Breath – the key to life (part 2)

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March 20, 2010

Now that we have practiced some deep abdominal breathing for a few weeks we are ready to move on the the next stage of our wake up experience.

The deep breathing over the last few weeks will have had some positive results such as a feeling of more energy, an better awareness and a strength of will power. It will also have begun the process of clearing out some of the 72,000 channels you have in your body. You should now be prepared for the next stage which is focused on more inner cleansing. So for the next step, practice the following alternative nostril breathing for a few weeks:

Step 2

  • Start by taking a few slow, deep abdominal breaths as you have been doing the last few weeks.
  • Now, with your thumb close your right nostril and take a deep abdominal breath through your left nostril until you feel you abdomen rise and expand.
  • Now block the left nostril and breath out the right nostril till you feel all the air has left your abdomen and lungs. You should feel your belly button sucked in and almost touching your spine.
  • Now take a deep inward breath through your right nostril in the same manner as before, feeling your lungs fill and your abdomen expand out again.
  • One your in breath is complete close your right nostril with your thumb, opening your left nostil and breathing all the air out of the left nostril as before.
  • The above is called one round of the cleansing breath. You can do this three times in your first session and slowly increase this to around 5 minutes over two weeks.

Please remember, the purpose of this exercise is to clear the inner channels so that the energy can flow freely. This practice takes time and should never be rushed or we can end up with an imbalance of energies (ying/yang) in our bodies.

If you get headaches or nausea then this is a sign that your are going to fast and you need to ease off and go a little slower.

This is a good practice to perform just before you do some meditation as it will help to clear the mind and also to help to still the mind a little allowing the witness to manifest more easily in our lives.

Try and do these exercises daily, with awareness. What is it that causes the breath?

More to follow.

Breath Part 1

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Breath – the key to life

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February 16, 2010

John VorstermansBreath is one of the most precious gifts we have been given, yet it is something we take for granted and thus give it very little attention or thought.

In Ayurveda, which takes its philosophy from many of the Indian philosophical systems, such as the Sankya tradition, and Vedanta, breath is taught as being our connection with the divine. Learn to breath properly and this connection with the divine, your soul or spirit become much stronger. In the world today breath is an important part of our Yoga practice and is often used as a technique to calm our emotions and mind when we are stressed or angry.

In truth breath is the key to life. To become conscious of our breathing is the first step to really waking up (being more aware of what is happening within and around us). It is not some trick or is it something that requires a special training. The first step of the process is simple:

Step 1

We have become unconscious breathers and as a result we hardly breath at all. So the first step is to actually learn how to breath properly. The best way to do this is to make one self comfortable:

  • Hold your hands on your belly-button and then start to breath in
  • When you breath in, visualise yourself breathing into your belly-button and feel your hands expand out as your tummy expands with your deep in-breath.
  • When you breath out feel your tummy empty. Do this slowly and feel your belly-button sink back into your body towards your spin.

Repeat this simply exercise for five minutes.

Initially you might feel a bit high which is a result of all the extra oxygen that you have sent through your body because you have filled your lungs to their full capacity (rather than just breathing through the top layers, which is what we usually do).

Practice this exercise for a few weeks. Do not do it too long at first as it will take your body time to get used to all that extra oxygen. It is a simple exercise you can do anytime and almost anywhere. Take five minutes when sitting in front of your computer, or when you are on the bus. You can also do this while walking.

More on the breath later

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