Yoga at Home for Beginners: Yoga Breathing FOR Public Speaking

December 2009 - Spiritual talk in Silver Spring, MD

In July 2010, I wrote a blog post about the similarities between yoga and public speaking.  You can check it out in the archives. And, I was recently reminded about the link between yoga and public speaking by an article in the March 2012 issue of Yoga Journal which discussed the benefits of yoga to overcome anxiety and improve one's comfort with public speaking.

I have practiced yoga since 1970 and I have been practicing and honing my speaking skills since 1980, the year I joined Toastmasters International.  The key to improving and enhancing one's abilities in both yoga and public speaking are consistent practice and having a positive intention. In yoga, one's intention should include enjoying the practice in and of itself, expanding one's comfort zone, and achieving oneness of mind, body, and spirit.   In public speaking, hopefully your purpose is to deliver a meaningful message with comfort and power which in turn creates a connection and therefore oneness with your audience.

But, what if you haven't joined a Toastmasters club (which I highly recommend if you're serious about getting ongoing public speaking practice) and you have an upcoming eulogy or speaking requirement of some kind and you are feeling nervous?  What do you do?

In a pinch, try yoga breathing exercises!  The Alternate Nostril Breath is an excellent technique to practice in the days and the minutes before your speaking engagement.  It is a wonderful, calming tonic!  Try it! See the instructions below.  And, as you do this breathing technique, it is most helpful to focus on serving the audience.  Focusing on others is invaluable for overcoming public speaking fears.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Type of yoga pose:  Breathing technique that can be done seated or lying down 

Body parts targeted:  Lungs and nervous system

How to do the pose:

1. Sit in a comfortable position on your mat or in a chair with your spine erect (or lie down with your entire body flat on your mat).
2. You may choose to close your eyes. Closing your eyes enhances the relaxation and calming effects of this technique.
3. Place your right thumb gently on but not closing your right nostril; place your index finger and middle finger on your forehead in the space between your eyebrows; rest your ring finger and little finger gently on your left nostril without closing it.     
4. Press down upon your right nostril with your right thumb. Lift your ring and little finger from your left nostril and breathe in deeply expanding your abdomen and fill your lungs to the count of 8 (or to whatever count is comfortable for you).
5. Press your ring and little fingers down on your left nostril and hold your breath for a count of 4.
6. Raise your right thumb off your right nostril and exhale all the air in your lungs through your right nostril to the count of 8.
7. Without changing the position of your hand, immediately breathe in through your right nostril for a count of 8.
8. Press your right thumb down on your right nostril so that both nostrils are closed.  Hold your breath for a count of 4.
9. Lift your ring and little fingers from your nostril and exhale through your left nostril for a count of 8.

This completes one round of alternate nostril breathing.

Number of repetitions: 3 rounds or for 5 minutes alternating nostrils. Over time, build up the counts so you are inhaling, holding, and exhaling for a count of 8. Do at any time of the day when you need to relax, clear your mind, or slow down your pace.

Key benefits from this pose: 

1. Increases “prana” – i.e., the “life force” or energy in the body.
2. Helps clear air passages.
3. Relaxes and calms body, mind, and nerves.
4. Clears mind.
5. Balances opposite currents in your body and helps restore equilibrium.
6. Functions as an excellent beginning to your yoga session, as a prelude to meditation or for winding down after doing poses.
7. Quiets the mind and can help in overcoming insomnia.
8. Strengthens the nervous system and improves circulation.
9. Relieves sinus conditions by dissolving obstructions in the nasal passages and can increase immunity to colds.

10.Can alleviate headaches or stomach aches caused by anxiety.

11.Helps develop overall serenity.

12.  Can help you overcome the jitters you may experience with public speaking!!

Special hints and Laura’s experience with this pose:

Always inhale and exhale without strain in and out through the nose, not through the mouth.  When you begin this technique, you may notice, as I did, that one nostril is clearer than the other. I had trouble breathing through my right nostril. Don’t worry – over time both nostrils will clear and you will breathe in and out fully from both.

You can use this breathing technique to increase your energy during afternoon lulls or whenever you need to “pep” yourself up. I have used the alternate nostril breath technique to alleviate anxiety or stomach aches caused by stress by doing the breath while focusing on the words, “deep relaxation.”  Within 2-3 minutes, my stomach aches have subsided!

You can also use the alternate nostril breath technique to help you relax at night before sleep. At bedtime, lie down in your bed and do 5 to 7 rounds of the alternate breath technique to release all tensions and to dose off.

 Yours for calming down with yoga breathing,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez

Comments

[Laura Rodriguez]

Hi Tina,

Most interesting! I have never heard of Toastmasters recommending medication of any kind! They do however, emphasize speaking as much as possible without notes. I think the artful use of bullet points on notecards though is quite acceptable. I have attended a lunch club that is down the street from my office building - so it fits into my schedule nicely. I joined Toastmasters because I figured my career necessitated speaking with confidence. I don't get to speak often in my day job - but my top goal is to shift over into a full-time inspirational speaking/writing career - as soon as I can! I have completed the Advanced Toastmaster Gold and Competent Leader and have no interest in going beyond that. I stay active to practice speaking. Just as one has to consistently do yoga to stay in shape, one has to keep practicing speaking to maintain the skills.

[Tina]

Another thing we have in common! I had been a member of Toastmasters for about seven years. I did not need those skills for my job, nor for any of my avocations (gave up the idea of step aerobics teacher training when my feet went bad at age 43), and RARELY used them for family functions.

I was not good at speechifying without the use of notes, and practically all the Toastmasters groups I had the fortune of being a member of, strongly discouraged the use of notes. Despite that, I'd advanced to what had then been known as an Advanced Toastmaster Bronze.

I'd needed a stationary but extremely physical means of calming the heebie jeebies from an hour before to as soon as moments before giving a Toastmasters speech. Did Western (athletic) stretches, mostly, in those Toastmasters years, 10 minute yoga sessions some days, at most. So, many minutes of onsite isometric contractions, one muscle at a time; even to the point of breaking a sweat, is what had done it for me.

Anything beats the use of Inderal (a blood-pressure medication that, used off-label, is supposed to make stage fright a nonentity), which, ironically, is touted as a nostrum in Toastmasters circles.

I use pranayama for physical ailments. I'd never gotten much family support for my membership in Toastmasters, my commute precludes my rejoining them; I've been long away from them ...