3 Conscious Breaths Alignment Practice
One of the aspects I love about yoga is the co-ordination of breath and movement. It’s something I learnt in my first class, and more than 15 years later, I’m still appreciating and discovering new levels of its power and positive impact.
I recently went to a weekend workshop with Danny Paradise who’s been teaching ashtanga yoga for over 35 years and counts Sting among his worldwide student base.
It was the first workshop I’ve been to in a long time as I’ve been doing my own practice for many years so I felt ready for some fresh inspiration.
Danny’s teaching connects yoga with nature and the shamanic traditions, and his unusual blend of ashtanga with some ancient Egyptian and a few martial arts asanas (postures) didn’t disappoint!
The Benefits of Breath Control
I also enjoyed learning a new pranayama sequence (control of life force or breath control).
Pranyama is one of the eight limbs of yoga according to Patanjali who is considered to be the father of modern yoga and author of the renowned yoga sutras.
It is aimed at increasing vital energy in the body and mind, and yogis have known about the value of pranayama for thousands of years.
Scientific research is finally catching up with ancient wisdom and confirming the benefits of deep, conscious breathing. These include:
- Feeling calm, centred and aligned.
- Lower or stabilized blood pressure.
- Improved sleep patterns and energy levels.
- Reduced overwhelm, anxiety and depression.
- Increased emotional resilience and stress management.*
3 Conscious Breaths
Pranayama is a significant aspect of my yoga practice and a few years ago this led me to develop a simple but effective practice for busy conscious creatives to use in everyday life.
It involves taking 3 conscious breaths to interrupt your everyday thought stream and bring yourself into a conscious, present and aligned state of being before taking outer action with creative tasks such as writing.
Yet it also serves as an effective technique for a multitude of different everyday scenarios such as:
- showing up authentically for an important conversation or meeting
- managing intense emotions like anger before losing control or
- making intuitively inspired decisions for short or long term matters.
Cumulative Effects
The practice can be done in a few moments or it can be extended by continuing to pay full attention to deep, conscious breathing for as long as you choose to maintain it.
The main point to remember is that the effects are cumulative so the more you do the practice the more you’ll benefit from it and the faster it will make a difference to how you feel – just when you need it most!
Ideally this will be in addition to other conscious and creative living practices like meditation and conscious movement as the relaxed state of alert awareness you cultivate will be augmented by the cross pollination.
Dive In
Sit in a comfortable position with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. Close your eyes and follow these simple steps at a pace that suits you and without any strain at all:
- Inhale: place your hands lightly over the lower part of your belly below your navel and take a deep breath in through your nose to a count of 3. Feel your belly expand into your hands and continue the inhale until the breath has filled your chest area as well.
- Hold: pause here for a count of 3 and know that retaining the breath is energizing.
- Exhale: now breathe out through your mouth making a soft “haa” sound to a count of 6 releasing the air from your lungs first and finally feeling your lower belly contract back towards your spine.
- As the air leaves your body consciously let go of any stress or tension you may be holding onto.
- Hold: pause here for a count of 3 and know that remaining empty of breath is cleansing. This is one full round of conscious breathing.
- Repeat the above steps 3 times: then return your breathing to a natural rhythm for a few moments before opening your eyes. Affirm to yourself that you feel calm, centred and refreshed, and ready to move forwards with your head and heart aligned with your body and soul.
- Please note: if you continue the practice for a longer period of time, switch to exhaling through your nose after the first 3 conscious breaths.
As Thich Nhat Hạnh expressed so beautifully, “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”**
Conscious breathing is my anchor too.
Perhaps it could also become yours?
What’s your experience of using deep, mindful breathing for relaxation? What other ways do you access a calm, centred and aligned state of being? Please share your comments below.
* Read more about the benefits of pranayama here and here.
** “Stepping into Freedom: Rules of Monastic Practice for Novices” by Thich Nhat Hanh.
