The Breath of Life

“Yogis describe prana as the godparent of every living being in the universe. Discovery of this perennial godparent begins with understanding our breath, the most significant and accessible physiological correlate of prana.”

• Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD.

Breath and the Nature of Separation

The nature of life seems to exist in dualities. There is the light of day and the dark of night and their intrinsic connection to our experience of waking and sleeping. There is the heating activation, light and transformation of fire and the cooling, soothing, obscure dark depths that arise from water. Emotionally, we can vacillate between extremes of happiness and deep sorrow. Mentally, our minds can be racing and unable to focus and then come into a state of peaceful, single pointedness. And the list goes on.

Over the course of our lifetime these dualities tend to reinforce the experience of separation and division. Enter the ultimate purpose of Yoga, to reawaken our awareness and experience of our connection to, and union with, all. This looks good on paper but translating this concept into a direct experience is sometimes easier said than done.

Fortunately, the connection between the mind and body, breath and movement, and our individual consciousness and the absolute, is within our reach. The primary tool we have at our disposal to accomplish this is our breath. It is our constant companion, our greatest advisor (if we listen) and the most powerful tool for personal transformation that is always within our reach.

One of the first steps toward the ultimate goal of union, is to integrate the physical process of our breathing with the activities of our mind and body. And one of the simplest tools to accomplish this is Dirgha Swasam Prāṇāyāma or Three-Part Breath practice.

Three-Part Breath

Bringing awareness to our natural breath is commonly taught in yoga classes, therapeutic settings or trainings. Next to that, belly or diaphragmatic breathing is recommended to reduce stress, increase relaxation and down regulate the nervous system. The fruits of the true experience of Yoga, however, can be unlocked through the comprehensive practice of Three-Part Breath. This systematic practice can be approached by almost anyone, at any time, no matter what their experience level or ability, activity level or state of health. If you can breathe, you can practice.

What’s in a Name?

The name Dirgha Swasam or “long breath / energy extension” practice, hints at the potent ability this practice has to deepen and extend our breath and increase the intrinsic vitality of our mind and body.

Three-Part Breath practice is accomplished by sequentially focusing your inhalation and exhalation at the belly, ribs and chest regions of the body. Specifically, you are moving the breath through the following areas, using these specific muscles:

• Belly
  • The muscles utilized for inhalation at this region include:
    • The Diaphragm – the primary muscle of inspiration
  • The muscles utilized for exhalation at this region include:
    • The transverse abdominus
    • Internal and external obliques
    • Rectus abdominus

Sequences May Vary

Depending on one’s training, the sequence of this practice may vary. Note that the difficulty level for each sequence varies for a novice practitioner. Fortunately, there are many adjustments that can be made to make this practice easier and more accessible.

Crocodile pose is a great posture that utilizes the front-body’s weight on the floor to provide instant feedback about the location and condition of your breath. If you are breathing shallow into the chest and shoulders, you will feel the rise and fall of the shoulders as well as tension in the upper body. Conversely, the direct pressure of the floor against the abdomen provides immediate feedback as you begin to relax the abdomen and inhale, drawing the breath downward. An additional benefit is that it also provides conditioning to the diaphragm as you inhale and exhale. To find Crocodile pose:

• Lay on your stomach
• Place your feet and knees approximately hip width apart
• Bring your elbows just forward of the shoulders with your chest elevated slightly
• Relax your head and neck (if comfortable) and rest your head on your crossed forearms

Another supportive position is laying on your back, with the knees bent, feet flat on the floor, hands resting on your abdomen. The relaxed nature of this position and placement of your hands, makes it easier to connect to and inhale into the belly. From there, as the body relaxes and your breathing becomes deeper, the breath will naturally move into the ribs and finally the chest. Over time, students who have difficulty relaxing and guiding their breath downward, will be able to fully expand the belly, ribs and chest and finally experience the full practice.

Additionally, in this position, a sandbag, block or even book can be placed on the abdomen and used as a weighted cue for belly-focused breathing so that the arms can relax at the side of the body.

Inhale: Belly – Ribs – Chest

Exhale: Chest – Ribs – Belly

The most common progression for teaching Three-Part Breath is to begin by inhaling into the belly, then the ribs and finally into the chest. Then exhaling in reverse, from the chest, to the ribs and finally, the belly. Often this progression can be difficult if the student is not used to accessing, softening and expanding their belly. A lifetime of chest and shoulder breathing and bracing of the abdomen is often associated with difficulty when attempting belly breathing.

Inhale: Chest – Ribs – Belly

Exhale: Belly – Ribs – Chest

This sequence may be a bit easier to master due to our society’s tendency to breath into the chest and shoulders. By teaching this sequence, we meet the students where they are, by connecting to their natural breathing pattern and then guiding them into the deeper spaces of abdominal or belly breathing. For instance, we start by inhaling into the chest, then moving to the ribs and then finally drawing the breath downward into the belly. From there, exhaling, relaxing the belly, then the ribs and finally the chest.

Again, the primary impediment to accessing the full Three-Part expression is often the inability to soften and expand the belly. Luckily, the same positional modifications listed above can assist student to accessing chest to ribs to belly breathing in a very short time.

Inhale: Chest – Ribs – Belly

Exhale: Chest – Ribs – Belly

This sequence is a very challenging version of the Three-Part Breath practice. Here, you inhale into the chest, then the ribs and finally into the belly, and then exhale in the same order.

This practice, requires the greatest amount of conscious body-based awareness and control to accomplish fluidly and correctly.

Energetically, this sequence is constantly moving our awareness and intrinsic vitality downward. This can facilitate grounding and down regulation of an activated nervous system.

Inhale: Belly – Ribs – Chest

Exhale: Belly – Ribs – Chest

One final example of the Three-Part Breath sequences, consists of inhaling into the belly, then the ribs and finally into the chest, and then exhaling from the belly, to the ribs, and then the chest.

Similar to the example above, this practice requires a heightened sense of proprioceptive awareness and control.

Energetically, this sequence is constantly moving our awareness and intrinsic vitality upward. This has the potential to increase energy and, for those who find grounding or “staying in the body” a challenge, this sequence may accentuate that experience.

There are as many different methods and sequences of this practice as there are schools and lineages of the practice of yoga. What I have shared above is just a snapshot of some of the most common techniques.

What’s Next…

This is only the first of three posts focusing on this powerful practice.

In the next post, I’ll dive deeper into:

1. The purpose of this practice and various ways to integrate it into a physical (āsana) practice
2. The effects of the Three-Part Breath practice on our Parasympathetic Nervous System division and the Vagus Nerve specifically
3. How this powerful practice can draw us deeper inward and accentuate our subtle-body awareness.

Until next time, take a deep breath.