Hello and welcome.
I'm so grateful you're here.
I'm Joanna Barrett,
Your guide for this Durga Pranayama practice,
Three Parts Breathing.
Please find a comfortable seat or rest gently on your back.
Allow your eyes to close or soften your gaze when you're ready.
Let Mother Earth hold you.
Let gravity do the work for you.
There's nothing to fix,
Nothing to change.
Just your breath and your presence within it.
Begin to arrive right here,
Right now.
Let the outer world soften and feel yourself crossing the threshold into the sacred temple of your body.
If you wish,
You may bring one hand to your belly and one hand to your heart.
Feel the gentle rise and fall,
A tide within you that has never stopped,
An ancient rhythm always guiding you home.
This is your time.
Time to breathe.
We begin now to breathe with intention.
Not to control,
But to listen more deeply to the song of life that breathes through you.
As you breathe in,
Fill the abdomen as if drawing from the well of the earth.
Feel your belly expand,
Life entering the base of your being,
And as you slowly exhale,
Let the breath return to the earth.
When you're ready,
Inhale again,
Belly rises,
Then draw the breath into the ribs,
Feeling the sides and back of your body gently expand,
Like wings preparing to open.
Exhale from the ribs to the belly,
A slow surrender,
A letting go.
Now,
Breathe in fully,
Belly,
Ribs,
And all the way into the chest,
As though filling your heart with a golden ray of light.
Lift the breath to the collarbones if you can.
Feel your entire being illuminated and alive.
Exhale from the chest to the ribs to the belly,
Returning the breath to the source.
This is the three-part breath,
Durga Pranayama,
A sacred weaving of body,
Breath,
And soul.
It's a prayer in motion,
A remembrance that you are made of breath,
Born of the stars,
And the earth,
And all things sacred.
Continue this gentle wave of breathing as you inhale belly,
Ribs,
Chest,
And exhale chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
Feel the breath as prana,
Your life force,
The deepest current of the universe.
Let your breath awaken the dormant places within you.
Let it nourish the tired places,
And let it speak to the parts of you that you may have forgotten.
Each breath is a renewal,
A return,
A whisper from the universe that says you are here,
You are enough,
You are safe.
Feel the breath,
Not just in your lungs,
But in your blood,
Your fingers,
And feel it infusing your dreams.
With each inhale,
Imagine drawing in light.
With each exhale,
A soft release of tension,
Of stress,
And worries,
Of everything you do not need to carry.
Allow for a few rounds in silence now.
Let the breath guide you home.
I will be here to welcome you back in a few minutes.
And now,
Let the breath become natural once again.
No effort,
No technique,
Just the breath breathing itself.
Feel the residue of presence,
Of stillness,
Of sacred remembrance.
You may choose to bring both hands to your heart space,
And acknowledge the deepest wisdom within,
The breath that carries you through every moment.
You are the breath of life.
You are the pulse of the universe.
When you feel ready,
Begin to invite gentle movements to your body,
Wiggling fingers and toes,
Perhaps turning your head from side to side.
And slowly open your eyes,
Returning to the space you're in,
Not as someone emerging from escape,
But as someone who has touched the breath and now remembers who they truly are within the flow of life.
Thank you for your practice.
