Zome 1 – Slow Breathing

Zone 1 Breathing workouts are designed to naturally relax you, to stimulate the rest and digest parasympathetic nervous system response, and to give you a powerful tool to combat stress and restless nights. Some exercises in zone 1 stimulate the sleep and should be done lying flat in bed with your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your abdomen.

If all goes well you will be asleep right after finisihing the practice.

The Warrior Breathing exercises primarely focus on detailed timming for the rhythm and ratio of each specific technique, as it has an inmediate impact on your autonomic nervous system. In zone 1 the rhythm is 3 rounds or less of breath per minute, and simultaneously the ratio of the exhale is doubled. Slow breathing plus prolonged exhales, delivers a huge relaxaion response.

Let’s begin.

Your mouth is closed , your eyes are closed, your body is relaxed.

Inhale through your nose gently in a count of four; 1, 2, 3, 4

Exhale through your nose in a count of eight; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale through your nose; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale through your nose; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale belly rises; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale, belly falls; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale belly rises; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale, belly falls; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale belly rises; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale, belly falls; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Inhale; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Final round

Inhale; 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.

Relax your arms down at your sides, keep your eyes closed and your mouth closed. Allow your breathing rhythm and ratio to be natural now. In and out through your nose at its own pace. Lay still, and relax. Hopefully you are either asleep or on the verge of sleep.

Zone 2 – Balanced Breathing.

The purpose of breathing zone 2 workouts is to restore balance. These practices are a great option for any time of the day, morning or night. Zone 2 techniques are simple and safe to be done anywhere in any position, seated or standing, eyes opened or closed. Breathing zone 2 exercises will bring you up if you are down, and will bring you down if you are up. They balance your autonomic nervous system and tone your vagal nerve.

Let´s practice breathing zone 2 together. In this occasion we will practice delta breathing:

Before we start we need to establish ocean sound, with a «haaa» sound on both the inhale and on the exhale. The simpliest way to learn this is to open your mouth and inhale with a haaa sound and exhale with a «haaa» sound.

1. Inhale haaa, exhale haaa.
2. Inhale haaa, exhale haaa.

Now close your mouth and keep the same ocean sound in the back of your throat throughout the entire practice. It sounds like this: «hmm».

Are you ready? Let´s begin.

1. Inhale through your nose with an ocean sound in a count of four; 1, 2, 3, 4, now exhale through your nose with an ocean sound in a count of four 4, 3, 2, 1.
2. Inhale through your nose with an ocean sound in a count of four; 1, 2, 3, 4, now exhale through your nose 4, 3, 2, 1.
3. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale 4, 3, 2, 1.
4. Ocean sound, inhale 1, 2, 3, 4; ocean sound exhale 4, 3, 2, 1.
5. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4; exhale 4, 3, 2, 1.

Keep your mouth closed, now just breathe naturally through your nose.

How do you feel? Are you more focused or less focused? Do you feel more centered or do you feel scattered? Is your body tense or is your body soft? Does the breath feel gentle or forced? Is your breathing fast or slow?

Let´s do 5 more rounds of delta breathing, but before we start let´s find the ocean sound in the back of your throat again. In the inhale hmmm, and then in the exhale hmmm

1. Inhale through your nose with an ocean sound in a count of four; 1, 2, 3, 4, now exhale through your nose with an ocean sound in a count of four 4, 3, 2, 1.
2. Inhale through your nose with an ocean sound in a count of four; 1, 2, 3, 4, now exhale through your nose 4, 3, 2, 1.
3. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale 4, 3, 2, 1.
4. Ocean sound, inhale 1, 2, 3, 4; ocean sound exhale 4, 3, 2, 1.
5. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4; exhale 4, 3, 2, 1.

Relax, keep your mouth closed. breathe naturally through your nose. Your normal breathing rhythm is around 8 to 12 breaths per minute, or even more if you are stressed out. With Delta breathing, you cut the breathing rhythm in half, the ocean sound, gives you a calming effect on your central nervous system, as you can feel it already. This practice is one that you can come by again and again. Just remember is always a good time to practice. I hope you find this helpful and I hope to share with you more breathing practices from the Warrior Breathing Training Program with the future.

Zone 3 – Fast Breathing

Zone 3 workouts can be used as an energy booster. These exercises should be practiced early in the day to wake up, or right before exercise to prepare your body for action and movement. They activate your sympathetic nervous system fight or flight response, so they should be avoided before, during or after meals, and should not be practiced in the evening as it could disrupt your sleep.

These workouts are deliberate short, since the technique is strong and should be used with moderation. If done in excess, could potentially cause anxiety and dizziness.
When used with care, like all the exercises of the Warrior Breathing Training Program, zone 3 exercises are a safe and natural “pick me up”. In all cases zone 3 breathing workouts should be trained in an empty stomach.

We will practice now Kapalabhati, which is an example of zone 3 breathing exercise.

Let’s begin

Assume a Sukhasana pose or any easy sitting position. Keep your back straight, place your hands on your knees and close your eyes. Listen carefully to the set up, this an unusual way to breathe, so the instructions are important.

Relax your belly completely, your chin is parallel to the floor and relaxed. This practice involves sharp exhales through your nose in a series of one second burst: “hmm” “hmm”. The breath originates in the lower abdomen, imagine that you catch a basketball thrown right into your belly “hmm”, that’s the feeling we are looking for. Your belly goes in and up, the exhale happens as a sneeze “hmm”, and then you relax completely to reset.

Forget about the inhale; the inhale will happened naturally, all on its own, when you relax. Focus instead in sharp bursts of exhales. Remember, your breath originates on the lower abdomen, it comes out in a one second sneeze and then you relax.

Let’s practice together. Sharp exhales through your nose. We’ll begin together in 3, 2, 1 and;

1. exhale
2. exhale
3. exhale
4. exhale
5. exhale
6. exhale
7. exhale
8. exhale
9. exhale
10. exhale
11. 10
12. 9
13. 8
14. 7
15. 6
16. 5
17. 4
18. 3
19. 2
20. and 1

Relax, eyes closed, face relaxed, shoulders relaxed, breathe normally. Remember eventhough the exhale is strong and sharp, your job is to keep the tension isolated to your lower abdomen, shoulders stay soft , face is relaxed, and you simply sneeze out 20 breaths as cool, as calm, as can be.

Let’s practice another round together. Eyes closed, face and shoulders relaxed.
We’ll begin with sharp exhales through your nose in 3, 2,1 and;

1. exhale
2. exhale
3. exhale
4. exhale
5. exhale
6. exhale
7. exhale
8. exhale
9. exhale
10. exhale
11. 10
12. 9
13. 8
14. 7
15. 6
16. 5
17. 4
18. 3
19. 2
20. and 1

Relax, eyes closed, face relaxed, shoulders relaxed and your breath is normalized. Your chin is parallel to the floor, shoulders are soft, lower abdomen is soft and relaxed, as we prepare for the final round.

We’ll begin with sharp exhales through your nose in 3, 2, 1 and;

1. exhale
2. exhale
3. exhale
4. exhale
5. exhale
6. exhale
7. exhale
8. exhale
9. exhale
10. exhale
11. 10
12. 9
13. 8
14. 7
15. 6
16. 5
17. 4
18. 3
19. 2
20. and 1

Relax, eyes closed, face relaxed, shoulders relaxed and your breath is normalized. Your chin is parallel to the floor, shoulders are soft, lower abdomen is soft and relaxed.

The recommended protocol here, is three rounds of 20 breaths, right when you wake up in the morning, just before exercise, or mid afternoon if you need a “pick me up”. After this breathing workout you should feel energized and ready to go.