The results are in: yoga breathing can significantly improve memory. In particular, yoga breathing can improve spatial memory. This is the part of memory responsible for recording information about your environment. Spatial memory keeps track of where things are that you can see, where things are that you can't see, where you are, and how that all fits together. If you tend to have difficulty remembering where you put your keys or finding your way around large cities, then you may benefit from some intentional breathing.

What exactly is meant by yoga breathing? Several types of yoga breathing were included in the studies that revealed the astounding improvement in spatial memory. These included pranayama (voluntary regulation of breathing), nostril breathing (left, right, or alternating), and simple breathe awareness.

Heavy breathing during aerobic exercise won't cut it. One study of 85 elderly adults found that 16 weeks of aerobic training yielded no improvement in memory retrieval scores. Yet, a study of 108 individuals practicing nostril breathing or breathe awareness, found that they experienced an average 87% improvement in spatial memory scores after only 10 days. Another study had 30 children practice yoga breathing for 10 days. The children experienced a 43% increase in spatial memory scores.

Yoga breathing is easy to do and can be done just about anywhere at any time. There are many other benefits ascribed to breathe awareness besides improved memory, including stress relief and increased attention span. The following is a simple nostril breathing exercise. Try this exercise for at least a week and experience the benefits of intentional breathing:

-Try to sit with your head, neck and spine in a straight line.

-You will inhale through one nostril, hold the breath, then exhale through the other nostril in a ratio of 2:8:4 counts.

-Use the thumb and ring/pinky fingers of your right hand to close the right and left nostrils respectively, and close both nostrils when you hold the breath.

答案就是:瑜伽呼吸法可以顯著改善記憶力,尤其空間記憶。空間記憶與記錄周圍環(huán)境信息有關(guān):空間記憶記錄你能看到的東西在什么位置,你看不到的東西在什么位置,以及它們?nèi)绾谓Y(jié)合在一起。如果你記不住鑰匙放在哪里,或者在大城市中找不著路,那你就可以從有意識的呼吸練習(xí)中獲益。

瑜伽呼吸法究竟是怎樣的?研究中實驗對象的空間記憶力表現(xiàn)出驚人的提高,共使用了幾種瑜伽呼吸術(shù),其中有調(diào)息法(自主調(diào)節(jié)呼吸,注:pranayama在梵語中是瑜伽呼吸術(shù)的意思),鼻孔呼吸法(左、右鼻孔及交互式)以及簡單有意識呼吸。

有氧運動過程中的深呼吸并不能產(chǎn)生類似效果。一項對85名中老年人的研究表明,16周的有氧訓(xùn)練不會改善記憶提取得分。然而,對108名鼻孔呼吸法或有意識呼吸練習(xí)者進行研究發(fā)現(xiàn),在10天練習(xí)后,他們的空間記憶得分有平均87%的提高。另一項研究中,讓30名兒童練習(xí)10天瑜伽呼吸法,這些兒童的空間記憶得分有43%增加。

瑜伽呼吸法簡單易學(xué),可以隨時隨地練習(xí)。除了改善記憶外,有意識呼吸還帶來多種好處,包括減輕壓力和延長注意力集中時間。下面是一種簡單的鼻孔呼吸練習(xí)法。試著練習(xí)至少一周,體驗一下有意識呼吸帶給你的益處:

——保持頭、頸、脊柱成一條直線,坐好。

——分別數(shù)2、8、4下,使用一個鼻孔吸氣,屏住氣,然后再用另一個鼻孔呼出。

——使用右手的拇指和無名指(或小手指)分別按住左右鼻孔,屏氣時把兩個鼻孔都按住。