Energising Tummo Breath

I was grateful to practice Tummo energising breath today as I was feeling very sleepy this morning. We are approaching the closure of our summer and I’m aware of that in my body. I’m starting to relish the return to routine and the slightly quieter rhythms of Autumn. Tummo brings us back to our life force energy on days when we feel slow. What a gift! It’s the expresso of breath practices!

Avoid this practice if you are pregnant, suffer with epilepsy or h as be a heart condition.

Transcript

Welcome.

We offer these meditations freely and your donations make a real difference so thank you.

We're going to do an energizing breath practice this morning which is a good thing because I'm feeling very sleepy.

We're at the end getting towards the end of the summer holidays and routines are different and nights are later and yeah it feels different doesn't it?

And plus it's we're heading into towards September and that turning of the seasonal wheel is very present around us so that can be felt.

So I think a Monday morning energizing breath is exactly what I need I hope it is for you too.

So we've done this practice many times before it's a tummo practice loosely similar to the Wim Hof practice and this is the practice that you would do if you were doing a cold water swim.

This is a practice that goes really well with that and you would do this breath practice before you jump into an ice bath or the cold sea if it's winter time.

It's a good practice to have up your sleeve.

And yeah we're going to help us kick into gear this Monday.

So let's start by being comfortable I would sit up and you're welcome to sit in a chair you do not have to sit on the floor.

You want to have a spine that's straight and tall if it's possible and with breath practices they are really powerful they do make big changes happen not just physically but also emotionally so at any time if it becomes uncomfortable by all means stop and just come into a bit of an observation practice if you decide to stop just watch your breath for a bit don't force it let it do its thing.

When I was learning pranayama in India many years ago I studied for three months with a gentleman called Ayanga and I would almost sometimes kick off little mini panic attacks inside me because breath practices can can nudge against the the sympathetic nervous system and that's what's happening in tumo deliberately pushing against the sympathetic nervous system and that may or may not be helpful to you you get to choose so if it starts to feel unhelpful just stop and watch your breath and and watch your breath and smile and know that that's where you're at for today tomorrow we can do another practice but if it does feel helpful then give it your all like you literally choose the the tone the the volume of this practice the deeper you breathe the more change is going to happen so let's start with eyes closed breathing in and out through the nose it's always nice to discover our starting place interoception our capacity to actually hear to listen and feel what's going on inside the body so we're not drawn outside of ourselves like a slave to our external senses we're starting to practice turning inwards and noticing what we find the ever-changing inner landscape so maybe the tongue rests up on the roof of your mouth and that might encourage the jaw to soften and relax you might feel softness spreading through the jaw the gums the teeth very often i find when i do practice there's this sort of crunching of the space between the third eye i don't deliberately do it but i've just noticed that that it sometimes it happens so it might be true for you as well so just bring some space around the third eye some opening which we're not forcing anything today we're trusting the process and bring your awareness down to the pelvis and allow yourself to feel and sense the heaviness of the pelvic bowl the sitting bones pressing down into the floor spine rising up you might need a little wriggle to just really get the neural pathways to recognize oh yeah there are my sitting bones there's my pelvis is it sitting even it's one side heavier than the other very common to be a little bit lopsided so sensing and feeling noticing maybe we can draw the next in breath all the way down into the pelvis and then release as you exhale for today's practice we're just really focusing on the inhale and we're releasing the exhale naturally just letting it do its thing we don't have to shape it in any way it's the same way you would do it with your hands it's the focusing on the inhale that is the ingredient that is energizing so so perhaps a little gentle turn of the head as you drop here to shoulder chin to chest left ear to left shoulder and then come up and over to not dropping the head back as you inhale noticing all the nuances that you sense and feel as you circle and then switching directions and letting the circles come to your shoulders so you might find the breath changes as you bring circles in maybe settling the elbows so so maybe full arm extensions and then resting hands on your knees circling your heart so so and switching directions so so coming back to center maybe circling the wrists the fingers and the hands and then settling into your position know that you can change your position if you become uncomfortable so two more breaths 30 rounds focusing on the inhale so we take a full breath in and then let go release the exhale full breath in and then let go release the exhale i'll keep the count so you don't need to and know that the deeper you breathe the deeper the practice is so you choose it doesn't have to be the deepest breath practice of your life maybe today is gentle or maybe today you really want to give it your all you choose okay so let's start by exhaling beginning with a clean slate inhale a full breath and release inhale and release and release inhale and release inhale release inhale release inhale release inhale Inhale,

Release.

