Early on in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika–a 15th century yogic text–Svātmārāma draws a comparison between the breath (prana) and the mind (chita), and likens them to two fish swimming in tandem. Where one goes the other follows. 

Our breath follows our thoughts and vice versa–they are two sides of the same coin–if you are anxious your breath is different than if you are depressed, or if you are joyous. Breath provides a mirror reflection of our inner world.

The breath-mind connection suffuses asana, pranayama & meditative methods; all of which commonly involve conscious manipulation or tending to the breath,.

You can shape your breath to shape your thoughts.

With repeated practice, the breath and mind become very, very still. The mind stands like a clear full moon, reflected in motionless water. Breath and mind suspended.  In that space of stillness, unencumbered peace emerges.

As a simple practice:

1. Inhale a smooth full-breath through the nose and into the belly.
2. Exhale a long, smooth breath out through your mouth or nose. Make it about twice as long as your inbreath without any strain.
3. Repeat 3-5 times and notice the affect.

Tales from the trail, and its overlaps with yoga, part three….

This is the story of two worlds..

The first world is that of the urban environment in which much of the space is regulated: traffic lights tell you when to stop and go, a hospital awaits down the street, and you can get a ticket for parking on street sweeping days.

We navigate this world with social customs, laws, etc.

The second world is that of Wilderness, in which all of those “safety-nets” drop away and there is an expeditious consequence to one’s actions. The margin for error is much thinner.

The margin for error is much thinner.

Stepping into this world–the world of the trail–asks that I optimize the few things that are within my domain of influence. Namely: the few possessions carried and more essentially, breath body and mind; to hone the vessel.

It asks that I synchronize breath with strides and pace my strides with the sound of mantra; channeling these vital-forces, rather dispersing them. Held in a continual cadence of breath, movement and focus; a different world appears, one marked by the palpable force of  immediacy.

Immediacy: time takes on a different shape as does identity–like a drum beat sounding somewhere between an instinctual animal and a floating node of consciousness.

Through hiking, as with yoga, is an exercise in getting down to the essential, the infrastructure and circumstances of the outer world take a back seat to one’s primal identity.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

I’d recently heard that….

“Most are more interested in the cure than the cause.”

Which struck me as a noteworthy bit of wisdom. This idea certainly comes up in conversations around health and medicine but also pertains to personal relationships.

Ever by-pass your role in a particular dynamic and fast forward to trying to change the “other”? Any parents out there? While this may be semi-satisfying at the moment, if the roots are not tended, the pattern will likely repeat itself again.

Personally, I notice a tendency to want to rush in with an answer, or “solution” rather than to see and hear the multiple aspects of any issue. In many ways, yoga practice aids us to be less presumptive, more patient, and to perceive with greater depth.

In practice, it looks like a movement of energy away from the alleged “cure” and recentering on the “cause.” Sometimes the “cause” of conflict has less to do with the circumstances and more to do with our conditioning.

Understanding our causative role in circumstances is a stepping stone towards greater realization and inner-freedom.

This last Saturday, a mere seven of us gathered, to delight in one another’s songs, poems and stories at our monthly Bhakti Jam.

To tell you the truth, after a full day of teaching, I was reluctant to attend. 

Perhaps I should go home and catch up on a bit of World Cup action?  I mustered up a bit of faith–this world is full of surprises–and felt the words of my teacher….

Finish what you start, even if it is not optimal.

The few of us found our seats amid warm greetings. Each song carried and story carried a light hearted love, and willingness to give of oneself fully. Our small band in full swing.

What we may have lacked in numbers we made up for in heart and sincerity. And by the end of evening we could not wipe the warm grins from their faces.

I was reminded of how yoga practice is an ongoing vigil, even when doubt enters. And how our fulfillment comes less from the particulars of our circumstances, rather, how we chose to interpret those circumstances.

The seeds of resonate-love and expanded awareness lie awaiting at any moment.

This summer, at age 54, I’ve embarked on a new(er) past-time, hiking half (240 miles) of the Colorado Trail, in 2-4 day installments.  

Superficially, the hike may seem distinct from formal yoga practice. But, as I sometimes share with students: “you can take yoga with you anywhere you breathe, think or move.”

Breath regulation synchronized with steps, nasal breathing, intentionally setting one’s gaze, or unwinding with a few poses after 16 miles of hiking are some possible applications.

And sometimes the deeper ethos of yogic teachings are illustrated by the land itself. One connects to the spirit rather than route methodologies.

After traversing a particularly difficult  pass, I vividly noticed all the upright, green trees; surrounded by an equal number of brown, horizontal ones. 

Half the forest alive and half of it deceased.

Of course the deceased trees then nourish the soil and enter the bodies of new emergent trees. And so the cycle goes, death is simply an aspect of the greater wheel of life and not a definitive ending.

In other words, death occurs within the greater context of life. 

Life is primary. 

The forest offered no philosophy that day, only a quiet reminder: what appears as an ending is often participation in a larger continuity. Seen this way, practice becomes less about forcing change and more about learning to align with the rhythms that have always sustained us.