The One Minute Breath is a great technique to keep your calm through our fast changing times. Try it.
One Minute Breath = 1 cycle per minute. 20 seconds to inhale, 20 seconds hold, 20 seconds to exhale.
- Optimized cooperation between the brain hemispheres
- Dramatic calming of anxiety, fear and worry
- Openness to feeling one's presence and the presence of spirit
- Intuition develops
- The whole brain works, especially the old brain and the frontal hemispheres
[Reprinted with permission from the KRI International Teacher Training Manual Level 1]
Here are some tips to make the One Minute Breath easier:
To start, make yourself very comfortable. Have a shawl on that you can remove without exertion if you get warm. Be very still.
Once you are set, take 3 minutes to relax and deepen your breath (or try 3 minutes of Breath of Fire, or if you are really tense try 3 minutes of Sat Kriya).
Inhale slowly and steadily, filling your lower abdomen, your stomach area, going up to your lungs and then all the way up the chest.
Lock the breath once you fill your upper chest (after 20 seconds).
Hold (20 seconds).
Then exhale, slowly gently and steadily.
At the end of 20 seconds gently reverse to an inhale and begin again.
Having trouble working your way into it?
Don't fight your breath. Be relaxed. Here are two approaches:
1. Give yourself permission to work up to it. Start inhaling for 10 seconds, holding for 10 seconds, exhaling for 10 seconds (or even 5 seconds if necessary). Take a day or two and then increase to 15, 15, 15, and then to 20, 20, 20.
2. Start with 20, 20, 20. If you find yourself struggling against your breath, complete the breath and then begin one minute of deep breathing. After a minute, start again, inhaling for 20 seconds, holding for 20 seconds, exhaling for 20 seconds
We'd love to hear if this works for you.
©The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan