Welcome to day 6 of breathing to thrive.
Today I'll introduce you to one of my favourite pranayamas,
Something I find very relaxing,
Very enjoyable for the entire nervous system to absorb and it's known as Brahmaripranayama.
I'll explain the brahmaripranayama at the start and then we'll move into our practice and practice brahmari again at the end.
Brahmari is the name of a bee,
A black bee that makes quite a loud humming noise and we want to recreate that humming noise because it engages the vagus nerve,
The key nerve of our parasympathetic nervous system but it also creates a great resonance around the head and your whole mind and body gets absorbed by this resonance so it can become a very peaceful place.
To practice brahmari pranayama we inhale and exhale through the nostrils and it's on our exhale we create a humming noise,
This is just like any other normal humming noise you may make.
Your lips are gently pressed together so the air is still moving out your nose but you'll feel the resonance in your throat.
So just practice a few hums on your own.
You don't need to do it for too long,
Definitely longer than your inhale but not to the point of any discomfort,
Keeping nice and comfortable,
Nice and relaxed.
What we'll add on now is closing of the ear canal using the tragus.
So between your ear canal and your temple there's a little wedge shaped piece of cartilage in the outside of your ear.
You're going to use the index finger to gently close that over the ear canal so you should hear an almost echo sound or a reaver.
When you do this to both ears this really heightens the resonance and entertains the nervous system in a really pleasant way because we associate humming noises with relaxation or even happiness.
So bringing your index fingers into position,
Closing over the tragus,
Inhaling to the nostrils and humming on the exhale.
And doing this 3 more times.
And relaxing your hands,
Just noticing how that feels,
Any sensations around the head.
The humming noise recircles air through the nasal cavities and this increases the amount of nitric oxide that enters our lungs.
Nitric oxide is a very powerful gas that expands our blood vessels so allows us to carry more oxygen and offload it into the body.
So this is a great substance to have on your side.
It also has antibacterial and antiviral properties.
Which is also why breathing through the nose is better in general for your overall health.
So we'll move now into our warm up practices.
Getting into your seated position today.
Placing one hand on the chest and the other hand below your belly button.
And we'll connect with those deep breaths,
Majority of the movement down at the level of your belly.
Inhaling for 4 seconds,
Exhaling for 6 seconds.
And bringing that ujjayi sound on your exhale.
Das you you you you you you you you As we pass the two minute mark If it feels comfortable increasing your box breathing by a second for each part But also feeling comfortable staying at whatever level you're doing at the moment you you you you you you Bringing to a close your box breathing after your next exhale you Letting your breath return back to its natural rhythm Letting the body relax Letting everything settle you Now we're going to do 10 repetitions of the brahmari breath So just remembering the steps it's an inhale through the nose You have your tragus Pressed over the ear canal by your index finger and with each exhale You're making a nice humming noise feeling that resonance throughout your head beginning whenever you're ready you you you you you you you preparing to come out of the practice Hope you have enjoyed day 6 and thank you for practicing
