Breath is Life

Breath is directly linked to life force energy. Yoga often uses the word prana which refers both to the breath and to the vital energies of our body.  As we move breath through the body, we also move Prana. The steadiness, fullness and depth of our breath reflects the same characteristics of that vital flow of energy. The practice of pranayama, the fourth limb of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, is the practice of intentionally directing the movement of the breath. It requires practice to become aware of our breath and to direct it intentionally. As we focus our attention on the movement of our inhales and exhales, our awareness is drawn inward to experience ourselves on a deeper, less distracted level. So how does this benefit us? What are the effects of breath control?

On the physiological level, breath is literally life. The oxygen we take into our bodies through breath is processed through our lungs and heart into our blood where it is transferred throughout the body to every single cell. Within the cells, oxygen is the catalyst for the chemical reaction that creates energy, it keeps our cells alive. Our cells breathe. Breath equals prana equals life. The more effective our breathing, the healthier our bodies are on the cellular level. The health of our cells affects the well being of the entirety of our anatomy: our abdominal organs, our brain, our muscles, bones, skin, blood… literally everything.

While breathing is something that happens naturally without our effort it is also something that we can control, direct, and manipulate. It can happen on the subconscious level as well as the conscious level, a function of the autonomic as well as the somatic nervous systems. It is the only system in the body like this. 

The autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic, our fight, flight, or freeze response, and parasympathetic, our rest and digest function. You may easily observe how the breath responds within these two functions. When we are stressed, experiencing some extreme emotion or circumstance, our breath becomes quick, forceful, possibly erratic. When we are at rest, calm, and peaceful, our breath slows, and lengthens, even quiets. Our breath responds to our state of mind and emotions. This relationship also exists in the reverse. Our nervous system is affected by our breath. By intentionally slowing, lengthening, deepening the breath, we send a message via the diagram and vegas nerve throughout our body that all is well, we are safe, we are at peace, slowing the heart rate and initiating relaxation. Through the breath, we can control the state of our minds and emotions, we can control our experiences. 

In our asana practice, we are increasingly challenging the steadiness of our breath. The first layer of an asana practice, especially a vinyasa method, is the breath. The breath establishes a rhythm and dynamic, and we then layer movement over it. Ideally the movement and positions of our bodies do not alter the pace, rhythm, or tone of our breath. Of course, this is difficult, this is the challenge, this is the point. We are intentionally creating increasingly intense situations for our nervous system and then requiring our breath to remain steady, requiring our nervous system to remain steady. This practice over time lengthens the space between impulses, allowing us the time to make intentional discriminative choices of response rather than pre-thought reaction. Establishing control of breath affects the experience of our nervous system, allowing us to grab the reins of our impulses, directing thought and eventually life force energy.

Pranayama practice similarly creates a challenge for our nervous system but instead of maintaining an even steadiness of breath, it varies the rhythm and pace of breath, working with retentions and alternating the use of the nostrils. By challenging the extremes of breath, it challenges the experience of the nervous system and asks us to remain calm, remain at peace, remain in control. Physiologically, it strengthens the muscles of respiration and increases lung capacity which improves the efficacy of the function of breathing.

New research is still being done on the breath, particularly how it affects our brain and its functions. One recent study I’ve heard about focused on different mindfulness practices, like yoga asana and meditation. They found that the common link that resulted in neurological benefits was the attention to the breath. Another breath study of epileptics came to a similar conclusion, they observed that different types of controlled breathing activated different regions of the brain, noting that simply focusing on controlling the breath may be the key. Our focused intention lights up otherwise un-accessed parts of the brain. A third study I recently came across was related to how breath affects the cleansing function of brain fluid. The fluid of the brain is meant to draw out impurities and toxins to be filtered and released from the body. The depth and breadth of the breath seemed to increase the volume and effectiveness of this process which has implications for diseases like Alzheimers. 

The breath is our link between the conscious and subconscious mind. It is the communication between our body’s experience and our mind’s awareness. It is connection. The breath supports the vitality of every key cell in our body, affecting the functionality of every system. It is the force that drives vitality, prana. It is life. Giving attention to breath in our yogic practices provides deep and broad benefits to our body, mind, and spirit.

