“I felt cozy,” reported a third grade student in my class this week. We had just finished practicing three part breath, dirga pranayama. After ringing a chime to begin and end our pranayama meditation session, I had invited students to share what they had observed. 

Here are some of the other comments students shared about their experience with this foundational yoga breath:

–It slowed me down and I felt more calm.

–It made me feel safe.

–When I practiced I was able to smooth out the breath.

As is so often the case, my students’ insights hit the bullseye. They felt what countless meditators and yogis had felt for millennia. My heart glowed to hear they had experienced what I, too, had felt after practicing this breath. 

I still remember my first encounter with dirga pranayama. I loved how simple it was, and yet how rich and rewarding my experience was with it. My teacher explained that we would be splitting our breath into three parts: The lower section of the lungs around the belly, the middle section of the ribcage, and the upper section near the collar bones. 

We practiced using our hands to feel the breath in these three different areas of our bodies. With a light touch on the belly, on the ribcage, and on the collar bones, we were able to feel the inhalation expanding outward, and the exhalation returning inward. As I practiced throughout the day, I savored how my awareness could bring the breath into new areas of my body, how I could slow down and deepen the breath, and how controlling my breath in this way centered me. 

The coziness comment really blew my mind. Off the cuff, my student had crystalized what mindfulness practices develop over time. An inner coziness is developed through meditation, pranayama, and mindful movement. We begin to feel more at ease in our mind/bodies, as we recognize that we have tools to shift our emotional experiences. With a physical asana practice, we also begin to feel an outer coziness, a coziness of the body. Our proprioception improves, we feel comfortable in our own skin, we build confidence in movement throughout the day. 

What a blessing it is to study with these beautiful souls. This gorgeous spirit came in the form of an eight-year-old body, yet they delivered timeless wisdom.

Photo by Yan Krukau: https://www.pexels.com/photo/children-in-yoga-position-learning-to-concentrate-8613321/