THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF THOUGHTS AND BREATH

                              THE IMPORTANT FACT

                               ABOUT  OUR BREATH

                                                                         ❤❤

                          I WANT TO ASK A QUESTION REGARDING BREATHING. SOME MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SAY, "BREATH IS AN INVOLUNTARY ACTION. JUST BREATHE NORMALLY". SOME OF YOGA PEOPLE SAY, "BREATHE DEEPLY, IT HELPS YOU TO BE EFFECTIVE". WHAT IS THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS?

                  ANS : WHAT YOU ARE ASKING IS ESSENTIALLY, HOW IS BREATH CONNECTED TO YOUR WELLBEING? BREATH IS NOT JUST THE EXCHANGE OF OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE. HOW YOU BREATHE DECIDES MANY ASPECTS OF WHO YOU ARE RIGHT NOW. HAVE YOU NOTICED, FOR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THOUGHT AND EMOTION THAT YOU GO THROUGH, YOUR BREATH TAKES ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF PATTERNS? IF YOU ARE ANGRY, YOU BREATHE IN ONE WAY. IF YOU ARE PEACEFUL, YOU BREATHE ANOTHER WAY. IF YOU ARE VERY HAPPY, YOU BREATHE ANOTHER WAY. IF YOU ARE SAD, YOU BREATHE ANOTHER WAY. WHICHEVER WAY YOU BREATHE, THAT IS THE WAY YOU THINK. WHICHEVER WAY YOU THINK, THAT IS THE WAY YOU BREATHE.

                      THIS BREATHE CAN BE USED IN SO MANY WAYS AS A TOOL TO DO OTHER THINGS WITH THE BODY AND THE MIND. WITH THE SHAMBHAVI", WE USE A VERY SIMPLE PROCESS OF BREATH, BUT IT IS NOT ABOUT THE BREATH. BREATH IS JUT A TOOL, IT IS JUST AN INDUCTION. WHAT HAPPENS IS NOT ABOUT THE BREATH. PRANAYAM IS THE SCIENCE WHERE, BY CONSCIOUSLY BREATHING IN A PARTICULAR WAY, THE VERY WAY YOU THINK, FEEL AND UNDERSTAND AND EXPERIENCE LIFE CAN BE CHANGED.

                  IF I ASK YOU TO WATCH YOUR BREATH, WHICH IS THE MOST COMMON PRACTICE PEOPLE DO THESE DAYS, YOU THINK YOU ARE WATCHING THE BREATH, BUT ACTUALLY YOU ARE NOT. YOU ARE ONLY ABLE TO NOTICE THE SENSATIONS CAUSED BY THE MOVEMENT OF AIR.IT IS LIKE, IF SOMEONE TOUCHES YOUR HAND, YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE TOUCH OF THE OTHER PERSON, BUT ACTUALLY YOU ONLY KNOW THE SENSATIONS GENERATED WITHIN YOUR BODY, YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW THE OTHER PERSON FEELS.

                    BREATHE IS LIKE THE HAND OF THE DIVINE. YOU DON'T FEEL IT. THIS BREATH THAT YOU DO NOT EXPERIENCE IS REFERED TO AS KOORMA NADI. I AM NOT REFERRING TO THE SENSATIONS CAUSED BY THE AIR, I AM REFERRING TO THE BREATH ITSELF. KOORMA NADI IS REFERRED TO AS A STRING WHICH TIES YOU WITH THIS BODY - AN UNBROKEN STRING THAT GOES ON AND ON. IF I TAKE AWAY YOUR BREATH, YOU AND YOUR BODY WILL FALL APART BECAUSE THE BEING AND THE BODY ARE BOUND BY THE KOORMA NADI. THIS IS A BIG DECEPTION. THERE ARE TWO, BUT THEY ARE PRETENDING TO BE ONE. IT IS LIKE MARRIAGE - THEY ARE TWO, BUT WHEN THEY COME OUT THE PRETEND TO BE ONE. THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE HERE, THE BODY AND BEING, TWO DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE ONES, BUT THEY PRETEND THAT THEY ARE ONE.

