Breathwalk (in German: Atemgehen) combines yoga exercises, walking and meditation. The fast walking promotes endurance, in addition, the conscious breathing patterns and yoga sequences sharpen the mind and achieve the desired relaxation. How does Breathwalk work?
Breathwalk: what is it?
Breathwalk, also known as yogawalk, is a gentle exercise that combines walking with rhythmic breathing, meditation exercises and practices from Kundalini yoga:
- Breathing in rhythm with walking, inhale in four sections, exhale in four sections.
- Thumb and fingertips touching, you say the mantra “Sa ta na ma” (for infinity, life, death and rebirth) and directs the gaze into the distance.
- Concentration increases, the head becomes clear, energy returns to the body.
So you experience part of the Breathwalk, a combination of breathing and yoga, which can be an aha experience even for those unfamiliar with yoga and sports. Breathwalk has been in vogue in America for years and is finding more and more followers in Europe – and rightly so. Breathwalk was made famous in this country primarily by the Kundalini yoga master Yogi Bhajan.
Who breathes, refuels energy
Humans breathe 20,000 to 30,000 times a day, 16 to 20 times a minute – and almost always unconsciously. Very often, we breathe incorrectly: too shallowly and too quickly under stress, sometimes inhaling too strongly, then exhaling too quickly again. Yet correct breathing is so important: for example, it has been proven that correct and conscious breathing has a positive effect on cardiac muscle weakness in cardiovascular patients. Yogic breathing exercises in particular have a very harmonizing effect on stress: more oxygen is supplied to the blood and the body cells regenerate more quickly. This promotes general health. Those who breathe unconsciously and too shallowly, their blood does not receive enough oxygen. As a result, toxins cannot be completely removed, which can damage cells and organs in the long run. Often, one feels sluggish and depressed as a result.
Who runs, strengthens the cardiovascular system
Fast, athletic walking is a natural healthy process of the organism. It strengthens endurance, invigorates the entire body and gets the heart, circulation and metabolism going. Walking is good for the cardiovascular system, because the load is nice and even, the walking pace is at a healthy level, which means that overloading is almost impossible. Plus, everyone gets to walk at “their” pace – it’s not about speed or perfection here. The heart volume and the beating power of the heart increase, the body is better supplied with blood. Regular endurance training relieves the heart in the long run, because the blood pressure becomes lower overall.
Walking and yoga: an ideal combination
Medical experts praise the combination of walking and yoga:
- The walking movement is good for metabolism and hormonal control.
- Meditation improves concentration and reduces stress.
- Yoga is suitable, for example, to improve breathing mechanics and prevent asthma.
Unlike normal walking or walking, the Breathwalk is practiced conscious breathing.
Breathwalk – Instructions for beginners
Breathwalking combines walking with a specific breathing rhythm. This is especially for beginners only under guidance, but you learn quickly.
- Before starting, the body is prepared and warmed up.
- Slower and faster walking alternate with each other.
- While doing so, breathe in and out in the rhythm of walking, counting to four each time.
- Its meditative component gets the walk through the mental repetition of mantras: known is the Om – this supports the concentration and prevents the digression of thoughts. Then namely also quickly loses conscious breathing.
- These mantras are associated in an advanced form of Breathwalk with certain hand postures – they are called mudras. These serve as a counting aid for the breath.
- With yoga exercises that stretch the body, the coach or trainer ends the walk.
What is Breathwalk good for?
The ideal thing about Breathwalk is that the untrained, convalescents and even people who consider themselves completely unathletic can participate and soon realize how effective this form of walking is. In any case, people with heart disease should discuss with their doctor whether they are allowed to participate in this type of sport.Breathwalk improves endurance when you walk regularly, reduces stress, helps you lose weight, strengthens the skeletal system and prevents osteoporosis.
Breathwalk tips
One component of Breathwalking is abdominal breathing. As you breathe in, the diaphragm should contract and move downward. The abdominal wall should bulge forward as you do this. This creates suction in the chest cavity. This causes the lungs to expand and you breathe in (abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing). In chest breathing, the ribs are pulled up and away from each other. This enlarges the chest cavity and creates negative pressure again, leading to inhalation. When exhaling, the diaphragm relaxes and resumes its former shape. This forces stale air out of the lungs. A contraction of the ribs supports this process. Although Breathwalk needs some practice and should be performed by beginners under expert guidance at first – but then the sport is also suitable for untrained beginners without further ado.
