Simple Practice, Profound Insight

Simple practices at the beginning of yoga instruction open the doors to a catalog of practices that reveal all the dimensions of being and consciousness. 

And then we return to the simple practices. Profoundly.

One such simple practice is breathing up and down the spine.

Simple Instructions for Spinal Breathing

Lie comfortably on your back with your spine aligned, or sit nice and tall.

Close your eyes.

Notice your breath.

Imagine that you can inhale from the tip of your tailbone to the top of your head, and exhale from the top of your head to your tailbone. 

Let your awareness trace the length of your spine, inhaling up, and exhaling down, sweeping the attention and the breath.

As you continue to practice, your breath will become smooth and deep. The pauses between your breaths will become imperceptible, and your breath will become quieter and quieter, until it becomes silent. 

Continue breathing up and down your spine until you find yourself becoming distracted. 

Over time, "imagining" the breath in the spine becomes "perceiving" energy flowing in the spine. 

And What Might Be Gained from Such a Simple Practice? Why Might a Person Commit to Doing Such a Thing on a Daily Basis?

No one says it better than Swami Rama. This quote comes from the book Inspired Thoughts of Swami Rama. Better Existence lifted it from the wonderful website www.swamij.com. 


The universe is a dance of energies that vibrate at many frequencies. They ebb and flow, merge and part, form ripples, tides, currents, eddies, and whirlpools. They become units of all sizes, from atoms to stars, from individual souls to cosmic beings, and again they dissolve into each other. As rays, streaks, streams, rivers, oceans of light, they flow into each other and separate again, changing frequencies--and in changing frequencies, they become suns, galaxies, spaces, airs, winds, fires, liquids, solids. They become the bodies of human beings into which the energy called consciousness comes and is embodied.

Of all the flowing energies in the universe, consciousness is the most dominant, the one from which all the others proceed and into which they all merge. The ancient texts are fond of the phrase, "from consciousness down to the solid earth," for all this is a single matrix, a tantra of energy, and within it are myriads of matrices, woven and interwoven. The human being is one such matrix of energies--ebbing, flowing, dancing at frequencies ranging from those of solid bones all the way to the subtlest waves of consciousness. Those who can understand this personality matrix will understand the whole universe.

Yup. Pretty much it is that simple.

Pretty much it is that profound. 

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Personal Reflections on the Breath

Right now. Just one. Come on. Take a deep breath.

Exhale and gently squeeze a little of that stale air out of your lungs. Make extra room for fresh air deep in your lungs, then fill your lungs all the way up. Inhale into your lower belly, and all the way up to your shoulders. Notice how your body feels. Notice your emotional state. Notice your state of mind. One deep breath can change how you feel.

Personal Reflections on Nadi Shodhanam, Alternate Nostril Breathing

Our breath has many dimensions. From my first yoga class in 1995 I practiced nadi shodhanam, or breathing through alternate nostrils. My first yoga teacher, Yolanthe Smit, who taught in the Hoboken Farm Boy, was the first to teach me to close my right nostril with my right thumb and breathe through my left nostril, then to close my left nostril with the ring finger of my right hand and breathe through my right nostril. I did not see the point. It was part of the class, so I participated, of course.

Later, and still going to yoga classes, Nishit Patel gave the nostril business personal meaning. He explained that there is a cycle to our breathing. For about ninety minutes we breathe predominantly through one nostril, then that dominance shifts to the other side for about ninety minutes, and back and forth. When breath flows through the left nostril, he taught, energy is calm and receptive. It is a good time to read, for example. And when breath flows through the right nostril, that is a good time to exercise. He taught us to change our nostril dominance in Vishnu asana, lying on the side. Then, he delivered the goods: knowledge of nostril dominance can impact insomnia.

Sure enough. When I paid attention to which was my active nostril when I was annoyingly roused at night, it was always the right nostril. When I lay in Vishnu asana on my right side, my nostril dominance shifted to my left nostril, and sooner than later I was calmly sleeping. That is when I became very interested in the nostril business. Very interested in my breath.

Mr. Patel taught us one day, years ago, maybe 2004 or earlier, that we could learn to do alternate nostril breathing without the fingers, without flopping from side to side, just by focusing attention on the right and left nostrils. I just laughed. Belly laughed. I remember exactly where I was at that moment, laying on the floor of the peach room of the 5th Avenue Himalayan Institute with my chin on my arms. It struck me as very hilarious that anyone would be able to do this, or invest the time it would take to learn it, if it was in fact possible.

