Please Breathe

A regular daily practice of deep breathing is one of the best tools for improving your health and well-being. 

Your breath is free to use and always available, and by training your body to breathe deeply through regular practice, you will begin to breathe more effectively even without concentrating on it. 

Performing one of these breath techniques twice daily for only three to five minutes can produce long-term benefits. You can also use them any time you are feeling stressed or notice that your breathing has become constricted.

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The breath comes in, the breath goes out. So simple and so powerful all at the same time. 

Complete Belly Breath 

• With one hand on your belly, relax your abdominal muscles, and slowly inhale through the nose, bringing air into the bottom of your lungs.
• You should feel your abdomen rise. This expands the lower parts of the lungs.
• Continue to inhale as your rib cage expands outward, and finally, the collar bones rise.
• At the peak of the inhalation, pause for a moment, then exhale gently from the top of your lungs to the bottom.
• At the end of exhalation, contract your abdominal muscles slightly to push residual air out of the bottom of your lungs.

Alternate Nostril Breathing 
When you are feeling anxious or ungrounded, practice Alternate Nostril Breathing. Known as Nadi Shodhana in the yogic tradition, it will immediately help you feel calmer.

• Hold your right thumb over your right nostril and inhale deeply through your left nostril.
• At the peak of your inhalation, close off your left nostril with your fourth finger, lift your right thumb, and then exhale smoothly through your right nostril.
• After a full exhalation, inhale through the right nostril, closing it off with your right thumb at the peak of your inhalation, lift your fourth finger and exhale smoothly through your left nostril.
• Continue with this practice for 3 to 5 minutes, alternating your breathing through each nostril. Your breathing should be effortless, with your mind gently observing the inflow and outflow of breath.

Ocean’s Breath 
This is a favorite of mine. When you feel angry, irritated, or frustrated, try a cooling pranayama such as Ocean’s Breath, also affectionately called Darth Vader Breath, or Ujjayi (pronounced oo-jai) in yogic settings. This breath serves to immediately soothe and settle your mind.

• Take an inhalation that is slightly deeper than normal. With your mouth closed, exhale through your nose while constricting your throat muscles. If you are doing this correctly, you should sound like waves on the ocean.
• Another way to get the hang of this practice is to try exhaling the sound “haaaaah” with your mouth open. Now make a similar sound with your mouth closed, feeling the outflow of air through your nasal passages.
• Once you have mastered this on the outflow, use the same method for the inflow breath, gently constricting your throat as you inhale.

Energizing Breath 
When you are feeling sad or sluggish, use the Energizing Breath (Bhastrik) to give you an immediate surge of energy and invigorate your mind.

• Begin by relaxing your shoulders and taking a few deep, full breaths from your abdomen.
• Now start exhaling forcefully through your nose, followed by forceful, deep inhalations at the rate of one second per cycle. Your breathing is entirely from your diaphragm, keeping your head, neck, shoulders, and chest relatively still while your belly moves in and out.
• Start by doing a round of ten breaths, then breathe naturally and notice the sensations in your body.
• After 15 to 30 seconds, begin the next round with 20 breaths.
• Finally, after pausing for another 30 seconds, complete a third round of 30 breaths. (New to this kind of breathing? Definitely take a break between rounds!)
• Please note: Although Bhastrika is a safe practice, stay tuned in to your body during the process. If you feel light-headed or very uncomfortable, stop for a few moments before resuming in a less intense manner.
• Do not practice Bhastrika if you are pregnant or have uncontrolled hypertension, epilepsy/seizures, panic disorder, hernia, gastric ulcer, glaucoma, or vertigo. Use caution if there is an underlying lung disease.

Keep breathing, my darling. Everything is going to be okay. 
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I love you and I'll see you real soon!

xo,

​Coach Alex