Transformation

This this time of year when summer turns to fall, the whole world seems turned on its head by the beginning of school. This is especially true if you have children, but it seems that few people escape the winds of change at this time of year. I notice a marked decline in the attendance at my beginner classes, while my more advanced classes tend to remain steady. I think that this is because beginners are more easily thrown off course, while those who have been practicing for a longer time are more able weather the changes in their lives without letting it affect their practice.

While the universe changes around us, and we attempt to remain anchored in the part of ourselves that does not change, there is also the possibility for consciously changing the habits and patterns that unconsciously govern our lives. Whenever we behave in an unconscious manner, we are creating and deepening neural pathways in our brain, literally conditioning ourselves to continue this behavior.

In yoga philosophy, these pathways are called samskaras. Samskaras are described as grooves, or patterns on your soul and they are thought to travel with us from one life to the next. Often they are thought of as negative, because almost any habit can lead to imbalance. I believe however, that we can have positive samskaras as well, pathways that lead to our greatest joys and passions.

In order to alter negative samskaras, we must first become aware of them. What are the habits that drag you down? Smoking? Complaining? Criticizing? Self-doubt?

Once we are aware of our habits, we often keep doing them, berating ourselves all the while. In order to create the transformation we desire, we must forgive ourselves for the past. Then we need to ask ourselves how deeply we desire this transformation. Without a deep desire for change, we will continue down the same pathways over and over until a crisis propels us forward. Then it is time to ask for help. Most addicts who overcome their deep samskaras to numb their pain with drugs do not do it alone. They come together as a group to hold each other accountable, remind each other where they have been, and support each other through the fire of transformation.

While in the process of shedding our destructive habits, it is essential to consciously create positive habits to replace them. Otherwise, one destructive habit may be replaced by another destructive habit. A meditation practice is probably the most positive habit you can aquire since mediation is considered to be the most effective tool available for smoothing away samskaras.

The more deeply ingrained a samskara is, the longer it will take to create transformation. There may be times when you feel that despite your best effort, nothing is happening, or you may even feel like you are going backwayds. Relapses are an inevitable part of the process of change. At these times, it is doubly important to renew your commitment to change. Make a point of doing something that nourishes you, such as spending time in nature or playing with children. If you step back and look on your journey from a neutral perspective, you will see how far you have come. Do not rush this journey, take it one step at a time. There may be some samskaras that require a lifetime (or more!) of effort to erase.

Challenge: Set aside 5-10 minutes per day for meditation. Choose a time when you are most likely to follow through. For example, if you are not a morning person, do not commit to the morning. If you are not able to meditate at your designated time, do it at a different time -- you could even go into the bathroom for 5 minutes at work and meditate in the toilet stall if all else fails. Take a sacred vow to meditate every day for the month of September. Tell someone else about your promise and ask them to hold you accountable.

Begin by setting an intention. It helps to remind yourself each time you meditate why you are meditating. Begin with just one habit or samskara that you would like to change.

Asana and pranayama are both excellent preparations for meditation. Most of you reading this already practice asana, any many do pranayama as well. If you have time for some asana before meditation, it will serve you well.

Whether or not you do asana first, take 10 gentle ujaii breaths before you meditate (this should take about 2 minutes). Then set a timer for 3-8 (or more) minutes. When the timer goes off, you can choose to stop, or of course continue your meditation. The timer keeps you from wondering how long it has been and helps you keep your mind on your meditation.

If you are new to meditation, choose a meditation with a focus (saguna) rather than a formless meditation (nirguna). Your focus can be an image, sound, or word.

A variation of Natarajasana (the dancer)
symbolizing transformation

water your garden

The earth is bone dry. It's rained less than a handful of times all summer. I usually can count on the rain to cool off the worst of the mid-summer heat, but this year there is no relief. The second summer in a row of severe drought. I am almost used to it. But whenever I look at a photograph of how my property used to look, I am shocked at the difference. Although the drought does make yard maintenance easier, I miss extravagant growth of the vegetation around here.

The other day I happened to be on my back porch, and caught a glimpse of my garden. The front of my garden was much taller and healthier looking than the back. This is because I always begin my watering up front and then work my way back, and sometimes I run out of time.

There is a ring of healthy green grass around the front of my garden, a by-product of the more assiduous watering there. It is a little sad to see how pathetic the rest of my lawn is, but there is this bright green semi-circle glowing like a beacon of hope.

Sometimes our lives are full of rain. Things grow in abundance without much effort on our part. Other times, we need to be disciplined about watering in order to make anything happen. Our yoga practice is the same. Some days the practice is easy and abundant. Other times it feels dry and devoid of life. Handstand comes easily one day, and is unattainable the next.

The breath is to our yoga practice as water is to a garden. It is the essential ingredient we need to practice. If we do nothing else but sit and breathe deeply for an hour, we finish feeling vital, refreshed, and energized. The poses are wonderful, I love them, but really, they are just the icing on the cake. Without the breath there can be no other practice. No meditation, no asana, no philosophy.

Any day that I get on my yoga mat and feel a yoga less than inspired, I begin with pranayama. The focus on the breath usually spills over into my asana practice too. Often, these practices wind up being the most rewarding of all.

The best kind of breath to get my juices flowing is called Ujaii. It is one of the most commonly taught breath exercises in yoga. Some yoga styles recommend breathing in this way throughout the entirety of each and every yoga practice. I personally like to switch it up a bit more than that, but I do often use it through most of my practice.

