Welcome to practice.
I'm glad you're here.
Today we're going to move through a breathing practice,
A pranayama practice.
It is called Samavrtti pranayama.
We often translate this to box breath because we imagine that we're breathing our way around the four sides of a box.
This practice is not for those who are pregnant or have high blood pressure or other heart conditions as it involves a gentle retention,
A holding of the breath.
So let's begin by coming into some sort of comfortable seat,
Whatever that looks like for you.
If you'd prefer to lie down on your back,
Then you're welcome to do so.
Just make sure that there's something underneath your knees to support the lower back.
Find a spine that is long so that your torso is spacious.
And in a moment,
We're going to come into this breath together where we kind of count our breath.
We take four counts on an inhale.
We pause for four counts.
We take four counts on our exhale.
And again,
We pause for four counts.
If the four count pause at the top and the bottom feels a little bit much to you,
You can always start by taking just two counts pause and working your way up to four.
So let's all release whatever air we have in our body and begin.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale for four.
Pause for four.
Exhale for four.
Pause for four.
Inhale.
Pause.
Exhale.
Pause.
Keep going in your own time.
You got it by now.
Knowing that you don't have to breathe in time with my count.
Maybe that felt a bit strained and you need to shorten the breath.
Maybe it felt a bit rushed and you need to lengthen the breath.
As long as you're taking the same amount of counts for your inhale,
Your exhale,
And your retention,
Your Kumbhaka at the top and the bottom of your breath.
What this practice does is it creates a steadiness.
We're using our breath as an anchor point for the mind.
By steadying our breath,
By inhaling,
Exhaling,
And pausing for you the exact same amount of time,
We're regulating our breathing.
Regulating the flow of prana through the energetic body.
Inhaling,
Pausing,
Exhaling,
And pausing.
All for those same four counts.
Knowing that if you'd like to continue for longer,
You're welcome to pause here.
Continue your breath in your own time.
Otherwise I'd like you to take three final rounds of breath.
Inhaling,
Pausing,
Exhaling,
And pausing for four counts each.
Without rushing or urgency,
Once you finish that final exhale pause,
You relax back into a natural breathing rhythm.
Perhaps a little more aware,
Not just of your inhale and your exhale,
But of those subtle tiny millisecond pauses at the top and the bottom of your breath,
Where the breath changes direction.
This is a beautiful practice to do at the start of your day to set yourself up,
At the end of the day to calm yourself down.
Even throughout the day just to check in with yourself,
Your breath,
The relationship between breath and body and mind.
Thank you for sharing your pranayama practice.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
