Step 7: Extending the Exhale in a Sitting Position
This week you’re extending your exhale in a sitting position. This is the same breathing pattern you worked on in Step 4, but now you’re doing it in a sitting position rather than lying down.
Sit upright with your feet hip width apart and your hands on your lap. Lengthen your spine. When you inhale, intentionally expand your lungs. When you exhale, intentionally contract your lungs and belly.
Begin pacing your breathing by counting the length of your inhale and the length of your exhale. Use the breathing pattern inhale-pause-exhale-pause.
Once you establish the cadence of your breathing, begin extending your exhale one count, and when that’s comfortable and you feel ready, extend it by two counts.
Counting the quantity of breaths on your fingers, observe 8 slow, comfortable breaths.
Rewatch the video from Step 4 if you’d like to review the details of how to extend the exhale.
After these 8 breaths, rest for 2-3 normal breaths, then continue to the recovery postures.
in - your count
pause
ex - your count (extend)
pause
Recovery
You did it! Mark your Tracker with today’s date!
Extending your inhales will refine your control of your core strength. If you can practice mindfully, the sensations of core strengthening become very interesting at this stage.
Practice Step 7 for at least 7 days, until you feel confident you’ve mastered it, up to 14 days.
The more consistently and mindfully you practice, the more consistently you’ll gain strength.
When you feel you’ve mastered Step 7, continue to Step 8.