Our breathing not only connects us with the outer world, but it also connects our body, mind, emotions and spirit. Sit quietly with eyes closed and spine erect but supple. Begin to relax more and more into this very simple posture. Simply follow the breath going in and out of one’s nose. Then follow the actual movement of the air into and out of the lungs. Observe the body and sense where the breath is taking place. Does it take place in the shoulders, the chest or the lower abdomen? Do your shoulders go up when you inhale? does your belly go out or in? Do you feel your breathing in your ribs, your back and your pelvis? As you sense your breathing, are your inhalations and exhalations taking place evenly and harmoniously or do they seem to pull in one direction or another? What tensions do you feel? What does your breathing ‘sound’ like? As you sense the location of your breath, do you feel peaceful, agitated, angry, joyful, sad, bored or wilful? Are you being stubborn or rigid in your thinking? What are you thinking and feeling?
In addition, at the more advanced levels of this work with breathing, one can even sense a certain quality of energy that seems to enter with each breath, and one can follow the movement of this energy in one’s body. The purpose here is simply to observe – not to analyze, judge or manipulate.
Do self-study at least 20 minutes at the beginning of each day.
Yoga With Alicia (Dogstar) 