Energizing Breathwork

This practice will use the breath as your vehicle to raise energy within. The breathing techniques will progressively hone in your mental focus, expand your breathing capacity, clear the thinking mind of stagnant and stuck energy, clear energetic pathways to allow for new energy to flow freely, and revitalize your body, mind, and spirit.

Transcript

Hello everybody and welcome back.

For today's session we will get started in a comfortable seat.

So sit however you like.

You can sit on the floor in cross-legged position,

Sukhasana,

Maybe elevating your hips on a couple of blankets,

A cushion,

Or even a yoga block.

You can also sit on a chair or maybe even the side of your bed.

But wherever you sit and however you sit,

Just make sure that your spine is nice and tall.

Put your hands rest on your lap with your palms facing up and when you're ready close your eyes or soften your gaze to a single point that is in front of you.

And take a moment to acknowledge and observe your external environment.

Widen all five of your senses to notice the space around you.

Notice sound inside your space and even outside of your space.

A lingering taste in your mouth.

Any smells that you can sense from within your space.

Fabric of your clothing along your skin or even the air quality.

And if your eyes are closed notice any shapes,

Colors within the blank space or if your eyes are open just notice what you're softly gazing at.

And then as you take your next breath in,

Start to turn your attention inwards.

As if your attention could ride that air particle in your nostrils,

Into your lungs,

Into your body.

And then just notice the breath.

Notice the texture of the breath,

The temperature and notice the depth of your breath.

Notice any body tension that you may be holding on to,

Whether intentional or not.

And just noticing those places without judgment just allow yourself to soften.

Allow your lower body to be heavy and allow your upper body to be tall and firm.

And then take a slow breath in through your nose and then out through your nose.

Another breath in,

Another breath out.

Now on your next inhale fill up into your belly,

Keep breathing into your ribs and then all the way up into your chest.

And then exhale out through your chest,

Rib cage closes,

Let your belly empty out last.

So inhale belly,

Ribs,

Chest,

Slight pause.

Exhale chest,

Ribs,

Belly and slight pause.

Just take the next minute just breathing in these three parts.

And as you're doing this allow your throat and your jaw to be soft,

Just letting the breath pass in and out with ease and allowing those three parts to expand to accept the breath.

And as the breath easily escapes allow those three parts to slowly close off towards your spine.

After your next exhale I want you to pause at the bottom of the breath and then inhale for the count of four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause at the top and then exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause at the bottom.

Inhale for four,

Hold,

Exhale for four,

Hold,

Inhale for,

Exhale for four,

Then inhale for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause,

Exhale for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause,

Inhale for five,

Exhale for five,

Inhale five,

Exhale five,

Then inhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause,

Exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause,

Inhale six,

Hold at the top,

Exhale six,

Pause at the bottom,

Inhale six,

Exhale six,

Hold at the bottom,

Now inhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold at the top,

Tilt your chin slightly forward,

Down,

And in,

And just continue to hold the breath.

Soften your neck,

Your shoulders,

And your jaw.

If you notice energy rising,

See if you can just witness the energy rising.

Lift your head,

Fast exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause at the bottom,

And as you hold at the bottom,

Unless you're pregnant or have any abdominal stuff,

Pull your lower belly in and then feel your navel rise up towards the space of your chest.

Again,

Notice any energy rising,

Any body parts tensing,

And soften.

Now release your belly,

Take a slow breath in for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold,

Engage throat lock or jalandhara bandha,

Chin forward,

Down,

And in,

Hold the breath,

Spine remains tall,

Hips remain grounded,

Release the throat lock,

Fast exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold,

Pull your belly in and up if it is safe for you,

Release the belly lock,

Slow breath in for seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold at the top,

Engage throat lock,

Jalandhara bandha.

Again,

Witness energy rising,

Take a step back without reacting,

Release the throat lock,

Fast exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause at the bottom,

Navel pulls in and up,

Release belly lock,

Slow inhale for seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold,

Throat lock engages,

Sealing the energy within,

Release throat lock,

Fast exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause at the bottom,

Add uddiyana bandha or belly lock,

Belly softens,

Slow inhale for eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold at the top,

Engage jalandhara bandha,

Release throat lock,

Fast exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause and add belly lock,

Release belly lock,

Inhale for eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Hold at the top,

Engage throat lock here,

Once more,

Just witness and notice energy rising,

Release throat lock,

Exhale fast for four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Pause at the bottom,

Pull your navel in and up,

And as you hold,

Envision the picture of a flame resting within the very depth of your belly,

Release your belly lock,

Take a slow breath in,

And then exhale out through your mouth,

Take a moment to just let the breath be still and natural and just through the sense of observation rather than judgment just notice what you feel within you.

