Clay & Air

Pillar two ยท Activating

Kundalini Bhastrika

30 seconds to 5 minutes · Sitting or standing · Nose only

Breath of fire with your arms overhead. The same pump, with a great deal more work in the shoulders.

FlatBefore training

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

Not playing? Watch it on YouTube.

The pattern

  1. 01Get breath of fire going on its own first. Belly pumps in on the exhale and fills back up by itself.
  2. 02Breathe in, then let about three quarters of the air back out.
  3. 03Raise your arms overhead, elbows locked, thumbs pointing up and out.
  4. 04Start the pump and keep the arms where they are.
  5. 05Thirty seconds to a minute to begin with. Build up to three or five minutes.

Your shoulders will give out before your breath does. That is the technique working rather than a fault in it.

Lightheaded means the pace has run ahead of you. Drop the arms, slow down, and start again.

How it lands

The arms are the hard part. Somewhere past a minute the burn in your shoulders takes over and the breathing starts running itself.

What it does

  • Breath of fire with a lot more load
  • Builds heat fast
  • Works the shoulders hard
  • Wakes the body up before training
  • Boosts immunity and brings inflammation down

If you want a hand with it

This one works on your own. Some of it lands harder with someone in the room, and that is what the workshops are for.

Workshops

The rest of this pillar