SPECIAL PURIFICATION BREATHING PRACTICE

I do this at the beginning of my personal meditation practice, as well as before every meditation class that I lead: 

Breathe in naturally, then breathe out slowly through the mouth until alllll the air in your body is expelled from your belly. Do this 3-5 times. 

You might cough -- that’s ok. Your belly might tighten up a lot -- that’s normal. The idea is to get all the air out. During this process you can either relax your body or you can tighten up your ‘mula banda’ or anus, by squeezing the muscles up, as you exhale your breathing.

Originally I worked with tightening up while I did my exhale breathing, and then I tried it the other way and decided I preferred to relax my whole body as I exhale. See what works best for you. 

The benefits?

Less of all this:

Bloating
Food sensitivities
Gassiness
Irritation
Anxiety
Stress
Monkey mind
Overwhelm
Overstimulation
Taking on energy or stress from other people

Do this type of exhalation before your meditation, before you go to sleep or when you are nervous. Do this after being around lots of people, or when you feel energetically oversaturated with other people’s energy. Do this after eating foods that set your body into a bloated state. Try to do this type of breathing as often as you remember during the day. 

You can do it anywhere and if you’re stealth, no one will even notice you’re doing it.

Some side effects you may notice: If there is other air stuck in your body, it will sometimes be expelled in the form of a burp or passing gas. This is a good thing. Many diseases and imbalances are caused by toxic air and gasses getting stuck in different parts of the body. Ask any Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor and whether it’s guasha, cupping or herbs, they are likely trying to rid your body of excess or wild ‘wind’ energy. 

Over time if you employ this daily practice, as many times as you remember during the day, you may also discover other pleasant side effects such as a flatter tummy, less gluten intolerance and in general less issues with weird food allergies or bloating.

Try it and see what other benefits you experience in your body and mind. 

Love + flower petals,