Respiratory System and its organs - Vinyasa Yoga Academy

1. June 2020 200hrs teacher training/ Living Yoga School The respiratory system and its organs The human respiratory system is a series of organs responsible for taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide, CO2. The primary organs of the respiratory system are the lungs, which carry out this exchange of gases as we breathe. The glucose taken in by solid food is of no use without the oxygen, O2 that we take in with the breath. Gas exchange in the lungs occurs in millions of small air sacs called alveoli. These microscopic air sacs have a very rich blood supply, thus bringing the air into close contact with the blood. The alveoli communicate with the external environment via a system of airways, or hollow tubes, of which the largest is the trachea, which branches in the middle of the chest into the two main bronchi. These enter the lungs where they branch into progressively narrower secondary and tertiary bronchi that branch into numerous smaller tubes, the bronchioles. The process of breathing, the air that has to be pumped from the environment into the alveoli, involves the muscles of respiration, the diafragm. It is the activation of the diafragm that brings the air in and out the human body. The lungs are protected by bones, our ribcage, in the middle of our ribcage we have our sternum, the chest bone. The ribs are connected to the sternum in the front of the body and at the back to the spine. At the top of the ribcage we have the clavicles and at the bottom of the ribcage lies our diafragm, these two edges hold the lungs in their «cage». So the lungs go from the clavicles to the diafragm, we call this the thoracic cavity. See sketch below. Undreneeth lies our abdomen cavity. When the diafragm is contracted it goes down, the lungs expand and increases their volume and the process of the gas exchange is multiplied, so there is more CO2 thrown out of the body. The exchange of gases in the aveoli is called the external respiration. After the process of the air going into the lungs it gets pumped into the heart and flows through the blood vains and vessels to the different organs for absorbtion of nutrients and elimination of the waste products, the CO2, carbon dioxid. The exchange of gases through the blood is called the internal respiration. Kathelijne Schaaphok Pranayama assigmnet 2/ part 2 the respiratory system

2. June 2020 200hrs teacher training/ Living Yoga School Kathelijne Schaaphok Pranayama assigmnet 2/ part 2 the respiratory system

3. June 2020 200hrs teacher training/ Living Yoga School The external respiration is easier to influence with the help of pranayama techniques than the internal respiration. There are 3 ways, breathing types, to expand the lungs and their capacity. What are the different types of breathing and the process of each? As explained befor we can regulate one breath by working on the different cycles. In one breath/respiration we have 4 cycles/steps: the inhalation, pause, exhalation and pause. The principles of these regulations are to extend the prana, our life force or vital force. The expantion of the lungs happens through different types of breathing. 1. Diafragmatic breath, the respiration happens in the abdominal area, the lower and upper abdomen, above and beneeth the navel, one of the 2 main centers in the body, the second is the heart center, in the middle of the chest. When we inhale deeply into the abdomen by blowing up the abdomen, creating a little buddha belly, we contract the diafragm and it gets pulled down and creates more space for the buttom of the lungs. 2. Thoracic breath, the second expantion of the lungs happens through the expantion of the ribcage. Inhale deeply and create space in between the ribs, so that the lungs can get more space outwards to the side. 3. Clavicular breath, the third way to expand the lungs is upwards towards the clavicles, here we breathe deeply into the tip of our lungs and rise the upper chest, the sternum forward and clavicles upwards. These techniques should first be practiced individually, starting with the abdomen, the diafragmatic breath, than up to the thoracic and than the clavicular. When practiced individually the other areas should remain as still as possible. This is called the three parts breath. Than the three parts can be combined, starting from the abdomen to the clavicles in one inhalation and the exhalation reversed from the clavicles to the abdomen, and continue this flow, making waves with the abdomen and chest. This is called the full yogic breath. Kathelijne Schaaphok Pranayama assigmnet 2/ part 2 the respiratory system