Let’s have a look at the first of the TriBreath breathing rhythm’s… the 3-STEP.

On the physical level, i call the 3-STEP the most powerful of the TriBreath rhythms, as the 3-STEP is the rhythm that’ll get you up that mountain no matter how steep it is.

It’ll have you carrying and pushing loads without the need for the associated huffing and puffing that is so common when strenuous physically exertion is being practiced.

As i pointed out in the How We Walk Out Of Balance video, the 4-STEP rhythm with the first IN-breath and first OUT-breath always landing on the one foot creates an imbalanced distribution of impact between the left and right hand sides of the body.

This imbalanced distribution of impact can easily be balanced up by simply taking away a breathing measure or adding a breathing measure or a combination of both (be the breathing measure an IN-breath or an OUT-breath).

For example…

From the 4-Step, a two breaths in and two breaths out breathing cycle

• When we take away an OUT-breath we create the 3-STEP breathing rhythm.
• When we add an IN-breath we create the 5-STEP breathing rhythm.
• When we add two IN-breath’s and one OUT-breath we create the 7-STEP breathing rhythm.

Building your body/breath connection

When you first have a go at the 3-STEP it can be very challenging to say the least.

Particularly if you are already aerobically compromised.

The simple remedy to the discomfort is to… SLOW DOWN YOUR BODY!

Slow down the movement of your body.

It sounds so simple! But it’s not. And you’re not alone!

It’s the releasing of your OUT-breath on the one measure and the on the one foot is where most people find the challenge can be found.

i’ve been teaching TriBreath for close on twenty years and 9 out of 10 people struggle in the beginning.

But once you get it, you’ll find all of the 3 TriBreath breathing rhythm’s have been with you the whole time.

It’s like getting together with a long lost friend friends.

Just remember in the beginning, DRAMATICALLY SLOW DOWN YOUR WALKING PACE from what you’re normally used to doing.

Breathing in deep full breaths doesn’t come easy for a lot of us and a lot of us don’t know how aerobically compromised they are.

Think of it this way…

The slower the pace of your body when you practice the 3-STEP when you walk, the more time there is for you to get your breath out.

Your exhalation!

And it’s all about your OUT-breath!

A little training tip

When you’re first learning both the 3-STEP & 5-STEP breathing rhythms, it can help to place a little bit of extra load on the body hence why i recommend using stairs or a slight incline to help co-ordinate your body’s opposing movements with your breathing cycle.

Having a little bit of resistance to push through also makes it easier for you to focus on getting your elbows back.

As your elbows come back your shoulders are drawn outward allowing your rib cage to expand so your lungs can draw in a full satisfying lungful of air.

Can the TriBreath breathing rhythm’s be used with any other sports?

Apart from walking and running, most sports that replicate the movement of the two sides of the body like cycling, surfing, paddling etc. can benefit from the TriBreath techniques.

For instance if you were on a bike and going up a hill, using the 3-STEP every IN-breath and OUT-breath would be timed to when each individual foot reaches the very bottom of the pedals radius on the push down.

To experience this, again find a hill or a slope and feel the power you can create using your breath the TriBreath way to consciously distribute the power equally throughout your body.

Putting the techniques to use

i had plenty of time to practice when, for about seven years or so i maintained and developed a very steep mountain healing property high up in northern New South Wales mountains of Australia.

It was all slope and then a bit more slope but the views were incredible and the water that flowed out of the rocks… OMG!

As the sun was my witness, i wouldn’t have been able to move the tons and tons of rocks i did around narrow winding paths in a wheel barrows and buckets as i built terraced rock walls to stabilise the soil and forest debris from re-filling the rock pools that were rich in crystals formations had it not been for the 3-STEP.

It’s a rock solid breathing rhythm if you’ll excuse the pun.

Looking at the timing

So using the 3-STEP rhythm…

• The first step you take is an IN-breath.
• The second step you take is an IN-breath.
• The third step you take is the OUT-breath when you fully empty your lungs.

Then repeat the process with the fourth step being on an IN-breath and so on.

With the first two steps being IN-breaths and the third step the OUT-breath, make sure on your OUT-breath you really exaggerate your breath out.

What you’ll more than likely find is the trick to increasing your air intake isn’t in the breathing in… it’s the letting go of your breath that takes practice.

A little tangent to ponder on

It may be useful to know that the first breath you took upon entering this planet wasn’t an IN-breath (inhalation).

It was an OUT-breath (exhalation).

Before you can breathe in you have to clear your lungs of fluid and create the space.

And the last breath you take won’t be an IN-breath either.

It’ll be an OUT-breath!

Classic hey!

It would appear it’s the letting go that lets you access more of what life offers!

The 3-STEP Breathing Rhythm