Long Deep Breathing/Natural Breathing
Long Deep Breathing/Natural Breathing is a basic of Kundalini Yoga. There is a video on the page and written directions on how to do this breath. It can relax and calm you, re-tune and reset your brain so that correct decisions will flow automatically in a crisis situation, regulate the body's pH, reduce and prevent toxic buildup, cleanse the blood, and give capacity to control your negativity and emotions.
Note: The Breath is initiated from the Navel Point, above the pelvic bone and below and behind the navel. Below the ribcage with the movement of the Diaphragm. The face and shoulders are relaxed.
How to do it:
Sit in a comfortable seated posture. When cued to straighten the spine, extend the spine by relaxing it upwards rather than arching the spine or tightening it. This creates the infrastructure for the Breath to move in and out. This whole breath is done very slowly and consciously. Inhale and exhale through the nose .
Long Deep Breathing uses the full capacity of the lungs by utilizing the three chambers of the lungs: abdominal or lower, chest or middle, clavicular or upper. Begin the inhale with an Abdominal Breath. Then add the Chest Breath and finish with a Clavicular Breath. All three are done in a smooth motion.
Start the exhale by relaxing the clavicle, then slowly emptying the chest. Finally, pull in the lower abdomen to help push out any remaining air. Breathe through the nose.
Note: Keep the ribcage gently raised for both inhale and exhale.
Continue for 26 breaths, or 3 – 31 minutes.
The Basics:
Start by moving the abdomen, then expanding the chest in all directions, and finally lifting the upper ribs and clavicle. The exhale is the reverse: first the upper deflates, then the middle, and finally the abdomen pulls in and up, as the Navel Point pulls back up and toward the spine.
To learn LDB, practice by separating the three parts of the breath. Sit straight on the floor, in a chair, or lie on the back. (It is helpful for beginners to start out on the back.) Initially have the left hand on the belly, right hand on the chest to feel the movement of the diaphragm.
Abdominal Breath:
Let the breath relax to a normal pace and depth. Bring your attention to the Navel Point area. Take a slow deep breath by letting the belly relax and expand. As you exhale, gently pull the navel in and up toward the spine. Keep the chest relaxed. Focus on breathing entirely with the lower abdomen.
The diaphragm muscle separates the chest and thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity and intestines. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle that is normally in a dome shape. As you relax the diaphragm and extend the belly, the dome flattens and extra space is created to expand the lungs above it. When you exhale, the dome is re-created and the air from the lower lungs is pushed up and out. This pushing allows a portion of the lower lungs to be used efficiently.
Place one hand on the Navel Point and one on the center of the chest. On the inhale, raise the hand on the navel toward the ceiling. On the exhale lower it steadily. With your hand, monitor the chest to stay still and relaxed. Very soon you will notice all the muscles involved in this motion.
Chest Breath:
Sit straight and keep the diaphragm still. Do not let the abdomen extend. Inhale slowly using the chest muscles. The chest expands by using the intercostal muscles between the ribs. Do this slowly and focus on the sensation of expansion. Exhale completely but do not use the abdomen. Compare the depth and volume of this breath with the isolated abdominal breath. If you place your hands on the top and bottom parts of the ribs you can feel how the bottom ribs move more than the top ones. They are the floating ribs and are not as fixed as the upper ones are to the sternum. So much of the contribution of the ribs and intercostal muscles comes from an expansion out to the sides of the lower ribs.
Clavicular Breath:
Sit straight. Contract the navel in and keep the abdomen tight. Lift the chest without inhaling. Now inhale slowly by expanding the shoulders and the collarbone. Exhale as you keep the chest lifted.
Putting the parts together: Each part of the breath expansion is distinct. If all three are combined, you have a complete Long Deep Breath.
Begin the inhale with an Abdominal Breath. Then add the Chest Breath and finish with a Clavicular Breath. All three are done in a smooth motion.
Start the exhale by relaxing the clavicle, then slowly emptying the chest. Finally, pull in the abdomen to force out any remaining air.
Excerpt from The Aquarian Teacher: KRI International Teacher Training Level 1 Textbook
What Long Deep Breathing Will Do for You
Relax and calm you
This relaxation is of an active rather than a passive kind. It will re-tune and reset your brain so that correct decisions will flow automatically in a crisis situation.
Filling of the lungs to capacity will feed your electro-magnetic field. Revitalizing and re-adjusting your magnetic field will make you less liable to fall victim to accidents, sickness and negativity.
Pump the spinal fluid to the brain, giving greater energy
Regulate the body's pH (acid/alkalinity), which affects your ability to handle a stressful situation
Reduce and prevent toxic buildup caused by not clearing the mucous linings of the small air sacs (alveoli) of the the lungs
Stimulate the production of chemicals (endorphins) in the brain, which eliminate the tendency to depression.
Cleanse the blood
Energize, give greater alertness and awareness due to the life force (prana) in oxygen.
Give clarity, cool-headedness, and positivity
Aid in releasing blockages in meridian energy flow
Activate and cleanse nerve channels
Aid in speeding up healing, emotional and physical
Aids in breaking subconscious undesirable habit patterns and addictions
Reduce insecurity and fear
Rechannel previous mental conditioning on pain so as to reduce or eliminate pain (as, for example, in childbirth).
Restore the aura
Give capacity to control your negativity and emotions
As the lung capacity increases, the pituitary gland will begin to secrete and the intuitional power of the mind will begin to develop.
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