Dirgha pranayama
the what, the why and the how

transcript - Dirga Pranayama: Three-Sip Breath Technique

We've talked so much on this podcast about the relationship between your breath and your nervous system. And so I thought it was high time to run [00:01:00] through what I think is a pretty accessible and completely amazingly beneficial Pranayama technique, a breathing technique.

Pranayama is often translated as breathing exercise or technique, but remember it's about expanding and moving our prana, our yogic energy. If you want to know more about what I'm going on about here, go and check out the podcast episode linked to in the show notes. But back to today, we're talking about Dirga Pranayama, with Dirga meaning long, which is interesting because the hallmark of Dirga is that the breath is split into three parts or three sips.

If you start looking up the three-part breath, you'll get a different version or a variation of what we're talking about today, which is [00:02:00] fine. But I want to be clear that today we're talking about three sips of an inhale or an exhale.

Actually, I'm not sure you can sip and exhale. But anyway, you end up with, overall, with this method, taking in slightly less air, which on the surface doesn't sound ideal, but actually it really, really is. Our breath, when it's as healthy as possible, as as functional as possible, should be absolutely related to our metabolic demands.

So assuming that Dirga would be practiced, you know, being seated or lying down, i.e. you being still, then your muscles and heart aren't demanding a lot of energy, and therefore the breath rate and the amount of air inhaled can be lower. If you want to know more about any of this, you'll want to join my free [00:03:00] workshop, Pranayama: Ancient Practices, Modern Science, where I'll talk about functional breathing in more detail.

It's free to join and the link is in the show notes.

so the three sips, as we just mentioned, reduces the overall amount of air coming in, which is really good news. I'll break that down in my free workshop. But there's more good things too. practicing Dirga in this way improves our breath control.

It supports gentle building of carbon dioxide tolerance, and these both have a very, very strong relationship with increasing our own control over our stress levels. And because Dirga involves slow, controlled start, stop, start, stop inhales and exhales, it may help to strengthen our respiratory muscles, Including the diaphragm and intercostals.[00:04:00]

Now ultimately, we'll go into this in more detail in the workshop, but having strong or stronger diaphragm and intercostal muscles could mean that we're more likely to engage in functional breathing, and therefore less likely to try and breathe with muscles like the chest muscles, the shoulder muscles, the neck muscles, which is symptomatic of a way of breathing called accessory breathing.

Breathing in a functional way brings the inhaled air lower into the lungs where there's more air sacs, meaning that the oxygen you've inhaled gets into your bloodstream more efficiently, which is a good thing. A really good thing. As I say, the alternative to functional breathing is accessory breathing, which uses the muscles of the face, the neck, the shoulders, and the chest to breathe as opposed to the diaphragm.

Breathing in this way [00:05:00] can be incredibly inefficient and can actually cause stress but that's a topic for another day. Okay. So here we are. We've talked about what Dirga is, three parts of an inhale or an exhale or both. We've talked about why you would practice Dirga, the many benefits that all seem to set off a virtuous cycle of more benefit

And so now the how. Well, as with absolutely any new technique or practice, You want to go ahead in a place where you feel safe and comfortable, and when you're not in a rush, so that you can immerse yourself in how you feel before, during, and after.

And this is really important. If you experience any discomfort at [00:06:00] any time, it's really important to discontinue the practice. pushing through discomfort with the breath is a feature of some breathing techniques, but not, not with me . I'm really passionate about this. I absolutely stand by it with my whole heart.

I think when something inside of you says, "This is enough," I would absolutely say listen to that, stop the practice, and come back to it when it feels right, which, you know, might be in a few minutes, or it might be in a few days. Some of the cells in our body can operate without fresh oxygen for a short time, but neurons, the cells of the nervous system, cannot.

And this means that there are so many mechanisms that oversee oxygen levels and carbon dioxide levels in your cells and in your blood, and you cannot trick them or push them into changing quickly. All that will happen is that your stress [00:07:00] responses will activate, which will ironically increase your breath rate and your air intake.

This compounds that breathing with the face and the chest and the shoulder muscles, and so you end up further away from functional breathing than when you started. Okay. I think, I think I've made my point. Listen to your body and stop whenever you need to. So here is how to practice Dirga Pranayama.

Let's start by taking a couple of steady breaths, connecting with your breath as it is at the moment. And in a moment, I'll guide you through three inhale, pause, inhale, pause, inhale, pause, and steady exhale. And then you'll take a couple of your natural breaths. You'll check in with how you feel, and you'll make an informed decision about whether to continue.

If you want [00:08:00] to continue, I'll guide you through three steady inhales with exhale, pause, exhale, pause, exhale, pause. These will be in and out through the nose, so if your nose is blocked up, you might want to come back to this practice at a later date.

You'll probably find that overall you're breathing in less air than normal, and this is part of the major benefits, but this is also the bit that can really push the nervous system. Throughout your Pranayama practice, aim to breathe in a way that makes you feel wonderful. It makes you feel calm and peaceful and focused and maybe possibly slightly, slightly, slightly challenged, but no discomfort.

There's a growth that happens here. You are really getting to know your nervous system, and the benefits of that are truly amazing. [00:09:00] Remember, go at your own pace, Even if that's completely different to my guidance, and stop absolutely any time. Keep your neck, shoulders, and jaw soft and relaxed.

And let's go Inhale, pause. Inhale, pause. Inhale, pause. Steady exhale. I'll guide you through two more. Inhale, pause. Inhale, pause. Inhale, pause. Steady exhale. Last one like this. Inhale, pause. Inhale, pause. Inhale, pause. Steady exhale. And let your breath return to a a [00:10:00] natural breath. Let your body breathe exactly as it wishes to.

And now I'll guide you to practice dirgha on the exhale breath. So inhaling, and then Exhale, pause. Exhale, pause. Exhale, pause. Steady inhale. Exhale, pause. Exhale, pause. Exhale, pause. Last one. Inhale. Exhale, pause. Exhale, pause. Exhale, pause. Let go of the breath completely and notice [00:11:00] how do you feel?

Let the breath return to a natural breath. Maybe take a couple of gentle shoulder circles, little bit of a stretch out of the neck. Blink your eyes open if they were closed. If you have absolutely any questions, please do feel free to reach out to me. My contact details are in the show notes, and I'll always do my best to help.

Don't forget to grab your space at this free workshop. We'll look into those mechanisms behind Some of the really cool things that are at play here. So yogi, I hope that sheds some light on, as I said earlier, what I think is something that's a pretty accessible practice, yet so, so, so beneficial. Something that you don't need special equipment or special clothing for Once you've had a few goes, you can pop it in your toolbox and get it out whenever you need.[00:12:00]

And as always, happy practising!