Our next breath exercises will be meant to activate and raise energy within.

So our first two rounds will be kapala bhati or skull shining kriya and our third round will be bhastrika or bellows breath.

For kapala bhati,

It is a short exhale out through your nose and a passive inhale into your nose.

So as you breathe out,

Your belly will pump the air out with force and then your belly will naturally expand and the breath will just naturally come in.

As you're doing this,

Keep your spine tall and let your belly do all the work and if your eyes are open,

Focus on the very tip of your nose.

If your eyes are closed,

Focus on the space between your third eye.

We'll go at a slow moderate pace for the first round and then at the second round,

We'll have the option to go a little bit faster.

So sit up nice and tall,

Hands on your knees,

And bring all the tips of your four fingers to meet the tip of your thumb.

Take a slow breath in through your nose and then a slow breath out through your nose.

Let your belly expand and just accept all the breath in and then we'll begin our first round of kapala bhati.

Exhale all the air out.

Keep your spine tall as your belly empties.

Hold the breath.

Let everything expand except the breath all the way to the top.

At the top,

Pause.

Place five fingers underneath your belly button.

Let the exhale start here all the way down.

Spine still lifts as you empty out.

Pause at the bottom.

Now feel a lift of your pelvic floor.

It's partly mental.

Let your belly expand.

Slowly breathe in all the way to the top.

At the top,

Hold.

Soften your shoulders,

Your neck,

And your jaw.

Tilt your chin forward,

Down and in,

And as you engage jalandhara bandha,

Focus the attention on the space of your third eye.

Release the throat lock and slowly breathe out.

For our second round of kapala bhati,

You can choose to go faster if you would like to,

But try to keep the breath steady and try to keep it from speeding up as you're doing the rounds.

With your hands,

You can either keep the mudra with all the tips of your four fingers meeting your thumbs,

Or for traditional mudra,

Take your arms up in a V above your head.

You'll create a fist with your hands and your thumbs will point in and you'll plug your shoulder blades down and back.

So take a slow breath in through your nose.

Slow breath out through your nose.

Let your belly expand and just accept the breath with ease.

Second round of kapala bhati.

Keep going while I talk.

So as you're doing this,

You are expelling all old air and all stagnant energy.

Any limiting thoughts,

Any limiting beliefs,

Allow yourself to release it through this breath.

For ten,

Nine,

Eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

Release all the breath out.

If your arms are above your head,

Let your hands come back to your knees.

Hold the breath.

Spine is tall.

Feel your pelvic floor lift.

Expand your entire torso.

Accept the breath all the way to the top.

Hold at the top as you soften your shoulders.

Engage throat lock here.

Focus the attention on your third eye.

And if you would like to add on within the space of your head,

Mentally silently pulse the mantra om.

Release the mantra and your breath.

Take a moment just to notice how you feel.

And for our third round,

We will go into bhastrika or bellows breath.

It is a forced exhale out for your nose and a forced inhale into your nose.

So your belly forces the breath out and then your belly pumps the breath in by forcefully expanding.

Again,

As you do this,

Keep your spine tall and let your belly do all the work.

No additional hand mudra for this.

Just let your hands be on your knees with your palms facing up and let the attention be on the internal fire that rests within your belly.

Take a slow breath in and a slow breath out.

Take an easy inhale.

Begin bhastrika.

Keep going for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Exhale all the air out.

At the bottom,

Hold.

As you're holding,

Draw your lower belly in and up.

And within the space of your mind,

See the picture of a flame resting at the very base of your spine within your pelvic floor.

As you picture that flame,

Just take about a third of the breath in.

And then take in a second third.

Last third.

Hold at the top.

Engage jalandhara bandha here.

Release jalandhara bandha.

Breathe out a third of the breath.

Hold.

Take a second third.

Pause.

Exhale to your empty.

Hold.

Lower belly pulls in and up.

Now breathe in a third.

Pause.

Second third.

Pause.

Last third.

Hold at the top.

Exhale a third.

Pause.

Exhale a second third.

Pause.

Empty out.

Hold the breath.

Inhale a third.

Inhale a second third.

Fill up to the top.

Hold at the top.

Exhale a third.

Second third.

Exhale.

Last third.

Exhale.

See the picture of the flame resting within.

And then as you take a slow breath in,

Feel the flame rise from your belly to your heart to your throat.

Hold at the top.

Open your mouth and let it go with a sigh.

