Today,
I will be guiding you through your first breathing exercise or pranayama.
Pranayama is yogic breathwork.
The word prana means life force.
The pranayama I will be teaching you is called dirgha.
Dirgha is a great breath to help calm yourself down after a stressful situation or to ground yourself before one.
It's a wonderful way to connect with the breath and the body to help get yourself out of your own head.
It calms the nervous system,
Lowers blood pressure,
And activates the parasympathetic nervous system giving you a sense of peace and calm.
Dirgha is called the three-part breath.
First I'm going to break it down for you and then we'll practice it together.
Begin by finding a comfortable seat in sukhasana,
Vajrasana,
Or a chair with a straight back.
Create a tall spine in a comfortable position.
Allow the sits bones to root down and the crown of the head to rise up.
Relax your shoulders down away from the ears.
Rest your hands comfortably on the knees or thighs.
Now begin to watch your natural breath move in and out of you for a few breaths.
Now bring your hands to rest on your belly and begin to breathe deeply.
Watch the belly rise and fall directing the breath into your hands.
Now bring your hands to your ribs and begin to breathe into the sides of the body for three more breaths.
Notice how the ribs expand as you breathe in and contract as you breathe out.
Good,
And for the last part place the hands on the chest so the fingertips brush your collarbone.
Begin to breathe deep into the chest.
Watch the breath as it reaches into your fingertips for three full breaths.
Good,
Now we will put them all together to make it a complete three-part breath.
First release the hands back into your lap.
Relax the belly,
Soften the muscles in the face and the chin and jaw.
Allow your eyes to close and let me guide you through the experience.
On your next breath in you'll begin to breathe deep into the belly.
The belly will expand and inflate like a balloon growing into the ribs and finally all the way up into the chest.
Pause when you get to the top and exhale in reverse.
Chest lowers,
Ribs contract,
Belly slightly hugs in creating a three-part breath.
Good,
Again breathe down into the belly,
Into the ribs,
All the way up into the chest.
Pause at the top,
Exhale release.
One last time,
Breathe into the belly,
Into the ribs,
Into the chest.
Exhale in reverse,
Releasing all the air and continue this three-part breath at your own pace for three more deep breaths.
Letting the belly rise and fall like an ocean wave.
Now release the effort of your breath,
Allow your eyes to open.
Take a second to notice the effects.
