This is the practice of Durga Pranayama,
Or three part breath.
A technique which teaches the body to breathe fully and completely using the entire lung capacity.
Training the lungs to breathe more deeply throughout the day brings in more chi or life force,
Energy and vitality and allows deeper cleansing and detoxification.
For this practice lie down,
Find a comfortable position and gently close your eyes.
We're just gently going to begin inhaling through the nose and as we exhale just allowing our body to soften,
Inviting a sense of release and relaxation with each exhalation.
Turning your attention inwards inside your body and sensing your body from the inside out.
Noticing the breath entering the body and as it leaves just giving the body permission to let go,
To allow the floor or the bed or the mat,
Wherever you may be to support you to take the weight of the body.
There is nothing you need to do right now.
As you inhale I invite you to imagine that air going deep down into your body,
Into the belly abdominal area and as you inhale the belly gently expanding up.
And as you exhale allowing and noticing how the belly gently drops back towards the floor.
So it may feel right to place one hand on your belly and breathing deep down into the body allowing the belly to rise on the in breath and gently sink back down to the ground on the out breath.
Noticing if there is any tightness or restrictions and just gently with a sense of curiosity and kindness within the body just sensing that air going a little bit deeper allowing the abdominals to rise and fall.
Then we move on to introduce the second part of the breath so deepening the breath even further.
So as you inhale allow the belly to rise and then continue inhaling so that the bottom and sides of your lungs and ribs expand.
And then noticing as you exhale how the lungs and ribs gently come closer together deflate and then the belly gently drops back towards the floor.
So breathing in first to the belly and then the bottom the back the sides of the lungs and breathing out in reverse.
So you'll notice when you start focusing on these two areas the breath deepens the inhalation has probably become a little bit longer than when you began.
If your mind gets distracted or pulled away to thoughts or sensations just know that's completely normal.
Gently acknowledge that and bring your awareness back to the breath noticing that inhalation that expansion of the belly and then the lungs and ribs.
And then that exhalation and the gentle softening of the ribs and dropping of the belly.
And then finally we go to the third part to deepen the breath completely.
We breathe in filling the belly the bottom and sides of your lungs and continuing to inhale to fill the whole of your upper chest expand.
This huge sense of space inside our bodies and on the exhalation noticing the reverse the upper chest gently deflating the sides back of the lungs deflating and the belly.
So doing this with a sense of ease breathing much more deeply than you might naturally during the day so just slowly allowing the body to fill up.
And exhaling allowing a sense of ease and relaxation to just sweep through the whole of your body knowing that this deep breathing not only increases your lung capacity but brings your autonomic system into the parasympathetic the relaxation response.
Which is so incredibly important for our digestive system our endocrine systems to be in a state of relaxation and balance.
So just one more minute.
So begin to allow your breath to return to its natural cycle.
And just gently acknowledging the practice is now complete.
So take your time to very slowly perhaps roll onto your side before you awaken or open the eyes.
Just slowly coming back into the space that you're in.
Coming back to sitting.
Slowly to go on with the rest of your day or evening with that sense of calmness.
