Step 1 – Correct Your Breathing

Total time: 15 mins

First things first. You have to make sure you are breathing properly.

A huge percentage of health problems are caused by a long term accumulation

of stress. By breathing right, you will actually be able to ELIMINATE
STRESS. You don’t necessarily have to change your life…you can find peace
right now!

This lesson will take about 15 mins and you will learn:

How to Breathe Correctly

One simple exercise to Breathe Correctly
A simple Bio Feedback tool to measure your progress

This might take a bit of “getting used to” however you will breathe in a way that
gives you peace and clarity. After some time, this will make space for feelings
of bliss and even ecstasy, simply by breathing the way we’re actually designed
to breathe!

Correct Your Breathing (4 mins)

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Correct Your Breathing

The audio above explains how to correct your breathing. The elements
mentioned in there will be important in all exercises of this course and in your
everyday life. In simple terms, those elements are:

Inhale from the NOSE as much as possible

Inhale into the BELLY as much as possible
Breathe in a smooth RHYTHMICAL pattern

The importance of Rhythmic Breathing (2 mins)

Now that you know how to breathe properly, the next audio will
explain why rhythmic breathing is so important. This is where the concept
of Breathing in Beats comes from, which is the backbone of SOMA.

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The Importance Of Rhythmic Breathing

Elements to keep in mind for Rhythmic Breathing :

Music is a great way to “train” rhythmic breathing, or Breathing in Beats

Doing this creates a higher heart rate variability, which harmonises your
blood flow and balances all the systems in your body. It makes you feel
REALLY good!
This is the first step to gaining control over your emotions and to
also trigger a state of self healing in the body.
You only need a few minutes per day to trigger these amazing effects for the
rest of the day.

Exercise: Breathing In Beats (6 mins)

Now that you know how and why to breathe properly, the next exercise will
allow you to really “feel” what we’re talking about. You will be guided during the
music, but here are some simple tips to keep in mind for the exercise.

By the way, in the last video, Niraj mentioned 2:4 breathing for healing. This is a
huge topic and we will go into that in more depth in other lessons. For now, just
enjoy the following exercise.

Instructions:

Inhale for 4 seconds

Exhale for 4 seconds
Make NO pauses between inhale and exhale
Repeat for about 5 minutes

Pay attention to how you feel right now, and then pay attention to how you
feel after the exercise.

NOTE*** If you find yourself yawning or feeling tired during the exercise, that
means you need to rest. Breath work will always bring out “whatever is inside”.
The exercises in this course will sharpen your ability to listen to your own body.

Biofeedback (1 min)
One very simple way to tell how healthy you are, is by measuring how long you
can hold your breath with no air in your lungs. In the following exercise you will
be instructed to just exhale fully, without any deep breathing beforehand, and
then hold your breath out for as long as you can.

If you can get to 30 seconds, then you’re already in a good place! As they days go
on, you can always come back to this exercise. You will notice that each time you
do this, you’ll have an easier time holding your breath for longer.
 Bio Feedback - How Healthy Are You?

30 to 45 secs = Good Health

45 to 60 secs = Ideal Health
60 to 1:30 secs = Amazing!
1:30 + = SOMA Instructor

Awesome!

So, today you learned:

1) How to breathe properly (through the nose, from the belly, with rhythm)
2) How to Breathe In Beats and the effects it has in your body
3) A simple Biofeedback tool to measure your progress

Now what?

Feel free to repeat the exercise for Breathing In Beats as much as you like.
This technique alone is very powerful. In the coming days, we will be building
upon it.