Demystifying the Mysore Method

Demystifying the Mysore Method

I teach the Mysore method of Ashtanga Yoga.  Have you heard of it? If you practice any yoga technique you have probably heard of Ashtanga, but Mysore may be a mystery.  And even if you have some knowledge of what Mysore is, the idea of taking a class may be a bit intimidating.  I totally understand. It is hard to anticipate what you are in for when you think about taking your first Mysore class. However, it really is a very welcoming and inclusive form of yoga practice even for beginners. Maybe especially for beginners. Allow me to clear up some of the haze around the mysterious Mysore Method.

First of all, let’s be clear on what Ashtanga is. Ashtanga Yoga is a vinyasa method. Vinyasa refers to the synchronizing of movement to breath. Breath is the first layer, a steady flowing of in and out, setting the pace and dynamic of your yoga practice. The body’s movement is layered over the constant rhythm of the breath. In a vinyasa method, such as Ashtanga, the postures, moments of stillness, are linked by transitional movement sequences. Every breath has an assignment, either to maintain and deepen the experience within the posture or to transition from one posture to the next. In this way, the mental connection to the practice can remain unbroken. From the first inhalation to the last exhalation, the practitioner is asked to stay focused, stay engaged, stay in their yoga.

Ashtanga is a vinyasa method that has a set sequence of postures. You do the same postures in the same order ever time. The sequence is progressive in that each posture is built on the information received from previous ones. There are six series of postures, each one more challenging than the last. The first is referred to as Primary Series, also Yoga Chikitsa, yoga therapy, and is intended to rehabilitate the body. The postures address the main areas of the body: spinal column, hips, knees, shoulders, as well as the internal organs. The intention is to assist in healing old injuries, correcting chronic patterns, and bringing the body to its most optimal neutral state. The second series, referred to as intermediate series, or Nadi Shodana, is a practice of nerve cleansing. This practice deals with purifying the energy channels of the body. The third series and beyond continue to challenge the physical body and the subtle bodies of energy, mind, emotion, and spirit in increasingly deep and intense ways. Each series can take many years to learn and fully integrate. Most practitioners find a lifetime of benefit within the primary series alone. A handful may venture into the intermediate series and only a few work their way into the advanced series of Ashtanga Yoga. 

Mysore then is the traditional self-practice approach to the Ashtanga technique. It derives its name from the city in India, Mysuru, where it developed and where the current head of the lineage continues to live and teach. In a Mysore class, each student moves independently, according to the timing of their own breath, through the sequence of postures as they have learned them from their teacher. The teacher moves through the room, giving assistance, instruction, and guidance as needed on a one on one basis. This method requires a commitment of time and effort. Frequent and consistent practice results in deeper understanding and greater connection to the work of the yoga. It is considered to be a daily practice that includes one day of rest per week, rest on the full and new moons, and rest for women during their monthly cycles.

When a student new to the practice begins, the teacher provides a lot of attention and instruction, teaching them the beginning sequences of the practice, bit by bit. They do not need to know anything about Ashtanga to begin, they don’t even need to know anything about yoga! The instructor meets them where they are and teaches them the practice at the pace that best suits them. Every practitioner is different and this method honors that. The teacher determines the student’s readiness to progress deeper into the challenges of the practice. As the student mentally integrates the order of postures and physically integrates the information of each pose, the teacher gives them more information, more poses, building slowly and intentionally through the series.

The nature of the method allows for a significant amount of independence for the student. They are required to memorize the order of postures and to flow through them according to that memory. They are also given the space and time to give attention to areas they struggle with. A student may do one posture two or three times to work on obstacles before continuing through the sequence, or may stay a bit longer in order explore an experience. There is opportunity for each student to do the work they need to do in order to best receive benefit of the practice.

This method also allows for a relationship to develop between student and teacher. A good teacher of Ashtanga Mysore is assessing your progress as it projects forward into the days, weeks, months, even years to come. They are aiming to develop a program that will help you navigate the practice according to your specific strengths and weakness. Trust grows in this relationship based on an understanding and empathy from the teacher and a knowledge that the teacher has themselves gone through the same process. The student is tasked with finding their teacher, the person they connect with, can trust, and allow the overall guidance of their practice. 