                    IF YOU TRAVEL THROUGH THE BREATH, DEEP INTO YOURSELF, TO THE DEEPEST CORE OF THE BREATH, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THAT POINT WHERE ARE YOU ACTUALLY TIED TO THE BODY. ONCE YOU KNOW WHERE ARE TIED AND HOW YOU ARE TIED, YOU CAN UNTIE IT AT WILL. CONSCIOUSLY, YOU CAN SHED THE BODY AS EFFORTLESSLY AS YOU WOULD SHED YOUR CLOTHES.

                   WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CLOTHES ARE TIED, IT IS EASY TO DROP THE. WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS TIED, WHICHEVER WAY YOU PULL, IT DOES NOT COME OFF. THE SAME APPLIES TO THE BODY.

                    IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW YOUR CLOTHES ARE TIES, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THEM OFF, YOU HAVE TO TEAR THEM APRT. SIMILARLY, IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR BODY IS TIED TO YOU, IF YOU WANT TO DROP IT, YOU HAVE TO DAMAGE OR BREAK IT IN SOME WAY. BUT IF YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS TIED, YOU CAN VERY CLEARLY HOLD IT AT A DISTANCE. WHEN YOU WANT TO DROP IT, YOU CAN JUST DROP IT CONSCIOUSLY. LIFE BECOMES VERY DIFFERENT.

                  WHEN SOMEBODY WILLFULLY SHEDS THE BODY COMPLETELY, WE SAY THIS IS MAHASAMADHI. THIS IS WHAT IS GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS MUKTI, OR ULTIMATE LIBERATION. YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT A GREAT SENSE OF EQUANIMITY WEHRE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IS INSIDE THE BODY AND WHAT IS OUTSIDE THE BODY. THE GAME IS UP.

                 THIS IS SOMETHING THAT EVERY YOGI IS LONGING FOR, AND THIS IS SOMETHING EVERY HUMAN BEING IS WORKING TOWARDS, WHETHER THEY ARE DOING IT CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT. IN SOME WAY, THEY WANT TO EXPAND, AND THIS IS THE ULTIMATE EXPANSION. IT IS JUST THAT THEY ARE GOING TOWARDS THE INFINITE IN INSTALLMENTS, WHICH IS A VERY LONG AND IMPOSSIBLE PROCESS. IF YOU COUNT - 1,2,3,4- YOU WILL ONLY BECOME ENLESS COUNTING. YOU WILL NEVER REACH THE INFINITE. WHEN ONE REALIZES THE FUTILITY OF THIS, HE NATURALLY TURNS INWARDS TO DO THIS BY UNTYING THE LIFE PROCESS FROM THE BODY.

THE SCIENCE OF BREATH

 

                                   PLAVINI PRANAYAMA

                   PLAVINI IS ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED PRANAYAMA EXERCISES. IN THIS PRACTICE, THE STOMACH IS FIRST FILLED COMPLETELY WITH AIR. THEN, WHILE THE AIR REMAINS IN THE STOMACH, THE LUNGS ARE FILLED COMPLETELY. THE BREATH IS RETAINED, AND THEN FINALLY EXHALED. THIS METHOD OF INHALATION, RETENTION, AND EXHALATION IS REPEATED THE DESIRED NUMBER OF TIMES, AND WHEN THE EXERCISE IS FINISHED, THE AIR IS REGURGITATED THROUGH THE MOUTH.

                    THERE ARE A FEW, MORE RARE, ADVANCED PRANAYAMA EXERCISE WHICH ARE MEANT EXCLUSIVELY FOR ADEPT YOGIS. SUCH EXERCISE ARE TRADITIONALLY IMPARTED TO ADVANCED STUDENTS BY THEIR PRECEPTORS.

