In this tutorial, I am showing how to practice the breathing technique, Dirga breath also called Deergha Swasam. This practice increases lung capacity and strengthens the respiratory muscles, increasing oxygenation.
Deergha Breath can be practiced in different ways, in this video I show the one that I personally find profoundly grounding and calming.
There are three ways of practicing;
. You may sip the inhalation in 3 bits leading to a very full breath, to have a long smooth exhalation.
. Take 1 sip inhale and exhale in 3 parts.
. Inhale and exhale in 3 parts
Dirga Breath, increases lung capacity because it teaches how to slowly feel the lungs completely. Even though there was not tests conducted on individuals practicing Dirga, we can acknowledge the fact that such practice involves control of breathing more so then other types of Pranayam, also support increase of lung capacity.
For those who are struggling to elongate the exhale or practicing on elongating the exhalation, this is a great practice!
We have very interesting studies done by Telles et el, demonstrating that short breath holding lead to a greater oxygen saturation (longer holds diminish this effect). She discovered that when the oxygen was in contact with the lung wall for longer, the more chance of uptake increased, and likewise we see Bernardi hypothesized that the slight pressure of Ujjayi breath pushes more oxygen through the lung wall for longer and so the more likelihood of uptake is increased.
Practicing Dirga Breath
You may sit on the chair, sit on the floor or lying on the back with knees bent or resting on a chair, lay down for those struggling to get air into the lungs is probably the best option.
Take a nice deep inhale and exhale to empty the lungs, close the eyes if that feels comfortable or gently bring the gaze slight in front of you softening the eyes,
. breath in and out of the nostrils with the lips closed
. sip the inhale in 3 parts, pausing in between each inhale (this expands the lungs in all directions strengthening the respiratory and intercostal muscles)
. exhale smoothly all the way to empty the lungs and pose before taking the next inhale
. use the Ujjayi only on the exhalation ( if familiar with it. not pressure, the exhale can be done without Ujjayi )
. breath gently guiding the breath in a smooth way allowing it to flow
This way of practicing Dirga seems more of an easy way for those that suffer from anxiety as they don’t have to worry about how they should be breathing and how the breath “should be felt” but rather they can just be in the flow of the breath as it enter and exit the body, this should help to avoid extra stress or self judgement in trying to do the “right” thing, and hopefully simply enjoy the breath and its effect.
Practice duration: in the beginning in between 5 to 10 minutes
This breath is usually innocuous, but there are some precautions that can be considered;
= Although useful for those with Asthma it can be initially scary
= PTSD when start and pause of the inhale may feel like choking
= Bipolar need monitoring but should be ok
To avoid overwhelming feelings, limit the time starting slowly and practice just for a few breaths or a few minutes and as the practice deepen, more time can be added gradually.
Happy breathing 🙂