4 Easy Steps To Dirga Pranayama | Yogic Three-Part Breath Technique

Dirga pranayama, also known as the three-part breath is a great breathing technique that encourages you to use your entire lungs and take full deep breaths during your yoga practice.

It helps to prolong each breath during your yoga practice whilst also cultivating a better mind-body-breath connection.

It has various benefits for the nervous system, the subtle energetic body, mental health and physical health. The three-part breath is a calming, grounding, and invigorating yogic breathing technique.

In this article, you’ll learn how to practice dirga pranayama (the three-part breath) and the different ways you can use this yogic breathing technique to benefit your yoga practice and holistic wellness.

How Do You Practice Dirga Pranayama – The Yogic Three-Part Breathing Technique?

When Do You Practice The Three-Part Breath?

Dirga pranayama can be practised alone as a pranayama breathing technique whilst seated in a meditation posture, or during your yoga asana practice.

In general, it can be used at any time of day—because whilst it is an invigorating and restorative breath practice it isn’t overly energizing.

You can use dirga pranayama to soothe the nervous system and calm anxiety, or you can use it to enhance your breathing practice during yoga asana. 

Dirga pranayama is also effective when used as an anchor for your concentration (dharana) during yoga asana or meditation. 

Who Can Practice The Three-Part Breathing?

It is suitable for beginners to experienced yoga practitioners. Dirga pranayama is a great technique and is usually one of the first yogic breathing techniques to be taught to yoga practitioners because of its relative ease, versatility, and benefits.

Most people can practice the three-part breath, but if you experience respiratory problems such as asthma, low/high blood pressure, have a cardiovascular condition or any other conditions that you think might affect breathwork—as with all holistic wellness practices—it is best to consult with your doctor before engaging in breathwork and pranayama practice.

How To Set Up Your Posture To Practice Dirga Pranayama

It is recommended to first practice dirga pranayama as a standalone practice so you can explore and experience the technique before trying to integrate it into your moving meditation.

When you are using the three-part breath as a standalone pranayama practice you’ll need to find a suitable and comfortable position to practice in that supports the movement of your lungs.

Once you are familiar and confident with the technique, you can begin to integrate the pranayama technique into your wider yoga practice, and utilise the technique in your yoga postures.

In general, when used as a standalone practice, the recommendation is to practice both pranayama and meditation (dhyana) techniques whilst sitting upright (vertical) in a seated position as opposed to lying down. 

There are a few benefits to practising pranayama in an upright seated position.

Firstly, you’re less likely to nod off during your practice when sitting upright. Secondly, you are strengthening your ability to sit in a meditation posture for longer periods of time—which is one of the main aims of yoga asana. 

And lastly, an upright position supports your spine and the subtle energy flow—as you’re encouraging your subtle energy to flow upwards through the chakras in a seated position.

The most common positions to practice pranayama are variations of padmasana (lotus pose) and also vajrasana (diamond pose) which is a kneeling posture. 

It is most important to find a posture in which you are comfortable, steady, and stable.

Sukhasana is a common cross-legged seated position that is accessible to a lot of people. 

Whilst siddhasana (accomplished pose) is often used because it is one of the oldest known asanas, and is often named in traditional yogic scriptures as the most important yoga posture of all.

“Just as sparing food is among yamas, and ahimsa among the niyamas, so is siddhasana called by adepts the chief of all the asanas” — Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Chapter 1, Verse 40).

You can also explore svastikasana (auspicious pose) which is another variation of a siddhasana and the cross-legged seated poses. 

However, if sitting on the floor isn’t accessible for you, it’s equally as beneficial to sit on a chair with your spine supported upright.

Understanding The Theory Of Practising Dirga Pranayama

The aim of the three-part breath is to use the lungs fully—breathing in a full deep inhale, and exhaling completely.

It can help to imagine that you are filling a bottle with water, and the bottle represents your lungs whilst the water represents the air filling your lungs.

When you fill the bottle, the water first fills the bottom, then the middle, and lastly the top of the bottle. And when you empty the bottle, you first empty the water from the top, then the middle, then lastly the bottom of the bottle.

With dirga pranayama, you are consciously creating this same filling and emptying process by mindfully directing the oxygen to different parts of your lungs.