Ashtanga Mysore can be an incredibly transformative yoga practice. The set sequence allows for a daily checking in of progress and the fluctuations caused by…well, life. If the practice remains the same, day to day, what changes? We do. Our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual states are subject to fluctuations. This is natural. The consistency and structure of the Ashtanga method is the framework within which we can become aware of and assess these fluctuations. As we develop understanding of how our lives affect us, we can make choices. We can learn to respond intentionally rather than react impulsively or out of habit. The set sequence also allows for muscle memory to develop, freeing the focus of the mind to enter a more meditative state. When we no longer have to think about what pose comes next, we can fully immerse in the present, in the sensations of the posture and the thoughts and emotions that arise. We can find and cultivate the inner witness of the present moment, the self that observes and can remain steady within the swirl of distraction. When the self can be at peace, no matter the intensity of the posture, the self can also be at peace no matter what challenges are encountered off the mat. 

From the Archives: March 30, 2019 Why Do You Practice Yoga?

Why Do You Practice Yoga?

I recently sat in on a book club meeting at a yoga studio. The book being discussed was A Way From Darkness by Taylor Hunt. It details his personal journey from addiction to healing through his Ashtanga Yoga practice. For the club meeting, the author himself skyped in to share in the discussion and answer questions. It was an inspirational afternoon. One thing in particular that Taylor said resonated deeply and has stuck with me. When asked how to remain disciplined in practice, how to continue to get up every morning, get on the mat, give energy to this practice, he answered that you have to find your Why. Capital W. 

We come to our yoga practice for many reasons. Maybe we are trying to get fit. Maybe we are trying to reduce stress. Maybe we just tagged along with a friend and ended up having a lot of fun! But if you practice for a while, you may find that your initial reasons cease to motivate you.

When you experience some physical restriction, an injury, pain, etc your yoga practice changes. It is hard to choose to get on your mat when you can’t do the same things you used to be capable of, when you have to move more slowly, or modify postures, or simply do less. Feeling good in your body is no longer a possible why. When the practice becomes challenging, you struggle with a new posture that you really want to accomplish, you struggle to build strength, or access greater flexibility, you find yourself being critical of your own efforts and self-judgment arises, difficult emotions that you just don’t want to deal with, difficult thought patterns and beliefs arise that you struggle to hold onto or struggle to let go of - a peaceful state of mind no longer seems like a possible why. When the friend that first brought you to class no longer attends, when you find yourself making different choices in your daily life so that you can take class, giving up late nights or that happy hour, or choosing a salad over that burger, you may wonder if the is practice still fun? Is socializing and having a good time still your why?

Find your Why. When you struggle with thoughts of “Why am I doing this?” “Is this really my practice?” “Am I really going to do this for the rest of my life?” it is time for some reflection. It is time to be honest with yourself about why you are choosing this practice. What is your Why? Capital W. In order to continue, day after day, through the difficulties, the challenges, the aches and pains, the emotional turmoil, the tedious work work work, the Why has to be big. Bigger than the pain in your knee, bigger than the tears, bigger than that cocktail, even bigger than that relationship. 

Find your Why. No one can tell you what that is. And it will be a reckoning you face time and time again as you continue your yoga journey. All yoga, every method, every practice is at its heart, a method of self-discovery, of self-revealing. If your yoga does not challenge you to look deep within, beyond the experience of the body, the mind, even the heart, it is not fulfilling its purpose. If you are struggling with this question, “Why am I doing this?” then you are deep within a truly transformative moment. Stay. Stay with the question. Don’t resist it, don’t judge its presence, or try to wish it away. Find your Why. The Why that makes everything else worth it. The Why that gives true meaning and purpose to the work. The question is your teacher. Settle into it, let it wrap around you and seep into you. The answer will come. 

Why do I choose this practice? Because I truly believe that there is a profound spiritual truth buried deep within my awareness and my daily practice is a slow and gradual digging and cleansing and revealing, like excavating an important archeological site with a toothbrush. My Why is the need to experience the true nature of my divine self. That Why is worth anything I might experience on my mat, it gets me through every difficult moment of doubt and feelings of defeat, it is bigger than all of my questions.

