Pranayama: Dissolving Structures

Posted on October 19, 2015 by admin

The Practice: As we are still laying the groundwork for the pranayama practice, we will hold off on discussing the bandhas. If these are familiar to you from your own practice, feel free to add at your own discretion.

Last post we explored differentiating and integrating ribs and diaphragm, the two major structural movers of respiration, in perception and action. It is important to be able to feel the location, shape and movements of these 3-dimensional structures to help make sense of how and where we store tension, and how and where we breathe more effortlessly. This practice can last a lifetime, but today we change our focus to look at two volumes or energy centers where deeper levels of balance and opening can be explored. The movements centered on these volumes are radial expanding and condensing, as represented by the movements of the Hoberman sphere.

The outbound or centrifugal force seeks balance with the inbound or centripetal force. In the dynamic of the human body, this balance of energies is called ‘tensegrity’. The center point is always still. Although we will feel ribs and diaphragm in the background, our attention will be directed to the energy moving, not the physical structures.

Imagine two spheres of energy, space, action and perception in the body. The first is centered behind the navel at the bi-furcation of the aorta and vena cava. The second is centered at the sino-atrial node, at the back of the heart, just about in the center of the chest. Hopefully they will overlap in their expansions, with the area of overlap being centered on the 3rd chakra area of liver, stomach, spleen and kidneys.

Begin lying in a supported savasana or pranayama position. (In supported pranayama the spine is supported with a pranayama bolster or accordion folded blanket.) In your imagination dissolve all structures, from skin to cells. Just a vibrant energy field sustains your attention. Starting by allowing the navel center to be the volume for inhalation and exhalation, allowing the heart center to be relaxed and receptive. In radial expansion, the in-breath moves outward in all directions passing through the body, outside the body, as far as comfortable without force or strain. When the limit of expansion is reached, allow a gradual condensing of the energy back into the navel center. Allow the inbound energy to travel at roughly the same speed as the outbound energy. At the two endpoints, dissolve all tension so the pause becomes a gateway to the infinite stillness.

You will, of course, feel the various tissues as the energy moves in and out. Try not to react from them, but discover how the energy can pass through them, transforming your perception from density to fluidity. Skin, muscle, bone, and all other connective tissues can feel fluid when open and relaxed. When the fluid body awakens, we discover billions of years of wisdom ready to nurture us.

Now, shifting you attention up to the heart center, repeat the expanding and condensing from hear, this time allowing the navel center to be relaxed and receptive. This may be a more challenging action as the ribs energy may not be familiar with much expansion. Asana practice helps here. As the heart energy expands on the in breath, let the face/skull/brain softly receive this without reacting or trying to help. The feeling is that the brain is actually exhaling, melting into the expanding heart. On the slow release of exhalation, try to not let the ribs help by squeezing or dropping. Just the energy flowing back to the center is all you need. Feel the heart, diaphragm and liver melting, as well as ribs and spine. Be the ocean and feel the waves, currents and tides.

Afterwards you’ve completed your explorations around heart and navel centers, map your inner world from what you have learned. Where are you more perceptive, conscious, fluid relaxed? Where are you denser, more resistant, or even un-consciousness? Remember, once you discover the unconsciousness areas, they are no longer unconscious! Just con-fused.

Next, try the same explorations while sitting. How does this change in gravity affect the movements around the two centers. Finally, do this standing in tadasana with the hands resting on the wall for support and extra grounding. Lying, sitting and standing are the three most common positions for the human body. Discovering how posture and breathing are related is the the first step on the journey of hatha yoga. We will soon see that sitting is the ideal for deeper breathing work, as it is more grounded than standing and more alert that lying down. Eventually, the majority of the practice will be done sitting.

Pranayama: Cleansing the Doors of Perception

Posted on October 16, 2015 by admin

“I then asked Ezekiel, why he eat dung, & lay so long on his right & left side? he answer’d, the desire of raising other men into a perception of the infinite; this the North American tribes practise, & is he honest who resists his genius or conscience only for the sake of present ease or gratification?
The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at the end of six thousand years is true, as I have heard from Hell.

For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to leave his guard at tree of life, and when he does the whole creation will be consumed, and appear infinite and holy, whereas it now appears finite and corrupt.

This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment.

But first the notion that man has a body distinct from his soul is to be expunged; this I shall do by printing in the infernal method, by corrosives, which in Hell are salutary and medicinal, melting apparent surfaces away and displaying the infinite which was hid.

If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite.

