Hi,
It's Rachel from Rachel Bennett Yoga and I am just so happy that I have this beautiful tribe with me on this journey.
Thank you for spending some time with me.
Today I'm going to teach you a breath technique,
Very powerful breath technique called the Velloma Breath.
I'm going to read a quote by B.
K.
S.
Iyengar,
One of our most famous and well revered inspired yogis that we've ever had on the planet.
And in his book Light on Life he says,
Quote,
Breath is the vehicle of consciousness and so,
By its slow measured observation and distribution,
We learn to tug our attention away from external desires toward a judicious,
Intelligent awareness.
End quote.
As I mentioned,
Velloma is a breath technique and breath is the fourth limb of yoga as defined by Patanjali.
Pranayama means breath control or breath restraint.
Velloma breath translates from the Sanskrit as quote,
Against the grain or quote,
Against the natural course.
Which I love by the way because our breath is always with us but sometimes we can forget.
We can forget that the tool that we need most to calm our body and mind is right within us.
So,
I'm going to tell you very briefly the effects of Velloma,
The benefits,
Okay,
And then some contraindications.
So,
Some people that may potentially not want to do Velloma,
Okay.
Velloma breath is said to reduce anxiety and depression,
Lower and stabilize blood pressure,
Help muscles relax,
Increase energy,
And decreases feelings of stress and overwhelm.
This practice may not be suitable for anyone who has obstructive coronary heart disease or chronic bronchitis or asthma.
And if you have high blood pressure,
You might want to ask your doctor if this is suitable for you.
So,
Go ahead and find a comfortable place to lie down.
Make this place cozy for yourself by perhaps placing a pillow under your knees and under your head.
Maybe have a blanket if you're cold.
Make sure your cell phone is turned off and perhaps dimly light your surroundings so you don't have a harsh light in your face.
And now,
Take a few precious moments to just let yourself land on the floor or the bed or the sofa,
Wherever you are,
As you are.
As you let yourself land,
Take a moment to notice how your body is feeling today.
And without judging in any way,
Simply observe your physical landscape.
Are there certain parts of your body that feel tight today?
Does one shoulder or hip feel asymmetrical to another?
Just notice.
And then go a little deeper into the mind and the emotional body.
And same thing,
Without judging,
Just notice.
Are there any emotions that are lingering in the body,
Sadness or depression or anxiety?
And it's all okay.
However you're feeling is fine.
It's how you're feeling.
Just notice.
And then like sand at the beach,
Dissolving,
Let those observations go.
Let them dissolve and come back to notice your breath.
I'd like you to place your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your belly.
And now you have a tactile reference point for the inhale and the exhale.
Just notice how on the inhale,
The body will rise up into your hands.
On the exhale,
Your body will fall from your hands.
Start to slowly together like silk,
Lengthen and smooth out the breath from the toes.
Take a deep breath in up to the crown of the head.
And through the nose,
Exhale slowly.
Two more like this.
Inhale deeply,
Slowly through the nose.
Exhale through the nose.
Inhale through the nose.
And exhale slowly through the nose.
Good.
So we'll start with the voloma stage one.
Voloma stage one is when the breath is interrupted on the inhale three times,
Filling to capacity.
And then the breath is slowly released in one continuous exhalation.
So just follow along.
To start,
Take a deep,
Full inhale and exhale.
And when you get to the bottom of your exhale,
Pause.
And now slowly inhale a little bit of breath to the belly and pause.
Inhale a little bit more breath up to the chest and pause.
Inhale to the crown of your head and beyond.
Through the nose,
Exhale completely.
And again,
Inhale a little bit of breath into the belly and pause.
Inhale a little bit more breath into the upper chest cavity and pause.
Inhale up to the top of the head and into infinity.
Through the nose,
Exhale completely all the way out.
Every last bit of stale breath.
When there's no more breath inside,
You pause.
Last time,
Voloma one.
Inhale a little bit of breath to belly and pause.
Inhale a little bit more breath to the chest cavity.
Pause.
Inhale all the way to the crown of your head and beyond.
Through your nose,
Exhale completely with no interruption.
And when you get down to the end of that exhale,
Return to just an even inhale through the nose and an exhale through the nose.
No interruptions.
Just notice.
Voloma one is wonderful to increase your lung capacity.
And the metaphor,
Of course,
Is we learn to let go of tension.
And now we will do voloma stage two,
Where the breath is interrupted on the exhalation three times after a long,
Slow inhalation that fills the lungs to capacity.
So here we go.
Exhale your breath completely.
Inhale through the nose a long,
Generous,
Deep breath in.
And when you get the top of the head,
Hold.
Slowly exhale some breath down to the chest cavity and pause.
Breathe down into the low belly and pause.
Breathe all the way down to your toes and infinity takes the last bit of breath.
And we begin again.
Inhale,
Deep breath.
And hold.
Exhale a little bit of breath to the chest and pause.
Exhale a little bit more breath down to the belly and pause.
Exhale through the nose,
Down the legs,
Through the toes and out into infinity.
Last time,
Slow,
Relaxed jaw.
Inhale.
How full can you fill the lungs?
And hold.
Exhale a little bit of breath into the chest and hold.
Exhale a little bit more breath to the belly.
Hold.
Exhale your breath down your legs,
Through your toes and out all of the way.
And now again,
Breathe in through the nose and out through the nose with no interruptions.
Again,
Just notice how you feel.
Notice if any shift has happened internally.
The way we let go of an exhale in a slow,
Controlled way,
Like we do in velloma too,
Is very metaphorical to remind ourselves to sometimes not be impulsive,
Not react quickly,
But take it slow,
Take it easy.
And now just remain here with me for just about a minute longer or so to just rest in what we call pure awareness.
Let your mind anchor on the breath.
Smooth inhale.
Smooth exhale.
You may now feel maybe an easier breath,
A rounder,
Smoother,
Fuller breath more organically now after the velloma pranayama.
And just rest in your breath.
You deserve pause.
You are worthy of that.
Stay here for as long as you would like and simply rest.
You'll know when it's time to get up.
You deserve pause.
You are worthy.