                     PATANJALI, THE CONDIFIER OF THE YOGIS SUTRA, WHILE EXPLAINING VARIOUS WAYS OF BRINGING THE MIND UNDER CONTROL, ALSO INCLUDES THE METHOD OF PRANAYAMA. THE WHOLE SECRET OF THE SCIENCE OF BREATH LIES IN THE INTERPRETATION OF SUTRA. HERE PATANJALI USES DIFFERENT WORDS FOR INHALATION, EXHALATION, AND RETENTION. ACCORDING TO HIM, HAVING CONROL OVER TO CONTROL, ELIMINATE, AND EXPAND THE PAUSE IS PRANAYAMA. IN SANSKRIT THE PAUSE IS CALLED KUMBHAKA. HENCE, SUTRA IS AN APHORISM, A BRIEF NOTE WHICH THE COMPETENT TEACHER CAN EXPLAIN TO HIS STUDENTS. ACTUALLY, PRANAYAMA IN PRACTICE MEANS "PAUSE", THOUGH VARIOUS AUTHORS HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN IT IN OTHER WAYS. ALL THE BREATHING EXERCISE ARE MEANT TO CONTROL, ELIMINATE, AND EXPAND THAT PAUSE.

                       HATHA YOGA MANUALS MENTION EIGHT VARIETIES OF KUMBHAKA. IT IS A PRACTICAL SUBJECT, AND COMPETENT YOGIS ALONE KNOW THE SECRETS OF THE NATURE OF THE PAUSE. THE KUMBHAKAS SHOULD BE PRACTICED CAREFULLY UNDER A COMPETENT GUIDE, NEVER BY READING MANUALS ALONE. NOR SHOULD THEY BE PRACTICED WITHOUT APPLYING THE BANDHAS (LOCKS)

                       BANDHAS AND THEIR APPLICATION

                       ALL ASPIRANTS ARE STRICTLY ADVISED NOT A PRACTICE THE EXERCISE OF KUMBHAS. BANDHAS ARE LOCKS, AND THERE ARE THREE OF THEM, JALANDHARA BANDHA (THE CHIN LOCK) UDDIYANA BANDHA (THE ABDOMINAL LOCK) AND MULA BNDHA (THE ANAL LOCK)

                       BANDHAS AND THEIR APPLICATION

                          ALL ASPIRANTS ARE STICTLY ADVISED NOT TO PRACTICE THE EXERCIES OF KUMBHAKA (RETENTION OF BREATH) WITHOUT APPLYING THE BANDHAS. BANDHAS ARE LOCKS, AND THERE ARE THREE OF THEM. JALANDHARA BANDHA (THE CHIN LOCK) UDDHIYANA BANDHA (THE ABDOMINAL LOCK) AND MULA BANDHA (THE ANAL LOCK).

                     JALANDHARA BANDHA (CHIN LOCK)

                   THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAROTID ARTEIRIES, WHICH BRING THE BLOOD SUPPLY TO THE BRAIN, LIE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE NECK. WHEN PRESSURE IS APPLIED TO THESE ARTERIES THROUGH THE CHIN LOCK, THE NERVE IMPULSES TRAVELLING TO THE BRAIN ATTENUATE BODY CONSCIOUSNESS AND BRING ABOUT A TRANCELIKE CONDITION. THIS STIMULATION ALSO SHOWS DOWN THE HEART, AND THE VIJNANI NADI, WHICH CAN BE TRANSLATED AS "CHANNEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS" CAN THUS BE BROUGHT UNDER CONSCIOUS CONTROL. IT IS SAID IN THE SHIVA SAMHITA THAT BY PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE CAROTID SINUS NERVES, A BLISSFUL STATE OF MIND IS EXPERIENCED. IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN THE CHIN LOCK IS PRACTICED, BOTH IN EXHALATION AND INHALATION, CONTROL OF THE VIJNANI NADI BECOMES EASY. BUT IT TAKES A LONG TIME - SOMETHING YEARS - FOR THE YOGI TO GAIN MASTERY OF THE JALANDHARA BANDHA.

                        WHEN THE CHIN LOCK IS NOT APPLIED AFTER THE RETENTION OF THE BREATH, THE AIR WANTS TO RUSH OUT AFTER DEEP INHALATION, EVEN IF THE GLOTTISIS KEPT CLOSED. SO IT RUSHES THROUGH THE AUDITORY TUBES AND DISTURBS THE INNER EAR, CAUSING VARIOUS DISORDERS. THEREFORE JALANDHARA BANDHA IS APPLIED TO PREVENT SUCH DISORDERS. THE GLOTTIS IS FIRST CLOSED, THEN, BY PROPER APPLICATION OF THE CHIN LOOK, PRACTICING KHUMBHAKA BECOMES EASY.

