Breathe With Me: Heal With Me

Let's get really granular on witnessing our breathing. Take note: How fast (or slow) do I inhale and exhale? How does my breath enter, move through my body, and leave my body? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Witnessing our breath in this way is the foundation for our process.

When we control the length of the space, that is the thing that can help us speed up or slow down our breathing, which will speed up or slow down our heart rate, our thoughts, our mind, our physiology and every aspect of who we are.

In lesson two, we learned to master our breath simply by lengthening the space between the inhale and the exhale by just a beat. This process can slow your heartbeat substantially, it can lessen and lower your blood pressure effortlessly, and it can bring you into the space of clarity. In this lesson, we learn a new, gentle technique to engage our breath.

Today we explore one of my favorite breathing techniques I like to call Ninja Breath, also referred to as Quiet, Continuous Breathing. With this method, we place our attention to the sound of our breath correlated directly to how slowly or quickly we breath.

In the ancient Sanskrit language, the word ujjayi translates to one who is victorious. Ujjayi breath, or victory breath, is a technique used to enhance concentration and focus, quickly release anxiety, tension, stress, and anger, and it regulates body temperature. In today's lesson, we practice this powerful breathing method to thwart the fight-flight response, whatever trauma, tragedy, or trigger we're about to experience, so we won't.

Continuing with our exploration of ancient pranayam techniques, nadi shodhana is Sanskrit for energy cleansing. It is used to infuse our body with oxygen, and relax, rejuvenate and resetting our nervous system. Nadi shodhana also helps to cleanse our lungs and our sinuses/nostrils of any debris or any irritants.

Anytime we practice alternate nostril breathing, we clean our left channel, our right channel - our channels of prana, of breath, and our lungs. But sometimes nadi shodhana isn't practical, such as if we're in a public setting, to suddenly lock ourselves down and close our eyes and rest our thumb on our right nostril and our middle finger on our left nostril. So that's why I developed a more practical process that we'll learn today.

True pranayam is taking one more beat on the exhale before we inhale. So in this lesson, we will ever so gently expand the capacity in our lungs. If you've ever struggled with shortness of breath, with allergies or asthma, or if you've just never really been able to take long, slow, deep breaths, this can be a solution for that. Remember that consistency is key for this technique to have long-term positive effects.

Welcome to lesson nine. Using gentle breathing for this body scan, together we'll awaken the present moment inside of us to help us become more creative, more patient, calmer, more expansive and more abundant throughout the day.

Maybe you're not yet aware, but just showing up with me over these past nine days has improved the capacity of your lungs and the ease of your breathing - you are totally leveling up! Your overall health plus your cognitive function is powerfully transforming your physiology and your emotional state. Let's take it a step further with the 365 technique: the three stands for three times a day; the six is how many cycles per minute; and the practice is five seconds in, five seconds out.

In lesson 10 we practiced the 365 breathing method, and a perfect complement to it is today's technique. Known as tonglen in Sanskrit, tonglen means energy exchange and we use it to release emotional or physical constrictions, let go of grievances, and awaken peace, acceptance and unconditional loving kindness.

Welcome to lesson 12! Now that we've mastered several healing breathing techniques over the past week and a half, we're diving deep into the science of breath work in today's lesson, and some of the powerful anatomical aspects of breathing. Then we'll practice what I like to call the 6-4-8 breathing technique.

Today I share with you a practice that I have shared with Marines and other special forces, first responders and law enforcement, and so many people who are in high pressure, high stress professions. And I consider this to be one of the most therapeutic techniques, which is why I refer this practice as therapeutic breathing.

Continuing on this path to master our breathing, the 4-7-8 method allows us to mindfully hold our breath just a beat longer, thus allowing the oxygen-rich aspects of the blood to be released more deeply into our system. It's a great technique to get rid of brain fog, too!

Since we have explored six seconds, and four, seven, eight, today we're going to tighten it up just a little bit when we practice the 6-4-8 technique without the holding in between, and we'll get to experience the difference between those two processes.

In this lesson, we practice one of my favorite breathing techniques known by many names - double dip, two-step breath, double tap, fill it up, or tap it off! One of the things I love about this breath is how multidimensional it is. It fills me with energy at the same time it brings about a catharsis, sort of like inspiration followed by a sigh.

We've made it to lesson 17! And, today I share with you an oldie but goodie known as progressive expansion. It's a gentle expansion of breath, something you can practice in the car, while you're walking, sitting at your desk, or just about any situation that you find yourself in. We'll gently cleanse and heal our lungs, while working toward expanding our lung capacity.

We've explored so many different types of breathing techniques, but we're going to take it even deeper today with a more advanced breathing practice so we continue to build our lung capacity. I encourage you, if at any time during the practice you feel uncomfortable or lightheaded or dizzy, pause the practice and settle yourself.

Our breath work journey today brings us to place our attention on our diaphragm, which sits right below our lungs and right above the solar plexus. In many different traditions, diaphragmatic breathing is called belly breathing or abdominal breathing. In this lesson, we'll combine this technique with a yogic technique called bumblebee breath that uses the healing power of sound to release cerebral tension, stimulate the pineal and pituitary glands, soothe nerves, relieve stress and anxiety and dissipate anger.

Our final lesson introduces a breath work technique that is quite powerful. This particular method requires that you sit up, so find a comfortable position to feather your nest. Be prepared to surrender and release all the tension from your body simultaneously.

Surprise! How could we NOT spend one more day meditating together! Pick your favorite breathing technique and together, let's connect to the stillness and silence that rests within. You and I are connected forever through the breath, beyond space and time. Namaste.