Breathwork you might actually love
Viloma Pranayama, my favorite
In 2010, I left myself six weeks between the day I quit my job in brand consulting and the day I left New York for San Francisco to start Ayla — just enough time to complete a yoga teacher training course at my favorite studio. (As you might have noticed from this post, I’m a maximizer!)
It was life-changing. Among other things, it introduced me to the Bhagavad Gita, one of my forever favorite books.*
It also encouraged me to stop avoiding breathwork — which, as it turns out, has major benefits for lymphatic drainage, a topic I’ve gotten a lot of questions about.
So, in case you need a little encouragement to stop avoiding breathwork, too, I thought I’d share one of my favorite techniques with you here. It’s simple and relatively quick, and if you want to have a little more fun with it, you’ll find a guided breathwork cycle — accompanied by calming scenes from a recent trip to Big Sur — on Instagram later today.
*I’d highly recommend the Bhagavad Gita to anyone, by the way. Lest you think it’s only for New Age-y Californians, I can share that a dear longtime friend/ex-boyfriend who was a 6’2” Force Recon Marine (and would interject, “God’s country!” any time New Hampshire was mentioned) read it even before I did, and he loved it so much that he kept a copy of it in his jeep at all times. If it’s new to you, put it on your summer reading list.
Breathing exercise for deeper calmness: Viloma Pranayama
Pranayama is the yogic exercise of controlling the breath. There are many different pranayama techniques that can be practiced with different goals in mind (calming the mind, cooling the body, building heat in the body, etc.), but overall, breath control can have a profound and positive effect on stress. And as you might know already if you read this post, stress can do quite a number on your skin.
One of my favorite techniques, Viloma Pranayama, is a simple exercise that can be done at bedtime or whenever you'd like to achieve a sense of calm and balance.
“Viloma” means “against the natural order,” and in Viloma Pranayama you inhale with several pauses. Below are instructions for Stage I of the exercise: I’ve kept it to this beginning stage because it’s simple to learn and remember — even for those who are completely new to pranayama.
Viloma Pranayama, Stage I: Interrupted Inhale.
Follow these steps when you get into bed, before you go to sleep. (You can also do it during the day, but I love doing it at bedtime.)
1. Lie down on your back, with your head on your pillow, and close your eyes. It may help to cover your eyes with a cloth or a sleep mask.
2. Let your eyeballs feel soft and let your breath fall into a regular rhythm. Just notice your breathing for a few moments, remembering to breathe not just in your chest, but also in your belly.
3. Take an easy breath in through the nose and exhale all the air out.
4. Viloma cycle:
- Inhale to fill a third of the lungs, then pause and retain breath for a moment.
- Inhale to fill two thirds, then pause.
- Inhale to fill the lungs completely, then exhale a smooth, steady, deep breath out through the mouth.
5. Continue your normal breathing cycle, taking two or three normal breaths in and out.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for up to 5-10 minutes until you feel a greater sense of relaxation and balance.
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