                       A FEW DOCTORS IN INDIA PUT PRESSURE ON THE CAROTID ARTERIES AND THUS GIVE YOGIC ANESTHESIA TO THE PATIENT. THEY EVEN PERFORM MINOR SURGERY WITH THIS "ANESTHETIC" . THE SAME PRINCIPLE HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY MARTIAL ART EXPERTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SCHOOL OF KUNG FU. CHILDREN OFTEN EXPERIENCE THAT PLEASANT FEELING OF "PASSING OUT" WHEN THEY UNCONSCIOUSLY LEARN TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE CAROTID ARTERY. THROUGH JALANDHARA BANDHA, YOGIS BRING ABOUT CONSCIOUS CONTROL OF THIS PHENOMENON AND THUS ATTAIN A STATE OF JOY BEFORE MEDITATING.

                                        UDDIYANA BANDHA 

                                         (ABDOMINAL LIFT)

                      UDDIYANA IS AN EXERCISE WHICH INVOLVES THE DIAPHRAGM, RIBS, AND ABDOMINAL MUSCLES, AND IT CAN BE PRACTICED EIHER STANDING OR SITTING IN ONE OF THE MEDITATIVE POSTURES. IN THE STANDING POSITION, PLACE THE FEET APPROXIMATELY TWO FEET APART. KEEP THE SPINE STAIGHT, BEND THE KNEES SLIGHTLY, AND LEAN FORWARD FROM THE WAIST FAR ENOUGH TO PLACE THE PALMS OF THE HANDS JUST ABOVE THE KNEES. EXHALE COMPLETELY, AND PLACE THE CHINE OR THE HOLLOW OF THE THROAT. WITHOUT INHALING, SUCK THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES IN AND UP, PULLING THE NAVEL TOWARD THE SPINE. THIS MOTION PULLS THE DIAPHGRAGM UP CREATES A CAVITY ON THE FRONT SIDE OF THE ABDOMEN UNDER THE RIB CAGE, THE BACK WILL CURVE SLIGHTLY. THIS POSITION IS HELD FOR AS LONG AS IT REMAINS COMFORTABLE. THEN SLOWLY INHALE AND RELAX.

                             NEVER FORCE THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES OUTWARD, USE FORCE ONLY IN PULLING THE MUSCLES IN AND UPWARD. DO NOT PRACTICE THIS EXERCISE IF THERE IS ANY PROBLEM WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HIATAL HERNIA, ULCERS, OR HEART DISORDERS. WOMEN SHOULD NOT PRACTICE IT DURING MENSTRUATION OR PRAGNANCY. UDDIYANA IS ONE OF THE FINEST EXERCISE FOR THE ABDOMINAL ORGANS. 

                            MULA BANDHA (ANAL LOCK)

                             MULA BANDHA (THE ANAL LOCK) IS AN EXERCISE IN WHICH THE SPHINCTER MUSCLES ARE CONTRACTED. BOTH THE EXTERNAL AND THE INTERNAL SPHINCTER MUSCLES ARE CONTRACTED AND THEN HELD. THIS BANDHA IS USED DURING PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION.

                               

                                               MUDRAS

                           MUDRA MEANS "SEAL". THERE ARE A NUMBER OF MUDRAS MENTIONED IN THE YOGA TEXTS INCLUDING MAHA MUDRA, KHECARI MUDRA, ASHVINI MUDRA, YOGA MUDRA, VISHNU MUDRA, AND OTHERS.

                           ONE MUDRA USED DURING MEDITATION IS JNANA MUDRA (THE FINGER LOCK). ONE OF STUDENT HAS ARRANGED HIS FEET AND LEGS AND HAS PLACED HIS FEET AND LEGS AND HAS PLACED HIS BODY IN A COMFORTABLE SITTING POSTURE, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE ARMS, HANDS, AND FINGERS BE ARRANGED ACCORDINGLY SO THAT THEY DO NOT BECOME A SOURCE OF DISTRACTION. JNANA MUDRA IS THEN APPLIED. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE VARIOUS WAYS OF PLACING THE FINGERS, THE SIMPLES IS TO PLACE THE THUMB AND THE FOREFINGER TOGETHER AND REST THE HANDS, PALMS DOWNWARD, ON THE KNEES, VISHNU MUDRA, WHICH USED DURING PRANAYAMA EXERCISES, IS DESCRIBED IN THE NADI SHODHANAM SECTION.

