If you are looking for a Yoga Teacher you do not necessarily need a Yoga Master. A Yoga Master is a Yogi that has direct experience of and can contribute to the veracity of the Kriya or Yoga Set he is teaching. But, you do need someone completely versed in some Yoga "Tradition." Yoga is a living technology, nurtured by Yogis, but it is not a freelancing technology. By following a tradition the integraty of the Technology can be assured.
The Teacher and the Student can and routinely are on the journey together. These Kriyas can be taught by someone properly knowledgeable in the Technology itself, as taught by a Yoga Master, and who can distribute that knowledge along with its proper application, but who as yet cannot contribute to the veracity of the Kriya. There must I believe, be some clarity between Teacher and Student as to whether they are making the journey of discovery together or that the Teacher has been there before. Language is the key. Language structures thought. From thought come all of our ideas. Does the Teacher say, "This Kriya is designed to help in such a way. Or does he say, "This kriya will help in such and such a way.
So, keep it simple. Inhale Sat, Exhale Nam. Do it with every breath you can and don't worry about the ones you miss. Sit down someplace. Make it a ceremony. Keep your back straight. Exhale completely before drawing in a breath by pumping your diaphragm gently toward your spine a couple of times. Send the remaining air out your nose in light, little puffs. Your diaphragm will tuck in toward your spine, this is good, this is where you start the inhale.
As you inhale, keep the diaphragm below the lungs and draw the air upward until it reaches the bhronchials. Leave the shoulders relaxed, try not to draw them upward with the breath. Keep your head level or maybe chin down just a little. If you want to hold this breath for a few seconds, hold it high in your lungs. Push your chest up just a little.
Exhale very slowly. Don't hold your breath any longer than will allow you to exhale in a comfortably controlled fashion. When you get to the bottom of the breath pull the diaphragm in toward the spine and gently push out the remaining air. Now observe what the breath wants to do. It might want to stay suspended for a second or two. But if it wants to draw in air let it do so. Negotiate with your breath, don't bully it. Together you can make Music.
Through all of this breathing, keep the Mantra, Sat Nam coordinated in someway with your breath. Find a way to facilitate that coordination. The breath and the Mantra want to talk to one another like a Gospel Chorus in a Baptist church. Inhale Sat, exhale Nam, that's easy. When holding the breath I often break the Mantra down into the four Seed syllables: Sa, Ta, Na, Ma.
Sat Nam
YBSK
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What is your opinion/experience of just calmly observing the breath as it rises and falls? Could you explain a bit more about "negotiating" with your breath?
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Bruce
Observing the breath as it rises and falls is a simple and credible meditation. Perhaps on the inhalation you have the urge to hold the breath for a few seconds before beginning the exhalation. Perhaps at the bottom of the breath it might feel good to suspend breathing for a few seconds. That is what I mean by negotiting with the breath.
ReplyDeleteIn some breathing meditations one is instructed to push the breath at certain predetermined intervals. In other breathing meditations one is looking for the breath to fall into its own rhythm, this is what I call negotiating with the breath.
Do your long deep breathing and give some control to your breath. Don't push it either on the upside or the downside. Let it fall into it's own tempo. This can be very blissful.
Try the Mantra with it. Inhale Sat, exhale Nam.
Thank you for your question. sorry for the delay. Yogi Bir Singh Khalsa