LESSON 17/20 · THE PRACTICES (5)

Sounding & releasing breaths: the lion, the Om breath and the uneven ratios

There is one group of practices every student takes to at first try — because they release so quickly, they are easy to do, and they come with a sound for the mind to hold on to. That is the sounding & releasing group: the lion breath (Simha), roaring the air out to clear the tension from the face, jaw and throat; the Om breath (Udgeeth), holding one long note that settles the nervous system deeply; and the uneven ratios (Vishama Vritti) — including the famous 4-7-8 — for calming and for sleep. This lesson closes the body of practices with the best-loved tools of all, plus a few short variants to round your kit out completely.

1THE LION BREATH (SIMHA)

Roar one breath out, tongue out — clearing the tension from the face, jaw and throat

Simha, the lion breath - tongue out, the breath roaring out — Simha: breathe in through the nose, then out forcefully through the mouth — mouth wide, tongue out as far as it goes, with a “haaa” like a lion's roar.

REMEMBER Simha = breathe out FORCEFULLY through the mouth, tongue out, roaring “haaa”.

Simha (“lion”) is usually practised kneeling (Simhasana). How: breathe one full breath in through the nose; then breathe out really forcefully through the mouth — at the same time opening the mouth wide, pushing the tongue out and down as far as it goes, eyes wide and turned up towards the point between the eyebrows — making a hoarse “haaa” like a roar. Three to five times. This practice releases the muscular tension in the face, jaw and throat — places we clench under stress without noticing — and makes students laugh, let go, and feel bolder.

GRASP THIS It is a wonderful ice-breaker for a class.

Because it looks faintly ridiculous, Simha is an excellent psychological tool: it breaks the self-consciousness, gets the room laughing and loosening, and suits the opening of a session or any moment the room has gone stiff. For anyone who grinds their teeth, has a tired jaw, a tight neck, or talks all day, it releases exactly the right place. There are virtually no breathing contraindications; only note that if you sit in a full kneel, watch for sore knees and ankles — the roaring part works perfectly well sitting on a chair or cross-legged.

On the mat: Demonstrate it first, wholeheartedly, so the room sees it is fine to let go and not be embarrassed. Lead it: “breathe in… and roar out, tongue right out, let the whole face go.” Have the room do it three times, then ask them how much lighter the face, jaw and neck feel.

2THE OM BREATH (UDGEETH)

Hold one long “Om” on the out-breath — the resonance settles you deeply from inside

Udgeeth pranayama, the Om breath — Udgeeth: breathe in deeply through the nose, then breathe out intoning “O–O–O–M” in one continuous, even note, held as long as the breath lasts.

REMEMBER Udgeeth = breathe out INTONING “Om” in one long, even note.

Udgeeth (also Omkara / Pranava — “the Om breath”) has very old roots in the Upanishads. It is the simplest of all the practices to do: sit upright, breathe one deep breath in through the nose; then breathe out intoning “Om” — drawing the “O” out and then closing it into an “M” humming through the out-breath, in one continuous, even note, until the air is nearly gone. Five to ten times. The note creates a resonance in the chest and the head, which helps settle the nervous system and gather the mind — a very natural doorway into meditation.

REMEMBER Different from the bee breath (Bhramari): Udgeeth intones “Om” with the mouth OPEN; Bhramari hums “mmm” with the mouth CLOSED.

Students easily confuse the two practices with sound in them. Make it clear: Bhramari (Lesson 9) has the mouth closed, making a humming “mmm” like a bee; Udgeeth has the mouth open, sounding the vowel of “Om” out loud. Both use resonance to settle, but Udgeeth is a touch more outward and easier for a beginner, while Bhramari is more private and more inward. With both in hand you can pick the one that suits the setting: a full room can intone Om together, while quiet solitary practice calls for Bhramari.

On the mat: Intoning “Om” together at the end of a session creates a very strong sense of connection. Lead the room on one note: breathe in deeply, then “Om…” really long, repeated three times. Remind them: intone by releasing, at a moderate volume, don't strain to be loud; notice the resonance spreading through the chest and the head.

3THE UNEVEN RATIOS (VISHAMA VRITTI) & THE 4-7-8 RHYTHM

When the out-breath and the hold run longer than the in-breath — the formula for calm and for sleep

The 4-7-8 rhythm, Vishama Vritti, an uneven ratio — 4-7-8: breathe in on a count of four – hold for seven – breathe out for eight. A longer out-breath and hold than the in-breath is the key to settling.

REMEMBER Vishama Vritti = phases that are NOT equal (the opposite of Sama Vritti). The famous rhythm: 4-7-8.

In Lesson 15 we learned Sama Vritti — four equal phases. Vishama Vritti is the opposite: deliberately using an uneven ratio, usually lengthening the out-breath and the hold to push harder towards settling. The commonest rhythm is 4-7-8: breathe in on four → hold for seven → breathe out for eight; three or four rounds. The Iyengar tradition also has a 1:4:2 ratio. Because the out-breath is twice the in-breath, this practice is very effective for bringing tension down and getting to sleep — you can teach students to do it at home in bed before sleeping.

REMEMBER It contains a HELD BREATH → the same contraindications: with high blood pressure, a heart condition or in pregnancy, SHORTEN or drop the hold.