Ujaii breathing consists of a slight constriction at the back of your throat so that each breath creates a hissing sound. This constriction slows the airflow and facilitates a longer, deeper breath. Because the breath takes more time, your body is able to utilize more of the oxygen it takes in. This increases your endurance and makes you feel energized. It's like a free oxygen hit! This makes a challenging practice feel easier, and a gentle practice feel positively nourishing. The sound of the breath is also a great tool to focus the mind, something we can use in any kind of practice, and in many situations throughout our day.

To practice ujaii breath:
Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale through your mouth make a long Haaaaah sound. Feel how the muscles in the back of the throat constrict to make this sound. Now try to make the same sound as you breathe in. Try breathing in and out several times through your mouth as you make this sound.

Close your mouth, and make the closest approximation you can to that sound while breathing through your nose. This is ujaii. Some say it sounds like Darth Vader breathing, or like the sound of the ocean. Notice how constricting the throat causes your exhalation to lengthen. Notice how the next inhalation lengthens in turn. Your breath should be smooth and even. Breathe this way for several minutes, then return to a normal, unforced breath. The normal breath will be deeper without effort.

There is never any need to force or strain the breath. Always keep it smooth and steady. You can intersperse normal breaths anytime you feel like you want or need one. Sometimes when students are first learning this breath, their throats become scratchy or slightly sore after a while. Do not be discouraged. There is no need to keep going past discomfort. Practice often and for short periods of time, and your throat will soon get used to breathing in this manner.

Once you are comfortable with the ujaii breath, you will find many situations where it comes in handy. For example, when I am excited and trying to sleep, the sound soothes me, calms my mind, and allows me to surrender enough to sleep. However, it has the opposite effect when I am tired and need to stay awake. Then the extra oxygen energizes me and keeps me alert. I also use the ujaii breath when I walk up many flights of stairs. There seems to be no limit to uses for this breath. How do you use your ujaii breath? Comment on this post and let me know.

Vayus: the wind through the instrument

What is prana? More than just a line of clothing! Prana is the energy that runs through our bodies, our very life force. Prana is sometimes translated as breath, though this is not quite accurate. We can access the energy in our body through our breath, but the breath itself is not prana. The practice of pranayama (extension of energy) consists of breathing exercises and this is where the confusion about the definition of prana came from. Though they are not one and the same, prana and breath are intimately related and both are necessary for human life.

To further the confusion between prana and breath, Prana can be subdivided into 5 categories called Vayus or winds. Each Vayu controls the movement of energy in a certain direction in a specific part of the body. The first two (Prana and Apana) are generally considered to be the most important and most accessible.

Prana Vayu - Upward moving and expansive, prana vayu governs the chest and head, nourishing the brain and the eyes.

Apana Vayu - Downward moving, controls digestions and elimination and aids in the feelings of equanimity and groundedness.

Vyana Vayu - Expands from the core to the periphery, sending life to the edges of the body.

Udana Vayu - Moves circularly around the head and neck.

Samana Vayu - Moves circularly around the waist, from the outside in.

To feel Prana and Apana Vayu with the breath:

Close your eyes, and take a deep breath in. As you inhale, notice how your body expands upwards and your whole body is energized. This is Prana Vayu.

Notice the release and subtle downward motion as you exhale.

See if you can notice small variations in the intensity and duration of your inhales versus your exhales.

To feel Prana and Apana Vayu in Asana:

Take Warrior 1 position: from standing, step the right foot approximately 4 feet behind you and swivel the right heel down so that your toes are pointing at about 45 degrees. Bend the left knee as deeply as you can, making sure to keep it directly above the left ankle (it will want to bend inward towards the right).

The optimal environment for prana to flow in the body is a state of relaxed engagement, so pause here for a moment and try to feel the prana and apana vayus just like you did while seated. This will cultivate sensitivity and awareness and keep you from over-effortingin the pose. Now from the center of your pelvis, extend energy down your right leg and if possible bend deeper into your left knee. This extension downward is Apana Vayu. To feel Prana Vayu, extend the arms upward. From the same place in the pelvis that you are reaching down your leg, inhale and reach your arms straight up. If you can do both at once, you are circulating prana and apana energy evenly in your body. This creates a balanced yoga pose (and is a LOT of work!). Whew, you can come out now!To balance and strengthen your Vayus, try this simple pranayama practice:

Full Yogic Breath

In order to balance the Vayus and strengthen the flow of prana in your body, practice this simple pranayama exercise. Set yourself up for pranayama practice in a way that you will be comfortable yet alert the entire time. Reclining with your upper body on a bolster or several pillows is ideal, but if you are feeling sleepy, you might want to sit. Take several normal breaths, paying attention to the length and feeling of the inhalation versus the exhalation. Begin evening and smoothing out the breath, creating a seamless transition between inhalation and exhalation.

Keeping the breath smooth and effortless, focus the movement of your breath entirely in your abdomen. Take 10 deep but easy breaths, keeping your chest completely still. Now keep your belly still and take 10 breaths into your chest. Continue to breathe without effort or strain. Your last 10 breaths will include expanding both the abdomen and the chest. This is the full yogic breath. When you are finished with these 10 breaths, breath normally for about a minute and feel the energy moving through your body before moving or getting up.

Practicing the full yogic breath lowers cortisol (stress hormone) and increases DHEA, the hormone the fights fat and makes you feel more alert and energetic. It can also help to regulate blood pressure. Amazing what a little extension of your life force can do!