This is the time of year we are more likely to overeat, which can bring on the hiccups.  And once they start--even if we can stop them, they often come back shortly.  It's caused by an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm that repeats several times a minute.  It can be very unpleasant, and not a little embarrassing.

You can look up hiccups on Wikipedia and find out lots of  theories about how we get them, but if you have hiccups, you probably just want them to stop. Being a yogi and especially fond of the breathing practices we call pranayama , I stumbled upon a cure that has never failed me, though I admit I occasionally have had to do it twice to get rid of the dreaded hiccups.  Here's how:

     Inhale deeply

•      Exhale strongly, leaving the lungs empty
•      Perform stomach lift, Uddiyana Bhanda 
•      Hold for as long as comfortable     
  

     Slowly inhale, from bottom to top
                                                                         Resume normal breathing
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That's basically all there is to it.  Try again if it doesn't work the first time.  I never had much luck with the "startling" technique, although my brothers tried like to devil to scare the hiccups out of me.  Drinking water from the back of the glass never worked for me either.  

Let me know if this technique works for you!  You can make a comment under the post.

You are invited to my studio at the G-Raj for a sacred evening of chanting, restorative yoga, guided relaxation, singing bowl sound bath, and cookies and hot cocoa.  We'll also do an arati to the Light as we celebrate the shortening of the long nights of winter.  Please RSVP at my facbook page, Meera's Big Yoga.

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   Well, yes, I am getting older.  You can see it in my eyes.  But, that means I'm getting wiser too.  I'm getting smarter about what I spend my time doing.  Someone I admired once told me "Whatever you say 'yes' to, you're saying 'no' to something else.  And recently I decided to say "yes" to writing a new book.

My publisher, Rudy Shur at Square One Publishers, approached me about writing a book about breathing techniques to help people with breathing challenges.  I hesitated initially, because I didn't have any first hand experience with the various lung diseases.  I spent some time reading about COPD, asthma, emphysema and other challenges, and realized I needed a co-author to help me with the medical information that I wanted--and--needed to include in the new book.  Enter.  Dr. McLanahan!