Here we'll find our seat for Dhirga Pranayama.
Dhirga meaning full and complete,
Pranayama meaning breath control or yogic breath.
Come to find a comfortable seat,
Whatever that looks like for you.
You can sit on the earth,
Use a block or a cushion,
Or maybe today you're just kneeling.
Let your hands rest on your lap.
You can close your eyes or take a soft gaze toward the floor,
Relaxing your shoulders,
Resting them alongside your body.
Relax your jaw or any other tension you may be holding on to and draw your awareness into the flow of your breath.
As you breathe,
Gently draw your inhales through the nose and exhales through the nose.
Now place your hands on your belly,
And as you inhale,
Feel the belly expand like a balloon is inflating.
As you exhale,
Draw your belly back in toward your spine.
On inhales,
Feel the belly expanding like a balloon is inflating,
And on exhales,
Draw your belly back in toward your spine.
Find your breath in this full belly breathing.
Now place your hands on the outside of your rib cage,
And as you inhale,
Feel your ribs expand 360 degrees around your body.
On exhales,
The ribs and belly draw in toward the spine.
Find your breath expanding belly and ribs on inhale and softening the ribs and belly on exhale.
Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest,
And on your next inhale,
Let your breath find its way from the belly to the ribs and up to the chest,
Filling your whole upper torso,
And on exhale,
Release your chest,
Ribs,
And then your belly.
On inhale,
Notice how you can deepen your breath up through your chest,
Finding your breath here,
Exhaling softly,
Returning back in toward your spine.
Take one more full and complete inhale through your belly,
Then your ribs,
Up into your chest,
And one more full exhale,
Starting at your chest,
Down to your ribs,
Into your belly.
Allow your hands to fall back in to your lap,
And when you're ready,
Softly begin to slowly open your eyes,
Barely enough to make out shapes,
And sit here for a moment.
Take this time to notice what you feel.
How is that feeling different from when you started your practice today?
Sit with that feeling for a while.
That is your full,
Complete yogic breath,
Your dirgha pranayama.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