Inhale,

Release.

Inhale,

Release.

Inhale,

Release.

Breathe fully in Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Full breath in.

Let go.

Next ten.

Breathe in and out.

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

In out,

In and out.

Now breathe a full breath in and when you are at the apex of that breath hold.

You're gonna hold for as long as feels right for you,

Not forcing.

Just curious to see how long that hold naturally lasts for and then when you're ready exhale release.

And at the end of that exhale you're gonna hold with your lungs empty.

Hold for as long as feels right and then let your breath return to normal.

So that was one round let's go again.

Breathe fully in and release.

Breathe in,

Release.

Breathe in.

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Release.

Breathe in.

.

Release.

Breathe in.

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.

Release.

Breathe in.

.

Release.

Breathe in.

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Release.

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Breathe in,

Release.

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Breathe in,

Release.

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Breathe in,

Release in breath let go in breath let go in breath let go in breath let go in breath let go in breath let go in breath let go in breath let go and breath let go,

In breath,

Let go,

In breath,

Let go,

Breathing in and release,

Breathing in and release,

Deep breath in and release,

Deep breath in release,

Deep breath in and release.

You choose the depth of your practice,

Deep breath in,

Let go,

Deep breath in,

Let go,

Deep breath in,

Let go,

Deep breath in,

Let go,

Deep breath in,

Let go,

This time full breath in and hold,

Hold and sit in the hold for as long long as feels good.

No rush to come out but when you do exhale,

Exhale to the bottom of your lungs and then hold with the lungs empty.

Notice how it feels.

When you're ready release,

Find a natural breath.

It may be that you need to lie down on your back for a bit or if you're happy to come for another round we're gonna do a third round optional.

Okay full breath in and release.

Full breath in,

Release,

Full breath in release,

Full breath in release,

Full breath in release,

Full breath in,

Release.

Full breath in,

Release.

Full breath in,

Release.

Full breath in,

Release.

Full breath in,

Release.

Breathing in and letting go.

Breathe in,

Let go.

Breathe in,

Let go.

Breathe in,

Let go.

Breath in.

Let go.

Breathe in Let go Breathe in Let go Breathe in Let go Breathe in Let go in.

Let go.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full deep breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

Full breath in,

Deep release.

And then closing with a full breath in and a hold.

You might want to also lift and engage the pelvic floor as you hold and observe when you already exhale.

End of your exhale,

We'll do the same,

We'll hold a gentle lift of the pelvic floor,

Tuning inwards to sensation and experience.

And releasing.

Maybe coming to lie down on your back.

Usually quite nice with your knees bent to lie on your back and just feel.

We'll stay sitting if you prefer.

After the practice,

Space to absorb,

To feel.

What was the impact today of focusing on the inhale like that?

How does it feel to be you inside your body in this moment?

So often the muscles of the lips and the cheeks,

Soften the muscles of the face and the scalp,

Let the shoulders drop like honey away from the ears,

Offering the fruits of our practice to all beings so that together we may all remember how it feels to be in this body.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for such a lovely and helpful offering 🙏

This was great, I am just beginning to get into this practice. This was a great guided session the helped confirm what I learned from reading about this technique was basically correct. Thank you. I had an experience surfing where I was pummeled underwater for a very long time over twenty years ago, and when I first started learning this breathing technique, it did bring back some of the terror from those moments. But it is nice to address that safely, on land, in the comfort of home, knowing it will be fine holding...and holding...and holding. Wonderful to integrate that intense experience back into myself, and build this practice. Thank you again.

Energizing yet relaxing at the same time. Thank you for sharing such a powerful practice. 🙏🏾♥️