A teacher's command to come to tadasana at the top of our mats: "Samasthitih". We not only are called to equal standing, but to equal breathing. And it all starts with an EXHALE.
Perhaps more than most of you are thinking, 'No not an exhale, but it starts with an inhale?? Arms up for the first movement of Suryanamaskara A, vinyasa 1/ekam, is an inhale, yes?' Well, yes of course. But our Samasthitih is always an exhale. Here we are at the beginning of practice, finishing the Invocation with an exhaling Om. We inhale, then put arms to the sides to fully find Samasthitih with the EXHALE, then begin the Sun Salutation. We finish each Sun Salutation and then exhale into Samasthitih, and without missing a beat, we inhale into the next round. Sun Salutations don't entirely start & end, but are seamlessly connected with a Samasthitih; as are the standing sequences. And old school full on Astanga had every asana coming back to Samasthitih!
The deliberate exhale makes sense. It gets you grounded, as apana force will do, but it also allows you to inhale more deeply. I will hearken back to my many moments with David Williams in his workshops, stating the physiological movement of a complete emptying exhale that then 'pulls in a more full inhale'. He tells us, 'Exhale completely, then just a little more'. Exhaling sets up the inhale. (Perhaps this can be the 'chicken & the egg' debate :) But we look for balance, and more exhale = more inhale.
I like this...We can see it if we liken the breath to the surf; a wave recedes rushing back from the shore (exhale), and the next cresting wave is made stronger and more full from it (inhale). Lately I recognize it when I watch our dog out on walks - when he really wants to sniff and catch the scent of something (everything, as dogs can & do), he first gives a full emptying puff of an exhale. It's as if he is gaining the absolute clearest path he can, to experience the inhale fully.
When you first start out in a breath-led yoga practice, you notice that it is challenging to achieve a deep inhale as opposed to achieving a long exhale. The longer exhales come with some ease. The deeper inhalation takes some time to build lung capacity, as we are used to breathing throughout the day in a more shallow rhythm. We need to add emphasis to the exhale to encourage building the draw for the inhale.