4-7-8 contains a fairly long hold (seven counts), so the safety rules for held breaths apply: anyone with high blood pressure, a heart condition, who is pregnant, or prone to dizziness should shorten the hold (4-4-6, say, or drop it altogether and simply keep the out-breath longer than the in-breath). With beginners, don't start on the full 4-7-8 — have them do “in four, out six or eight” first, and add the hold once that is familiar. The counts should be within reach, never held to the point of snatching a hurried breath at the end.

On the mat: Teach 4-7-8 as “homework for a good night's sleep”. Have students rest the tip of the tongue lightly on the upper gum and breathe the 4-7-8 rhythm once they are in bed. In class, do the lighter version (shortened or no hold) and always ask to rule out existing conditions first.

4THREE SHORT VARIANTS WORTH KNOWING

The crow's beak, the panting breath and the resonant rhythm — to round the toolkit off

Kaki mudra, the crow's beak breath, for cooling — Kaki (the crow's beak): purse the lips into a “beak”, draw a cool stream of air in slowly through the gap, then breathe out through the nose.

GRASP THIS Kaki (the crow's beak) — the cooling variant for anyone who cannot roll the tongue.

In the same cooling family as Sitali / Sitkari (Lesson 9): Kaki mudra — purse both lips into a “crow's beak”, draw a cool stream of air in very slowly through the gap, close the mouth and breathe out through the nose. A good option for a student who cannot roll the tongue (Sitali) but still wants that cool, settling feeling. Avoid it in cold weather, with a cold or a sore throat, as with the other cooling practices.

GRASP THIS The panting breath (Swana) — a warm-up for the belly before the strong practices.

Swana (“the dog breath”) is fast panting from the belly (which may be done with the tongue out, through the mouth), to warm and wake the abdominal area. It is not a practice in itself but a warm-up often used before Kapalabhati or Bhastrika to get used to the feeling of the belly pumping. Do it for a few seconds only, stop at once if dizzy, and treat it as having the same contraindications as the forceful practices (pregnancy, high blood pressure, heart conditions).

GRASP THIS The resonant rhythm, about five or six breaths a minute — the “scientific evidence” for slow breathing.

Modern science has found one particularly beneficial breathing rate: about five or six breaths a minute (each round in and out lasting around ten seconds), called resonant breathing. This is not a new practice — it is the foundational breath (Lesson 6), or the even breath, done really slowly. What is worth saying: there is research suggesting this rate helps bring tension down and steady the heart rate. You can use that figure to explain to students on solid ground why “breathing slower” is useful — without promising to cure anything.

On the mat: Keep these three variants in your pocket for when you need them: Kaki when someone cannot manage Sitali; Swana when you want to warm the belly before a strong practice; the five-or-six-a-minute figure when you need one scientific sentence for the room. There is no need to teach them across the board — pull them out at the right moment.

5BRINGING THE SOUNDING & RELEASING GROUP INTO A CLASS

Use them at the right moment: to break the ice, to connect, or to lull a room into stillness

A class chanting and sounding the breath together — The sounding practices suit teaching a group very well — the whole room roaring together, intoning together, settling together.

REMEMBER Simha to BREAK THE ICE / release · Udgeeth to CONNECT / go into meditation · 4-7-8 to LULL TO SLEEP / calm.

A quick way to choose: the room still self-conscious and stiff at the start → Simha, to get them laughing and loosening; wanting to connect and move into meditation → intone Udgeeth together; at the end, or as homework, to sleep well and bring anxiety down → 4-7-8 (the lighter version for anyone with a condition). These three are well loved because they have sound in them and are clearly felt at the first attempt — perfect as the moments that make students remember and enjoy your sessions.

REMEMBER The three safety boundaries still stand.

Gentle though most of this group is, don't drop the safety habits: (1) a practice with a held breath (4-7-8) → ask and exclude, and offer the lighter version to anyone with a heart condition, blood pressure or who is pregnant; (2) a heating / forceful practice (Swana) → the same rules as the waking–heating group; (3) always let students stop and return to natural breathing at any dizziness or discomfort. A skilled teacher is one who can pick the “fun” practice without forgetting the safety underneath it.

On the mat: Try designing a “three touchpoints” frame: open the session with three rounds of Simha (breaking the ice), use whichever practices fit the aim in the middle, and close by intoning Udgeeth together or with a few rounds of 4-7-8. Students will remember your sessions by exactly these moments that have sound in them.

Lesson 18 next — the last of the set: We close the whole body of work with the deepest and most careful part: holding the breath (Kumbhaka) — held in, held out, and the state where the breath holds itself (Kevala). Alongside it comes the map of the whole set, tying every practice you have learned to posture, mudra and lock — so you hold in your hands one diagram for choosing your tools for any session at all, and a closing word about the boundary of the job.

Professional sources: Gheranda Samhita — Simhasana / Simha & Kaki mudra; the Chandogya Upanishad & the modern tradition — Udgeeth / Omkara; B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Pranayama — Vishama Vritti (the 1:4:2 ratio); Dr Andrew Weil — the 4-7-8 rhythm; APMB (Bihar) — Swana; modern research on resonant breathing at about five or six breaths a minute. This material is educational and not a substitute for medical advice.