From Cassandra Louris’ Tantric Sex (1999)

This is an extremely powerful breathing pattern. It is wonderful for massaging the abdominal organs and often places us in a very deep state of relaxation. This exercise will require lying down twenty to thirty minutes without interruptions. This is a double series of twenty-one breaths. In the first series, start with an easy, normal breathing. Make each succeeding inhalation fuller than the previous one. By the twenty first inhalations you are at your maximum inhalation. On the second series of twenty-one, reverse the pattern. Starting with the maximum inhalation, make each succeeding inhalation less full than the preceding one until you are back to your easy breathing by the twenty-first. This pattern is named the ocean breath since the inhalation looks like an ocean wave rolling in: It fills up first at the pelvic floor and rolls up the abdomen, up the chest, and on up to the neck. In the first few breaths, however, the ocean-like movement will not be obvious. To exhale, simply let go and let the breath flow or rush out on its own. Do not contract the chest or abdominal muscles. To make certain the inhalation expands in both the lower abdomen and the chest, you can rest a palm on each area. It is very, very important not to rush any of the breaths.