Ordinary people, like you and me, can become adept with the breath

With Left Right Yoga, you don't need to be a special person and you don't need a guru. It is okay if you have a guru, but this practice doesn't require it. A few good friends to practice with in the morning, will suffice. 

An ordinary person, like you and me, over time can become very adept at the breath. The breath becomes very subtle and refined, but you are going to have to practice. The pattern of our breath changes by small degrees everyday. There are now over 20 people on the broadcasts who have become very adept with their breath. Many have passed the 1000th day of uninterrupted practice. 

We make practice interesting. The breath class is a cornucopia of fun: Left Right Yoga postures, mudras and dharanas come alive. We grow the practice together as an online community; it is easier that way to stay focused. By grace, we have become amazing good friends over the internet during the last few years. It is open to all.

What does it mean, to become adept with the breath? With enough Left Right Breath, the breath becomes pliable, equanimous and contented, pretty much all the time. The mind becomes "sattvic" by the sheer enormity of constant re-patterning. We alternately stimulate and "massage" left and right cerebral hemispheres. Body, mind and emotions become very balanced. The breath starts to slow down. Your body no longer needs to breathe so fast. The breath slows down to a tortoise's pace. At one to three natural breaths per minute, your body and mind will find rest in the meditative zone. This becomes a real possibility for every one, in a natural way, not a controlling way.

You will discover "breath is life's greatest pleasure." Your mind will have moments of extraordinary clarity and your heart will be as bright as the sun. Anxiety leaves, and contentment becomes your default mind state.

Contraindications?

It is impossible to talk about breath practices without addressing what you find in Mr. Iyengar's books, on pranayama’s "contraindications."  It is true that there have been aneurysms and a few recorded deaths when people were taught the Classical Way: "Control the Breath." Most people have been taught willful pranayama, forceful breath holds, and the dreaded and unnecessary breath ratios. Mr. Iyengar is absolutely correct that the willful approach is full of dangers. Those traditional instructions he gives, are practices for a few special humans, who must have a guru, as he rightly cautions. 

As you may know, I have an allergy to the word "Breathwork." There have been many problems and a few deaths with modern day "Breathwork" and central neurogenic hyperventilation practices (here, here. here.) 

A basic difference between Classical Control Methods and This Next Breath is that we follow the Primordial Breath. We recognize a larger principle is involved, the inhale and exhale follow the movement of Spirit. The Breath, like the ocean, is always in charge. We listen instead.

What Iyengar warned about, those dangerous control-the-breath practices, is a very different approach to practice. Our experience has shown that control is simply unnecessary for progress.  Control is contraindicated. Without controlling, Left Right Yoga has proven with the experience of many adherents to be very safe and effective in producing a balanced, equanimous mind, lower blood pressure, greater lung volume. You will find yourself with a grateful heart and an extraordinary zest for life. Everything in this approach is easy, "tri-doshic" and useful for all. 

Rule #1: Love your Practice

If you haven't started a loving, grateful breath practice in the morning, begin now, before you are out of time.

24 minutes is the crucial teaching, not ratios, not controlling the breath

The crucial teaching on Nadi Shodhana (Left Right Breath) is:

It takes an established Hatha Yogi a minimum of 24 minutes of Left Right Breath everyday for 6 months to a year for the initial effects begin to work. Yes, it may take you a couple of months to work your way up to 24 minutes, and then another year, but so what? You are headed in the right direction. This 24 minutes of alternate stimulation of the hemispheres of the brain will become the most valuable and worthwhile adventure you have taken. But no one knows this, or values this, ahead of time!

Getting to 24 minutes is the reason for This Next Breath online courses and classes. It is designed to help an average person get to 24 minutes easily, joyfully, and start each day in a curious and inspired way. As we practice, we experiment, we focus and refocus in different postures, just like other yoga classes. We learn about the hands and the meridians, then pratyahara, the mind moving inside naturally comes alive, Mindfulness becomes super focused and we discover all the internal dharana practices.  The learning never stops once you get established in a daily 24 minute practice.

If a doctor tells you to take 24 mg of antibiotic with each meal, but you decide to cut the dose in half and only take it a three times a week, when you feel like it, you cannot expect the antibiotic to work. This is what yoga teachers have been teaching and practicing for the last few decades. Too little practice and then everyone, including the yoga teachers, miss out on the profound physical, mental, emotional and spiritual revolution that comes with significant pranayama practice.

Praana + Yama = “Control the Breath” 


or is it:


Praana + Ayama = “Free up, Liberate, the non-control of Breath”

This is a common discussion amongst the yogis.

The difference between these 2 broadly touted conceptions is clear. Many yoga teachers are focused on control, the mind controlling the Breath. Most Breath apps on your phone are about mind controlling the breath.

We are instructed to breathe in certain ratios in order to produce certain effects. Indeed, there is something to be learned by these practices. Willfully driven exercises can be useful for beginners, and are useful to illustrate a point. Ultimately they do us a disservice.

We were taught to practice for 3 rounds, 5 rounds, 5 -10 minutes, and after a while you work way up to controlling the breath according to a ratio. Classically, the Yogi Gold Standard is to inhale for 4, hold for 16 counts, exhale for 8 count. With our arm, neck and shoulder rigidly frozen and we soon discover this is a miserable practice. Almost no-one continues with this approach to pranayama for very long. Most people drop pranayama at this point, because it is a pain in the neck, or they get bored with the lack of love, the monotony and mind numbing drudgery.

Then we are instructed to willfully hold the breath.  In the advanced pranayama practice, we are told that the breath ultimately stops.  Again, stopping the breath is often taught as the ego mind stopping the breath. Indeed, there are many things to be learned with controlling practices. There are many physiological benefits that will occur when controlling practices are sustained over long periods of time, but controlling is so gruesome that most yogis fail miserably with this approach.

The question remains: “Who is doing the controlling?”  Is your personality in control with all of its wants and desires? The Ego mind, or worse still… is the Spiritual Ego Mind is in control?

There is a Better Way

Many yogis have pointed out, that the control approach, is a classical misinterpretation of the practice.

The other interpretation of praanaayaama is to, free up, liberate the breath and not-control the breath. But what does that mean? (read other blog posts.)

We surrender to the breath. We become curious about the Breath, perhaps even have fun with the breath. Let us listen to the breath, rather than be its master. Let’s listen to what is, listen to the breath revealing the moment, the “Spirit” unfolding.

But the crucial teaching is to everyday get to 24 minutes of alternate stimulation of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, preferably upon rising early in the morning.

