Vibhaga Pranayama - Foundations Of Yogic Breathwork

Join Ross in the first segment of the Foundations of Yogic Breathwork series and learn the essential practice known as the Vibhaga Pranayama (Sectional Breathing).

Lie down and tune into the three segments of the lungs - lower, middle and upper - as well as the diaphragm. You will build your awareness of each of the sections and the qualities in you that can be cultivated by expanding the mechanics and energetics of breathing. This simple practice can gently release trauma and help you live from stability and assertiveness (lower chest/diaphragm), self-love and abundance (mid-chest), and clarity of mind (upper chest).

Expect to feel deeply relaxed and more aligned with your essence.

Transcript

Hello, This is Ross. This is going to be a 20-minute pranayama practice. We'll be doing a very foundational practice called the Vibhaga pranayama. Vibhaga is sectional, So we're tuning into and expanding the different sections of the ribcage and the lungs, As well as the diaphragm, In order to expand our physical breathing capacity, And in turn expanding our energetic capacity to hold or retain prana. So pranayama, Prana, Life force energy. Ayama is the conscious control or expansion of. So pranayama is the conscious expansion of life force energy. I'll get you to lie down, Ideally. You can also do this sitting down if that's more comfortable for you. And after you get used to this practice, You can do it any time of day, Whether you're walking, Standing, Even in conversation with somebody. You can anchor your mind, Your attention back into this sectional breathing, And eventually we'll work towards the mahat yoga pranayama, Where we're putting all the sections together. So find a nice comfortable position. Place both of your hands, The palms of your hands, On your lower ribs. Find those floating ribs on the front of your body, Where the ribcage meets, Close to your diaphragm solar plexus region. If you're lying down, Let your elbows rest nice and gently on the floor, So your arms aren't straining, If that's possible. Just take a moment to tune into this area, This lower chest and diaphragm region. When we breathe into this area, We're expanding prana or circulating prana in the lower digestive tract, The lower segment of the lungs, And all the way down through the excretory organs, The reproductive organs, And down through the legs and feet. When we breathe into the lower chest, It helps to cultivate different qualities, Like stability or steadfastness, Having a nice sense of willpower, Personal power, Empowerment, And having nice healthy boundaries when we need them. Now, For breathing into the lower chest, You're going to expand to the front, The sides, And the back of the ribcage, Using those intercostal muscles, Those muscles that encase and hold together the ribcage. So you're going to be pushing open the ribs to the front, Sides, And back, Which creates more space for the lungs to expand within. The diaphragm, You can feel it expand down towards the belly. So when people talk about belly breathing, It's really the diaphragm that's expanding, And you feel that expansion down into the belly. We'll be breathing in through the nose, And when we exhale, We'll be pursing the lips, Making a nice long whooshing sound. It'll sound like this. We're going to do six rounds of breathing into the lower chest. Just exhale fully through those pursed lips, And now breathe in, Expand the lower chest and diaphragm to the front, Sides, And back. And now a nice long whooshing exhale through pursed lips. We'll breathe in again through the nose, Expand front, Sides, Back, Diaphragm, And lower chest, And exhale through pursed lips. Breathing in, Expand, Expand, Expand, Just isolating that lower chest diaphragm region, And exhale. Nice long exhale. Three more times. Breathing in, Lower chest, Expand, Expand, Expand, And breathing out. Nice long whooshing exhale. Breathing in, Expand, Expand, Expand, And breathing out. Nice long whooshing exhale. One last time, Lower chest, Breathing in, Expand, Expand, Expand, And breathing out. Nice long whooshing exhale, Releasing any pent-up stress, Any overwhelm, And just pause here for a moment. Notice how you're feeling. Notice how that lower chest and diaphragm area is feeling. And just remember when we do these nice deep breath work sessions, We're helping to release stagnant emotions or stock emotions, Pent-up trauma that's being held in our system. But here we're doing it in a very gentle way. So if anything comes to the surface, Just hold yourself with loving attention. Now you can bring your hands to the heart center. Basically, The palms are resting on the breast region. Again, If possible, Elbows supported on the earth if you're lying down. And just tune into this mid-chest region. Noticing any sensations here connecting to this mid-chest, Heart center. And when we breathe into this area, We're circulating prana through the middle section of the lungs, Through the heart. We're cultivating qualities like self-love. So we're feeling like we're enough. We have enough. So there's this quality of abundance, This overflowing of love, Generosity, Goodness. So we'll exhale fully and we'll breathe in through the nose. Expand, Isolate the mid-chest