"Controlling the breath" is the problem

"Controlling the breath" is the problem. This oft repeated phrase has been leading yogis astray for millennia.

"Who controls the breath?" Usually the brainstem does it automatically. The well meaning yoga teacher starts inflicting breath ratios and breath "holdings" on their poor unsuspecting students. The spiritual ego then gives it a good try, finds that breath ratios do work for a few breaths (there's an app for that) but it soon becomes a miserable nightmare after 10 minutes. Yes you can willfully calm yourself down with a few intentional breaths. But that is where the mistake is made: the willful ego is in charge.

The real gold is in surrendering to the breath. Let go of "I me and mine" and just keep alternating the nostrils for insane amounts of time.

The other problem is no one practices anywhere near enough. The norm for Anuloma Viloma is 5 to 10 minutes, which is a great start and it is where everyone starts, but you will need an easy to follow path that will build your practice into an "every breath practice." That is what This Next Breath 1 & 2 training leads to: All day breath centered awareness. How do you do insane amounts of time, without getting bored? Ahhh. That is what the second part is about.

What happens when you practice massive amounts of Anuloma Viloma? The breath naturally slows down and physiology leads the way. The spiritual ego is not in charge of the Breath. The Breath is in charge. When the breath organically goes slow, meditation is easy. The mind is quiet and focused. The later stages of yoga unfold naturally. This was the method taught to me by Gray Ward and given to him by Swami Kripalu.

I would recommend you begin this training which later becomes a living breath lifestyle.
#prana,##pranayama, #meditation, #mindfulness, #kripalu, #yoga, #yogaeveryday