Box Breath-Work

Today is a beautiful practice and it can be nice a simple to follow. I've given some options to deepen your practice and experience so try those out too. It's a great way to get to focus your mind and also feel the sensations that come with breathing.

Transcript

Hey what's up guys it's Doug again and we're continuing on in our journey discovering the beauty that is breath work and the power that lies in prana yama.

Today's session is going to be box breathing.

Now this type of breathing is perfect for those of you who want to calm down.

It can be a nice way to clear the mind but also a way to calm the nervous system down before sleep or just when you want to get a bit of rest.

I use this style also to consolidate my memory after I study for my exams.

So quite a few different ways you can use it.

Get yourself into a comfortable seat,

Close your eyes and I'll talk you through this beautifully simple practice.

As always stop by paying a bit of attention to your posture.

You want it nice and tall and that's because we're looking for that expanse and breathing.

Just as we did in our previous session and if you haven't done that well you've got a little treat waiting for you.

If you're not already breathe in and out through the nostrils.

And on each breath focus on an expansion.

Think about the belly and the ribs and the lower back all expanding outwards as you inhale.

And then equally as important when you exhale bring the navel all the way back to spine and see if you can empty out the lungs via the diaphragm.

This is a lovely feeling of empty as you do.

Inhale expanding.

And as you exhale contracting and emptying out.

In this way we're already starting to manipulate and move around this pranayama,

This life force.

Guiding it in inviting it in to all the areas of our abdomen.

As we exhale out pushing it all the way out almost like we're kneading dough.

As we do so just as we do with the dough we make more of it or rather we're able to make more of it.

As we concentrate on the breath we may notice that it starts to slow down naturally.

That's really our goal here today.

So if you can keep that mind focused on the breath.

That's the advantage of this type of breath work we're doing today.

You sort of have to keep focused on the breath.

What we'll do in a moment is breathe in for four,

Hold for four,

Exhale for four,

Hold for four,

And repeat.

I'll get you started and then once again I'll talk to you about some key pointers you can do and practice to deepen your understanding as well as your experience in this breath work.

Wherever you are in your breath cycle exhale fully out through the nostrils now work on that empty,

Empty,

Empty feeling.

Nail all the way back to spine.

Let's breathe in together for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Exhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Fill up one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Exhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause,

Hold two,

Three,

Four,

Exhale out two,

Three,

Four,

Hold on empty two,

Three,

Four,

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Exhale out one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold on empty two,

Three,

Four.

Now I'm going to leave you to carry on in this rhythm doing your best to keep that full count on each section but don't worry if you lose it you can just pick it up again knowing now what the rhythm is.

You can also approximate it.

I find the counting actually helps you concentrate on the breath a little bit more but as I'm telling you all these tips on what to do it's quite possible you'll lose it.

That's okay.

So generally we're just trying to keep the same breath in,

Holding,

Exhale and holding.

So let's hear what some of these tips are.

As you're going through this practice on your own you can start to increase the numbers if you wish and if the numbers get too difficult you can always decrease the numbers.

But just do it in a way that does not stress the body out that's exactly what we're avoiding here.

Each inhale concern yourself with how expansive the breath is.

Can you stretch the abdomen and the ribs a little bit further?

When you hold on full can you keep that expansion?

Can you even increase it?

As you do so can you push that air into the corners of your body,

Into your toes and into your hands?

As you exhale can you contract and empty everything out?

When you next hold your breath on your inhale or your exhale bring your chin in towards your chest while engaging that muscle between your anus and your genitals.

In this way we're going to contain that life force that you've just worked to either inhale or exhale.

Now that you know what to do on the inhale the hold and the exhale let's bring it all together.

So wherever you are on your breath cycle I want you now just to exhale fully.

Great stuff let's go together.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold chin to chest engage Mula Bandha.

Move that air around the body.

Chin comes away from chest release the Mula Bandha as you exhale navel towards spine empty out empty out empty out.

Chin comes to chest engage Mula Bandha.

Hold on empty notice how that feels.

Chin away from chest unengage Mula Bandha.

Inhale big expansion through the body.

Now stop chin towards chest engage Mula Bandha.

Hold that breath in move around the body send it to the feet to the fingers to the toes and release chin away from chest.

Unengage Mula Bandha.

Exhale out navel comes towards spine empty out chin to chest engage Mula Bandha.

Hold on empty notice that feeling.

Chin comes away from chest unengage Mula Bandha.

Inhale deep make more space for this air.

Now hold as you bring chin towards chest engage Mula Bandha.

Notice how this feels on full.

Great stuff.

Chin away from chest unengage Mula Bandha.

Exhale out fully navel comes back towards spine squeezing everything out like a lemon.

Chin towards chest engage Mula Bandha.

Hold on empty.

Chin away from chest unengage Mula Bandha.

Inhale deep.

So you can go a few more rounds on whatever your desired way of doing this is.

If it's just the breathing that's cool.

If you'd like to try this round a few more times with the chin and the Mula Bandha be my guest.

Just do what feels good focus on the feelings.

Use this as a breath practice as well as a Vipassana practice an awareness practice.

You you you Great job.

We are done.

Breathe in and out normally and again pay attention to how you feel now compared to how you felt at the beginning.

You can do this practice whenever you want.

It's great before bed like I say or anytime you want to calm down.

It's a great way to bring awareness into the body if you're someone who struggles being in your own body and spends too much time in your own head.

I hope it's been useful and again if you want to show me how valuable this has been to you please consider reviewing this leaving me a comment or even donating.

All of that helps me out massively and I appreciate it.

Until next time tell your friends come back and enjoy another practice with me.

Namaste.

Reviews

Great explanations , really good practice, thank you

I have been experiencing stress headaches from worries about what is happening in the world. This helped me calm, and my head actually feels better! I think I have been unconsciously holding my breath and tensing my body.

A really nice practice, thank you. Feeling really good, relaxed and ready to wind down for the night. Saving this for my night routine.

Very regulating. Added to my Bookmarks

That was lush, Thankyou

Thank you for this Meditation! It’s something new for me.

Sensational meditation. I've done box breathing before but you introduced so much more into it. Thank you 🙏

Thank you Doug! Did it in the morning and lying down. Like to do my breathworks this way better than in a seated position. Find it both calming and energizing, especially the Mula Bandha part. Love it! ☮️

After this practice I feel relaxed and with energy at the same time, it's a good sensation! Thank you for sharing 🤍