to the front, Sides, And back. Pushing open the ribcage, Use those intercostal muscles. And pursing the lips, Nice long whooshing exhale. Breathing in through the nose, Mid-chest, Expand front, Sides, And back. Push open, Expand, And exhale. Breathing in, Expand that mid-chest, Push open into any tight or sticky areas. Nice long whooshing exhale through pursed lips. Three more times now, Mid-chest. Breathing in, Expand, Expand, Expand. And breathing out. Nice long whooshing exhale. Breathing in, Push open to the front, Push open the sides, Right and left side. Push open the back of the heart, And exhale. Nice long whooshing, Softening as you exhale. And one last time, Mid-chest. Breathing in through the nose, Expand, Expand, Expand. And breathing out. Just return to your natural breathing for a moment. Pause here. Notice how this mid-chest heart region is feeling. And now we'll bring the hands to touch the upper chest. So, Depending on your anatomy, Sometimes you can easily touch your collarbones with your fingers. For other people, That might not be possible. And keep your elbows resting on the side, So the hands are touching the upper chest, Fingers pointing toward the collarbone and throat region. Just connect to this part of the chest, The upper chest. When we breathe into the sides on this upper chest area, We're going to imagine expanding or pushing open the area just under our armpits. And on the back region, Feel like you're expanding into the back of the shoulders or that area just above the shoulder blades. And here, We're circulating prana through the upper lungs, The throat and neck, And the head and brain region, The face, Head, Brain. We're cultivating qualities like insight, That capacity for inner looking, Discernment, Which is called viveka in Sanskrit, In yogic terminology. And that viveka, That kind of discernment, Is the capacity to see through what is impermanent, To see through what is false, To see what is real or what is true, To see what is true for us and what is higher truth. So, We'll do this upper chest breathing. You can exhale fully through pursed lips. And now, We'll breathe in through the nose into that upper chest, Expand the front, The sides under the armpits, The back above the shoulder blades, And nice long whooshing exhale. Again, Breathing into the upper chest, Expand, Expand, Expand. And breathing out, Nice long whooshing exhale. Breathing in, Expand, Expand, Expand. And breathing out. Breathing in upper chest, Expanding, Expanding, Expanding. And nice long whooshing exhale through pursed lips. Breathing in, Expand that upper chest, Push open the front, The sides under the armpits, The back above the shoulder blades, Push open into the tight areas. And nice long whooshing exhale through those pursed lips. Release pent-up stress, Any overwhelm in the nervous system. And one last time, Upper chest, Breathing in, Expand, Expand, Expand. And nice long whooshing exhale. Returning to your natural breathing, Just take a moment to integrate. Just be aware of this upper chest region, All the way up through the throat and head. Notice how that part of you is feeling. Holding yourself in loving awareness, Observing yourself with karuna, Sakshi, Bhava, Or compassionate self observation. No need to judge or condemn whatever you witness within yourself. Also, No need to justify whatever you see or create stories about it. And thirdly, There's no need to identify with what is witnessed. Simply to observe with love, With compassion, Any sensations, Any thoughts, Images, Emotions. Now you can rest your hands beside you or on your lap. You can rest them anywhere on your body that you want to give some healing to using the sparsha mudra. Sparsha means a conscious loving touch. And just breathe naturally and let yourself absorb and integrate all of this gentle yet expansive breathing. This was the vibhaga pranayama, The sectional breathing. You can practice it in the morning, Lying in bed when you wake up. You can practice it in bed in the evening before you go to sleep. It's an excellent practice to do before sleep as well. Or you can practice it any time of day to create a still, Alert sense of presence, To release stress, To clear the mind, To create stability, And to find solutions to the many challenges that we face in life. In the next session, We will practice the mahat yoga pranayama, The great yogic breath, Where we breathe into all of those sections at the same time, Expanding that beautiful life force energy, Which purifies all the pranayamas, All those energetic pathways that run through our psychic energetic space, Clearing away gently old trauma, Beliefs, Tightness, And pain, And allowing us to be rooted in the body and clear, Alert presence, Resting into our being. You can feel free to rest here and integrate and absorb for as long as you like. And whenever you're ready, If you're lying down, Just give your body a little bit of a stretch. Make sure you slowly roll over to one side, Lie in that fetal position. It's called the nishpandasana, And then slowly sit up without jarring yourself. If you're sitting, Just slowly open your eyes, Give yourself a little stretch, And come back into the space. And when you're ready, You can get up and have a beautiful day. Until next time.