THE IMPORTANT OF BREATH

 

                              THE BREATHING PATTERN

                       THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BREATH CAN BE APPRECIATED BY OBSERVING SOME OF THE MIND'S PROPERTIES, FOR THE MIND TENDS TO FILTER MANY EVENTS OUT OF CONSCIOUS AWARENESS IN ORDER TO AVOID A CONFUSING BARRAGE OF SENSATIONS. THIS ALLOWS IT TO FOCUS ON THE MORE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. IN OTHER WORDS, A NEW PATTERN OF THOUGHT OR A NEW ACTIVITY INITIALLY ATTRACTS MUCH CONSCIOUS ATTENTION, BUT WITH FREQUENT REPETITION IT BECOMES UNCONSCIOUS AND HABITUAL. FOR EXAMPLE, WALKING IS EFFORTLESS FOR AN ADULT, IT REQUIRES LITTLE OR NO CONSCIOUS ATTENTION ALTHOUGH THE CONSCIOUS MIND CAN EASILY INTERVENE IF NECESSARY. HOWEVER, THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATING THE MOVEMENTS OF WALKING INTO THE MIND TOOK YEARS OF TRIAL AND ERROR BEFORE IT BECAME HABITUAL AND COULD BE RELEGATED TO THE UNCONSCIOUS.

                   THE INTERNAL ORGANS (FOR EXAMPLE, THE HEART, KIDNEY, LIVER) RESPOND IN A SIMILAR MANNER. BIOFEEDBACK RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT SOME OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF THESE ORGANS, PREVIOUSLY LABELED INVOLUNTARY, CAN BE CONSCIOUSLY CONTROLLED WITH TRAINING, ALTHOUGH MUCH PRACTICE USUALLY REQUIRED TO BECOME PROFICIENT IN CONSCIOUSLY CONTROLLINGV THESE ORGANS.

                    BREATHING IS UNIQUEAS A PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTION BECAUSE FEEDBACK SIGNALS FROM THE LUNGS AND FROM OXYGEN AND CARBONDIOXIDE IN THE BLOOD OFFSET THE RATE AND DEPTH OF VOLUNTARY MUSCLES. FOR EXAMPLE, DEPENDING UPON ONE'S PROFICIENCY IN DEALING WITH THE BREATH, THE RATE AND DEPTH OF BREATHING CAN BE ALTERED, BUT INVOLUNTARY REFLEX ACTIVITY LIMITS THE DEGREE TO WHICH THIS CAN OCCUR. THESE REFLEXES ACT AS SAFEGUARDS, AND ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE NEED TO BREATHE IS FUNDAMENTAL. THIS IN PART REFLECTS THE KEY ROLE PLAYED BY OXYGEN IN METABOLISM, FOR WITHOUT OXYGEN THE BODY CANNOT BURN FOOD AND GENERATE ENERGY.

               MODERN SCIENCE HAS COME TO UNDERSTAND MANY OF THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THE PHYSICAL ASPECT OF BREATHING, FROM THE MUSCLES AND ORGANS WHICH TRANSPORT OXYGEN INTO AND THROUGHOUT THE BODY, DOWN TO THE MOLECULAR REACTIONS OF METABOLISM. HOWEVER, THE PURELY INTELLECTUAL APPEAL OF THESE COMPLEX PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS HAS LIMITED THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY'S CONCEPT OF THE BREATH TO THE PHYSICAL LEVEL ONLY, EVEN THOUGH THE MOST CASUAL REFLECTION INDICATES THAT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BREATH EXTENDS BEYOND ITS PURELY METABOLIC FUNCTIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE SUGGESTS THAT THERE IS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONS AND THE BREATH, FOR INTENSE EMOTIONAL STATES APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN BREATHING. THE SOB OF GRIEF AND THE TREMBLING BREATH OF ANGER ARE COMMON EXAMPLES. IN ADDITION, PHYSICAL STIMULI SUCH AS PAIN AND EXERCISE CAN ACT TO CHANGE BOTH THE BREATH AND THE EMOTIONAL STATE.

