Deeper & longer breath with sound

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This is a fairly easy practice of about 17 minutes. We repeat each step only around 3 times; you can add more repetitions if you like. We will use a mild inversion, the downward facing dog, and chant the simple, open sounds “aaa” and “ooo.”

Key skills in this practice

1. Feeling the breath
2. Mild inversion and forward folds to encourage exhalation
3. Using long and open sounds to promote deeper breathing
4. Mobilizations to relieve stress and restore balance

Layout of the practice

1. Standing, connecting to breath, hands on abdomen and chest
2. Exhale through the lips, long exhale
3. Mobilize, shake out your body
4. “aaaa” with hands on chest and abdomen
5. Face the front of the mat, chair pose with “aaa” x 3 times
6. Fold forward with exhalation long exhale x 3 times
7. Step to downward dog, stay and chant “aaa” x 3 times
8. Cat-cow x 3 times
9. Cat to child with “ooo” x 3 times
10. Child-up dog x 3 times
11. Stay in plank for a few deeper, longer breaths
12. All-fours expansion rotation
13. Mobilize and release spine and wrists
14. Downward dog, stay and chant “ooo” x 3 times
15. Step to forward fold, rise to chair pose, repeat forward fold x 3 times, long exhale
16. Return to standing, let breath relax, humming x 1 time, breathe out through the lips
17. Hands on chest and abdomen, feel the breath