This post is a follow up from the Blog on How to Make your Yoga Practice More meditative. If you haven't already, I'd suggest that you read that post first.
When we talk about making a practice more meditative, essentially what we are talking about is quietening the mind - in yoga when we speak of the mind, we are referring to the 'body mind' - anatomical speaking the mind includes the brain, the nervous system and the endocrine system. For many modern humans, the mind is overzealous and poorly regulated.
“Breath is the King of Mind”
2 key aspects of meditation include the capacity to focus (aka Dharana or Concentration Meditation) and the capacity to be Self Aware (aka Mindfulness, Vairagya or Open Monitoring Meditation) - these qualities can be cultivated throughout our yoga practice, and indeed through a dedicated seated meditation practice.
However there is a a rather magical solution for connecting our practice of yoga to the experience and qualities of meditation. Breathwork is the key to open to door towards meditation, through the exploration and subtle manipulation of the breath, we have the capability of supercharging our practice, intentional breathwork practiced correctly can settle the nervous system and the mind, cultivating a deeply meditative state of being, supporting Mindfulness and Focussed Awareness, aka, Meditation.
So here it is, my list, of 7 ways we can use Breathwork to make our Yoga Practice more Meditative. This list is by no means definitive, but will give you a jolly start! Let me know when you have worked through this list and we can discuss some more!
Observation of the breath. In the yoga tradition the art of focussed attention meditation is called Dharana, applying our attention on a singular experience, cultivating cerebral discipline and a steady mind. The great news is that we are always breathing, and the simple act of noticing our breath has been shown to have an instantaneously calming effect of the nervous system. Harmonising our awareness with the natural breath is a simple and readily accessible form of meditation that we can connect with during our asana practice.
Ujjayi Pranayama. Often referred to as the 'whispering breath' this technique involves a gentle constriction of the epiglottis in the base of the throat to create a subtle whispering breath. Ujjayi translates to the "Victorious Breath" - by maintaining an Ujjayi breath through our asana / vinyasa practice we add an extra dimension to the breath awareness practice as we can hear and feel the breath in the throat pit, this becomes a sublime practice of meditation. The Ujjayi breath and the So Ham mantra are integral elements of the Ajapa Japa meditation practice.
So Ham mantra. It is said that there is a mantra inherent to the breath ie. we don't chant the mantra, we listen for it, as it is already there. So Ham translates to 'I am That', 'So' is the mantra within the inhale, 'Ham' is that mantra within the exhalation. Try it now! Close your eyes, gently constrict your throat to create a suble whispering sound and listen... So Ham / I am That, can you hear it?
Breath Centred Practice. This technique requires a huge amount of focussed attention, it requires that we use the breath as a 'container' for our movements, noticing the pause at the beginning and the end of the breath and using these moments as the start and end point for the movements. You can start with super simple body movement such as raising and lower the arms, seeking to contain that movement within the breath, ie, waiting for the inhalation to commence, then start to move the arm, the arm completes it's movement before the inhalation is complete. Once you understand this with simple movements, you can adapt to move complex movements and full vinyasa sequences.
Modifying the Breath / exploring breath ratios. Through the modification of the inhale, exhale and exploring breath retention we have an empowering methodology for controlling the nervous system and transcending the mind. The simplest and most common technique is what we call Sama Vritti, which is even inhale and exhalation, the next stage is commonly to lengthen the exhalation, which has a wonderful effect of settling the nervous system and quietening the mind.
Kumbhaka / Retaining The Breath. In the Yoga Sutras, the definitive guidebook on yogic meditation, Sage Patanjali speaks of of the 'Fourth Pranayama' whereby we can experience the true nature through cessation of the breath. If should be noted that we are not seeking to hold our breath for extremely long periods of time, it is more about cultivating a complete cessation of the impulse to breathe. Kumbhaka is not a breath holding competition, we begin very slowly, with a momentary pause in the breath, and slowly extend the breath hold, exploring the edge of our capacity and expanding the tolerance of our nervous system.
Take a Pause for Pranayama. Adding in intentional space for pranayama during your yoga practice empowers the practice and helps take it to another level. We can add in a short practice of pranayama at the beginning or the end of the practice, or perhaps peppering some pranayama through the middle of the practice.
Krishnamacharya is one of the modern advocates for a ‘breath centred’ yoga practice.
The idea ultimately, is that through mastery of the breath, we might begin to see what exists beyond the breath, this experience of totality is the ultimate realisation of meditation. Breath and movement are expressions of Prakriti, when we align our awareness with Prakriti (experienced through the breathe), we begin to cultivate focus and stillness to experience the Primordial experience of Purusha (experienced through merging with the silence between the breaths.)
I hope this helps! There are certainly a few things you can play with here, but as I said above, it is by no means a definitive extrapolation on yogic pranayama. I run regular Breathwork courses and a Meditation & Breathwork Teacher training