                    ONCE THESE OBSERVATIONS ARE STUDIED, A WHOLE SERIES OF QUESTIONS ARISES, WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EMOTIONS AND THE BODY AND BREATH? WHAT IS THE UNDERLYING VEHICLE? DOES THE BREATH INTERACT WITH OTHER REALMS OF THE MIND? CAN EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL STATES BE ALTERED BY CHANGING THE BREATHING PATTERNS?

                      THESE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WHICH SCIENCE OF BREATH ADDRESSES. EACH CHAPTER DEVELOPS ONE ASPECT OF THE CENTRAL THESIS THAT THE BREATH IS THE LINK BETWEEN THE BODY AND MIND, AND THE AUTHORS WEAVE TOGETHER THE DIVERSE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES OF THE WEST AND THE RICH EXPERIENTIAL INSIGHTS OF THE EAST INTO A THOROUGH AND BALANCED EXPOSITION. AFTER THE BASIC TENETS OF THE BOOK ARE OUTLINED IN THE FIRST CHAPTER, DR.ALAN HYMES PRESENTS THE PHYSIOLOGY AND ANATOMY OF THE LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT FROM AN UNUSUAL PERSPECTIVE, AND EXAMINES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF VARIOUS BREATHING HABITS. A DISCUSSION OF THE NOSE (AN OFT-MALIGNED BUT RARELY UNDERSTOOD ORGAN) AND THE UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT FOLLOWS IN A CHAPTER BY DR.RUDOLPH BALLENTINE. HERE, THIS PORTAL IS EXAMINED IN TERMS OF THE PREPARATORY FUNCTIONS IT EXERTS UPON THE INCOMING AIRSTEAM AND THE COMPLEX PATTERN OF NERVOUS ACTIVITY AND ENERGY FLOW WHICH THIS EVOKES. IN THE FINAL CHAPTER, SWAMI RAMA DESCRIBES THE VEHICLES FOR THE BODY/MIND INTERFACE: PRANA, ACCORDING TO THE ANCIENT YOGIC TEXTS, PRANA IS THE MOST SUBTLE UNIT OF ENERGY. SWAMI RAMA DISCUSSESS ITS ORGANIZATION INTO A PRANIC SHEATH, OR ENERGY FIELD, WHICH UNDERLIES THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE BODY AND WHICH IS POTENTIALLY UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE MIND.

                    THE GOAL OF SCIENCE OF BREATH IS TO PRESENT THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE REGARDING THE BREATH IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAN BE APPLIED AS A TOOL FOR PERSONAL GROWTH. TO THIS END, A SERIES OF PRACTICAL EXERCISE AND TECHNIQUES FOR SYSTEMATICALLY WORKING WITH THE BREATH AND CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF PRANA IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. THESE SERVE TO EXPAND BREATH AWARENESS, FOR A WE OBSERVE THE WAY IN WHICH WE USE OUR BREATH, VARIOUS MORE BENEFICIAL ONES. JUST AS A CHILD OVERCOMES HIS CLUMSINESS BY BECOMING AWARE OF HIS BODY AND LEARNING TO WALK, SO DOES BREATH AWARENSS GRADUALLY BRING BREATHING UNDER GREATER CONSCIOUS CONTROL.

                     AS THE BREATH IS THE LINK BETWEEN THE BODY AND MIND, IT CAN INTERVENE IN THE ACTIVITIES OF EITHER LEVEL. WITH INCREASED AWARENSS AND CONTROL OF THE SUBTLE ASPECTS OF BREATHING, THESE INTERVENTIONS CAN AFFECT DEEP PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES. SCIENCE OF BREATH, THEN, OPENS UP NEW AVENUES OF BEING TO THE CONSCIOUS MIND,  PROVIDING A POWERFUL TOOL IN THE PURSUIT OF TRULY HOLISTIC HEALTH AND PERSONAL GROWTH.

