Gluing in the Lungs #1: A Feldenkrais® Lesson for Tummo, Wim Hof, and Pranayama Breathing

By Al Wadleigh, GCFP

Article Summary

In this 41-minute seated Awareness Through Movement® lesson, Al Wadleigh guides you in sensing how breathing moves through the right and left lungs and their individual lobes. Through attention, intention, gentle side bending, and changes in position, the lesson explores how the ribs, diaphragm, spine, and chest participate in three-dimensional breathing. The lesson can stand on its own or serve as sensory preparation for a separate Tummo, Wim Hof–style, or pranayama breathing practice.

Breathing Is Something We Do—and Something We Learn

Most of us breathe without giving it much thought. The breath continues while we work, walk, talk, sleep, and attend to everything else in our lives. Yet the fact that breathing happens automatically does not mean that every part of the chest participates equally. Our daily habits shape how we sit and stand, how freely the ribs move, and how clearly we sense the movement of the breath.

You may breathe more easily into one lung than the other. Within a lung, one region may feel more available while another is harder to sense. You may feel movement in the front of the chest and very little in the back, or you may notice one side of the ribs expanding more clearly. These differences are not problems that must be corrected before you begin. They are information.

This lesson gives you time to collect that information. You will explore the three lobes of the right lung and the two lobes of the left lung. You will use attention and intention to direct the breath toward different regions, then change the organization of your ribs and torso so that you can make new comparisons.

This way of learning is characteristic of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education. A difference becomes useful when you can sense it, compare it with another possibility, and discover how the organization of the whole self changes with it.

The lesson is called Gluing in the Lungs #1. It is my modified presentation of “Thinking and Breathing,” the twelfth lesson in Moshe Feldenkrais’s book Awareness Through Movement. I have organized it here as a foundation for people who practice Tummo, Wim Hof–style breathing, pranayama, or any discipline in which the quality and direction of the breath matter.

Recording details

• Lesson: Gluing in the Lungs #1
• Presenter: Al Wadleigh
• Source lesson: A modified presentation of “Thinking and Breathing,” Lesson 12 in Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais
• Format: Seated guided Awareness Through Movement lesson
• Published: September 27, 2022
• Runtime: 40 minutes, 58 seconds
• Platform: YouTube
• Channel: The Feldenkrais Store
• Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDmiCYACSvU

Before You Begin

Use a firm chair that allows you to place both feet comfortably on the floor. Sit far enough forward that your back is not resting against the chair. Wear clothing that does not restrict your ribs or abdomen, and arrange yourself where you can remain undisturbed for approximately 41 minutes.

This lesson is meant to be easy. Make every movement small enough to remain comfortable. Rest whenever you become tired, uncomfortable, or less interested in sensing what you are doing. There is no advantage in pushing, stretching, holding the breath, or trying to create a dramatic sensation.

The lesson can be followed primarily by listening. The video is helpful at the beginning and whenever a new hand, arm, or torso position is introduced. If a verbal direction is unclear, look at the screen before continuing.

Do not follow a guided attention or movement lesson while driving or doing anything else that requires your full attention. This recording does not include the forceful breathing cycles or breath retentions used in some Tummo, Wim Hof–style, or pranayama practices. If you undertake one of those practices afterward, treat it as a separate activity and follow its specific preparation and safety guidance.

Why Differentiate the Lung Lobes?

The right lung has three lobes: upper, middle, and lower. The left lung has two lobes because the heart occupies some of the space on that side of the chest. It is easy to know those facts intellectually while having very little sensory understanding of what they mean in your own breathing.

In an Awareness Through Movement lesson, we make distinctions so that the nervous system has differences to compare. We do not simply repeat a large breath and hope that more effort will make it better. We attend to one region, change the position of the body, notice what becomes easier or clearer, rest, and compare again.

The attention itself can change the breath. When you sense your feet, the pelvis, the ribs, or the shoulder blades, your breathing may change without a deliberate attempt to change it. Later in the lesson, intention becomes more specific: you imagine and feel the breath moving toward the upper, middle, or lower portion of a lung. The anatomical image, the movement of the ribs, and the sensation of breathing begin to inform one another.

