"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.

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