Box Breathing (Sama Vritti) Tutorial | By Em K Yoga | Every Day You

Transcript

hello my lovely it's emmy here again 
and welcome to your pranayama tutorial   so this breath practice is called square breath or 
box breath also known in sanskrit as summer vritti meaning rotation so rotation in terms 
of equal flow of breath around the body   so as the name suggests this breath is 
going to work in a square or a box like form   so if it helps to visualize 
this in your mind's eye   this can be a great way to keep the balance 
keep the focus as we work through this breath   so first of all set yourself up in a comfortable 
position i'm sitting up on a bolster with my hips   elevated so that my spine can be nice and long my 
pelvis can tilt forward so that there's no strain   to sit up straight if you want to sit against a 
wall or in a chair that is also perfect so take   a moment to settle into your position we want to 
try and make sure that we are warm and comfortable   before we begin so that we can really drop in and 
we don't feel the need to kind of fidget or shift so we'll meet here and you can start with 
palms facing down on the thighs you might   have backs of the hands down palms facing up 
palms down is generally more kind of a grounding   position palms up is more of a kind of open to 
receive alternatively you could make a mudra   bring the tips of the thumbs and index fingers 
together it's whatever works for you today   and we will close down the eyes and just feel 
into the sitting bones the base your seat feeling that long line of energy 
drawing up through the spine   out through the crown of the head chin slightly 
tucked in so the back of the neck can also be long eyes are really softly closed so the 
eyeballs can gently rest into the sockets and let your jaw soften the mouth may be slightly open although 
we are breathing through the nose today start by drawing the awareness to the breath   i'm just kind of tuning into 
the flow of air to begin with allowing any thoughts to settle any 
sensations in the body to settle   so that you can be fully aware of the breath and just observing the simple flow in and out we'll start to shape the breath by 
making it a little smoother and more even   so breathing in equally through both nostrils breathing out equally through both nostrils and feeling the breath moving 
into both sides of the chest   both sides of the belly and the pelvic bowl both sides of the back body keeping that breath really gentle 
and soft no straining no forcing we'll begin with the number three today so this 
number will be the number that you are going to   count for each side of your box each part of 
your breath so i'll guide you through the first   three rounds and then we can breathe together 
in our own time i'll be here with you throughout   doing your best just to sit and be 
for the duration of this practice   so on your next breath in counting till one 
two three reaching the top of your breath   and pausing for one two three letting that 
breath out to the count of one two three and   holding that breath out holding that empty space 
at the bottom one two three breathe in one two   three suspend and pause the breath here one two 
three exhale one two three hold the breath out one   two three inhale one two three hold one 
two three exhale all the air out one two   three hold it out one two three continue on 
if you'd like to take your number to four   increase the lines or the length of the edges of 
your box make the box a little bigger by adding   four so you're breathing in for four holding 
for four exhaling for four and holding for four you should be taking a full 
breath in and a full breath out the pauses or the holds should feel 
comfortable so you shouldn't feel   like you're really running out of breath and 
you desperately need to take the next breath keep it super soft and gentle shoulders relaxed face relaxed pelvis heavy so we're not creating any extra tension 
through our concentration or our efforts if you're comfortable with four i invite you to 
increase the number to five breathing in for five   holding the breath in for five 
releasing to the count of five   and holding that empty space for the count 
of five if four is your max stay at four we're going to complete three more cycles 
three more squares so finish the one you're on and go for another three you've 
got plenty of time don't rush   if during these last three you feel 
comfortable to increase the number again   you're welcome to increase to six each round is a little more comfortable 
each round your body softens a little more each round the nervous system 
is soothed the body is grateful and finishing up your final box now at the end of the last hold   start to breathe normally again just 
let your breath return to a automatic irregular pattern keep the eyes closed   and we'll pause here for a moment to just soak 
in the benefits of that short breath practice and when you're ready you 
can flutter the eyes open   come back into your surroundings and 
just notice the change notice the shift thank you so much for joining me for this 
practice today and i do encourage you to return   to these really easy simple breath techniques 
even if it's just for a couple of minutes or a   couple of rounds every day in the morning when 
you first wake up or before you go to bed it's   absolutely perfect awesome thank you guys and 
i look forward to seeing you again very soon