Page 96 - How to Shine on Stage

popularity in Western countries. They are rooted in Eastern practic-
es such as yoga, tai chi, and Buddhism. There are many known breath-
ing techniques:

1. Deep breathing prevents air from getting trapped in the lungs and en-
ables the inhalation of fresh air. We perform the exercise standing
or sitting, with the elbows pushed slightly backwards to expand the
chest. Then we inhale deeply through the nose and hold the breath
while counting to five before slowly exhaling through the nose.
94 2. Active expiration relies on the application of abdominal muscle pres-
sure, causing their contraction and consequent optimal diaphragm
expansion (Gosselink, 2004).
3. Diaphragmatic breathing targets the regulation of the abdominal wall
How to Shine on Stage during inspiration and expiration and can be aided by a hand on the
abdomen. The exercise is performed sitting or lying down. When we
observe our inhalation and exhalation through the lifting and lower-
ing of the abdominal wall, the exhalations gradually become longer
and we become more relaxed and calmer.
4. Breathing with pursed lips forces us to decelerate our breathing and
make a conscious effort with each breath. In this exercise, we relax
our neck and shoulders and, with our mouth closed, slowly inhale
through the nose, counting to two. Then we purse our lips, like for
whistling, and exhale through them.
5. Yogic breathing or pranayama promotes conscious guidance of the
breath. “Prana” means energy and “ajam” means control and reg-
ulation (Maheshwarananda, 2000). The purpose of pranayama is
to increase the volume of oxygen in the lungs and blood in order to
achieve a steady rhythmic breathing pattern and ultimately relaxa-
tion. This type of breathing comprises three phases: inhalation (pu-
raka), breath retention (kumbhaka) and exhalation (rechaka), their
ratio being 1 : 4 : 2 (e.g. if the inhalation lasts four seconds, we hold
the breath for 16 seconds, and the exhalation lasts eight seconds)
(Romas & Sharma, 2017). Pranayama includes alternate-nostril
breathing, one side at a time. We exhale and gently close the right
nostril with the thumb of our right hand. Then we inhale through
the left nostril and close it with the ring finger of the right hand. We
remove the thumb and exhale through the right nostril. We inhale
through the right nostril and close it again with the right thumb.
We remove the ring finger and exhale through the left nostril. This
concludes one cycle of pranayama. We continue with cycles in the
same order, starting with the closing of the right nostril and inhal-