“The idea of the lesson is to explore this interaction between thought, breath, movement, and intention.” — Al Wadleigh

This does not require you to prove that the air has gone to an exact spot. The practical question is whether directing your attention changes the movement you can sense in the ribs, chest, back, abdomen, or spine. The comparison gives you the answer for that moment.

The Ribs, Diaphragm, and Three-Dimensional Breath

We often picture the breath as moving up and down through the front of the body. The diaphragm does descend and rise, but the ribs also move. They can expand forward toward the sternum, backward toward the spine, and outward to the sides. The upper ribs, lower ribs, spaces between the ribs, and the areas beneath the shoulder blades all participate.

As the lesson progresses, you will use side bending to create more space between ribs on one side. You will fold forward so that the back of the chest becomes easier to sense. You will combine regions of the right lung and then compare the right and left sides. These changes help make breathing feel less like a single undifferentiated action and more like a coordinated movement of the whole torso.

“By changing your intention and attention, you can change the direction of your breath.” — Al Wadleigh

For someone practicing Tummo, Wim Hof–style breathing, or pranayama, that differentiation may reveal effort that was previously hidden. You may discover that you habitually lift the upper chest, hold the abdomen, or move one side more than the other. You may also find regions that begin to participate with less effort after you have spent time sensing them.

Rest Is Part of the Lesson

The rests in this lesson are deliberate. When you stop moving and return to a simpler position, your nervous system has an opportunity to register what just happened. Sensations that were faint during the movement may become clearer after you stop. Differences between the two sides may become easier to recognize.

Rest also prevents the movement from turning into an endurance exercise. Fatigue reduces the quality of attention and encourages you to return to familiar effort. When that happens, continuing longer does not necessarily create more learning.

“There’s nothing gained by pushing through, stressing, or straining.” — Al Wadleigh

Thus, if you need to rest before I suggest it, rest. If you need to sit back in the chair, do that. If you prefer to stand briefly and then return, that is also available. Your comfort is part of the information you are learning to use.

Lesson Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction: breathing habits, lung lobes, and intention
• 4:44 Initial seated scan
• 9:13 Following the pathway of the breath
• 11:57 Exploring the right upper lobe
• 16:07 Right lower lobe and the diaphragm
• 19:26 Exploring the right middle lobe
• 22:53 Standing comparison
• 23:39 Exploring the left lung
• 25:30 Side bending to open the left ribs
• 29:50 Returning to the right lung
• 30:43 Folding forward and breathing into the posterior right ribs
• 33:01 Folding forward and breathing into the posterior left ribs
• 35:40 Alternating and integrating the two lungs
• 39:07 Final standing scan
• 39:42 Applying the lesson to your breathing practice

Edited Guided-Lesson Transcript

Editor’s note: This transcript has been conservatively edited for readability from the available recording source. Punctuation, sentence boundaries, and unmistakable recognition errors have been corrected; verbal debris and accidental repetition have been removed. The sequence and substance of the guided instructions have been preserved. Because YouTube does not currently offer captions on the public video, this transcript should be reviewed against the recording before it is repurposed as a caption file.

Introduction

Al Wadleigh: Hi. My name is Al Wadleigh. I’m a Feldenkrais practitioner, and today I want to do a mini-course that will help you with your Tummo, Wim Hof, pranayama, or other breathing practice.

When you do your breathing practice, you may not be accessing your full breathing potential. The habits of your daily life can limit your breath. You may breathe more into one lung than the other. Within a lung, some lobes may be more active and others less active.

The right lung has three lobes. The left lung has two lobes because the heart takes up some of the space on the left side. The right lung is a little larger. You may also notice that one nostril seems more open than the other, and that can give you another way to sense the side into which you are breathing more easily.

In this lesson, we are going to explore the interaction among breathing, thought, movement, awareness, and intention. By bringing your attention to different portions of your lungs and changing the organization of your body, you may find that you can direct the breath into different regions.

This is a modified version of a lesson called “Thinking and Breathing.” It is Lesson 12 in Moshe Feldenkrais’s book Awareness Through Movement. I call my version “Gluing in the Lungs #1.”

