In the 3,000-year-old yoga tradition from India, there are many different ways to use breath work (pranayama) to benefit your health. Most of us breathe in a shallow way during the day. By deepening your breaths, you can get more complete inhalation and exhalation, which provides more oxygen into the body with toxins filtered out. Use viloma, or three-part breath, for a few minutes a day to help calm your central nervous system. This can be done at any time--morning, as a break during your lunch hour or right before sleeping at night.
Step 1
Sit comfortably in a chair or on a sofa with firm pillows set behind your low back. Or sit on the floor with your legs crossed and your hips on a pillow. Keep your spine tall. Choose a position that you can sit in for at least 15 minutes.
Step 2
Place one hand on the top of your sternum in the center of your chest. Inhale through your nose until you feel and see your hand rise, and keeping it lifted, pause and slowly exhale through your nose. Do this breath pattern three times.
Step 3
Set your other hand on your belly. Inhale until you feel and see your belly expand. Exhale completely. Repeat three times.
Step 4
Keep one hand on your sternum and the other on your belly to help you do this next sequence. Move into a gentle three-part breath pattern that is called viloma pranayama. Inhale into your belly softly until you cannot take in more air and then pause. Inhale to the top of your chest and pause.
Step 5
Exhale smoothly and slowly from the top of the chest to your belly and until you are completely empty of breath. Take several recovery breaths. You might feel lightheaded or dizzy. Rest or repeat just two more rounds of this three-part breathing.
Tips and Warnings
- A common mistake is to rush or force the breath. Go slowly and don't maximize or speed your breathing. It is normal to exhale too soon or deflate the belly before the chest. Just practice once to three times for a total of 10 minutes. Do this daily, if possible, at the same time and place.
- If you are pregnant, check with your doctor to make sure it is okay to do breathing work. If you have low or high blood pressure, also get medical clearance.
Things You'll Need
- 2 pillows (optional)