Of all the remarkable insights and discoveries of the yogis, the most significant discovery of the yogis has always been right in front of our noses. Alternating the breath through one side of the body and then the other side. Simple. Too simple. Almost every beginner yogi is taught this practice. Back and forth, sun and moon, male and female metaphors abounding, the inhale is directed through one sinus and then the next.

Getting to 24 minutes joyfully with a deep sense of reverence and gratitude is why This Next Breath Practices were created. Anyone can do this. You don’t have to be a special person. And you will be so glad you took this path….  a few months from now. 

Relax with the Breath. Ahh, easy. 

“To practice or not to practice?” That’s NOT the question!

Practice is not a daily decision to decide upon.

“Do I wanna do practice this morning or not? Ugggg. I have no energy. I am sniffly. I am this… and I am that. I think I will go back to sleep in my nice warm bed. Its cold outside. And dark. I am going to do self-care today. That is my yoga.” We human beings have an infinite capacity to fool ourselves.

Someone remarked that I must be “very disciplined” to reach 1000 broadcasts. For me, the word discipline is about effort and willfulness. Indeed, strong effort is needed to begin any practice and get it going. Usually the 90 day mark, is when a new practice can turn into a lifestyle habit. But even after 90 days, many people lose their “discipline” because they think the whole idea is to be hard on oneself. That mindset is coming from the wrong place.

Indeed there is a hump to get over. But once you get over the first few hurdles and a bump or two, showing up for yourself gets easier. Eventually, any sustained practice must find its source in love, and joy, and a zest for living.

If I keep doing what I am doing,

I am going to wind up where I am headed!

Yes indeed! We become what we do. Once you truly understand the power of this rhythmic alternation of the hemispheres of the brain, at the moment of inspiration, then you make a commitment to yourself. “This is what I am practicing!”

Once you get the vision clearly in your mind, make the commitment to yourself.

Living Commitment eliminates making a choice. I live the commitment of showing up no matter what. It doesn’t matter if it feels good, if my body is sore, or what my mind may think, I practice anyway. And some days, practice is ragged, it doesn’t look glamorous or perfect, but I live the commitment. I show up for the breath, to investigate life, every morning. That shift alone is transforming. After practice, I am always glad that I didn’t listen to the comforting squirrelly thoughts that would take me away from here and now. I want to go, where this goes, being in the here and now.

Vision

I had the advantage of the ashram years, where I was with a group of focused yogis who got up everyday and did this practice. “Community is stronger than willpower,” they say. From a few years of uninterrupted sustained practice, I realized Anuloma Viloma’s supreme importance to the yoga tradition.

Gitanand and the author arriving in Mumbai, India in 1994

In 1994, I had the good fortune of living with Gitanand Grey Ward as his roommate for just under 4 months while we studied at the Lakulish Institute in Kayavarohan, India. Gitanand, a largely unrecognized yogi of very high caliber, was a tenured MIT physicist whose yoga practice was centered on anuloma viloma (Left Right Breath.) Living with him as he practiced his daily “mahurta” (48 minutes) was deeply inspiring. It planted the seed. I still see the vision of him sitting in our room motionless as his breath rate dropped below one breath per minute. A peaceful stillness permeated the room. The practice was effortless for him. There was no struggle or discipline at all. No doubt, early in his yoga life, he had his battles with himself. But those battles were over and the place he arrived at was electric and palpable. Everyday.

In Gitanand, I saw a living example of anuloma viloma realized and he would animatedly describe how the next stages of yoga, dharana, dhyana and samadhi, open up quite naturally and fairly quickly, once the pranayama is in place. I frequently offer Gitanand, who has now passed away, my thanks and gratitude.

Anuloma viloma has the potential to make an ordinary person’s life something extraordinary. I hope to provide inspiration and be a living example of this practice and thereby help others. There is a concentrated group of us now. If you want to start this practice, you have online friends to help you along the way. If you started this practice and stopped, begin again. Begin your practice today. You don’t have to be special; you just have to keep showing up.

Seize the Day

Now is the time to develop your spiritual life, each and every day. Practice, daily practice is the way to grow.

Let's face it. One or two days of practice, now and then, sporadic breath or meditation practice, doesn't yield results because the prana and the focus never get strong enough. 

The key is to set a specific time for practice. Many people say “I meditate all the time, all day long" which is great, but a specific time for formal practice is necessary.

What is THE time for meditation? The yogis said 4-6am.

“I can’t do that,” most people say. “I won’t do that.”

Okay, great let’s begin with this:
Step One: Get up a little earlier than normal rising time, and start with a 5 minute practice of watching the breath. Make the effort to get up a little bit earlier at whatever time you get up. Do a simple 5 minute breath practice, and you have a beginning. Just that much, done every day without missing a day can be the vital shift that changes your life. (Hint: It is easier to do this if you connect with friends who are doing the same practice with you.)

Step Two: Join us at 6am online for class, experiments and inspiration. One Ghatikaa 24 minutes of Left Right Breath.

When is the world really quiet in your neighborhood? 4-6am probably. The birds sing and the air is crisp. 7-8am is breakfast time for many and by 9am, the psychic noise in your neighborhood is loud. Everyone is in work mode. If you meditate at 10am everyday you may find your head is as thick as a brick. It is possible, but why put yourself at such a disadvantage. Why not build your best life by focusing on your spiritual life?

You may find that if you practice breath meditation later in the day around 10am as your only practice time, the practice soon falls apart. Life happens and you start missing practice days because of this reason and that excuse. When you miss days, you never get enough prana going. 

Before the sun rises, is a struggle worth winning. The sages and holy people all over the world, have cherished the dead quiet of the early morning as the time to communicate, commune and get in tune. Wake up before the sun.

The group is online and waiting for you. Community is stronger than willpower. Join us.

Many of the long term practitioners of This Next Breath get up at 4-5am and do their own morning practice, a seemless exploration of poses, Left Right Breath and still meditation. After personal practice, they then get on the 6am broadcast and support others and support the group. There are daily readings, themes and inspiration to start your day. It’s a good deal. And it is by donation.

God Stuff

For a few years, i have been writing “Sayings of the Breath,” a collection of spiritual poetry. It would be fun to publish these at some point. Here is one from this morning: “God Stuff”

Memory is who "we" are

Memory is who we are. Memory is not just a part of the brain and nervous system. Memory is what our identity is made of. Without memory, intelligence is lost. Who we think we are, is lost.

Then there is the “Present Moment.” It goes by in a flash and we scarcely notice it. Maybe once in a while we briefly touch down in the here and now. Then very quickly, off the mind goes into its daydream state, into our remembered stories, dialogues, opinions, dreams, hopes, plans, weighed down by our remembered tragedies and traumas.

The human race track is in quite a predicament because it is wholly dependent on memory for its identity.

