An audible exhale
Have you ever been to a yoga class where one person is making a lot of noise with their breathing. The infamous scene in When Harry Met Sally where Meg Ryan’s character ‘ahhhhs’ loudly in a restuarant certainly came to mind during a class where I practiced next to one of these loud noise makers. Let’s remember though, the follow up line in that scene, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
When I practice yoga, it certainly feels so good in my body to make noise. Whether it’s fluttering my lips AKA horse breath or elongating my exhale with a gentle ‘haaaaaaaa’ sound, I’m able to find a deeper state of relaxation and stress release. In many classes, students are offered an opportunity to make noise during two parts of class: The opening OM and then closing OM. We’re always encouraged to use our breath, but very few people are going to channel Meg Ryan’s noises openly. I’m still on the fence if someone else’s noises are ‘too much.’ It’s like, how dare you create this massive distraction from my practice, but maybe that’s the practice you needed that day? To still find a slice of inner peace during chaos or annoyance or discomfort. It’s a practice for life at the end of the day.
As a yoga teacher, I’m constantly trying to model and encourage more noise from students in classes. We find saftey in numbers. At the opening we do three big shoulder rolls, try it with me now. Deep breath in as you shrug your shoulders up towards your ears, and make a nice ‘ahhhhhhh’ sound as you roll your shoulders down your back. Twice more. Maybe the ‘ahhhhh’ gets a split second longer each time. How do you feel? This is such a great way to start off strong out of the gates - similar to the opening OM. When we make noise, it signals to our nervous system a sense of saftey and permission to loosen the grip. As we move through poses during class, I’ll continue to ‘ahhhhh’ and ‘brrrrrr’ (flutter lips) and encourage everyone else to do so. I remind them how good it feels. Next time you’re in class, try a horse breath during a forward fold, it’s pure gold.
I mainly work with pregnant women. There are two main reasons I strongly feel we need to make more noise in classes.
Opening up our throat chakra.
In motherhood, or perhaps in womanhood, we tend to take on too much. We may find it easier to just do it ourselves, rather than take the time to ask for help. And we all know how this ends, burnout and blowing up on the ones we love the most. It’s almost like we need to take one step back to get two steps forward. The one step back being asking for help, and taking the time to explain how you like something to be done. Side note: this is a very challenging practice for many of us. The person giving the help may do the thing differently. See if you can let them. When we practice making noise in class, I truly believe that it’s a practice for using our voice. Be brave, ask for help. You deserve it.
Preparing for birth.
Whether you deliver vaginally or via C-section, birth can be stressful. Using your breath as a tool to help manage this stress is key. A calm nervous system allows you to process better things in the moment, rather than shut them down and carry that weight to deal with another time. When we engage in making peaceful or primal sounds, we’re inviting the body to calm and soften. This will help your core and pelvic floor muscles to relax, creating an easier opening for baby to enter vaginally, and will help you ride the contraction waves. Your breath is extremely powerful. I like to say turn up the volume and amplify your breath so that it becomes at the forefront rather than the physical sensations we’re feeling. When I gave birth to Ollie, I had planned a c-section and did not experience labor. I found the c-section to be very stressful. I did not like the thought of my body being opened, and wanted to be stitched up as quickly as possible. To be honest, I think I was pretty terrible at engaging my deep breathing here. At that time, I hadn’t done any birth prep. I simply didn’t think I needed to given my planned C-section.
Your breath is an extremely powerful tool. This is your permission to make noise during classes. Also, if you need to go and scream into a pillow or punch your sofa cushions, please do so. I don’t love the term mom rage, as I know dad’s feel it too, as to non-parents. Life can really get you riled up. You’re human, not meant to be perfect - we all experience this. The audible exhale can be a gentle almost silent ‘ahhhh’ with a really light tone, or a deep and primal ‘huuuuhhhhhhh’ or a scream into a pillow or on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It’s all a from of medicine and it’s all a practice. If that still doesn’t work to calm you down, shake out your body. It’s not the $120 monthly supplement subscription my friends, these tools are free if you allow yourself the freedom to make noise.
