Welcome to Day 29 of our 40 Day Retreat 2009.
Moving the Breath Brings Awareness of Subtle Energy Field
Yesterday, we discussed the subject of pranayama, a very interesting subject, the subject of vitality and life force. We spoke about the breath and how moving the breath can also move prana and give us an experience of the subtle energy field. This is extremely important. By moving the breath we become aware of our subtle energy body.
Yesterday, we discussed the Ujjai breathing and I told you that using the Ujjai breath we are able to manage the breathing in a much more powerful way. In my experience the ujjai brings in, when you are spiritually awakened, the Sushumna Nadi and it is flow of energy along the sushumna.
Story of the Three Main Nadis
I have also spoken to you about the Ida - Pingala Nadis that are associated with the left and right nostril. Let me just say a few words before I go on. The Ida nostril gives us a passive experience of energy. When the Ida is active we feel a little more in the restful mode and it can be associated with the Tamas quality, the passive quality. When we breathe in through the right nostril we experience the active, dynamic mode and that is associated with the Rajas quality. It is like day and night experience if we were to think about that. It is also called the solar (right) and lunar (left) Nadis. Like night and day experience it is passive and dynamic (active).
When you breathe through the Sushumna, which is the third major channel you are engaging the Satvic quality. When you begin to breathe in through the Sushumna you are beginning to engage in a very powerful experience, you are beginning to feel this calmness coming into you and this beautiful feeling that allows you to manage the two others. When you get into activity or engage or feel the right nostril and the Sushumna is also active, you feel this peaceful quality that you can manage the activity in a better way. This is the experience that comes when we are engaged in the Ujjai breathing. We begin to feel this Satvic quality within us and we are able to manage the Rajas and Tamas quality in a better way.
When we are caught up only in the ‘two-nostril’ breathing then we are influenced by these two qualities without even knowing it. When you become more aware or sensitive to energy, you will actually feel when you breathe through the left nostril it is a different quality than when you breathe through the right. It is amazing, that is how I feel. I can tell immediately the nostril I am breathing in by the quality I am feeling energetically. Now a lot of people overlook that and the moment you engage the Sushumna it is a whole different experience. That is why sometimes when you are caught up in the Tamas quality and you feel that you are too passive, being stagnated and body does not want to move, you begin to engage in the Ujjai breathing, you begin to transcend that quality and you feel more peace within you and you feel the power to begin to engage.
Of course there is the alternate (nostril) breathing exercise where we breathe equal amounts through the left and through the right (nostril) and that too gives a very nice experience for meditation but we will deal with that at another time.
Breathing is a very powerful experience that we need to explore and to understand and when you can see this, then you can appreciate what is happening energetically every time you breathe. When I breathe using Ujjai it is a marvelous experience I can actually feel the energy of Sushumna so beautiful as I move the breath. I can feel the Satvic quality coming in so nicely bringing in the meditative feeling. Even if I want to engage in rapid activity I can feel the Rajas quality but it is managed in such a better way.
That is a little bit of the story of the three main Nadis and the qualities that they bring to us. Of course I have said before these three Nadis influence the chakras at every point: the Ida, Pingala, Sushumna. They are connected at every chakra point so when you breathe in, you can actually bring in energy at those points and experience that.
Today, however, I want to share with you how to breathe in a better way. The Science of Yoga tells how to breathe in a better way but we all feel that we know how to breathe. There is so much more to learn in a simple activity of breathing. Can we use our muscles that are involved in breathing more effectively? Can we bring more oxygen and more prana into the body to cleanse the lungs in a better way? Yes we can, if we understand the mechanism of breathing and give attention to breathing.
Complete Breath with Ujjai
One of the things that is very important to me in maintaining good health and also moving energy, is learning the complete breath of yoga. Today, I want to focus on that and I do not want you to think that it is so simple that we can practice it one day and we do not need to practice it again, because we know it. It is a breath you can use all the time for more efficient breathing. For example when you wake up in the morning just doing this breathing helps to cleanse the lungs without making too much noise. If you use Ujjai it helps you to manage that cleansing process in a very powerful way. This is what I enjoy about it. This can engage you in a sort of meditative experience as you deep breathe. This is the complete breath with Ujjai and you can also do that through your physical exercises. It is so important to understand this.
Understanding Process of Breathing
Let us talk about complete breathing. What are the muscles that are involved in breathing? As you know in breathing we empty and fill the lungs. We have two lungs left and right. When we breathe in a shallow way with just the chest breathing we do not really bring in as much oxygen as we can, nor do we empty the lungs in the best way that is possible. It is necessary to do that because when you do not cleanse the lungs properly, you are not able to bring fresh oxygen to the blood and to keep the body well oxygenated. You need to empty the lungs and you need to bring in fresh oxygen so that the blood, when it comes to the lungs may take this fresh oxygen to every part of the body. You oxygenate the blood in a better way when you breathe in and out to a greater capacity and the benefits are immediate.
The moment you empty the lungs in a better way and fill it in a better way, right away you see the difference, the body feels better and even the pranic energy feels better. Do you know that that belly breathing fill the lungs in the best way possible? We are such chest breathers that we do not think that this is a powerful way of breathing, but it is. It is called abdominal breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. We need to understand this belly or abdominal breathing.
If we were to expand the ribcage, when we breathe in a conscious way, we also expand the lung capacity. We expand the lungs to take in more. These are areas that we do not use fully (lower lobes of lungs). We are very accustomed to breathing up here (chest area). It is important to learn these techniques. Of course, if you are doing something and you require a lot of oxygen, the body naturally does it. If you are running fast and the body is demanding, then naturally you do it, but you can breathe more efficiently by not having to run to that extent in a simple space.
Three Levels of Breathing
There are three levels to breathing. Upper (or collar bone breathing) is called clavicular breathing because the clavicle bone moves. Middle breathing is called intercostal breathing because the intercostal muscles are involved which is the muscles that work with the ribcage. The lower breathing is called abdominal breathing or diaphragmatic breathing.
The diaphragm is a muscle that separates the thoracic cavity up here from the abdominal cavity. When you open the belly the diaphragm lowers, making room for you to breathe better. When you open the abdominal area the lower lobes of the lungs are filled and the lower lobes are bigger than the upper lobes, so you take in more oxygen and of course when you bring in more oxygen you bring in more prana.
When you breathe with the belly area it is exciting because you are filling more oxygen into the system. The abdominal organs are massaged as the diaphragm moves up and down and you are tapping into the power of manipura, when you become more spiritually awakened. This is a powerful way of breathing.
Demonstration of Breathing (see video)
When doing the complete breath you engage the lower area first, the mid area, and then the top. In yoga it is always important to breathe out before you breathe in so you can empty before you fill.
It feels like an energy boost and an energy meal. The whole body feels different. I did not make too noise, I did not disturb any body and I felt so in control of everything I was doing. It is worth every effort to practice every day. I practice this many, many times during the day. Some of you see even when I am talking, when I draw a breath I am just energizing myself in a wonderful way.
This is the lesson today in breathing. It is an important lesson.
Post Meditation Remarks
It is a lesson on this simple subject, but an important lesson. Let us begin to observe how we breathe today and begin to breathe more effectively and more efficiently to bring in more oxygen and prana into the body; to engage the Ujjai breath during the day and see how super charged we become at every level as we engage ourselves in activities. This is the gift that is there for us every day in our world. Let us accept and use this gift. What is the use of having a gift and not using it? Use the energy body, be aware of it that is a gift of spiritual awakening and become aware of the pranic field and what it offers to us. Have an exciting day!
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