Three Part Breath

Pranayama. The fourth limb of Yoga

by Steve Johansen, Hummingbird Pilates, and Yoga

 

In this month’s article I am going to be writing about something that we only ever think about, when we’re struggling to do it. Our breathing. Breathing is involuntary, the air that we breathe in (inhale) brings oxygen into our bodies, and the breath that we exhale removes the carbon dioxide that our bodies do not need. The ancient sages noticed that all beings needed food, water, and air to survive. Thus, they derived that these things were necessary to maintain life, they called air, the energy of life, or Prana in Sanskrit.

 

Controlling the Paran flowing through our body, is the fourth limb of yoga or Pranayama. Learning to breathing slowly in and out thought the nose, as we move in time with our breath, helps greatly with the third limb of yoga, the physical practice, almost effortlessly, without ever getting out of breath. While it is easy to see the benefits controlling our breath can have, improving our physical performance. We should also notice the effect that our thoughts and feelings can have on our breathing, for example, when we are stressed breathing is may speed up and become shallower.

It is useful to know that our breathing in turn can affect our mind and our emotions.

 

Therefore, by developing a basic awareness of our breath and practicing a simple pranayama called a Three Part Breath (diaphragmatic breathing). We can reduce the effort of our movements and quieten our mind and emotions. Tip in action: when we feel angry, simply taking a moment to take a long slow steady breath, often results in us being less likely to say or do something we may later regret.

 

Where to start

 

Lie down on your back. Place your right hand to your belly, and your left hand on your ribs. Do not try to change or modify your breath, at first simply observe yourself breathing. Breath gently in and out through your nose, a few times, noticing how your belly gently expands with each in breath and relaxes with each out breath. Notice how your ribs expand and contract with each inhalation and exhalation.

 

Breathing in and out through our nose is beneficial to our physical and emotional well-being. Try to make your inhalation and exhalation the same length of time as this helps you to feel calmer. On your next inhalation, focus on the air coming in through your nose, and try to enhance this by pushing your diaphragm downward, pushing your belly outwards, this will help draw the air to the very bottom of your lungs. Then try to expand the intercostal muscles between your ribs, a little more than normal, filling your mid chest with air, then trying to expand the upper chest, to completely fill your lungs with air. Have a little pause, at the top of your breath, before you slowly allow your pectoral muscles to soften, then the ribs of your mid chest to relax inwards, and finally drawing your diaphragm upwards as high as posable, to expel all the air from your lungs. Then pause before taking your next in breath.

 

For those of you who would like to know more, of the benefits of the pranayama’s or Three Part Breath and how it could benefit you please join me at my studio, using this free pass code HPYFREECLASS. My gift to you.