster.<br><br>Gurji's count in led classes is very slow indeed at times

- but then, some of those times he's

joking.<br><br>Somebody worked out that, done correctly, primary series

plus finishing consists of just over 800 breaths.

There are people who do the whole series, including

finishing and relaxation, in an hor and a quarter. Let's

say they're only in relaxation for 5 minutes, then

that comes to about 5 seconds per breath for the

remaining 70 minutes. Which, for me, would be rushing. I

personally take about an hour and 45 minutes to do the whole

series with half vinyasa both sides.<br><br>I think

deliberately trying to speed up your breathing in order to

rush through the practice would be a bad idea. If you

have limited time, better to do what you have time for

at a speed you are comfortable with.