Get Off The Beaten track!

Every day presents new opportunities for discovery- will it be energetic loss or renewal? How will you spend your finite energy today? 

Will you fritter away your vitality on petty arguments or by repeating worn out modes of behavior? Or will you consciously straighten up your spine (maybe literally as well as figuratively!) and decide to spend your mental energy on the upliftment of yourself, or better yet, the world around you? 

Our thoughts guide us and lead us down a thousand different trails daily.

Some are like fantasy pools that may cause us to linger and swim- or perhaps drown inside of them. Others are hard worn trails of determination- like a challenging hike through refreshing woods, or maybe more like a hot, dusty track beaten through a desert.

Some of these meanderings bring us to the sandy shores of infinite knowledge that may expand in scope out to the clear sharp horizon, like say a Hawaiian beach in summer. Or they may end up depositing us into a murky bog saturated with mist & the sucking mud of our buried psyche, holding us by our boots.

You get the picture. We can, you know, at any given moment simply use our internal compass and get off of these pointless and meandering tracks that take us in seemingly random concentric circles. Always moving, yet never quite reaching any resolution. Wouldn't that be great? Aren't you tired? I am.

 A simple breath pattern or posture can be all it takes to gve you a breather- even if it is just for 5 minutes.  Use that 5 minutes wisely, to end the trail that you may be on that is, in this moment, not taking you anywhere. Then, afterwards, when the fog of emotion has cleared, you can get your bearings straight, so to speak. Take stock of the terrain around you and the choose to go into another, perhaps much more promising direction. 

Navigation is funny that way. Sometimes we just can't see the forest for all those trees.

Try this posture to get off the track-

Start sitting in easy pose on the floor, or upright in a hard chair. Close your eyes and roll them upwards and inwards to focus on the middle part of your mind. Inhale through the nose as you lift through the top of the spine straightening your back. Rest your palm near your knees. Exhale as you roll down the spine & feel your pelvis tilt, bringing your tailbone under the curl of your spine. Stretch the spine into a curved "C" shape. Inhale, roll upwards stretching tall once again, and using the gently rhythm of the breath, flow and curl upwards and down once again. Do not stop. Become more fluid. Allow the entire spine to become flexible and soft. Imagine each vertebrae moves independently from the others. Continue to rock in the lower part of your body for as long as you can. Your spine will become more flexible and fluid as the muscles warm up and the body relaxes. Image that you are pumping fresh cerebrospinal fluid back up to nourish your brain, to refresh your thinking and clear away tensions. Feel the lungs breathing ever more deeply as you move- opening the lungs to greater capacity, and then naturally letting the air be compressed out as you roll down once again.  

Practiced daily for at least 5 minutes at a time, you will noticeably improve your mental states and clarify your direction.  

Good journey to you! 

Breath is key to our life.

So basic, so common-place & so unconscious. Even our cliché about how easy something is to do, is referred to  “as natural as breathing”. And yet, conscious breath is an untapped well- spring of enormous benefit.   By regulating breath, one can stimulate the balance of powerful hormones in our bodies. For example-Dopamine buildup can lead to depression and an increase in appetite. As a result, we seek to eat as a way to comfort ourselves. Or, we might eat simple carbohydrates as a way to make up for a drop ofSerotonin in our bodies. However, when Serotonin levels increase, replacing the Dopamine, we feel alert & happy. This in turn assists in the production of Melatonin, which allows us to sleep better, and proper sleeping patterns help curb our hunger cravings. Sufficient sleep too, plays a vital role in appetite regulation. Not enough sleep =more food consumption to keep the body awake and moving. It is not to say that Breath Control will help you to curb all desire to eat, but this cycle assists in the proper balance of what is nutritious and helpful vs. a desire to “feed the lack” that we can all feel at times. Breath can balance these vital hormone levels, increase organ function and improve digestion & elimination.   In Kundalini yoga, we address the mental & the physical states of wellbeing simultaneously. One simple and effective way to do this is by following this breath pattern to relax the body & decrease your stress levels, yet energize your mental state.     Alternate Nostril Breathing   From sitting in a comfortable position, lengthen the spine upwards and downwards simultaneously. Feel your tailbone reaching into the earth as the top of your head lifts to the Infinite as if suspended by a string. (You may wish to sit on the edge of a pillow or blanket to assist this posture if you are unaccustomed to sitting straight for any length of time.) Gently close your eyes and bring your right hand up to cup your nostrils. The right thumb will be resting near the right nostril, the left ring finger and pinky by the left nostril. Close the left side & inhale through the right nostril to a slow count of 4 to start with. At the top of this breath, close the right nostril, retaining the breath for a slow count of 4. Open the left nostril, exhale out of this side on the same 4 count, and then inhale on a 4 count, closing the left nostril, and retaining the breath for a count of 4 before opening the right nostril and exhaling through this side. Inhale and repeat the cycle. When you can, gently increase the count to a 6 or 8 count- only going as high as you comfortably can.  Breathe in this manner for at least a minute initially, but work up to several minutes for maximum benefit. Your capacity will improve with practice. As you become proficient in this form of breath, you can find your breath deepening to the point of much longer inhales, exhales and holds. But the important thing is the BALANCE of the breath. This is not an endurance race! This balance is what assists in proper left/right hemisphere brain functioning, your body’s hormonal regulation and ultimately will give you a deeper sense of alert relaxation and calm.   Be aware- do not practice this breath with extreme congestion as forcing the breath is a no-no. And, during pregnancy, breath holding is not to be practiced at all. Instead, follow the pattern without the holds. Simply count the breath in, switching sides to exhale to this count, inhaling in this side, and switching nostrils as you exhale. Simple, safe & oh so effective.   Sat Nam!