Three-Part Breath (Dirga)

In the app: 3-Part Breath Dirga

The Three-Part Breath fills the lungs completely in three stages, belly, ribs, then chest, and empties them the same way. It deepens and expands the breath, builds breath awareness, and leaves you feeling fuller and more present. Move at a steady, comfortable pace.

Breathing fully through all three parts of the torso uses the whole capacity of the lungs and engages the diaphragm completely, which fully ventilates the lungs and trains a deeper, more efficient breath. You may feel a pleasant fullness and a gentle lift in energy as you continue. As a foundational pranayama, it sits within the research on slow, full breathing supporting both calm and steady energy. Dirga means complete or full in Sanskrit, a base practice in yoga used to teach whole-body breathing. If the practice feels a little awkward or hard to coordinate at first, that's completely normal, it becomes more natural the more you do it.