yawning during breathing exercises

Question

i have a question for my son.  he has trouble with his breathing during athletic competitions.  i have been encouraging him to do breathing exercises, but the moment he starts to concentrate on his breathe, he starts yawning.

he is 16 years old, about 178cm tall, weighs about 65kg.  he is still at school and competes in the 1500m & 800m track events.

we follow a very healthy diet & he has always been very healthy. he is a very focused young man and does put him self under a lot of stress to performs well both at school & athletics.  when he runs he says it feels like a tight band constricting him around the chest.

i though doing some breathing exercises would help him, but as soon as he starts any of the exercises, he start yawning, almost uncontrollably.

i've been practicing yoga for several years and have never seen anyone in class start yawning as soon as we practice pranayama.

any thoughts you may have on this would be appreciated.  also are there any specific breathing practise that might be helpful for him?

Answer 1

Yawning, a reflex of inhalation of air  followed by an exhalation of breath, generally occurs during sleepiness, during tiredness, during stress, during boredom activities and during nervousness or insomnia.  It is also contagious, if some person is yawning, the other is also influenced and starts yawning.  It is also said that yawning is to eliminate excess carbon dioxide  accumulated in the blood. You can check any of these factors for yawning of your son during yogic activities. May be he is already stressed with some athletic exercises or he is not interested in the yoga. Or it may be causing more stress on him. Or you can check the time –morning or evening or when you ask him to do breathing exercises – after school or before school.
Your son can practice the following for better performance in athletes  - track events of 1500m & 800m.

(i)    Sarvangpushti - Yogic Sthula Vyayam
(ii)    Engine Daud - Yogic Sthula Vyayam
(iii)    Utkurdana - Yogic Sthula Vyayam
(iv)    Yogic Breathing (Sectional Breathing)
(v)    Anuloma Vilom Breathing with retention ratio.
(vi)    Kapalbhati / Bhastrika
(vii)    Autogenic Training

Answer 2

Kapakbhati breath is great to practice every morning few minutes before getting ready to add more energy.Yawning normally happens when tired. Bhastrika pranayama is great as well.Hum Hum sound few times cleaning the nose engaging inner throat if possible.Victorious breath in other words yogic breathing can lead to relaxation Dr.Timothy McCalls mention in yoga journal article due to stress yawning can happen and Claire Ragozzino explained very well in her article.Any breath we perform intensity has to be right.

Comments

Please share the links of article on yawning by Dr. Timothy McCalls and Dr Claire Ragozzino.

---

Those article are easy to post if I am on Face Book. I don't want to be on Face Book.No time for that.Sorry

Answer 3

https://www.askyogaexpert.org/?qa=blob&qa_blobid=16562307201068047208

I also found another yoga therapist LISA A WORKMAN M.A.[Exercise specialist]her article about breathing, yawning is wonderful. Please check the above article.I am very grateful to her.