Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (left) and Ramesh Balsekar
Ramesh S. Balsekar and ErinThe simple act of watching the breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils, or as the abdomen fills and empties, does wonders for our peace of mind.
Observing the breath is a form of witnessing, and develops concentration and non-attachment, both of which enable us to remain present and calm, no matter what is whirling around us.
Even if a cyclone hits, or the energies of a particularly volatile Full Moon are swirling through our lives (as they are this week), if we are trained to go back to our breath, immediately, we are in the moment. From this place, we can handle most anything that comes our way.
This is the most basic form of pranayama: breath awareness.
Apane juhvati pranam
prane panam tatha pare
Prana panagati ruddhva pranayamaparayanah
“Yet others offer as a sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming, and the incoming in the outgoing, restraining the flow of the outgoing and incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the regulation of the life-energy.”
Prana is the vital force from which the entire universe is made. In prana’s gross manifestation, we have matter. In prana’s subtle manifestation, we have mind-stuff, or citta. A single thought is the subtlest form of prana.
Think about that: thoughts really ARE things!
Swami Vivekananda, who played a huge part in introducing yoga to the west, explains that breathing is only one of the ways in which we get to the real pranayama, in which we become masters of all of creation. Perhaps this is the foundation of what we call ‘manifestation’ in our modern lingo.
Nadi Shodhana: Balancing the Mind and Body
A key form of pranayama is nadi shodhana (nadi = channel; shodhana = purify). Nadi Shodhana is “alternate-nostril breathing.” It is a powerful and simple means of purifying and controlling prana. In Nadi Shodhana, we balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain by alternately stimulating the Ida, the female side (also known as “Chandra-nadi” or “Moon Channel”) and the Pingala, the male side (also known as “Surya-nadi” or “Sun Channel.”
To me, the whole point of asana - physical yoga practice - is to prepare the body for meditation. And, the whole point of meditation as a sitting process is to be at peace and fully alert; the body-mind has a better opportunity then to grasp the true nature of reality. At this stage of understanding, there is no requirement for practices - they may come, they may go. The yogi, the sage, the master is at peace no matter what is happening.