Find your Why.

From the Archives: January 25, 2018 Multi-Dimensional Yoga Practice

Multi-Dimensional Yoga Practice

There are so many different methods of yoga out there these days, and even more different types of teachers. And thank goodness for that, because there are just as many different types of students. I am someone who believes that there is a yoga for everyone, you just have to find it! It can take a while, sometimes years, before a student finds the right method, teacher, class for them. 

The key is to recognize how you approach your yoga practice, and then search for experiences that take you further. According to Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, an ancient yogic text often considered to be the quintessential guide to practitioners, yoga is restraining the tendencies of the mind. Yoga asks us to identify our tendencies and get out of the groove of our comfort zones, what he calls, samskara. Yoga is a practice of self-transformation. There is no growth when we stick to what we know, what we have always done. It is in the unknown spaces that we discover ourselves. 

I see four primary ways that people interact with their world, other people, and themselves. They are Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Spiritually. While we undoubtedly have a combination of these factors influencing our lives, there is probably one that takes the lead. Think about the environments that you feel most comfortable in, your career, your favorite school subjects, your hobbies and interests. Your influencing characteristic will also guide your choice of yoga class. Do you prefer a method that is more alignment based, or energetic? Something vigorous or something restorative? Do you prefer a teacher that focuses on anatomy or one that speaks of more metaphysical directions? 

It is easy to settle into a class that feeds our tendencies, the way we are most comfortable connecting to ourselves. We love taking classes with teachers whose sequences happen to be all of the poses we can actually do and enjoy doing! But then, where is the growth? If there is no space to assess ourselves through new experiences, we are missing out on the opportunity to evolve, and this is the true intention of any yoga method - to move beyond the self that we think we know, to get to know the true nature of the self. 

A truly beneficial method, teacher, or class, is one that provides enough of what is familiar to you to give you a sense of comfort and trust, to allow you to connect but also encourages you to experience yourself in other ways. The word “yoga” is often translated to mean union. The experience of yoga is a union of all aspects of the self - the body, the mind, the heart, and the soul. It may be a bit scary to step into unknown experiences. In fact, it probably should be! Certainly it should challenge you.

Yoga should aim to move you beyond what you think you know, to what you had no idea was already there. This may mean you discover that your body is more capable than you thought, or that you actually really enjoy meditation, or maybe that you enjoy studying philosophies and reading texts. You are more than your body, a collection of muscles and bones - more than your anatomy. You are more than data gathering and questions - more than your thoughts. You are more than your senses, your desires, and expressions - more than your feelings. You are more than philosophies and ideas - more than your beliefs. You are a combination of these and beyond them at the same time. You are a being having experiences, don’t limit yourself as to how you receive them. Explore them all!

From the Archives: January 5, 2018 A Time to Listen

A Time to Listen 

We are living in a challenging and powerful time. A bright light is being aimed at our shadows of racism, sexism, misogyny, xenophobia, prejudice, violence, and hate. These elements of our nature have always existed, though sometimes they have changed forms, sometimes hid from view, sometimes remained visible but ignored. Systemic, institutionalized oppressions are being identified and called out. Claims of injustice are beginning to be taken seriously. Evidence via phone cameras brings horrors that have always been experienced by some to the consciousness of the many. Groups are collecting, unifying to bring about change. What certainly may be an increase in hate and violence recently is coinciding with greater illumination of what has always been there.

The marginalized populations have always known. Women have always known the degree to which they experience harassment, assault, manipulations of power dynamics. People of color have always known that systems of racism were alive, well, and strong. Trans people have always been aware of the dangers they face when confronted with fear and ignorance. Oppressed people are gaining agency in spaces where they had little or none. Now, those of us that have never been affected personally are becoming aware. And now, we are faced with choices. We can continue to bury our heads in the sand, deny and fight the truth, or we can join this building wave, support the voices demanding justice and change, contribute our efforts to something important and right.

