Pranayama on and off the Mat

(from summer 2012)

Pranayama off the mat

I have been practicing a 4 part breath regularly as part of my daily centering routine for about two months. It entails breathing in for a four count, holding for a four count, releasing the breath for a four count and holding it out for a four count. The idea is to sip the air in and allow it out naturally. Holding the breath in or out with a soft face, not gripping. The breath requires the practitioner to focus. The mind is busy counting so thoughts are not awry. Dristhi gaze (softly focused) or eyes are closed. In my experience, the flow of inhalations and exhalations feels so calming and centering for the body and mind. When I feel complete, I stop the breath. There is no magic number of breaths to do. I know I am at the desired effect when I stop naturally. Lightness.

Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself. Leave expectations at the door and see where this takes you. I challenge you to do 4 part breath twice a day for a month! I recommend practicing the four part breath in bed first thing in the morning or late at night. Once you have established this practice, try it at any moment you wish to connect to yourself and your surroundings; Breath to reclaim presence, awareness and the benefits of true observation. Check in, connect to the moment and the feeling of the moment. Then notice where the mind goes and allow it reach new territory. This may be uncomfortable but it is where the breakthrough and the growth lay.

Last night this practice put me  in touch with a deep sense of mental sharpness and clarity.

To share a little about my experience last night, let me set the scene. Fenway park, beautiful warm summer night, Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) is performing. The crowd is peaceful and the music and images behind the music are thought-provoking, heart-warming, alarming, to name a few. There are images of war, suffering, and the true calamity of a globe up in arms. There are glimpses of unity and messages of forward thinking and progress cultivated by so many individuals with a feeling and action plan. The message is loud and clear to me. I am so touched I am taken over with emotions. I am emoting and breathing and allowing my mind to explore the crisp clarity that has been established by my pranayama practice. For the first time last night, the breath took me to a space of mental sharpness and observation that  I have never before experienced. I understood my truth and understood that my purpose requires an action plan.

Inspired, I went home and made a business plan. I will share my gift with those who want it and I have never been more serious about mobilizing resources and planning the step by step execution. I don’t have a pipedream, but a plan fueled by aspirations of sharing peace, mindfulness and wellness. That is my calling, and now, to pool resources. May the pranayama bring more truth and clarity as my practice deepens.  May these skills and my connections to others allow my dreams to become reality.

A thank you to all my teachers who have emphasized time and time again the importance of a daily PRACTICE. These things should not come easily or there would be no growing pains and thus no growth. The practice is about the process and it makes the mundane daily rituals come alive and special in their own rite. These tools will hang in your toolbelt ready for use and only your pursuit of inspirations will set these ideas and ideals free. Deliver your message, love what you do and DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY! Others will respond and the joy of learning and excitement for living will be carried on. Let it be spread like wild fire to everyone it touches and reshape our world. Let us give so that others may receive! This is the time!