Pillar two ยท Activating
Igniter breath
The fastest way to warm up. After cold water, before training, or when your head is stuck.
Before you start
- This starts a stress response on purpose. Mornings and before effort, not before bed.
- Finish with something from the relaxing pillar.
- Fast forceful breathing can make you lightheaded. Sit down to do it, and stop if your head goes.
Watch
The pattern
- 01Sit up tall. Palms flat on your knees so your arms have something to push against.
- 02Take one foundational breath first: in through the nose, sigh it out.
- 03Intense inhale through the nose. Shoulders rise.
- 04Exhale through the mouth with the same force. Shoulders drop.
- 05Keep both halves equally hard.
- 06Thirty seconds to five minutes, or a hundred reps.
Three breaths in and you should feel it. It is meant to make you hot, and it will.
Lightheaded means the pace has run ahead of you. Slow it down and keep the force.
How it lands
Heat, fast. Three breaths in and you feel it in your face. As good for shifting a stuck head as a cold body.
What it does
- Warms you up after cold water
- Gets you out of a stuck head
- Short enough to fit anywhere
- Wakes the body up before training
- Boosts immunity and brings inflammation down
The rest of this pillar
- 30 reps a set Priming breath Wakes the body up. Morning, or before training.
- 1-5 minutes Breath of fire Forceful both ways. Builds heat.
- 15-25 steps a round Buteyko breathing A held walk. Runs while you are moving.
- 50 reps or 2-7 minutes Kapalabhati Forceful exhale only. Works the stomach.
- About 10 minutes Twisting breath Twist and exhale hard. Warm-up that works the core.
- 10-20 minutes Heart opening breath Loud on the exhale. Clears the deck before the day.
- 30 seconds to 5 minutes Kundalini Bhastrika Breath of fire, arms overhead. Harder.
- 10-15 minutes Digestion igniter Lion's breath and a stomach vacuum. Standing.
- About 20 minutes Dynamic breathwork Forty breaths and holds. The big one in this pillar.