Left Right Breath invites our fingers to spontaneously dance on the tip of the breath. Over and over with greater frequency, using the contact of the fingers, we gain access to sustained awareness of the “Present Moment.” The Breath is not something we just talk about, but follow it intensely. We naturally become more present to our life. As a by product of being with the breath, because we are repeatedly here and now, memory improves. Life becomes vivid and alive.

Interestingly enough, Left Right Breath has been shown to increase neuroplasticity and the growth of new neurons. The hippocampus and the olfactory bulbs are two areas that have the greatest potential for neuroplasticity. Both areas are strongly connected to memory.

Heart On versus Heart Off

For most people, this blog post will mean nothing to them. For a few yogis at a certain level of practice with mudras and breathing, this post could be very helpful.

Since birth, I have had a heart murmur. When I was born, the doctors had a big discussion on whether or not to operate on my heart, immediately after birth. They decided not to. When I played football in high school, I had chest pains and got winded easily. I began yoga and especially breathing practices when I was 26 years old.

During the course of my life, I have had 4 or 5 echocardiograms. Each time, when a doctor looks at my echo, they flip out. “OMG, you need surgery immediately!” Another cardiologist, who is retired now, took one look at my echo in 2007, 15 years ago and it gave him heart palpitations.

He said to me, “Do you have shortness of breath?” No.

“Do you have chest pains?” No.

“When you stand up, do you get dizzy?” No.

“Can you walk up a flight of stairs without resting.” Yes easily. ( I used to do 1st and 2nd series Ashtanga in the morning.)

“From what I see, you need surgery right now. Let’s keep watching this carefully and I can schedule your surgery anytime if this situation changes. You have a leaky mitral valve, a leaky bicuspid valve, and a very loud heart murmur.” This was 2007.

It is a different story, when I go to Chinese and Ayurvedic doctors. They do pulse diagnosis. “Wow. your heart meridian and pulse is very strong! It practically leaps into my fingers. This is surprising.”

I attribute my very good health to my lungs. I have big powerful lungs that take over the work of the heart, delivering oxygen to the mitochondria. I do 3 dimensional breathing and active inhale, active exhale as preparations. Most importantly, I practice “Nadi Shodhana” alternate left right breath for a minimum of one hour a day, but frequently 2 hours. Everyday, without fail, for years now. It is what I do.

Nadi Shodhana turns on the Nitric Oxide (NO.) Nadi Shodhana keeps a trickle charge of NO being released into the lungs and bloodstream all through the day which is a key factor of why the practice works. NO is a short lived “signal molecule” as well as a bronchodilator and vasodilator and many other things. The paranasal sinuses contribute a significant amount of NO to the flow of breath, entering the blood stream, each and every breath.

The sinuses must be turned on, cared for and properly tuned. Most people suffer from a lack of NO entering their lungs and bloodstream from the paranasal sinuses because they are mouth breathers. Mouth breathing is correlated to sinusitis, panic attacks, damage to the heart, circulation and a long list of medical conditions. Mouth breathing, fast breathing, over breathing is a medical disaster. If you have been following This Next Breath posts or the fascinating work of the Buteyko School, you already know the dangers of mouth breathing.

I am 64, I need to get a kidney stone removed and the doctors are beside them selves about my heart murmur. But I know what heart surgery means… I will be on the the dreaded Coumadin and 15 other pharmaceuticals for the rest of my life.

=======================

The Heart Mudra

Every morning, I lead a breath class at 6am ET. You are free to join. It is done by donation, community supported. We have crossed over 700 broadcasts now. When a person does large amounts of pranayama everyday, especially Left Right Breath, the fingers become very active. On the broadcasts we do many finger exercises that have surprising results and effects on the body.

For yogis who already study mudras, this next piece will make sense: I have been working with Hridaya or Apana Vayu Mudra for a few months now.

Many authors show this mudra in books and on websites with an important instruction and precaution missing. There is a critical distinction between curling in the 3rd and 4th fingers or stretching them out. One version turns the heart on the other version turns the heart off. They have opposite effects on the heart. It is so clear. I am acutely attuned to changes in my heart. This difference is not subtle. For my heart, Heart On versus Heart Off is no small thing.

There is a study in India that prana mudra ( a different mudra) had no statistically significant effect when practiced for 5 minutes. After 20 minutes, statistically measurable differences were observed. They found that when practitioners practiced for longer periods of time, the effects became measurable.

The length of practice matters. This is especially true when one is practicing Left Right Breath (Nadi Shodhana.) A minimum of 24 minutes everyday for many months is needed to begin to realize its effects. In a few months time, you will be glad you put in the initial effort, showed up for yourself every morning to get the practice going.

Keep watching this blog for interesting original content.

“I can’t go into surgery right nostril dominated!”

“Wake up sir, there are 15 minutes to go,” implored the nurse who was taking me into the Operating Room at Rhode Island Hospital.

“OMG! My sinuses!” was my immediate reaction. “Holy Shit! I can’t go under general anesthesia with my right nostril dominant!”

I was in a panic. As a breath oriented yogi, all day long I watch nostril dominance, like a cat watches the proverbial mouse hole.

“The left is seriously blocked. I am solar dominated.”

This is pretty much of a disaster from a yogic perspective. I say this, not because of the research that has been done on right nostril dominance, but from long personal experience and daily observation of what the solar side does physically, mentally and emotionally. Right nostril dominance leads to a sympathetic stress response. Research has shown extended right nostril dominance is actually a dangerous condition. Plugged on the left and stuck on the right side, and going into a drug induced unconsciousness, is a bad way to begin surgery.

I had a few minutes.

My daily practice is alternate left right breath for at least an hour every morning at 3am. I then lead a 40+ minute online broadcast by donation every day at 6am. This schedule has made me acutely aware of left versus right nostril dominance and the impact it has on life, body, thoughts and emotions. There are many times during the day when we want right nostril dominance. There are many times a day when we want left nostril dominance. In meditation, we invite a balance to happen. After many years of left right breath practice, it was obvious, lying on the gurney, what needed to happen.

In a supine position, I lengthened my spine, gently turned and tilted my head and neck to the right, dropped the left shoulder blade, and did alternate breathing with my right hand. Turning and tilting the neck to the right will invite the left side, the moon side, to wake up. Nothing doing.

Still resistant, I switched hands. I started using the left hand for alternate nostril breath and kept the chin turned to the right. I took my right thumb under the left hand and pressed the cheek bone away from the midline. It is okay to press the cheek bone hard. It often helps to do a little structural manipulation. The left sinus started to relent, but wasn’t completely finished.

