Kia ora breathers, It’s that time of the week at the Ohm Breath Academy - time to practice! This session combines Ujjayi breathing, cyclic breathing, and a gradual extended exhalation following a comfortable breath retention. The focus is on gently restricting the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds) to narrow the airway and create resistance as you breathe. This slows the movement of air, giving you greater control over the breath cycle and making it easier to extend the inhalation and exhalation without force. Over time, the goal is to reduce your respiratory rate. Many people breathe around 15 breaths per minute, but with practice this can gradually come down to 12, 8, and even around 6 breaths per minute during relaxed breathing. Why is this the primary goal?? A slower, more efficient breathing pattern allows more time for gas exchange in the lungs, improves carbon dioxide tolerance, reduces unnecessary work of breathing, and encourages the nervous system towards a more parasympathetic, regulated state. In many ways, learning to breathe less efficiently is one of the simplest ways to ask more of your physiology while expending less energy. Enjoy the practice, and as always, I’d love to hear how you find it 🫁 Can you slow your breath down to a 20 second breath cycle? (10 second inhale & 10 second exhale)

Kia ora breathers, DO THIS PRACTICE RIGHT NOW :) GET AWAY FROM THE SCREEN Today we're going to start exploring the somatic side of our breath journey. Obviously, we can evolve our breath far beyond a seated practice. The diaphragm-psoas unit within the deep core of the body is an amazingly adaptable region of musculoskeletal wonder. Just look at an advanced yogi or contortionist to see the incredible control they have over their body. Much of this, I believe, comes down to the way our nervous system, fascial layers and breath work in unison to allow the body to maintain its freedom and fluidity in everyday life. A vital piece of this puzzle is learning to use the pressure of our breath in rhythm and synchronisation with how the body moves. A simple way to understand this is: - As we inhale, we open the body, extend the spine and expand. - As we exhale, we close the body, flex the spine and decompress. I guarantee that if you complete this practice, you'll feel energised and revitalised after 3 sets of 10–15 repetitions. In the beginning, your wrists, shoulders and core may not be up to completing 15 reps in one go - and that's completely okay. Simply slow the movement down, work within your natural range of motion, and break the sets into smaller chunks (for example, 6–8 sets of 5 reps). As your strength and coordination improve, you can gradually progress and begin adding the options demonstrated in the video above. 1. Starting Position - Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, feet hip-width apart. Keep your spine tall and upright. - Place your palms flat on the floor beside your hips. - Crucial hand placement: Your fingers should point forward towards your toes. - Gently tuck your chin towards your chest and complete a full, slow exhalation. 2. The Inhalation & Lift - Begin a deep, slow inhale through your nose. - Press firmly through your palms and heels, bending your knees as you lift your hips off the floor. - Drive your hips upwards until your torso and thighs form a flat tabletop position. Your arms and shins should be vertical. - As your hips rise, allow your head to gently extend back in line with your spine. Open through the chest and throat, but don't let your head hang if it causes discomfort in your neck. - At the very top, briefly contract your glutes, core and shoulders to create full-body tension.

Hello team! Today we’re going to Hummmmm. Humming isn’t just a nice add-on to a breath practice, it’s doing real physiological work. The vibration from humming stimulates the vagus nerve through its branches in the throat and sinuses, which feeds directly into parasympathetic tone. At the same time, slow humming naturally extends your exhale, and longer exhales are one of the most reliable ways to shift the nervous system toward rest and digest. This shows up in measures like pre-ejection period (PEP), a cardiac timing interval that reflects how strongly the sympathetic nervous system is driving your heart. A longer PEP means less sympathetic push on the heart muscle. Practices like this that boost vagal tone, tend to lengthen PEP, which is a good marker that the body is dropping out of fight or flight and into a calmer state. Please try this and let me know how you feel after each set! We need the data 😉