As you hold here in stillness with your breath and your body,

Just notice how your natural breath feels.

Notice the sensation within your body.

And notice the traffic of your thoughts.

Reset your spine.

Sitting up nice and tall.

Feel free to switch up your legs if you need to.

And then take a slow breath in through your nose.

At the top,

Hold.

Engage jalandhara bandha here.

Release the bandha.

Exhale.

Slowly breathe out through your nose.

At the bottom of the exhale,

Move right into the inhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause at the top.

Light throat lock here.

And then exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold with or without the jalandhara bandha.

And then exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause with or without the throat lock.

Release.

Then exhale for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Right away,

Inhale five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold.

So you're witnessing energy rise and you're keeping the energy contained within your torso.

Exhale for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold.

Allow yourself to soften in the hold.

Now exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause.

So pausing just a little bit longer.

Try to maintain softness as you hold the breath.

Exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause.

Now exhale for seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold at the top.

As energy is rising,

As you feel energy building,

Maintain softness through your body to hold space.

Now exhale for seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold at the top.

Just holding just a little bit longer.

You are safe,

You are strong,

You are resilient.

Exhale for eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Hold at the top.

Last round.

Exhale for eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause at the top.

Now slowly breathe all the air out.

Keep exhaling when you reach the bottom.

Spine stays tall.

Navel pulls in and up if that's safe for you,

But keep mentally exhaling empty completely out and hold.

Now option one.

Stay here in this breath hold.

Option two.

While still holding the breath out,

Flare your belly out and then flare your belly in.

Out,

In,

Out,

In.

Do that a couple more times for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Everybody expand your belly out.

Slow breath in all the way to the top.

Hold at the top.

Open your mouth and let it all go.

Allow your body to be still and allow the breath to be subtle.

So see if you can move from physically making your body expand and close off to a place where the body is just naturally expanding,

Naturally closing off,

And you're just allowing the breath to come in and to come out.

Fully surrendering here and allowing yourself to receive the gift of your breath and just as easily as you can receive,

Let it go.

And just witness that internal fire that rests within.

And just for the next few moments of your day,

Keep your focus on this internal flame.

The breath is subtle,

The body no longer doing,

Just allowing yourself to be breathed.

You you you you you you you you you you you you you you you Keeping the breath as subtle as you can and keeping your attention inwards.

As you take your next inhale,

Feel the energy move down to your pelvic floor.

And then exhale,

Feel the energy move down your legs,

Out through your feet and toes and into the earth.

Just feeling the downward move of energy as you inhale and through your foundation and into the earth as you exhale.

And then on your next inhale,

Breathe into the space around your belly.

And then exhale,

Feel the energy move to that flame that rests deep within your belly center.

Inhaling the space around that flame.

And exhale,

Moving energy inwards to fuel that flame.

And then on your next inhale,

Feel the flame move from your belly into your chest.

And then as you exhale,

Feel that light of that flame spread through your chest,

Your lungs and into your ribs.

Inhaling,

Feeling the fire move into your chest,

Into your heart.

And exhale,

Feeling it blaze deeply within your heart center.

And from your heart center,

Inhale,

Feel the flame move into the space of your neck and your throat.

And exhale,

Feel the lights move into your head,

Into the space of your third eye,

Your crown,

Your mouth and your jaw.

Just feeling that light purify the space of your throat.

And exhale,

Moving into your head space to fuel the knowledge as well as the truth of your own self-expression.

Then inhale down,

Down,

Down into the very center of your entire being.

And exhale,

Feel the light of that flame spread throughout your entire body.

And with these next few breaths,

Feel that light shine outwards,

Outside of your body,

Out of the space that you're in and into the world.

Draw your hands at your heart center.

Bow your head down towards yourself.

And just for a moment,

Bring to a mind and intention something that you are continually working with throughout your practice or something that you wish to bring into your day or into your life from this day forward.

With that intention in your mind,

Give yourself gratitude for showing up for yourself,

For taking the time and energy.

Thank you for sharing your practice.

Namaste.

Reviews

one of the more challenging breathwork tracks I’ve participated in, and equally rewarding.

the shifts in energy were subtle, yet deeply moving — the smallest tingles in my head and torso were accompanied by powerful phrases from my higher self about iteration, discipline, and how the path to equanimity is laced with infinite grace.

grateful to practice breathwork in a new way, and to invigorate a deeper faith in the cooperative mechanics of the universe through meditation.

I really enjoyed that this morning, thank you so much. You’re instructions were very clear and I felt like you were in the room with me, guiding me. 🙏🏽