CHAPTER 11: on THE mAT: foRmAl YogA PRACTICES foR SElf-REgulATIon And EngAgEmEnT • 261hands, your chest, and your belly. Notice your hands rise and fall with your breath. Notice, does the
hand on your rib cage move more or less than the hand on your belly? To bring your breath toward
deep, diaphragmatic breath, inhale so deeply that the hand on your belly lifts as the belly expands. See
if you can breathe so that the hand on your chest is moving only slightly as your rib cage expands and
the hand on your belly is rising and falling noticeably with each breath. Be sure to keep your breath
slow, deep, smooth, and even. If you notice that you are getting lightheaded, pause at the end of each
inhalation and exhalation and count to four before cycling to the next part of your breath. Continue
breathing with your hands on your chest and your belly, breathing deeply into the hands on your belly
for 10 more breath cycles.
Source: Cook-Cottone, 2015; informed by Anderson & Sovik, 2000; McCall, 2007; Stephens, 2010.
Victory breathing
Victory breathing involves breathing through the nose, mouth closed with a slightly
constricted throat (Cook-Cottone, 2015; Herrington, 2012; Neiman, 2015; Stephens,
2010). It is a breath that sounds like the ocean (Herrington, 2012). Some teach victory
breath by asking practitioners to first make the “ha” sound as if fogging a mirror with
their mouth open. Next, they ask the practitioner to make the same “ha” sound with
the mouth closed and the breath moving through the nose (McCall, 2007). Creation of
the same sound and sensation while inhaling and exhaling is encouraged (Stephens,
2010). This type of breath is believed to provide additional physiological and sensory
feedback regarding the breath. It has the effects of both energizing the body and bring-
ing focus to the mind (Cook-Cottone, 2015; McCall, 2007; Neiman, 2015; Stephens, 2010;
Weintraub, 2004).
whole body breathing
Whole body breathing uses your whole body in the inhalation and exhalation of breath.
Begin by asking students to stand in Mountain Pose. Have them scan their bodies and notice
any tensions and see if they can begin to soften tension with their breath. Begin with shoul-
der shrugs. As they inhale through their noses, ask them to bring their shoulders all the
way up to their ears, squeezing tightly. As they exhale, have them drop their shoulders and
exhale the breath through their mouths. Repeat this for 5 or 6 cycles of breath, gradually
lengthening the breaths each time until you get to a count of three for the inhale and four for
the exhale. Next, in the inhale, ask students to reach their hands all the way up toward the
ceiling and look up as they take a long, deep inhalation. Next, on the exhalation have them
drop their hands and fold all the way over until their head is reaching toward the floor and
their hands go all the way to the floor. Repeat five or six times until they are standing up on
their tip toes as they inhale and folding forward so that their hands go between their legs
behind them. Close the activity by centering the students in Mountain Pose with their hands
on their anchor spot (i.e., belly or heart). Have them check back into their bodies noticing
any last bit of tension that they can let go.