My two children are biracial. While I think of myself as someone who always believed in equality, a feminist and anti-racist, having children that are directly affected by racist ideologies and institutions has certainly made it personal - to a degree. My first son was born six years ago, and at the time I had an idealized view of interracial relationship, and the biracial offspring born of them. My immediate community was diverse and had been for years. I had minimal negative experiences related to my relationship, my friendships, my work, etc. Of the very few I had, I was able to package them up as isolated, fringe, and atypical. Discussions in my personal life or online that became racially charged were a place that I felt comfortable standing up, speaking out. I would passionately share what I believed and then move on with my life. 

As the Black Lives Matter movement gathered strength, and my boys got older, and a new president was elected, I found myself speaking out less and listening more. I began from a place of desire to identify, to myself and others, as non-racist, or anti-racist. It took a while to recognize how self-serving that desire was, and that it literally benefited no one but myself. I decided to only offer my voice when it would benefit the conversation, when it would positively contribute to the fight. In conversations where I used to know exactly what to say, I found myself at a loss for words. I don’t want to say the wrong thing, to offend, to appear ignorant, or arrogant. I felt helpless. And I think this is appropriate. This has been a part of my process. I gradually came to recognize that I, as a white female, will never, ever know what it is like to exist in our culture as a man, as a person of color, as a non-cisgendered person. I came to acknowledge when and where my voice is not needed, not beneficial, not helpful. As I found myself in spaces, both virtual and real, where important conversations were being had, instead of speaking, I learned to listen. 

I listened to the points of view of bigoted, ignorant, racist people. I listened and heard their beliefs, I learned of their pain, fear, anger. I learned what I shared with them, how I was like them. I listened and learned from the privileged, from the saviors and light workers. I learned that people don’t feel comfortable exploring and acknowledging their darkness - that of their culture and that of their soul. I listened and learned from POC. I came to recognize how little I knew, how little I understood, and how great was my own participation in and benefit from  systems of inequality and dynamics of power and marginalization. 

I am still immersed in this process, but through listening I am coming to acknowledge when my voice should stay silent. There are organizations and forums and conversations where the voices of POC are strengthening and getting louder and finally being heard. In these spaces, my voice is not needed, or wanted, or beneficial. There is nothing I can add to the conversation from my perspective, from my life experience, that produces anything beyond a salve to my own white guilt and sense of helplessness. In these spaces, I can offer myself as a soldier at their command, an additional hand set to a task. I can offer myself as a support to their work. 

There are places I have decided I can affect change, where my voice can be heard. It is in conversations with other white people. There are spaces where POC are not invited, where their voices are silenced. Those people that would not hear a black person, might hear me. A message that would be resisted if coming from a person of color, might seep through the barriers when spoken by me. When I am in a white dominated space and racism is present, my voice needs to be heard. For too long, we have been silent as our uncles tell inappropriate jokes, when we observe our boss passing up qualified employees because of their name, when a random comment by a stranger in line at the grocery store is said a little too loudly. These are the places we should be speaking. Our silence is complicity.

Each day that passes and my boys get older, I become more and more unsure of how to raise them in this world. I mentioned above that this issue has become a personal one only to a degree. I am limited in my understanding of what they will experience by my whiteness and my gender. I have no idea how they will experience the world as children born of such different truths as mine and their father’s. What I can do now is listen: To the world as new voices and truths rise to the forefront, and to my boys, as they begin to share their world with me. Their experiences will form their truth and will inform my reaction which will, in turn, influence their reality. I will make mistakes, I have already made so many. But if I listen, I may continue to learn something along the way.

A spiritual practice, like yoga, asks us to be present. To face our challenges, to sit in difficulty and just breathe. We aim to find steadiness and peace in our discomfort, pain, and ugliness. As you struggle to find your place in this time of change and activism, I ask you to take this method of self-study beyond the mat. Stay in moments of discomfort, pain, and ugliness. Don’t avoid the darkness, in fact, seek it out. Join Facebook groups that you wouldn’t otherwise be a part of. Go to community meetings. Go to social venues that stray outside of your usual. Have conversations with people different than you. Stay, breathe - and listen. As you absorb the truths of another’s experience, you will learn where you fit. You will learn how to apply your unique circumstances, perspective, skills, and talents to something important.

*This was first published on Omstars. com