The moon and solar sides of the body were in a process of getting balanced, but time was short. I had to speed things up. I tried a minute of humming and tapping. There is copious research on humming and its effect of vibrating the openings (the ostia) of paranasal sinuses releasing the body’s natural decongestant, nitric oxide. Humming can lead to a 15 fold increase of nitric oxide being released.

“Please nurse, give me another minute.” Uh oh. I don’t have time to get fully into balance.

“Fixing” and “fixing the sinuses” is sometimes a counterproductive mind state that often keeps problems stuck in place. Time to bring out the big guns!

The ultimate technique is to “surrender” to the situation. Let it go!

“Trying to let go” doesn’t work. “Trying to let go” is full of mental effort, a mind state that still resists reality.

“Let go” is dropping into aa effortless state of Being. Sometimes called the path of surrender, one comes into a deep acceptance of what is. Even attachment to a good outcome is completely renounced.

Left and right, sun and moon, ida and pingala came pleasantly back in harmony.

“Okay, I am ready. Give me that Versid and let’s do this.”

I believe being unbalanced when going into surgery is not uncommon. I suspect anesthesiologists, surgeons and doctors would have better outcomes if they tested to make sure patients are not right nostril dominant when going into the O.R. A worse situation is when both sinuses are blocked and the patient is mouth breathing. The research is out there and it’s easy to find.

Am I turning the steering wheel, or am I driving the car?

Am I turning the steering wheel, or am I driving the car?

For many decades, yogis have used the English phrase “alternate nostril breath.” Words matter. Language matters. The focus of that unfortunate phrase emphasizes the nostrils. Everyone who learns this simple beginner breath practice, is led to believe it is all about the nostrils.

The word nostrils doesn’t convey any sense of purpose. It trivializes the practice. Nostrils are a somewhat minor flap of skin. Relative to our major organs, the heart, lungs and brain, the nostrils are relatively insignificant.

This linguistic difference is like placing your focus on the steering wheel, instead of driving your car. Driving your car is what you are doing. Driving your car conveys the purpose of your activity. Saying that you are in your car, turning the steering wheel, misses the whole point.

I am proposing that yogis change our language, change our words to reflect the intention and purpose of this simple profound breath practice. Many yogi friends I have talked to, are inflexible to any name change. In time, I hope a name change reaches the level of acceptance.

In this breath practice, we breathe in such a way that alternates the stimulation of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. An area called the corpus callosum lights up.

“Alternate Left Right Breath” or “Left Right Breathing” are simple labels for this astounding practice. They accurately describe the process and maybe easier to say. “Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath” is accurate, but a bit difficult to say and too many syllables. We want our words to communicate meaning and intention, and not misdirect attention.

Whatever the label, over many years of practice, Left Right Breathing leads to the slow growth of neurons and blood vessels that is extraordinary. It is the most important technique the yogis ever discovered.

Left Right Breath

Q: Who popularized the term "Nadi Shodhana?" (energy meridian purifying breath)

A: Swami Satchitananda

Q: Why did he give Alternate Nostril Breath a new name?

A: He felt that "Anuloma Viloma" (with the grain, against the grain) did not fully express the importance of the practice. He wanted to stress the slow profound change of the energy body.

Language is important

Language is important. Words Matter. We need new terminology that speaks to us today. “Purifying the naadees” doesn’t inspire most people. It sounds very intellectual.

I propose "Left Right Breath." In the spirit of Swami Satchitananda, I propose we change the label again.

”Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath” is a good moniker and gives a sense of purpose to modern audiences. It accurately speaks the language of science. Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath and all its variations, accurately describes this practice in a way that is both medically correct and could possibly inspire and motivate yogis today. However, the phrase “Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath” is a cumbersome and leaves out the rest of the body.

We inhale through one sinus and it stimulates the olfactory nerves on one side of the brain. Then we stimulate the olfactory nerves on the other side, back and forth for a long time. We set up this long term, ongoing alternating stimulation of left and right hemispheres.

This polarity awakens the corpus callousum, the horizontal axons that connect the left and right hemispheres of the brain. When we set up the alternating current long enough, good things start to happen. If you go far enough with left right breath, you may discover as I have, this is the single most important discovery of the yogis.

The central importance of Left Right Breathing (Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath) has been lost in history, lost in defective terminology, compounded by pedantry, beleaguered by strict teachers with well meaning, misguided rules. It has been relegated to being a minor, beginner yogi practice. Most every yoga teacher, website and adept tells you to do 10 or 15 minutes, when you feel like it, if you have time. It will calm you down. It’s easy. And that's what yogis have done.

In successive generations, yogis practiced too little and lost the experience of yogis who sat around and did massive amounts of practice.

Yogis frequently debate the terms Anuloma Viloma and Nadi Shodhana. There are endless numbers of useful and spurious ideas out there. Is Anuloma Viloma about holding the breath? Not holding? Using your fingers? Not using your fingers, and ideas go on and on. There are lots of conflicting pedantic distinctions are out there.

Lots of intellectual concepts got heaped on and unfortunately, it became a practice about “controlling the breath.”

What a disaster that turned out to be! Dutiful teachers began teaching what they were taught, prescribing lots of breath ratios, rules and teacherly dictums that are counterproductive, completely unnecessary and detrimental to long term practice.

The practice must be done with total joy and total surrender. Period. It is done with honest curiosity in the spirit of daily experimentation. It is meant to be done with your attention on the "edge of your seat.”

And guess what? When you let go of all the ratios and rules, and alternate the left and right hemispheres of the brain, everything spontaneously arises, without the mental agony and contortions.

Who am “I?” What is the problem with controlling?

It comes down to the fundamental question of “Who am I?”

Who is the one who is controlling? Who is the one who believes they are doing yoga? Am I in charge of my breath or is the Breath in charge of me?

There are many Breath Apps that time your inhale/hold/exhale/hold to any values you want. It becomes obvious very quickly that these ratios will never work for more than a few minutes. Changes start happening in your body. Blood flow increases. Your metabolism is changing. Your metabolism ALWAYS wins.

Those silly ratios might help a panicky person whose breath is racing. Breath apps should be applauded for that. But you will quickly learn, your natural breath will get out of sync with your iPhone’s preordained ratio, usually within 5 minutes. As you practice, blood flow and other markers will change. The phone apps get in the way of any serious long term practitioner.

Ratios are not fun. They really suck. I contend that the majority of American yogis give up on pranayama based on the concept that control and ratios are the purpose of the practice. Yogis were led to believe that if they only controlled better and crammed their breath to fit a ratio, this would lead to something beneficial.

Mantras okay?

