"Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inward to illuminate your self. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will be manifest."
- Dogen
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Fundamental Breath
Breath is the tool we use to work with prana, and allows us to feel and direct energy upward. The goal of yoga sadhana is to go beyond body/mind and reach a state of cosmic consciousness. Asanas (postures) are a means of consciously controlling the body’s movements and thoughts; to develop the ability to sit still for a very long time in meditation without deviating one way or another. Asana practice opens and purifies the nadis (energy channels) in the body so that prana may flow freely. The breath sweeps the mind of thoughts and helps the practitioner bring his or her attention to the present, to the now. Steady breath allows the mind to focus and results in an unimpeded flow of energy throughout the body. In contrast, focus on limitations during asana practice gives them energy; thus they become stronger. Asana practice is a time to let go, to surrender to the breath and embrace where we’re at in the moment, knowing that change is inevitable. We must not to hold on too tightly to anything. Focus on even breath develops pratyahara, the ability to detach oneself from one’s efforts and body/mind fluctuations. Basically, the quality of breath reflects the mind in posture: smooth, even breathing will train the mind to be present, and give it a peaceful non-attached quality.
Though we are all separate living beings, we all come from the same source, the same root. We’re all humans, but with individual characteristics, like different branches of the same tree. Any thoughts we have are thrown out into the universe and received by anyone on the same frequency, who’s feeling particularly receptive to such things. That’s why it’s so important to think positive uplifting thoughts, to deliberately raise the cosmic consciousness of humanity. The entire atmosphere is filled with atoms of air that once filled the lungs of everyone who ever lived. We are breathing each other! We are all sharing consciousness in the same way that we share the air we breathe, so the awakening of consciousness in one individual will benefit all others. By connecting to the breath in each asana, by working on ourselves, we help each other to pursue the real goal of human live: evolution and liberation from the body/mind and reintegration with the divine. back |