To learn the three-part breath, firstly we locate, isolate, and explore the three different parts of the lungs separately, and then finally we add all the steps together to practice the complete dirga pranayama technique.

Step 1: Exploring The Lower Abdomen | Abdominal Or Diaphragmatic Breathing

• Come to your comfortable seated position. Lengthen up through the spine and open the chest (by drawing your shoulders back slightly) to provide good posture for your lungs and diaphragm to move freely. 
• Place the right hand on the lower abdomen, with the little finger just above the belly button. Place the left hand over the heart centre, on your upper chest.
• Close your eyes to draw your awareness to your breathing. Take a few relaxed breaths to ground and centre yourself.
• Firstly, we explore conscious breathing into the lowest part of the lungs—also known as diaphragmatic breathing. Focus on inhaling through the nose into the bottom hand, and the lower part of your lungs. Aim to keep your top hand as still as possible.
• With your eyes closed, continue to explore inhalation and exhalation through the nose for 5 deep breaths by consciously drawing your breath into the lower part of your lungs and into that right hand on your lower abdomen. Try to keep the top hand as still as possible.

Step 2: Exploring The Upper Chest | Thoracic Breathing

• Keeping the hands where they are, move your attention to your upper chest. Next, we focus on consciously breathing into the middle part of your lungs.
• Focus on inhaling into the top hand, and into the upper chest and ribs—the middle section of your lungs. Aim to keep your bottom hand as still as possible.
• With your eyes closed, continue to explore inhalation and exhalation for 5 deep breaths by consciously drawing your breath into the middle section of your lungs and into that left hand on your upper chest. Try to keep the bottom hand as still as possible.
• Notice that the ribs and upper chest move in a 360° direction when you breathe—to the front, back and sides.
• Pay attention to the subtle differences in how it feels to breathe into your upper chest and ribs in comparison to your lower belly. Is there more space or less space? Does it feel easier or harder? Do you feel calm and relaxed or alert?

Step 3: Exploring The Shoulders | Clavicular Breathing

• Lastly, we move into exploring the third section of the lungs—the upper part. Keep the right hand on the lower abdomen but move the left hand up to the clavicle (also known as the collarbone).
• Focus on inhaling into the top hand, and the very top section of your lungs which goes from the upper chest into your shoulders. Aim to keep your bottom hand as still as possible. It can help to lift and relax the shoulders with each inhale and exhale.
• With your eyes closed, continue to explore inhalation and exhalation for 5 deep breaths by consciously drawing your breath into your shoulders and into that left hand on your collarbone. Try to keep the bottom hand as still as possible.
• Pay attention to the subtle differences in how it feels to breathe into your upper chest and shoulders in comparison to your lower belly. Is there more space or less space? Does it feel easier or harder? Do you feel calm and relaxed or alert?

Step 4: Bringing It All Together | Three-Part Breathing

• Finally, we bring all of the steps together into the full dirga pranayama technique by exploring the combination of each section of the lungs working together during each breath.
• Keep the right hand on the lower abdomen but move the left hand back down to the heart centre, on your upper chest.
• Imagine that your lungs are a bottle and you are filling and emptying the bottle. Firstly, inhale into your lower abdomen, into the lower hand. Next, feel your ribs and chest expand as you breathe into your left hand, and lastly feel the shoulders gently and naturally rise as you reach your maximum capacity for the inhale.
• Then exhale by firstly relaxing and releasing the shoulders, and then feel the upper chest and ribs shrink, and lastly feel the lower belly gently drawing back into towards your spine as it empties itself of air.
• Continue this cycle of creating a wave of breath by inhaling from the bottom to the top of the lungs, and exhaling from the top to the bottom for 5 more deep breaths (or as long as feels comfortable).
• Focus on taking deep, slow, long, comfortable and complete breaths.

Once you are comfortable with Step 4, which is the full practice of dirga pranayama, you don’t need to perform Steps 1-3. They are simply to help you isolate each part of your lungs and to get you used to consciously directing your breath to different areas of your torso.

You don’t retain or hold your breath at all during the practice of dirga pranayama. You want to aim for your breathing rhythm to be smooth, deep, long, comfortable, consistently flowing, and equal in length.