Mantras are a good thing. I have yogi friend who used a mantra for breath practice. He used to feel guilty when his body needed to speed up or slow down the mantra to fit his breath! Even though he used a mantra, he still had this underlying idea, that control and breath ratios are what it is about.

Mantras are great, powerful and a useful part of breath practice. Allow the mantra to change speed if necessary. “A priori” conceptual ratios are the problem. The changing field of mind and body defies clock based ratios.

Linguistic Problems with “Holding the breath”

Then there is the problem with the word “hold.” It is a problematic word. Who is the one who is holding? “I” am holding. Who is this “I?” It’s my personality, my self image, my ego holding the breath. It’s that little me!

Holding your breath to a count is dangerous because it puts the little personality in charge. If it was just the ego, that would be one thing. The situation is worse. Now it is your “spiritual ego” that is in charge! Heaven help us! When we set up the spiritual ego to do battle with the breath, it is game everyone loses.

One of the WORST standard cues that yoga teachers have said for many decades now:

“Hold to your capacity!”

This is a damaging ubiquitous instruction for two reasons.

First of all, the word “hold,” is a problematic word. Words matter. Language matters. “Holding the breath” is an ego engaging, ego stimulating phrase. It gets implied is that the more “I hold,” the better. Synonyms to “hold” are “grasping and grabbing.” These unfortunate phrases excite the small personality into action.

There are much better phrases and language. In these classes we change the language to “float the breath” “pause” and many phrases that changes the entire quality of the practice. Changing the language changes the experience.

Second problem with “hold to your capacity,” is the word “your.”

Does anyone really know, ahead of time, what their capacity is? The only way to find “your” capacity, is to hold the breath too long. Once you over hold, then you know. That is what most people do. “Holding” the breath too long creates disorders in the breath rhythm.

Much better results come from the more “feminine” language of surrendering, listening, non-doing and responding.

Relax, my controlling yogi friends. Everything is going to be alright.

Just relax. Let the breath be in charge. Let the breath decide. You will always be safe when you do that. No “holding” is necessary. Just float, fly and be suspended. When you are floating, just let go into inhales and exhales when the breath energy starts to sink. We let go early.

Here is the paradox of all paradoxes. When one “surrenders to the Breath,” when the mental and emotional state during practice is full of love, gratitude and forgiveness, guess what happens? …. a breathless state, arises on its own. It is what the yogis have always talked about. It happens on its own, without our intervention.

As long as we “hold,” the resistance of “me holding my breath” stands in the way of the breathless state. You may say I am quibbling over words, but I don’t think so. The phrase “Hold to your capacity” has been a major stumbling block and the reason many yogis give up on control style pranayama. It is so stressful when you are taught to engage your spiritual ego to grab onto the breath for dear life.

Maybe this clutching the breath has some intermediate usefulness and certainly EVERYONE has done it, tried it, but now is the time to give up. Keep practicing without interruption, but let go of controlling.

Cross the Ocean

Traditionally we are taught: it is the utmost of importance “which nostril you start on and which you end on.” In a very limited way, that is true. If you are just starting out and do a teensy weensy practice, “start on the left and finish on the left” is a good suggestion. However, that teacher’s rule comes from the perspective of doing 10 minutes. It views the practice like swimming one lap in a pool.

A bigger view is that we are swimming across the ocean of existence with alternate left right breath. We need to build up to massive amount of time. The practice flourishes with hundreds and hundreds of rounds of alternating left and right hemispheres of the breath everyday. I practice 2 hours a day, which nostril I start on makes no difference at all anymore. With that said, I do start, and end on the left out of habit.

Alternating Brain Hemispheres is only one dimension of the practice. Physiologically, it dilates the lung tissue, dilates the blood vessels, increases athletic prowess, kills the viruses entering the nostrils, repairs the heart muscle, speeds up synaptic transmissions, cleans the liver and kidneys and gut.

Clean out the nadis?

“Naadees Schmaadees” I say. Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath does so much more than those nadis.

Diffusion Tensor Image of the coprus callosum. these connective neurons become very active with practice.

Hypoxia

What happens when you restrict the airflow into the body?

In 2019, 3 researchers were awarded the Nobel prize for studying hypoxia, low levels of oxygen in the body. What they found is that the body is resilient. It responds by doing 2 things. It increases the production of red blood cells. It increases the growth of blood vessels. The body grows more capillaries to get the increased number of red blood cells to the mitochondria to adjust to the lower level of oxygen in the body. There are many implications to this research.

Alternate Left Right Breath slightly restricts the airflow into the body… Not very much, but a little. Long term daily practice of slightly restricting airflow is very, very desirable. It starts a slow growth process of higher red blood cell production and increased capillary growth. It takes months or years for Alternate Left Right Breath to evolve.

5 or 10 minutes of Alternate Nostril Breath (old name) a couple of times a week, when you feel like it, is a good start, but nothing of significance will happen. You will temporarily feel calm and that is wonderful. there are a few yoga traditions that emphasises alternate nostril breath. Even then, most yogis and most yoga teachers never know about significant impact and the long term consequences of a more sustained and dedicated practice. In truth, they haven’t done enough practice to know. 5 or 10 minutes may calm you down, but you will still have no idea, no experience of what lays beyond a temporary calm mind.

Left Right Breath also starts the Nitric Oxide cycle being released from the paranasal sinuses. This is a large topic. Nitric Oxide cleans the blood, lowers blood pressure, cleans arterial plaque, cleans the organs, increases memory, increases intelligence, speeds up synaptic transmission and the processing power of the mind, and many other results that have been discussed in these blog posts for years.

Mild hypoxia and Nitric Oxide are the physiological drivers for the later stages of yoga. The efficiency of the breath slowly develops. Larger lung capacity grows and the breath slows down. Another dimension is the alternation of the hemispheres of the brain that leads to long term change and integration in the nervous system.

Anuloma Viloma/Nadi Shodhana is the most important technique the yogis ever discovered, said many gurus like Swami Kripalu and Swami Satchitananada. TKV Desikachar gave it high praise. In America 2021, alternate nostril breath is mostly regarded as a minor, beginner technique for calming the mind. Its central importance in yoga still remains largely unknown in the US.

In Pashupati traditions of India, yogis were instructed to do one Ghatikaa, 24 minutes everyday as a minimum of Anuloma Viloma. It may take a while to work up to it, but 24 minutes is a good first goal to work your way toward when you begin. You will feel bright, alive and full of joy. It is claimed to be “tridoshic,” which means that it is suitable for all conditions and all body types, good for everybody. Get 24 minutes going for 90 days and you will get to an important milestone of pranayama. You will get a new habit going in your life. The habit gets easier to do once you get to the stage of Momentum.

