Three Part Daoist Breathing: A Guided Practice with Bernie Clark
Explore Three Part Daoist Breathing in this short movement-and-breath tutorial with Bernie Clark. Rather than holding one posture, we coordinate three pairs of inhalations and exhalations with reaching, opening and folding. Bernie begins upright on his knees with his hands at his sides; each cycle finishes by folding into Child’s Pose. The guide below follows his demonstration, including when to rise for another cycle and when to remain in the final resting pose.
- By: Kevin Parenteau
- Published:
- Reviewed: November 2, 2026
Step-by-Step Guide to Three Part Daoist Breathing
One cycle of Three Part Daoist Breathing contains three inhale-and-exhale pairs. Follow the movements in this order:
- Prepare upright on your knees. Bernie begins with his hands resting at his sides. Exhale and let your shoulders drop before starting the first movement.
- First inhale: reach up. Let your arms float out to the sides and overhead. Look up if that feels available, as Bernie suggests.
- First exhale: press out to the sides. Bring your hands behind your head, then press your arms outward. Bernie demonstrates a deliberately muscular movement here; watch the video to see its character.
- Second inhale: draw in and lift. Bring your fingertips toward your shoulders and lift your chest.
- Second exhale: round forward. Push your hands forward, round your back and lower your chin toward your chest. Bernie cues the navel moving toward the spine as you breathe out.
- Third inhale: turn the palms up and reach. Turn your palms upward, lift your arms and look up, allowing the slight backbend shown in the demonstration.
- Third exhale: fold into Child’s Pose. Bow forward and lower into Child’s Pose. During the earlier cycles, rise again with the next inhale; after the last cycle, remain in the pose.
The Three Part Daoist Breathing Practice Flow
Use the video to see how the separate movements become a continuous flow. The first cycle is explained slowly; after the first fold into Child’s Pose, Bernie Clark cues another rising inhale rather than a long pause.
- Follow the repetitions. At about 0:45, rise into the next Three Part Daoist Breathing cycle. At about 1:11, Bernie cues two more cycles. On the final fold, around 2:07–2:14, stay in Child’s Pose instead of rising again.
- Keep each breath cue distinct. Drawing the fingertips toward the shoulders accompanies an inhale; pushing the hands forward and rounding the back accompanies the following exhale. These are successive movements, not an inhale and exhale at the same time.
- Explore the attention cue. Around 1:20, Bernie invites you to try closing your eyes and feeling the breath move you. It is an invitation within the demonstration, not a requirement for learning the sequence.
The clip demonstrates this kneeling Three Part Daoist Breathing sequence without offering chair-based or other position modifications. Those alternatives would need separate instruction rather than being assumed from this video.
What to Notice During Three Part Daoist Breathing
Bernie’s Three Part Daoist Breathing demonstration gives us a few specific things to explore. Rather than expecting a particular result, notice what happens as you coordinate the breath and movement:
- The relationship between breath and movement. Notice how the body rises and opens on the inhalations, then presses outward, rounds or folds on the exhalations.
- The rhythm of repetition. As the sequence becomes familiar, notice whether you can follow the next breath cue without rushing ahead to the next movement.
- The change from movement to stillness. Compare the brief folds between cycles with the final stay in Child’s Pose. The ending gives you time to notice your breath after the movement stops.
Daoist (Daoism) vs Taoist (Taoism): What’s the Difference?
According to Wikipedia, these are alternative spellings.
The English words Daoism (/ˈdaʊ.ɪzəm/) and Taoism (/ˈtaʊ.ɪzəm/) are alternative spellings for the same-named Chinese philosophy and religion. The root for Daoism or Taoism is the Chinese word 道 (“path” or “way”), which was transcribed tao or tau in the earliest systems for the romanization of Chinese and dao or dau in 20th century systems.
Sources
Kevin Parenteau
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