The lesson takes about 40 minutes. You will need a chair, preferably one with a firm seat. Sit near the front of the chair so that you are not leaning against the back. Place your feet on the floor at about the width of your hips. Let your hands rest comfortably on your thighs.

One of the interesting things about an Awareness Through Movement lesson is that you learn by listening and translating the spoken directions into your own movement. You are not copying someone else’s ideal form. You are listening, sensing, and discovering how the instruction makes sense in your own body.

Everything should be easy. If you become tired or uncomfortable, stop and rest. Sit back in the chair if you need to. You can return whenever you are ready.

The Initial Seated Scan

Sit near the front of the chair and sense the contact of your feet with the floor. Notice the heels, the balls of the feet, and the toes. Sense the inner and outer borders of each foot and the arches. Is the contact the same on the right and the left?

Bring your attention upward through the ankles and lower legs. Sense the knees and thighs. Notice how the thighs rest on the chair and how the feet support you from below.

Sense the contact of your pelvis with the seat. Are you sitting more on the right sitting bone or the left? Is your weight slightly forward or slightly back? You do not need to change anything. Simply become familiar with how you are sitting now.

Bring your attention to the lower back. Sense the relationship between the pelvis and the lumbar spine. Continue upward through the ribs and the chest. Notice the sternum in front, the spine behind, and the ribs connecting the two.

Sense the shoulder blades. Notice how they rest on the back of the ribs. Let the arms hang easily from the shoulders and allow the hands to rest on the thighs.

Sense the neck and head. Notice whether the head feels centered over the pelvis or a little forward, backward, or to one side. Attend to the face, the jaw, and the eyes.

Now notice your breathing. You may discover that the breath changed while your attention moved through the feet, pelvis, ribs, shoulders, and head. You did not have to tell yourself how to breathe. The change in attention was already part of a change in organization.

Following the Path of the Breath

Bring your attention to the nostrils. Feel the air entering and leaving. Is one nostril clearer or more open than the other? Is the temperature or movement of the air different on the two sides?

Follow the sensation from the nostrils into the nasal passages and the back of the throat. Imagine the path continuing down through the windpipe and branching toward the lungs.

Sense where the breath seems to arrive most clearly. Do you feel more movement on the right or the left? Is it higher in the chest, lower near the diaphragm, more toward the front, or more toward the back?

Allow the breath to remain easy. We are not trying to take the largest possible breath. A comfortable breath makes it easier to sense differences.

The Right Upper Lobe

Bring your attention to the upper part of the right lung. Anatomically, this region is behind the upper ribs and extends beneath the right collarbone. Imagine the breath traveling through the windpipe, branching toward the right lung, and entering the upper lobe.

As you inhale, sense whether there is movement beneath the right collarbone, near the upper sternum, along the upper ribs, or beneath the right shoulder blade. As you exhale, sense those regions settling.

You can place your right hand gently on the upper-right chest if that helps you locate the movement. The hand is not there to press or force the breath. It gives you another source of sensory information.

Continue for several easy breaths. Imagine that the upper lobe can expand forward, backward, upward, and sideways. Notice which direction is easiest to sense and which is less clear.

Let the hand return to the thigh and rest. Compare the right and left sides of your upper chest. Has the right side become more present in your awareness?

The Right Lower Lobe and Diaphragm

Now bring your attention to the lower portion of the right lung. This region extends down toward the diaphragm and occupies a substantial part of the back of the lower rib cage.

Place a hand on the lower-right ribs if it is comfortable. Sense how the ribs move beneath your hand when you inhale. Can you feel movement toward the side? Can you also imagine expansion toward the back and toward the spine?

Attend to the diaphragm beneath the lungs. As you inhale, the diaphragm descends and creates space for the lungs to expand. The lower ribs can widen as part of that movement. As you exhale, the diaphragm rises and the ribs return.

See whether you can allow the abdomen to remain available rather than holding it in. Sense the relationship among the abdomen, lower ribs, back, and pelvis.

Imagine the breath moving into the right lower lobe. Do not strain to make it happen. Let the anatomical image and the sensation of the ribs inform your intention.