Community is stronger than will power! That’s what you find here, online. After 90 days, your practice is still fragile at this point and can easily be lost. Most people need an ongoing support group and a community.

At This Next Breath, there is a very hardcore group of practitioners who get up every morning, and attend the 6am EST sessions at no cost. The group is going into the vast, playful and fascinating reaches of Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath. There is something new to learn everyday. 24 minutes is a sensible, safe and reasonable lifelong bedrock practice for most people.

At This Next Breath broadcasts, one Ghatikaa is easy, fun and always changing. As you continue to build your practice, the body becomes full of prana. The hand mudras come alive and very important in this next stage of practice. There is lots to discover here and there are many other associated techniques that have evolved out of these ongoing experiments into Left Right Breath. Nobody is offering this kind of a gift to the world everyday, and its free. If you can, please send a donation to keep the work going and pay it forward to the next student.

What the yogis said is true about Anuloma Viloma. My personal practice is very monastic at this point. I am retired without a pension, no retirement, no longer ambitious for a worldly life, and the kids have grown up. Everyday, without missing a day, my base line is one hour minimum at 330am in the morning and often exceeds 2 hours a day total. A monastic practice is NOT recommended for most people. I am utterly dumbfounded by what is happening in my life. A monastic level of practice is workable if you are over 60 and want to devote yourself to spiritual practices only. There is a downside to so much practice. You may need to change everything in your life.

We are here to wake each other up

by Tom Gillette

We are here
to wake each other up.
We were in bed
with night dreams.
Our eyes opened
with a billion other creatures
simultaneously waking up
at this very moment.
Everywhere, a multitude is looking
through their eyes
for the first time today.

We are here to wake each other up.
To rise before the sun.
Catch the hour the soul can be held.
When mind states are transparent.
Are you ready?
Sun, the giver of life is fast approaching.
Everywhere, a multitude of eyes
are opening, waiting
for the return of the sun.

We are here to wake each other up.
Let’s be buddies.
Let’s do this together.
Some days I need help.
Some days you need help.
Let’s be here for each other.
Let’s be here for the light.
We are here to wake each other up.

Everywhere, a multitude is waking up
from the daydream.

I am Breath

“Who am I?”

“I am Breath”

Go back to the impulse that happens before you breathe. There is a distinct moment at which you can place your attention, right at the start of the inhale. There is another point found at the start of the exhale. There is a signal. The tide turns around whether you want the water to come into the bay or not. The external manifestations, sensations and movements of the inhale and exhale will put you in contact with their Source. Follow the breath long enough and you are put in contact with the arising of consciousness.

Join a Community of Breathers 6am monday to Saturday 6am. Sundays 9am. ITs free

Slowly release the breath

This simple quote has an interesting physiological basis. 

For a long time, doctors and researchers assumed that increasing CO2 levels in the blood stream would signal the brain stem to inhale. They found that this was not true. It was the lack of movement of the diaphragm that signals the brain stem to inhale. 

By gradually releasing the breath, and slowly increasing the diaphragm length, the nervous system is tricked. A very desirable tolerance to CO2 grows slowly. CO2 is another vasodilator in conjunction with Nitric Oxide, increasing the efficiency of blood flow and getting oxygen to the mitochondria. CO2 tolerance increases cellular respiration, physical endurance and physical ability. This simple quote is the underlying basis of many of the great praanaayaama feats the yogis have demonstrated.

The best way to increase the length of the exhale is to add sound, like a hum, or an ujjaayee aspirated sound.

You might consider going farther with praanaayaama by joining This Next Breath 1. Students revel in its simplicity, effectiveness and the daily inspiration they receive. An increase of lung volume, blood flow and a decrease of anxiety symptoms are only the beginning. Everyone can benefit.

With a solid foundation, and a steady practice, This Next Breath 2, the Advanced Course, opens up the foundation into something completely different, Swami Kripalu's inspired spontaneous style of practice with practices never before mentioned in any text book or video. 

There is a teleconference course called the "Certification Course" that anyone can join to help them do both courses and realize a significant practice, gradually, over time. Wishful thinking and talking about praanaayaama, doesn't go very far.

Yoga by Donation is not liked

Yoga by Donation is not liked

70% of the people on the June 12,2020 survey did not like yoga by donation and preferred the more traditional American “tell-me-what-it-costs” form. The survey was non-scientific with a small sample size of 40. With small sample sizes there can be large errors. Still, I was shocked by the response.

Another RI yoga teacher who also does yoga-by-donation, did a similar survey and fully 50% said they preferred the American one price for a class or a package of classes. This is fascinating to me.

Yoga by donation (Daana) is the traditional way of transmitting Yoga that is thousands of years old. If you are moved by the class and can donate please do, if you can’t, please don’t donate, but still come. You can donate any amount. My gut tells me to continue yoga by donation (Daana). Daana is the one of the Niyamas, the ten ethical observances, in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

People have commented that yoga by donation is confusing. They wind up feeling guilty if they don’t donate. They feel really stressed about money especially right now with Covid. A mother who has kids, is under-employed, said money is a "bad topic in my household and this is my lifeline.” A college student said he treasured the lessons, but "heh, I can’t even begin to pay my bills, thank you thank you.”

I especially want those people in class! Yoga needs to be for everyone. Those who treasure it; they should be there.

Yoga by donation has so many beautiful dimensions for me personally. It is the practice of being unattached to the fruits of one's actions. Being unattached to the fruits of one's actions is the principle teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. Some weeks there are donations, others weeks not so much. My job is to let it go, all the time. My job is to teach the very best class I can, today, tomorrow and the next and keeping showing up no matter what. It is in God’s hands. Trust and surrender.

The unusual style of pranayama I teach is the surrendered path, so it seems fitting.

Despite the survey response of 70% of the people wanting the American approach, I am going to keep going in the direction that my heart tells me to go. Go Indian. Most of all, come to class and screw the guilt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dāna

Prāṇāyāma is not a demand.

Prāṇāyāma is a surrender.

It is not a demand. It is not

forcing existence your way.

It is relaxing into the way

existence wants you to be.

Prāṇāyāma is a let go.

This Next Breath is a path of surrender. The effortful part of practice is showing up, just getting yourself to practice. Showing up is the will's proper place. Once you are there, it is a delightful release into what the Breath wants you to be.

This surrendered method of breath practice is so alien to the way most teach Prāṇāyāma. Almost all breath practices focus on controlling the breath. They want you to follow a breath ratio. You are supposed to get the breath to submit to your will. They want you to "box the breath" and these methods usually have their secret breath ratio. This leads to a miserable, short lived experience and fills most people with anxiety. Few actually practice; most just talk about their breath ratios. The control freak breath approach is unnecessary. It is emotionally counterproductive. Controlling the breath is a misunderstanding of what the Breath is.

