Week 7 Pranayama
by Jessie Yoga
Week seven of an eight-week guided pranayama practice working toward the three-part breath (Dirgha Pranayama). This week we expand the inhale aspect of the middle ribs breath to further engage the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, and then focus on a technique of metering the three-part breath.
Transcript
Please find a comfortable position of your choice for this practice,
Either Shavasana Corpse Pose,
Balasana Child's Pose,
Or Sukhasana Easy Seated Pose.
If you have no preference,
Sit in Sukhasana.
Take a moment to settle into your position,
Making any adjustments you need,
And closing your eyes.
In whatever position you have chosen,
Feel a length to your spine,
All the way from your tailbone through your low back,
Through your middle back,
Upper back,
Through your neck,
All the way out through the crown of your head.
Feel a lengthening spaciousness between each of the bones of your spine.
And breathe through your nose and observe your current state in this moment,
Simply noticing where you are right now.
Allow the activities from your day to fall away as you arrive into this moment.
And begin today's practice by observing the body as you start to gently engage the three-part breath.
Low belly,
Middle ribs,
Upper chest,
Pause,
Upper chest,
Middle ribs,
Low belly,
Pause.
Without striving,
Simply invite this breath to begin to expand on the inhale and draw in on the exhale.
Perhaps feeling a sense of familiarity with this breath or perhaps today you're experiencing a new sensation as you revisit the three-part breath.
Allowing that sense of exploration,
Of curiosity,
Of gentleness to help guide your practice today.
Noticing the rhythm that you've fallen into for this breath,
Pausing at the top and the bottom.
And as you continue gently engaging the three-part breath,
Allow your focus,
Your drishti to rest on the middle ribs aspect of this breath.
See if you can begin to bring a little more movement into the middle part of this breath,
The middle ribs,
The area of the diaphragm.
As you inhale,
The belly fills.
See if the middle lower ribs can expand just a little bit further beyond their natural expansion.
The upper ribs,
The chest,
Relaxing the chest,
Relaxing the middle ribs and drawing them in before relaxing the belly and drawing it in as well.
This remains on the middle ribs as you continue with the three-part breath for a few more rounds.
See if you can gently expand from back to front as well as side to side on the in-breath.
And on the out-breath,
Drawing the sides in the front and back in toward your center.
As you continue your focus on the middle ribs,
Can you relax your control of the belly pelvis and relax your control of the upper chest?
And as you inhale,
Expanding the lower rib cage while leaving the belly chest uninvolved.
Pause.
Exhale,
Slowly relaxing and deflating the middle ribs.
At the end of the exhale,
Draw the ribs in a bit like the tightening of a corset.
Pause.
Inhale to expand your midsection all directions.
Almost feel the stretch of the intercostal muscles.
Imagine the muscles between your ribs stretching on the inhale.
Pause.
Exhale to relax and then draw the middle ribs in,
Engaging just so gently.
Pause.
Inhale to expand the middle.
Pause.
Exhale to draw the middle in.
Pause.
Continue with this focused middle ribs breath,
Keeping your low back relaxed,
Softening your back,
Releasing any tension from your forehead,
Your eyebrows.
And continue with your own pace,
This middle ribs section of the breath for about 10 rounds.
Pause.
Perhaps with each inhale,
Expanding just a little bit more.
Without over-efforting or creating more tension,
Just inviting more space.
Pause.
Relaxing your shoulders as you continue to breathe through the midsection,
The middle of the ribs,
The lower ribs,
Front to back,
Side to side.
A few more breaths at your own expansive pace.
Pause.
Exhale to relax.
Your fullest,
Widest,
Broadest inhale into the middle ribs.
Pause.
Let this be your longest,
Slowest,
Smoothest exhale so far today.
Pause.
And release the breath.
Return to your relaxed,
Natural breath without guiding it or controlling it in any way.
And just observe here for a few moments.
Is there anywhere in your body you can release any muscular tension or adjust your posture to facilitate a more open torso,
Open chest,
And relaxed position?
And as we again begin to engage the three-part breath,
We will introduce a method to meter or count out the breath in order to regulate the rate of breathing.
On some days,
This practice of counting the breath can make it feel too calculated or too heady.
And if that's you today,
You can just release the counting and simply engage the three-part breath at your own pace.
So each section of the breath gets two counts on the inhale.
The pauses at the top and bottom of the breath get three counts.
And each section of the breath gets three counts on the exhale.
So join in as you are ready.
Exhale completely.
Inhale into the belly,
Two ribs,
Two chest,
Two paws,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two.
Inhale,
Ribs,
Two.
Inhale,
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Belly,
Two.
Ribs,
Two.
Chest,
Two.
Pause,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Belly,
Two,
Three.
And as you continue with this breath,
You may choose to add a few counts to the duration of the pauses,
Of the exhales.
So continuing to explore the pauses and the exhales lasting a count or two longer than the inhales,
But maybe you choose to add a count to all.
So that may be something like inhale,
Belly,
Two,
Three.
Ribs,
Two,
Three.
Chest,
Two,
Three.
Pause for two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale for two,
Three,
Four.
Ribs,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Empty belly,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And pause,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Continuing this metered breath at your own pace and extend the duration of the pauses and the exhales for an additional few counts if you choose.
Otherwise,
Just continue the three-part breath as it feels most nourishing to your body.
Going to your edge of comfort to help grow and expand your capacity for this breath.
In today's practice,
Continuing at your own pace.
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Perhaps you're still counting and needering the breath.
Consciously releasing any tension that may have gotten stirred up through your practice.
Anything that has come to your attention.
Relaxing and letting go on the exhale as you empty chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
Mindfully pausing at the bottom of your exhale,
The top of your inhale.
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4.9 (26)
Recent Reviews
Anita
October 22, 2020
This practice refilled my bucket ❣
Gaynor
February 10, 2020
Wonderful!!! 🌸💜🌸
Katie
July 26, 2019
Lovely! I was so I to my breath I didn't realize it was ending until the bell. These are very good breath meditations! Thank you