Three-Part Breath
Filling the belly, then the ribs, then the upper chest, in one continuous inhalation. This is where every pranayama begins, and most people have never breathed this way as adults.
Meaning of the name
The long breath. Dīrgha simply means long — and length, not force, is the whole instruction.
How to practise
- 1
Sit upright, or lie down with one hand on the belly and one on the chest.
- 2
Inhale slowly and let the belly rise first, then the side ribs widen, then the collarbones lift — in that order, as one movement.
- 3
Exhale in reverse: collarbones settle, ribs draw in, belly empties last.
- 4
Make the exhalation longer than the inhalation. Do not strain to fill or empty completely.
- 5
Continue for five to ten minutes. If you feel any dizziness, return to normal breathing at once.
Benefits
- Restores full use of the diaphragm, which shallow chest-breathing gradually abandons
- Increases oxygen uptake per breath, so the breath rate falls on its own
- Lowers heart rate and blood pressure within a few minutes
- Relieves anxiety and interrupts a panic response reliably
- Improves sleep when practised lying down before bed
What happens in the nervous system
The diaphragm is the only skeletal muscle involved in an autonomic function, which is why the breath is the door into a system otherwise closed to us. Slow diaphragmatic breathing stimulates stretch receptors in the lungs, whose afferents run in the vagus nerve — this is the Hering-Breuer reflex, and it is the mechanism by which a long breath calms a person.