There is a better way.

In the path of Classical Yoga, Prāṇāyāma comes before Meditation. The often stated goal is to slow down the breath. When the breath is slow, the mind becomes empty, docile and spacious. Time gets weird.

Most Prāṇāyāma teachers suggest that slowing the breath to one breath per minute without struggle is the Gold Standard. That means you have graduated and you are ready for meditation.

Slowing the breath down to one per minute happens on the path of surrender and it happens in a most natural and delightful way. The Surrendered approach focuses more on practicing, than controlling.

This Next Breath is a modern practice informed from the ancient lineage of Swami Kripalu. What happens in This Next Breath 2, is similar to Swmai Kripalu's spontaneous saadhana. There are all kinds of mudraas, mantras, aasanas and things happening that are not described in any yoga book I have ever seen. As my own personal practice grows, this course is growing. It will invite you into your own authentic breath practice.

And here is the thing: anybody can do this. You just have to be persistent.

Subsistence Breath

(This was a reply on Facebook that spoke to many people.)

Q: What is it about this practice that enables people to hold their breath out longer?

A: Most people barely use their lungs at all, but live on "subsistence breath." The body responds positively when we start to "exercise" and develop the breath, ribs, spine, musculature and fascia. We have 5 lobes to our lungs but we scarcely use 2 of them. There is a lot of room for growth. That is what the breath yogis were into. Both internal and external kumbhaka (I drop the word 'hold' and prefer the words "float," or "pause") becomes natural, no struggle. Let physiology lead the way, not the mind and not the ego that is trying to get somewhere. Be with this next breath, as it is and respond sensitively to that. Have your mind filled with Love, Gratitude, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Kindness, Reverence, Awe, Wonder or a wholesome mind state of your choosing. That really works. It is kumbhaka without trying.

You will find over months, this will continue to grow. As cellular respiration increases, the breath will slow down to 4 breaths per minute, 3,2,1. When the breath is this slow, the mind enters new territory. A wordless presence arises without forcing or trying. A continuously highly alert focus on the present moment will predominate, rather than the blathering babbling nonsense that usually passes for thoughts in our nogins.

Covid and Yoga: Where do we go from here?

The pandemic is here and it is going to change us. Yoga in America is going to be different. People are going to need more space. We cannot bury our collective yoga heads in the sand and do group yoga the way we once did. We will be changed by this experience. Covid might come back for Waves #2 and 3 like the Spanish Flu and other viruses of the past. 

Let's step back, look at what's happening and be realistic about where does it go from here? What does the future of American Yoga look like? What might we expect? Can we look at it without fear and truthfully discern the possibilities?

Whatever you do, don't get your lycra in a twist over any suggestions I give below. These are just possibilities...

Outdoor Yoga: we are going to be spaced out

In the future, we are going to need physical distance.  A person coughing or sneezing in the yoga room will be a big problem. It doesn't work to have a person who is marginally sick in the room, where before, we tolerated mild amounts of sickness. It might be necessary to ask the person who is coughing and sneezing to leave the class. In the winter time in New England, I had many people coughing in class in the past. It was tolerated. I don't think it will be in the future. Hopefully we won't have to do temperature checks at the front desk, like the airlines are doing.

We might be doing a lot more outdoor yoga, which is actually pretty cool, sometimes too cool, but outdoor yoga is very different from indoor yoga. Outdoor yoga classes so far have been special events, like Full Moon Yoga, rather than a daily thing. We might be doing yoga in a big tent with lots of space and a floor. Yoga in nature, yoga on the tennis court, yoga in the park is probably going to be more common and the way we get together in large groups.

Outdoor yoga can come with its own set of downsides like uneven surfaces, bumpy grassy muddy sandy sticky mats, sand, sand fleas, sand in your eyes, flies, ticks, mosquitoes, gnats, wetness, strong winds, hot and cold temperatures and inclement weather; I have experienced all of these distractions teaching outdoor classes. Yoga in nature is a beautiful animal and you might have to grin and bear it if you want to be with a group. Yes, good yogis are supposed to transcend bugs, hot and cold and all that, but the variability of the outdoors is not gong to be everybody's cup of chai. 

Don't under estimate what is happening

The transformation happening in the world right now cannot be underestimated. Just a few weeks ago, we had every kind of yoga available to us. For 25 years, America vinyasa has been the predominant form so far as attendance numbers goes. Teachers were rocking the excitement of a big packed yoga room, full of yogis who are vibrating, sweating and flowing together in close quarters. Wow! What a rush!

You might disagree with this projection, but how do we go back to big room yoga with lots of tightly packed yogis which has been so popular in America?  Many yoga centers already have thin razor margins and they depend on tightly packed yoga rooms. In a post pandemic world, we may need small group size restrictions widely spread out, in the same big room. That is going to make the price of yoga go higher. Those cheap unlimited monthly yoga passes just skyrocketed. The old days are transforming and this is evolving into something else. Change is inevitable; let's talk this through without fear. It is unlikely that it is going to be the way it was.

Masks in class?

Are people going to wear masks in class? What will that be like? Most of Asia already wears masks in public. "Wear your mask as a sign that you love others."

All indoor surfaces will have to be rigorously sanitized, more than before. Yoga centers will have to seriously look at air sanitization and air flow all over again. A good idea is to install too many UV air filters running continuously and multiple ozone generators on timers at night. Those sanitation efforts will never be enough for some people who have compromised immune systems.

Will we lose our bond of unity?

A truly tragic possibility is what might happen to our mindset. Instead of the ethos of  "love one another" and "see the unity in all," we may culturally shift to a default viewpoint that other people are inherently a threat to my health. "Damn, did he just cough into his bandana! Is that bandana tight enough?"

Props might be BYOP 

You might not even be allowed to bring props to the studio. Pillows, blankets and bolsters might be for home use only. If props are in a yoga studio, it might be possible to "bake" all the pillows, blankets, straps, blocks and bolsters in UV light and ozone, every single use. We might have sanitization closets were all the props are doused in ozone and UV light and rendered in pristine condition. Someone with gloves hands you, your sterilized block. Kinda like going through TSA. It is going to be a big job. A focus on publicly sterilizing props would be wise, so that everyone sees that the yoga center is serious about sanitation. The desk, door handles and bathroom surfaces will have to be wiped many times a day. Everyone will need spray bottles and wipes at the ready.

Seva Selfless Service: Everyone cleans!