THE SCIENCE OF BREATH

 

                       

                                       COSMIC  BREATH

              IN THIS SCIENTIFIC ERA, WE ASSUME THAT THE PHYSICAL BODY GIVES RISE TO THE MIND, THAT THE MIND GROWS OUT OF THE BODY. ACCORDING TO THIS VIEW. THE FECTUS HAS ESSENTIALLY NO MIND. AFTER BIRTH, THOUGHT AND CONSCIOUSNESS GRADUALLY DEVELOP. WE LOOK AT THE COSMOS THE SAME WAY. SOMEWHERE ON THE PRIMORDIAL EARTH, MOLECULES RANDOMLY FELL INTO PLACE AND LIFE APPEARED. OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, MORE COMPLEX FORMS OF LIFE EVOLVED, AND EVENTUALLY THERE EMERGED A CONSCIOUS, SELF-AWARE BEING.

               BUT IN THE EAST, AS IN MUCH OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, THERE HAS BEEN A DIFFERENT, ALMOST OPPOSITE, VIEW. YOGA PHILOSOPHY INSISTS THAT EACH OF THE LEVELS OF BEING EVOLVES OUT OF THE ONE ABOVE IT. OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS COMES MIND, OUT OF THE MIND COMES THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. MIND DESIRED PHYSICAL EXISTENCE AND SO EVOLVED A BODY IN WHICH TO MANIFEST ITSELF.

                 THIS IS VASTLY DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD. IT IMPLIES THAT THE ESSENCE OF OUR BEING LIES BEYOND THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL COSMOS. IT IMPLIES THAT WE ARE ALL MANIFESTATIONS OF AN ALMOST INCONCEIVABLE FORM OF CONSCIOUSNESS WHICH LIES BEYOND THE GROSSER LEVELS OF OUR EXISTENCE. IT IS FROM THERE WE CAME AND TO THERE WE WILL RETURN. IT IS FROM THERE WE CAME AND TO THERE WE WILL RETURN. THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE  FLOWS OUT OF THAT CONSCIOUSNESS AND ULTIMATELY FLOWS BACK INTO ITS SOURCE, LIKE A TIDE THAT FLOWS IN AND OUT.

                     ODDLY ENOUGH, SOME ASTRONOMERS HAVE ARRIVED AT A SOMEWHAT SIMILAR CONCLUSION. IT IS THE ASTRONOMER, OF COURSE, WHOSE AREA OF STUDY PUSHES HIM HARD UP UP AGAINST THE IMPONDERABLES. HIS CONCEPTUAZATION OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNIVERSE FORCE HIM TO DEAL WITH UNCOMFORTABLE OF THE UNIVERSE FORCE HIM TO DEAL WITH UNCOMFORTABLE CONCEPTS LIKE ETERNITY AND INFINITE SPACE. WHERE DOES IT ALL STOP, AND IF TIME AND SPACE TO END, WHAT LIES BEYOND THEM? SUDDENLY WE REALIZE THAT HUMAN RATIONALITY IS A POOR TOOL WITH WHICH TO MEASURE COSMIC REALITY.

                  MANY ASTRONOMERS TODAY BELIEVE THAT THE GALAXIES AND PLANETS ARE PULLING APART FROM EACH OTHER, THAT THE SPACE BETWEEN CELESTIAL BODIES IS EXPANDING DUE TO AN EXPLOSION FROM A DENSE CENTER. THIS IS THE "BIG BAND THEORY". WHICH ALSO HOLDS THAT AFTER A CERTAIN POINT OF EXPANSION, THE COSMOS WILL BEGIN TO CONTRACT AND ALL THE PLANETS, STARTS, AND GALAXIES WILL BE PULLED BACK INTO YET ANOTHER DENSE CENTER - FROM WHICH IT ALL EXPLODES AGAIN.

                    THE PROCESS, THEN, IS A FAMILIAR ONE OF EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION. IN A SENSE, IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A COSMIC INHALATION AND EXHALATION. ALL THE LEVELS OF OUR EXISTENCE CAN BE SEEN AS FUNCTIONING HARMONIOUSLY IF WE GRASP THE BASIC PHENOMENON LEVEL WE MANIFEST, WE BECOME PEOPLE. WE BECOME PHYSICAL, AND THEN WE RETURN TO CONSCIOUSNESS. HENCE IT IS THAT ONE CAN SPEND DECADES IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROCESS OF BREATHING.