Pranayama : Yogic breathing

Ever feel like your thoughts are all over the place? Like you can’t focus on just one thing, or distracted by your inner monologue to the point that it interferes with your enjoyment of the moment? Or imagine that your thoughts are like a pile of feathers on a table. Above the table is a ceiling fan, whose spinning blades cause the feathers (our thoughts) to scatter. This is what we call “monkey mind”

According to Buddhist principles, the “monkey mind” is a term that refers to being unsettled, restless, or confused. The monkey mind cannot exist in the present moment, but rather is constantly distracted by the thoughts that pass through. The monkey mind is in an agitated state. It dreads something that may occur in the future or fixates on something that happened in the past. It jumps around, resting briefly on one of the many thoughts that pop up before moving on to something else. Learning to recognize this tendency and disengage from it helps us be calmer, less stressed, and more productive.

The good news: Yoga can help. It’s mentioned in hathyogpradipika that “Mind is the king of the senses but breath is the king of the mind” The practice of pranayama, especially Kriya Yoga, controls the energy directly. The best way to keep the thought-feathers on the table is to cut the power to the fan. A great and central teaching of yoga is the three-way connection between breath, prana, and mind. Control any one of the three and you gain control over the other. Pranayama is the yogic science of breath control. Yoga teaches that breathing can be regulated and controlled for various health and spiritual benefits. Hence controlling the breath is controlling your mind. Pranayama consists of yogic techniques, not only to make you conscious of this process of breathing but also to control it. Controlling prana is like trying to control a wild elephant. It seems impossible in the beginning. But with constant practice, the prana, like the elephant, can be brought under control. This is the ultimate goal of pranayama. To start with even just a few minutes of mindful breathing can bring you into the present moment.

In Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Pranayama is mentioned as the fourth step or limb of Yoga. It is usually done after asanas or postures. It leads the practitioner to the next stage called Pratyahara. The mind is constantly flooded with thought patterns or ‘Vrittis’ which seem uncontrollable. The practice of pranayama slowly and steadily brings these modifications under control. Meditation requires a quiet mind and pranayama is a great way to achieve that stillness.

To quote Swami Sivananda “Just as a goldsmith removes the impurities of gold by heating it in the hot furnace, by strongly blowing the blow-pipe, so also the Yogic student removes the impurities of the body and the Indriyas (senses) by blowing his lungs, i.e., by practicing Pranyama.”

Love and Light, Shalini