But it was sure an intriguing challenge. I tried it from time to time just to prove I still couldn't. Until, one day, quite out of the blue, I could. That was during Nishit's class. And for a long time that was the only condition under which I could do it. Then I could do it when I was teaching yoga, and that went on for a long time. But I was really hooked, actively engaged in mastering nadi shodhanam now, and I tried and failed an awful lot at doing this during my personal meditation practice time. And then one day, it just came. And I could do it infrequently. Then more regularly. Then I could do it if I paused to focus my attention at a diner.

But it wasn't until today that I realized that I could do it walking along. Dr Renu Kapoor of the Personality Blog on Facebook posted about the practice this morning as follows:

If the student practices nadi shodanam, or channel purification (one of the finest pranayama excercise) for five to ten minutes, three times a day, his emotional life will become balanced and his nervous system will be purified. It is an excellent exercise for those who have had traumatic experiences or who have misused medications or drugs in the past.
H.H.Swami Rama- Choosing a Path.

So, I was wondering to myself as I was walking through the woods of Forest Park here in Northwest Portland, shall I commit myself to three times a day? And I challenged myself to do the practice walking.

Wow.

I could.

And my perceptual field altered delightfully. Delightfully! Before I started practicing I had been aware that a bird was chirping nearby. Surprisingly, focusing on my nostrils alternately, the humor of which is still not lost on me, I was instantaneously aware of the other bird, the one with whom the nearby bird was communicating, and the third bird, further away still, and the pattern of their talk.

And then, this coincidence occurred. A person came walking his dog and said, "You are looking at my favorite tree."

I wasn't. But I am unlikely to turn down an opportunity to meet a favorite tree. The dog walker said, "You have to look at it from here, and you will see that it looks completely flat." I looked, and sure enough. It looked flat. "Isn't that amazing," he said. "It is like a fairy book. Like a portal to another dimension, like the CS Lewis book with the wardrobe."

So there we were, left and right, sound and vision, flat and multidimensional, referencing fairy realms, then parting ways.

Nadi Shodhanam. That nostril business. They say that when the breath is balanced evenly between the two nostrils we are standing at an opening portal to joy.


Jennifer Rose
jelyrose@gmail.com

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Plummet Your Own Depths to Ease Feelings of Loneliness

Four Foundational Questions for Introspection

The practice of the kind of introspection called vichara in Sanskrit, is the practice of asking oneself, "Who am I?" This huge question can be broken into 4 foundational questions that lead to transformational insights.

Question 1     Am I my body?

Question 2     Am I my breath or my energy?

Question 3     Am I my mind?

Question 4     Do I exist beyond my mind?

I created this illustration of these four questions to inspire you on your vichara journey. This way of outlining the body, breath, and mind is ubiquitous among my teachers, all students of the late Swami Rama.

In addition, there are many ancient stories that accompany, support, or encourage these reflections. Here is an example:

Questions for Vichara Introspection

Once upon a time, the senses were engaged in an epic debate about which of them was the most important. The breath was also engaged along with the sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smelling. In order to resolve their dispute, they decided that one by one the senses would leave the body and by this means they would determine which sense had the greatest impact.

First the sense of smell left. When smell returned, it was agreed that existence was less enjoyable without that sense. Smell was glad about being missed, and anticipated winning the debate. 

Then, the sense of taste left. And, as with smell, when taste returned, it was acknowledged that existence was less agreeable without good taste. Taste too anticipated winning the debate. 

Similarly, the senses of touch, hearing, and sight took their turns. One by one they departed, and one by one, they returned. Each sense was missed while they were away. 

Finally, it was the breath's turn. Breath was at the moment of departure, just about to leave, stepping one foot out of the door... Then all at once the five senses together were overcome with an irrepressible need to cry out, "Don't go!" 

The senses were relieved when breath agreed to stay. And to this day, no one has since heard the senses debating.  

Vichara is the pursuit of the true nature of the "I." If this strikes you as overly esoteric, consider some of the common complaints that can be eased by the practice:

• feelings of victimhood
• feelings of isolation and loneliness
• feeling overwhelmed 
• feeling purposeless

Of course, it does help to have a teacher with whom to place the insights that come from the practice in a meaningful context. 

It does help to have a teacher with whom to tease the questions into finer threads of inquiry at the right time. 

It does help to have a teacher who knows 100+ practices that support the inquiries. 

It does help to have a teacher. 

I am here for that!

Jennifer Rose

646-831-2675

jelyrose@gmail.com