Balanced Krama Pranayama: The Sequenced Breath

This intermediate pranayama practice introduces breath retention before, after, and during the flow of breath to create opportunities for your mind to come into deep and lasting stillness. Allow your mind to completely dissolve in the intentional space between breaths.

Transcript

Greetings,

I'm Jerry Givens and today we'll practice balancing krama pranayama or the segmented breath.

During this breathing technique,

We'll be inserting short intentional pauses during the breath,

Allowing the possibility for a stiller calmer mind.

If you feel any kind of anxiety as you hold the breath,

If your heart rate quickens or you feel kind of panicky,

Just either back off on how long you're holding the breath or omit the pauses altogether.

So let's go ahead and get started.

Sitting comfortably,

Allow your eyes to close and relax your body.

And just bring your awareness to the breath in its natural state,

Not forcing the inhale,

Not forcing the exhale.

Simply aware of the breath coming into your body and aware of the breath moving out of your body.

Aware of the inhale,

Aware of the exhale.

And with your awareness on the breath,

We'll begin to build toward krama pranayama.

And so we'll start by evening the breath out.

So with your next evening breath,

We'll begin to build toward krama pranayama.

And so we'll start by evening the breath out.

And so we'll start by evening the breath out.

So with your next inhale,

Inhale for the count of six.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

And exhale for the count of six.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Inhaling for six,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Exhaling for six,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Continuing on your own,

Inhaling for the count of six,

Exhaling for the count of six.

And to help achieve that six count breath,

You can slow down the intake of air as you inhale.

And you can slow down the output of air as you exhale.

Six count inhale.

And a six count exhale.

Now at first the six count breath might feel effortful.

Just keep with the endeavor,

Stay in the practice.

And the idea is that it will become more effortless the longer you practice.

So we'll continue that for just a little bit longer.

Inhaling for the count of six.

And exhaling for the count of six.

And exhaling for the count of six.

So building again toward this krama breath.

We'll continue to breathe for six counts.

And for stage one of krama,

Inhale for six counts.

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

And then hold the breath in for three counts.

One,

Two,

Three.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Hold the breath out.

One,

Two,

Three.

And again inhale for the count of six.

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Retain the breath for count of three.

Two,

Three.

Exhale for the count of six.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Holding out.

Two,

Three.

And continue on your own.

Inhaling for the count of six.

Holding the breath in for the count of three.

Two,

Three.

And exhaling for the count of six.

Holding the breath out for the count of three.

Full six count inhale.

Holding in for three.

Full six count exhale.

Holding out for three.

We'll continue this rhythm for a little bit longer before we add anything else to it.

And just like the balanced breath before,

While this might seem effortful as we begin,

The idea is that it'll become more effortless the longer we practice.

Six count inhale.

Hold for three.

Six count exhale.

Hold for three.

Now working toward the full krama breath,

We'll begin to insert short pauses during the flow of breath.

So with your next inhale,

Inhale half the capacity of your breath,

So the count of three,

And then hold the breath for three counts.

Then inhale remainder of the breath.

And then hold the breath for three counts at the top of that inhale.

And then exhale for three counts,

Half the capacity of your breath,

And then pause the breath for three counts.

And then exhale the remainder of the breath,

Three counts.

And then hold the breath out for three counts.

So inhaling half of the capacity of the breath,

Three counts.

And then pause.

Inhale the remainder of the breath,

Three counts.

And then pause at the top of the inhale for three counts.

Exhale for three counts,

Half the capacity of your breath.

Pausing out for three counts.

Exhale the remainder of the breath,

Three counts.

Pausing out for three counts.

So everything is three counts now.

Inhaling half the capacity of the breath,

Pausing.

Inhaling the remainder of the breath,

Pausing.

Exhaling half the breath,

Pausing.

Exhale the remainder of the breath,

Pausing.

And then continue on your own.

Now if holding the breath at any point again causes anxiety,

Feelings of panic,

Just either back up on how long you're holding the breath or don't do the holds.

Just return to that six count even breath.

And just like the practices that preceded this part,

While there might be efforting as you begin,

As you continue,

That efforting may slow down.

This might start to feel a little bit more natural.

And as you're continuing this practice,

In the space between breaths,

So when you pause the breath at any point,

You create the conditions for the mind to become very still.

So each time the breath pauses,

See the mind go blank,

Or just feel it come to a still point.

The mind might start moving immediately afterwards,

But each time the breath pauses,

Allow the mind to pause with it.

Inhaling half the capacity of your breath,

Pause.

Inhaling the remainder of your breath,

Pause.

Exhaling half the capacity of your breath,

Pause.

Exhaling the remainder of your breath,

And pause.

Dissolving the mind in those spaces between and during your breath.

We'll continue this technique for just another round or two.

There's no need to rush.

Continue to move,

Counting the breath and the pauses as you move along.

Take your time getting there.

But as you complete the hold after this next exhalation,

Release all techniques and see the breath come to its now normal state.

And as that breath relaxes from the technique,

Notice how you feel energetically in your body.

Notice how you feel in your mind.

Maybe a little calmer,

More still.

And feel free to stay here if you'd like.

But when you're ready,

Take a deeper,

Fuller breath and take your time as you open your eyes,

Gently bringing your awareness back to the space around you.

Thank you so much for sharing in this practice.

Take care.

Namaste.

Reviews

what an intricate, yet effortless practice. I feel subtle tingling, a deeper sense of stillness and serenity, and a calm that washed over me like a wave during the final exercise. grateful for this practice 😌🙏🏾

Challenging, even though I’ve done a lot of breathwork in the past - but so worth it! My mind was calm and focused, and I had a deep meditation after completing this.

🙏🏼

Thank you, that was wonderful.

First time doing this kind of breathing technique. I feel energized even after a night of insomnia. Your soft voice and clear explanation were fantastic. Thank you so much 💖

found it quite difficult but will continue to practise this and see what happens.
Thank you 🙏💚

A great practice. Thank you so much 🙏

Really good and one to continue thank you 🙏

This breath work felt really good on a day when I really needed a pick-me-up 👍🌟

Love the guided breathing. Such calming effect. Thank you. Love

I was so happy to finally discover a new breathing technique that was clearly explained, and calmly delivered. And highly effective for me. I will continue to seek out your instruction.

Wonderful, thank you 💖🙏🏽

Wonderful practice. I’ll be returning to this one many times!

Perfect calming and grounding practice. Namaste 🙏🏼