After several breaths, let your hand return and rest. Compare the right side with the left. Notice whether the right lower ribs feel larger, softer, warmer, or simply easier to sense.

Combining the Right Upper and Lower Lobes

Begin to alternate your attention between the right upper lobe and the right lower lobe. With one breath, direct your attention upward beneath the collarbone. With the next breath, direct your attention downward toward the diaphragm and lower ribs.

Then see whether you can sense both regions within one breath. Imagine the right lung lengthening between its upper and lower portions. Feel the ribs moving in several directions rather than only lifting in front.

Notice what happens in the right side of the spine, the right shoulder blade, and the right side of the pelvis when you breathe this way. The breath occurs in the chest, but the organization of breathing involves more of you.

Rest. Let the breath return to whatever it does without your direction.

The Right Middle Lobe

Bring your attention to the middle lobe of the right lung. This lobe lies more toward the front and side of the chest, between the upper and lower regions you have already explored.

Place your right hand on the side of the ribs or slightly toward the front, wherever you can comfortably sense the middle portion of the right chest. Imagine the breath moving into the area beneath your hand.

Sense whether the ribs can widen sideways. Notice whether the sternum moves. Attend to the space between the ribs and the relationship between this part of the chest and the right shoulder blade.

Now alternate among the upper, middle, and lower lobes. Give each region enough time that you can form a distinct intention. Then allow all three regions to participate together.

Sense the entire right lung expanding in three dimensions. There may be movement toward the front, the side, the back, the spine, the collarbone, and the diaphragm. You do not need all of these sensations to be equally clear.

Rest and compare the two sides of your chest. Notice your face, shoulders, arms, ribs, pelvis, and feet. Does the right side feel organized differently from the left?

First Standing Comparison

Come forward on the chair and stand slowly. Place your feet comfortably apart. Let your arms hang.

Sense your height and the distribution of weight through the feet. Notice the right side of your chest and the left. Is one shoulder lower or easier? Does one arm hang differently? Is the movement of breathing clearer on one side?

Take a few easy steps if you have room. Notice whether the right side participates differently in walking. Then return to the chair and sit near the front again.

The Left Lung

Bring your attention to the left lung. It has two lobes, an upper and a lower lobe. Begin with the upper-left chest beneath the collarbone. Imagine the breath branching from the windpipe and entering the left upper lobe.

Sense the front, side, and back of the upper-left ribs. Notice the relationship to the left shoulder blade and the sternum. You may place your left hand on the upper chest if that helps.

Then bring your attention to the lower-left lung near the diaphragm and the lower ribs. Feel or imagine expansion toward the side and back. Notice whether the movement differs from what you experienced on the right.

Alternate between the upper and lower lobes. Then allow them to participate together. Sense the left lung lengthening and widening within the chest.

Side Bending to Open the Left Ribs

Place your right hand over the top of your head or near the left side of the head, wherever the arm can remain comfortable. Very gently begin to incline your head and torso toward the right. Do not turn or force. Allow the left side of the ribs to lengthen as you bend.

Return toward the center and repeat several times. Sense how the ribs on the left side separate slightly as the torso inclines right. Notice what happens between the pelvis, spine, ribs, shoulder, neck, and head.

Remain a little to the right, within comfort, and breathe into the left lung. Direct your attention first toward the upper lobe and then toward the lower lobe. Sense whether the increased space between the left ribs changes what you can feel.

If it is comfortable, bring the left hand to the left side of the ribs. The hand can follow the movement of the ribs while the right arm helps support the gentle side bending. Let the breath expand beneath the left hand.

Return to the center slowly. Lower the arms and rest. Notice the two sides of the chest and the contact of the pelvis with the chair.

You are always free to rest sooner. The rest allows the nervous system to register the difference and gives you an opportunity to sense changes that might be hidden while you are moving.

Returning to the Right Lung

Bring your attention back to the right lung. Sense the upper, middle, and lower lobes. Compare how available they feel now with how they felt earlier.

Alternate the intention from one lobe to another. Then combine the upper and middle lobes, the middle and lower lobes, and the upper and lower lobes. Finally, include all three.

Notice how the intention changes the movement of the ribs. Sense what happens in front, at the side, behind you, and toward the spine.

