Three-part breath (dirga pranayama)

How do you do three-part breath?

Lie on your back with your knees bent: it’s the easiest way to feel each part. Rest one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.

The player rises in three steps: belly, ribs, chest. Then one long, smooth breath out.

Teachers use it to start a yoga class, to wind down at the end of the day and to get to know their own breathing. It’s a good way into the rest of pranayama, and a gentle form of slow breathing.

What are the three parts?

The belly, the ribs and the upper chest, in that order on the way in. On the way out you let them go in reverse, or all together if that feels more natural.

In 2sIn 2sIn 2sOut 6s

The belly part is your diaphragm doing the work. The rib part is the muscles between your ribs opening your chest sideways. The chest part is a small extra lift at the top. Most of the air comes in with the first two; the third is only a little.

Is three-part breath the same as diaphragmatic breathing?

Not quite. Both start with the belly. Diaphragmatic breathing stays there: the belly rises and the chest stays still. Three-part breath carries on upwards through the ribs and chest, so each breath is fuller. Think of diaphragmatic breathing as the first part on its own.

If you’re curious how high and low breathing differ day to day, chest breathing vs belly breathing sets them side by side.

Should the chest move at all?

Yes, a little, at the very end of the breath. That’s what makes it three-part. But it’s the smallest part: a soft lift under your collarbones, not a heave. Your shoulders shouldn’t rise towards your ears. If they do, you’re reaching for too much air. Make the whole breath smaller and let the belly and ribs do most of the work.

Following a pacer helps, here or in Breathform: fill only while the tide rises, and stop when it turns.

What is three-part breath good for?

Three-part breath comes from yoga tradition, where it’s often the first pranayama taught, and nobody has tested it as a technique on its own. Its pace has been studied, though. Slow breathing, between about 4 and 10 breaths a minute, affects heart rhythm, blood pressure control and breathing itself, according to a review of the research in healthy people (Russo et al. 2017). And slow breathing reliably raises heart rate variability, the small beat-to-beat changes that tend to grow when you’re at rest (Laborde et al. 2022).

So: a calm, full breath to settle into, with evidence for slow breathing in general rather than for the three parts.

Every study on this page (2)

• Russo et al., 2017: An overview of research in healthy people suggests slow breathing affects the heart, lungs and nervous system; more study is needed.
• Laborde et al., 2022: Across 223 studies, slow breathing raised heart-rhythm signs of calm, during practice and after, though that alone doesn't prove a health benefit.

Why does three-part breath feel hard?

Questions people ask

How long should each part of the breath take?

There’s no set count. About 2 seconds for each part, 6 seconds in all, then 6 seconds out, is a comfortable place to start, and it’s the pace of the player on this page. Some teachers make the out-breath longer than the in-breath. What matters more is the order, belly then ribs then chest, and keeping each part soft.

Is three-part breath good for beginners?

Yes, it’s one of the first breaths many yoga teachers introduce. It has no holds, no special sounds and nothing to get wrong, as long as you stay gentle. If the three parts feel fiddly at first, spend a week on diaphragmatic breathing, the belly part on its own, then add the ribs and chest.

Can I do three-part breath sitting up?

Yes. Sit tall, with your back supported and your shoulders loose, so your ribs have room to move. Lying down makes the belly part easiest to feel, which is why it’s often taught that way first. Sitting is handy before yoga, at your desk or anywhere you’d like a slow, full breath without lying on the floor.

What’s the difference between three-part breath and ujjayi?

Three-part breath is about where the breath goes: belly, ribs, chest. Ujjayi breathing is about how it sounds: a soft ocean rush made by narrowing the back of your throat. They combine well. Many yoga teachers start with a few rounds of three-part breath, then add the ujjayi sound once the breath is slow and steady.