There will be a 15 minute seva (selfless service) requirement for everyone attending class. In order to attend class, you have to clean. "You got time to lean, you got time to clean," says the masterful yoga teacher Chandrakant for the last 40 years. Everyone selfless cleaning their yoga center is one of the most beautiful ideas possible. It would definitely turn away some students, but it would attract the right students. It is how ashrams have worked for thousands of years. Everyone cleans, period! Everyone works together cleaning their shared space. Everyone who does this for very long will become so connected to their yoga home. They will take ownership over their sacred space making every corner, nook and cranny so loved. There will be supervisors for each area making sure the crews of spray bottle wipers are doing a proper job.

S.U.H.YO.MA.

Rental and Loaner yoga mats hopefully will disappear in the future. Anyone who needs a mat, might be offered a "Single Use Hemp YOga MAt!" When you create your SUHYOMA company and sell it to Gaiam in three years, please send a portion of the proceeds to the address below.  

Yoga Online

Online yoga is like the wild west right now. Right now, students are so relieved to hear the friendly voice of their old yoga teacher. Some truly lovely things are happening as we connect in this new way. It is quite obvious that online yoga isn't the same. There is more distancing than ever as everyone is on mute. There are those awkward dead silences and two people trying to share at the same time. The connectivity factor is possible but it is of a different kind. It is what we have for the moment, so it is good enough, but looking at a video screen kinda sucks in comparison to what we had. 

By next month, almost every yoga teacher will be online or moving online. Most classes will be by donation or something similar. Everyone is recording now if they haven't in the past. Class after class, year after year, the supply of yoga videos will grow.  Eventually, there will be an unlimited amount of free recorded yoga classes available online by almost any teacher in the country.  How does this oncoming yoga glut survive the eventual reality of donation fatigue?

Online yoga is good for workshops

Yoga online is actually very good for workshops! You can attend workshops of all the great yoga teachers in America for very little money. This is already happening. Yoga classes focus on the experience, where workshops are more about content, theory, ideas and research. Online workshops can bring a world of yoga teachings into your living room, inexpensively whenever you want it.

Holographic Yoga & AI: the Perfect Guru

Holographic Yoga is probably one of the best ideas that hasn't yet come to fruition. R2D2 will project a 3D image of your yoga teacher infront of you. Artificial Intelligence will become so advanced, you will not even notice that there is no real person in front of you. In a split second, AI will first scan all your bone lengths, joint orientations and proportions. A Quantum Computer will see all your structural anomalies that no human yoga teacher ever could do. It will remember your problems from last week and its advanced algorithms will anticipate problems. From a huge database of past experience with previous students who fit your body type and personality profile, AI will always find the perfect way to personally guide you. Individualized instruction will be its forte. . AI will monitor your alignments and always speak very kindly and gently to where you might want to place your attention next in the pose. AI won't be subject to any unpleasant personality swings, irregularities or the failings of your living yoga teacher. Artificial Intelligence will become the Perfect Guru, without flaws, the one you have always been looking for in your unrealistic spiritual dreams. This won't just be your mental projection. It will literally be a holographic projection.

One day Holographic Yoga will be able to give shaktipaat, (the transference of spiritual energy from guru to disciple,) but right now that is science fiction.

Sunday Jan 5, 2020

"Float the Breath"

Floating

At the end of the inhale and the end of exhale are two universal moments. The end of the exhale is very significant because it leads to the breathless state. “Shiva,” the author of the Shiva Samhita, famously declares that at the end of the exhale, the small sense of self and the mind are suspended. This suspension happens briefly at first.

The best way to train the body to become relaxed and accustomed to breath suspension is through consistent daily practice done with a joyful and surrendered approach. My preference is to reword it and call it “floating.” When one floats, it is completely effortless. There is no panic of running out of air, or anxiety around “controlling the breath.” Controlling the breath seems to be an obsession in most yoga writings on pranayama and it is completely unnecessary. The path of surrendering to the breath is so much more joyous and it works so much better..

Most people find it difficult to overcome the personality’s resistance. The use of personal will is good for getting one to practice. Use will to actually begin the practice. Use will each day and through the day to begin. The mind resists being in the present moment because it can only live in the past or the future. The present moment is so narrow the mind cannot fit into it.

Personal Will is for setting up the practice, washing your face, taking a shower if necessary, and start the timer. That is the proper place of personal will. Using personal will to force your breath to conform to a certain ratio or fit a certain app on the phone is why people fail. There is a fundamental misunderstanding. Yogis who use will to force the breath think that they are in charge. Their spiritual will is supreme. The reverse is true. The Breath is in charge of the situation. The Breath is greater than some yogi’s personal ambitions.

Through unrelenting practice and a surrendered listening attitude to the breath, the body slows down, the mind slows down, the breath slows down. After months of practice, the breath suspension or pause is quite natural. The floating stage gets longer and becomes normal for the body. The mind remains always attuned to the needs of the body and not against the body. This method works much better. A surrendered practice is full of joy, not drudgery. That is where This Next Breath 1 & 2 comes in.

How to cultivate a practice consistently with a light heart and a listening mind? There are a dozen or more methods and techniques in TNB2 that help the slowing down of the breath that are not written in any yoga book.

During these universal floating moments, one experiences “no mind,” a voiceless state for longer and longer periods and one becomes accustomed to it. A very awake Presence continues, but it is not the voices in your head. It is not a dull trance state; instead one is very awake and more aware than before because there are no voices obfuscating the field of awareness.

The easiest way to extend the out breath and the in breath is when the mind completely surrenders. One needs to let go of control rather than controlling the breath. The surrendered path requires massive amounts of practice. Practice letting go into the exhale. More importantly, Practice with the attitude of letting go into the inhale.

Later on, the body is overflowing with praana and cellular respiration is at full efficiency. For longer and longer pause moments, the need for breath doesn’t arise. After the floating stage in pranayama is well established, I suppose it is time to seamlessly move on to the next stages of yoga: samyaama and samaadhi. Why do so many yogis skip praanaayaama? Because controlling the breath can give you a short term result, but ultimately doesn't work long term.

#prana,#pranayama,#breath,#breathe,#kripalu,#kripalulove,#yoga,#mindfulness,#meditation,#thisnextbreath,

Surrender to the Breath

There is another way...

This path of surrendering to the breath, as suggested in This Next Breath, is a minority viewpoint. Let the breath be as it is, especially when practicing Alternate Nostril Breath. It is an attitude of Listening to the Breath with Love, rather than controlling the breath and commanding it to show up according to a certain expectations.

Most people will experience a feeling of surrender, a complete letting go of thoughts, personality and constructs at the end of a deep exhale. More importantly, on the inhale, experience that too as an act of letting go, and it completes the cycle. 

Stop take a moment and let this very next breath "take you all the way to infinity."