Rest. Allow your breathing to organize itself.

Folding Forward and Breathing Into the Posterior Right Ribs

Interlace your fingers behind your head. Allow the elbows to come somewhat forward without pulling on the neck. Slowly let the head and upper back round forward. The movement should be small and easy.

As you fold, sense the back of the ribs widening. The shoulder blades move away from the spine, creating more space across the back of the chest.

Remain comfortably forward and direct your breath toward the back of the right lung. Sense the upper-right ribs behind the shoulder blade, the middle region, and the lower ribs nearer the diaphragm. Imagine the breath moving toward the spine and into the back of the chest.

Come upright slowly. Lower the arms and rest. Compare the front and back of the right chest.

Folding Forward and Breathing Into the Posterior Left Ribs

Interlace the fingers behind the head again. Let the elbows come forward and gently round the head and upper back. Sense the shoulder blades separating and the back ribs widening.

Direct the breath toward the back of the left lung. Explore the upper-left region behind the shoulder blade and the lower-left ribs near the diaphragm. Notice whether the sensation differs from the right.

Allow the back of the chest to expand without trying to take a huge breath. Sometimes a smaller breath gives you more detailed information.

Come upright slowly, lower the arms, and rest.

Alternating and Integrating the Two Lungs

Sense both lungs. Direct one breath toward the right and the next toward the left. Notice whether the intention is accompanied by a shift in the ribs, spine, sternum, shoulder blades, or pelvis.

On the right, move your attention among the upper, middle, and lower lobes. On the left, move between the upper and lower lobes. Then allow all five lobes to participate together.

Sense the breath expanding three-dimensionally. Feel movement toward the front and back, toward both sides, upward beneath the collarbones, and downward toward the diaphragm. Let the ribs, spine, sternum, abdomen, and shoulder blades participate.

Now stop directing the breath. Sit and observe what happens on its own. Notice whether the breath feels fuller, quieter, more balanced, or simply different.

Final Standing Scan

Come forward and stand slowly. Let the arms hang. Sense the support of the floor beneath both feet and the organization of your pelvis, spine, chest, and head.

Notice your breathing in standing. Compare the right and left sides. Sense the front, sides, and back of the chest. Is it easier to feel the movement of the lower ribs or the areas beneath the shoulder blades?

Walk around for a few moments. Let the breath continue without deliberately controlling it. Notice whether the movement of walking and the movement of breathing relate differently than they did at the beginning.

Closing and Application

You can now use what you learned as preparation for your regular breathing practice. If you practice Tummo, Wim Hof–style breathing, or pranayama, begin by sensing which portions of the lungs are participating. Notice whether your breath has become more complete or three-dimensional and whether you can direct it with less effort.

You do not need to hold on to a particular result. The useful part is the ability to sense differences and make new choices. Each time you return to the lesson, you may notice something different.

Thank you for joining me. Take care.

Using This Lesson With Other Breathing Practices

Gluing in the Lungs #1 is a sensory-learning lesson rather than an instruction in a specific breathwork system. It does not teach the breathing ratios, retentions, locks, repetitions, or philosophical framework of Tummo, the Wim Hof Method, or pranayama.

Its role is more foundational. By distinguishing the lobes, sides, surfaces, and movements of breathing, you may begin your established practice with a clearer image of what you are doing. You can notice where effort appears, where movement is available, and whether a change in position or intention changes the experience.

If you continue into a more intensive practice after this lesson, pause first and assess how you feel. Then follow the instructions and safety guidance appropriate to that practice rather than treating this Feldenkrais lesson as a substitute for them.

Related Resources

• Wim Hof–Style Breathing With Differentiated Arm and Leg Positions — A separate nine-round guided breathing practice that applies differentiated positions to the five lung lobes.
• Your Eyes Organize Your Body for Movement — A guided Awareness Through Movement lesson exploring how the eyes participate in organizing the neck, back, shoulders, and whole-body movement.
• Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais — The source book containing “Thinking and Breathing,” the lesson adapted in this recording.
• Watch the original video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDmiCYACSvU
• Explore Breathing audio series by Al Wadleigh