Your Perfect Breath

For BIG Music Library members

54 minutes total Watch in order Streams on any device

This series teaches the resting breath your body was built for: what a calm breath looks like, why carbon dioxide matters, and how to make the yogic pattern your default again. Use it for your own practice, or send it to students who ask what “normal” breathing is supposed to feel like.

Start here · Introduction

The Pause

Every breath draws a line, and for many people today that line is fast and restless. This introduction tells the story behind the series: years before SOMA Breath existed, Niraj Naik was a pharmacist living with ulcerative colitis. One night, on the floor and out of strength, he remembered his teacher Swami Ambikananda’s words, “the exhale is the releasing breath”, and slowed his breathing until a natural pause appeared. The episode explains why that pause matters, introduces the guide the series is based on, and maps out the six episodes ahead.

Practice in this episode: The releasing breath: small breath in, slow breath out, “I am calm” said silently, let the pause come without holding it.

7:23 · 188 MB

The series

As If Not Breathing

The three shapes of breathing, and the one your body was built for

8:02 · 244 MB

An old Taoist saying holds that the perfect human breathes as if they do not breathe at all. This episode shows the three shapes a breath can draw (strained, ordinary and yogic), explains the automatic pause and the seven qualities of the yogic pattern, and why it brings oxygen, carbon dioxide and blood acidity into balance. It covers the areas this balance can support, always alongside medical care, and why the pattern can’t be forced.

Practice in this episode: Find your line: watch your breath without changing anything.

The Invisible Thread

How your breath keeps your body’s chemistry in balance

7:42 · 212 MB

Every heartbeat and every thought depends on a narrow balance of acidity in the blood, and your breath is the fastest way your body keeps it. This episode explains pH in plain terms, why carbon dioxide is far more than a waste gas, what happens when we breathe it away too fast, and the loop that big breaths can create.

Practice in this episode: The long exhale: soft, slow, let the pause come.

The More-Air Myth

Why breathing more air doesn’t mean getting more oxygen

7:54 · 163 MB

Many people believe that deep, heavy breaths are always good for them. This episode explains why over-breathing can leave the body with less usable oxygen, how fast breathing tells the nervous system to stay alert, and how a learned breathing habit can be unlearned. It closes with SOMA Breath entrainment sessions, powered by Breathing in Beats music technology.

Practice in this episode: A 15-second over-breathing experiment (seated, with safety exclusions on screen), then “Slow it down”.

Please note: skip the over-breathing experiment if you are pregnant, have a heart or lung condition, or are prone to panic. Do it seated, and stop if you feel dizzy or unwell.

Your Default Setting

How to read your own breathing pattern, and what shapes it

8:17 · 173 MB

Your breath at rest is your default setting. This episode covers the three things that shape it (the health of your cells, your mind and your habits), three signs worth noticing (no pause, frequent big breaths, noisy breathing), and the morning breath hold test as a simple way to track progress. It ends with a gentle observation practice.

Practice in this episode: Don’t control, just watch: silent, subtle, through the nose.

Nature’s Gym

How the right kind of stress trains a calmer breath

7:41 · 291 MB

Short, healthy challenges make the body stronger, while long, grinding stress wears it down. This episode explains positive stress, why sitting still all day affects your breathing, and why movement, especially dancing, is one of the best ways to improve breath hold time. The SOMA Breath app includes dance classes and dance music to make this easy.

Practice in this episode: Ten breaths a minute: in for two, out for four, following the Breath of Life music.

Let It Breathe You

The six steps that bring the yogic breath back as your default

7:35 · 210 MB

The final episode brings the guide together into six steps: awareness, relearning, the mind, lifestyle, practice and letting it become automatic. It covers catching your own pattern, letting the urge to breathe pass, why over-breathing on purpose has its place in SOMA Breath practice, what progress looks like over the months, and where to go next.

Practice in this episode: As if not breathing: small in, long out, rest.

Health note

These videos are educational and support, but do not replace, medical care. If you have a health condition, are pregnant, or take medication, keep your doctor involved. Do the breathing practices sitting or lying down, never while driving or in water, and stop if you feel dizzy or unwell. Skip the over-breathing experiment in Episode 3 if you are pregnant, have a heart or lung condition, or are prone to panic.