Three Part Exhale Breath:
Purpose: this breath tricks the body into lengthening the exhalation
by dividing the exhalation into three parts, pausing briefly between each successive exhalation. The combination of the staggered exhalation and the pauses in between create a longer exhalation that you might normally take. This lengthened exhalation in turn stimulates the deepening of the inhalation.
This is an especially useful practice to do if you have difficulty falling asleep. It is also a very effective technique for diminishing anxiety that doesn't seem to have any particular
source, and for those times when there's a buildup of tension in the body - especially during periods of hormonal changes.
How: in a comfortable position, take a normal breath in and then divide your exhalation into three equal parts, pausing very briefly between each part.
Inhale
Exhale => pause
Exhale => pause
Exhale => pause
Inhale
If you have a week respiratory
capacity, you may need to take some normal breaths in and out between each cycle; take as many as you need, and then repeat the 3-part exhale process again, letting each part of the exhalation be the same length as others. The pause is a moment of suspension rather than a feeling of contraction and holding the breath.
Continue for a total of up to 10 cycles of 3-part exhalation and then completely relax. Take a few moments to notice the effects of the practice before you
continue on with your day or drift off to sleep.
Pain Care Yoga:
This week body - scanning practices remain at the forefront of our
attention.
We also added a Chair - Shoulder Movement sequence that you can see below; as usual, you can pick and choose what works best for you and use parts and pieces of the sequence during your work day, especially for a desk bound job.
