real life pranayama: complete yogic breath
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 I taught a community education class at the hospital today on pranayama. It was an introduction to their month long series on office yoga and stress reduction. Usually I feel when I teach something like this that people think I'm nuts. They are new to all of this and I don't want to sound totally new agey.
Today was a lot of fun. I had eight ladies and they all paid attention and asked really good questions. I always find it interesting when doing a presentation (as opposed to teaching a yoga class) on how much I have to say about the subject. Cause, honestly, I feel like I have just breached the surface of my yoga education. And, I felt like I had so much to share today! It does help when the audience is receptive.
I don't do much in depth pranayama in my yoga classes. We always start in sukasana or a chest opener and work to get a full even breath, the same breath used for the asana practice. I strive to bring the attention to the breath during the asana practice.
Tonight we are going to work on the complete yogic breath or 3 part breath. Try this at home when you crawl in bed to quiet your mind and welcome a good night's sleep.
- begin resting on your back
- place a hand on your abdomen and draw about a third of your breath down into the belly, feeling it lift like a balloon. your hand should lift up.
- move both hands to your mid torso so that the finger tips are together and the palms conform to the body as they rest on the lower ribs.
- continue inhaling as you gently draw your belly back slightly to bring the breath into the middle ribs, feeling them widen and separate. Feel your finger tips lift and separate.
- shift your hands so the thumb and index fingers are spread apart resting on your two collarbones.
- at the top of the inhalation draw the breath to the uppermost lungs. clavicle movement is the most limited and only comes into play when oxygen needs are great.
- feel fully expanded as you pause for a moment and absorb without tension
- exhale slowly and steadily, gently pulling your abdomen back and feel the middle ribs release, relax completely with the exhale
- take a normal deep breath between cycles if you like
You can do this breath from the bottom up or the top down. Experiment. It does take some physical effort but with practice it becomes more fluid and gentle.
What are your favorite pranayamas?
photo from Yoga Journal
Reader Comments (4)
I'm a big fan of full abdominal breathing. It's really grounding and can be done anywhere!
I like that too. I like anything I can do sitting at my desk to encourage my shoulders to stay away from my ears! Breathing helps me do that.
How fun for you! I always teach 3 part breathing to beginners. It is amazing the power of our breath/prana!
Heather--every so often an opportunity like that pops up for me. It is so much fun!