Yes, I said burp. And the funny thing is, I mean a real live burp. I’m not making an analogy here. I’m talking about using and mastering the amazing art of burping. A skill we were taught the very first day we were born. There is a reason moms burp babies. The reason is to remove the trapped air in a baby’s stomach that will cause the baby pain and nausea if it’s allowed to linger in the abdomen.
From my very first yoga class I observed the hard and fast rule of light food two hours before class. I still experienced a lot of nausea in the first few months of my practice, until I discovered the “burp”. I began doing forced small, quiet, “burps” during the warm up poses, and continued to sprinkle them throughout the standing series. My line of thinking was that I was getting rid of any left over food and it was really helping. The nausea went away.
It was only in the last month that I began to rethink this. While engaging in a conversation about whether or not to eat before class, I heard myself say, “The food I eat at 7am is all gone before 9am and safely in my bloodstream to keep my glycemic level even during class.” Then it dawned on me. Why am I burping during class if the food is gone? Why is the burping keeping the nausea at bay?
I watched each pose, and looked for the effect each warmup pose had on my stomach. During the pose air was building in my lower abdomen. If I didn’t release it between poses, it took up room and made me feel not only nauseous, but like I was suffocating, too. It was creating a ballon in my stomach. By doing small, slight burps between the poses, releasing this trapped air made room to take in more air, made normal breathing through the nose effortless, and that, in turn, kept my heart in check. The burping not only eliminated the nausea, but really made breathing very easy, even on the hottest and most humid days. I realized food was a non-issue. It was the trapped air causing both the nausea and breathing problems.
If you are plagued by nausea and/or breathing problems during class, give the burping a try. Such a small thing has alleviated so much discomfort for me, that I rarely have classes I don’t enjoy.
Taking it outside the studio:
How many times is a small fix to a big issue right under our noses? Putting aside the frustration of not having something work right, and using a little keen observation to discover why it’s not working, leads to many ah..ha moments that make life easier.
And so, as another day goes by, moms always do know best, and …I have written.
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