Samvritti Pranayama-Equal Breath, and Boxed Breath for Calm, Pranayama-Part I
Pranayama Considerations
This is the first introduction to Beginners' Pranayama, Breath & Balance for actual pranayama. Keep in mind, the following practices are for general informational purposes. In order to experience a more defined scope of what may work best for you as an individual, it may require more external research outside of this community or by visiting a guide in your local environment for in-person experiences before conducting at home. Some individuals feel comfortable conducting pranayama at home from the very beginning. Be sure to take into account your state of health or condition before practice, and always refer to your licensed healthcare provider if you have existing conditions that may not be conducive to practice, or you experience abnormal discomfort while conducting practices. In my experience, it has been recommended that practice should not be conducted exactly after eating a meal, Assisting Inner Balance Through Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation. Similar to when exercising, if you have eaten, consider waiting a while before conducting practice. If you feel that you would like to conduct practice at any given time, even exactly after eating a meal, this is solely up to an individual but probably isn't most beneficial.
Samvritti Pranayama, Practice for Calm
The first introduction to the Community regarding pranayama is Samvritti Pranayama. This is a more simplistic start to pranayama. With pranayama, the discussion of ratios will be listed. Meaning for the following examples, classically, the suggested ratios for equal breathing are the duration of inhalation, then the hold, and lastly, the exhalation of the breath in equal parts. For a beginner, they may start with practice by the ratio of a 4-count inhale, hold for a 4-count, and lastly, a 4-count exhalation (Ratio 1:1:1). Meaning that there will be an equal count for every action, such as in the prior sentence, a 4-count inhale, a 4-count hold of the breath, and a 4-count exhalation. Beginning with the completion of three rounds may assist an individual in becoming more familiar and connected with their body. As a beginner, it's beneficial to begin with simpler ratios and gradually extend practice if that's within individual comfortableness. Always pay attention to the body's response to avoid overexertion and abnormal discomfort.
Sam means Balance, Equal (Sama means "Well-maintained or Regular") and Vritti in yoga refers to An Individual's Mind (Balancing the Mind). Pranayama is ideal for more in-depth practice. The below practices will be more complex than the prior breath practice of Niyantrit Shwas. Pranayama is known to be extremely efficient in assisting with the support of complementary change in the body and mind by calming the nervous system and positively clearing the mind of thought. The first ratio below simply begins by inhaling through the nose, next, holding of the breath, and lastly, exhaling through the nose in equal parts or counts. Then, the following ratios extend accordingly.
There's also more advanced box breathing, which consists of an inhale, hold, exhale, and lastly, a hold in equal parts or counts.
Avoid forceful inhalations and exhalations with this practice. Breathe with an accommodating, extended pace.
Classical Samvritti Pranayama, Equal Breaths, Practice for Calm (Ratio 1:1:1)
First Ratio/Duration, 3 Rounds
Begin with exhaling all the air from the lungs through the nose in an appropriate, relaxed position, then:
4 count inhale, hold for a 4 count, and a 4 count exhale
4 count inhale, hold for a 4 count, and a 4 count exhale
4 count inhale, hold for a 4 count, and a 4 count exhale
Afterwards, return to normal, relaxed breathing and check in with the body and mind's response by awareness of how you are feeling. Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Was the practice challenging? Do you feel breath practice is right for you? Do you feel more practice and application is needed to improve your experiences in the future? Is your body able to smoothly transition back after completing this ratio or duration?...
Second Ratio/Duration, 3 Rounds
Begin with exhaling all the air from the lungs through the nose in an appropriate, relaxed position, then:
6 count inhale, hold for a 6 count, and a 6 count exhale
6 count inhale, hold for a 6 count, and a 6 count exhale
6 count inhale, hold for a 6 count, and a 6 count exhale
Afterwards, return to normal, relaxed breathing and check in with the body and mind's response by awareness of how you are feeling. Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Was the practice challenging? Do you feel breath practice is right for you? Do you feel more practice and application is needed to improve your experiences in the future? Is your body able to smoothly transition back after completing this ratio or duration?...
Third Ratio/Duration, 3 Rounds
Begin with exhaling all the air from the lungs through the nose in an appropriate, relaxed position, then:
8 count inhale, hold for an 8 count, and an 8 count exhale
8 count inhale, hold for an 8 count, and an 8 count exhale
8 count inhale, hold for an 8 count, and an 8 count exhale
Afterwards, return to normal, relaxed breathing and check in with the body and mind's response by awareness of how you are feeling. Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Was the practice challenging? Do you feel breath practice is right for you? Do you feel more practice and application is needed to improve your experiences in the future? Is your body able to smoothly transition back after completing this ratio or duration?...
Box Breath (Advanced), Practice for Calm (Ratio 1:1:1:1)
First Ratio/Duration, 3 Rounds
Begin with exhaling all the air from the lungs through the nose in an appropriate, relaxed position, then:
4 count inhale, hold for a 4 count, a 4 count exhale, and lastly, 4 count hold
4 count inhale, hold for a 4 count, a 4 count exhale, and lastly, 4 count hold
4 count inhale, hold for a 4 count, a 4 count exhale, and lastly, 4 count hold
Afterwards, return to normal, relaxed breathing and check in with the body and mind's response by awareness of how you are feeling. Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Was the practice challenging? Do you feel breath practice is right for you? Do you feel more practice and application is needed to improve your experiences in the future? Is your body able to smoothly transition back after completing this ratio or duration?...
Second Ratio/Duration, 3 Rounds
Begin with exhaling all the air from the lungs through the nose in an appropriate, relaxed position, then:
6 count inhale, hold for a 6 count, a 6 count exhale, and lastly, 6 count hold
6 count inhale, hold for a 6 count, a 6 count exhale, and lastly, 6 count hold
6 count inhale, hold for a 6 count, a 6 count exhale, and lastly, 6 count hold
Afterwards, return to normal, relaxed breathing and check in with the body and mind's response by awareness of how you are feeling. Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Was the practice challenging? Do you feel breath practice is right for you? Do you feel more practice and application is needed to improve your experiences in the future? Is your body able to smoothly transition back after completing this ratio or duration?...
Third Ratio/Duration, 3 Rounds
Begin with exhaling all the air from the lungs through the nose in an appropriate, relaxed position, then:
8 count inhale, hold for an 8 count, an 8 count exhale, and lastly, 8 count hold
8 count inhale, hold for an 8 count, an 8 count exhale, and lastly, 8 count hold
8 count inhale, hold for an 8 count, an 8 count exhale, and lastly, 8 count hold
Afterwards, return to normal, relaxed breathing and check in with the body and mind's response by awareness of how you are feeling. Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Was the practice challenging? Do you feel breath practice is right for you? Do you feel more practice and application is needed to improve your experiences in the future? Is your body able to smoothly transition back after completing this ratio or duration?...
Reminders
Understand that engagement with the above is of sole discretion. Refer to the beginning of this post for some general considerations regarding pranayama. Initially, searching for a local qualified guide may be most beneficial for a more personable monitored experience, especially considering the state of health or condition. Inquire with your licensed healthcare provider if there are any existing conditions that may not be conducive to practice, being that only a few are mentioned in this community or on this site. Visit Variances/Differences of Breathing to understand how different each individual's body can be, which will determine adjustments or growth in ratio/duration for practice.
Now that you have been introduced to the Shamvat or Calming Practice, Samvritti Pranayama-Equal Breath/Boxed Breath, what are your thoughts?
This information is provided for general informational purposes and is not a substitute or definitive to replace physicians' care.