For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.”

From The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

William Blake, writing in the 1790’s, was probably unaware of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, but he intuited the need for an inner transformation of perception to awaken humans to the mysteries and sacredness of Divine Creation. Aldous Huxley, Jim Morrison, shamans in many cultures, and many in the baby boomer generation discovered that certain chemical compounds dramatically transformed the inner landscape and opened certain doors to mystical places. As mentioned in the previous post, shamans also use drumming and rattling to induce a shamanic state that opens mystical channels to the infinite. Yogis of old developed an inner science of practices without chemicals or strange side-effects to also open up the mystical world. These practices are called asana and pranayama, or ‘hatha yoga’.

As mentioned in the last post, Patanjali has four sutras addressed to pranayama and these address energetic transitions and phase shifts that Blake was referring to as ‘salutary and medicinal’. They also offer the possibility of preparing the consciousness for shamanic journeying and begin by linking pranayama to asana. Patanjali waits until the Vibhuti Pada to go into the shamanic realms where he unfold various siddhis or mystical powers that arise when ‘samyama’ is turned toward various aspects of nature, but serious hatha yogis learn sooner or later that pranayama can be a gateway.

The Yoga Sutras aim for a ‘masculine – trancendence’ form of spirituality, with the final goal as ‘kaivalya‘, where Purusha separates from Prakriti and rests alone. This, of course is a very important step in the process of awakening, but the modern world requires an integral, non-dual spirituality that requires proficiency in differentiating (not separating) the deep infinite stillness of Purusha, but also proficiency in navigating and integrating the depths of Prakriti, Mother Nature, the world of spirit, and then bringing both together moment to moment, becoming cosmic channels of healing for our planet.

II- 49 tasmin sati shvaasa-prashvaasayor gati-vicchedah praanaayaamah
With that attained, (the mastery of asana) begins the exploration of more subtle life energies through regulating the natural flow of inhalation and exhalation.

Mastery of asana includes what Patanjali describes in the previous three sutras:

II-46: refining sthira and sukham, aka the balancing of weight and lightness, ground and sky, of movement and stillness. This transforms our bodies into three dimensional perceptual fields of fluid sensitivity moving consciously through the fourth dimension, time. Building perception and learning to balance opposing forces as we move through life, and as life moves through us, are key here.

II-47: Relaxing all effort and becoming absorbed into the cosmic field, aka ananta, or ishvara: In the Samadhi Pada, Patanjali puts a strong emphasis on surrendering into the infinite, Ishvara Pranidhana. This returns here as a deep trust of the biological and cosmological wisdom gained from billions of years of evolution. It is very easy to impose onto Nature as we have been programmed by modern culture to do so. Will power or discipline, known as tapas, abhyassa and vairagyam in the sutras, should be applied to help inhibit our pathological habits, not to impose our will onto Nature.

II-48: Recognizing unity in all duality, so that all layers and levels of yin and yang are seen to be integral to, not opposed to each other. What appear to be opposing forces are actually two complementary forces acting in harmony to allow growth and complexity to emerge. When we find the fulcrums, the places of rest amidst the movements, and can stay there, stabilize our attention there (abhyassa), the next levels of subtle perception can emerge from the deep background. Energetic wholeness is a place of easy, effortless transition of attention through the planes or frequencies open to our attunement. Asana actually has very little to do with exercise, gymnastics, stretching or relaxation, not that that these aren’t fun, or cannot be very useful to creating a reasonable level of health. Asana is phase one of preparation for the deeper inner journeys the old yogis, shamans and mystics had been taking for eons. Pranayama is phase two.

II- 50 baahyaabhyantara-stambha-vrttih desha-kaala-sankhyaabhih paridrsto diirgha-suukshmah
The movements of breath are outward, inward and restrained. Practice involves allowing the stages of the breath to become longer and more subtle as you explore where the breath is felt inside the body, how longs the movements take, and how many cycles you can perform safely.

If we have a strong felt sense of our innate fluidity, breath is felt as waves rolling through the ocean of our body. We can begin to dissolve the stuck places that inhibit even smoother flow of these waves and also begin to allow the natural pauses to spontaneously lengthen. Beginners in yoga would be off doing asana and just feeling the breath in restorative poses, building perception without force. Then inhalation is used to train the ribs shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle to expand and the spine to lengthen form the inside outward. Exhalation is used to train the dome of the diaphragm to stretch up, lifting and widening while the perimeter lines lengthen downward. Imagine the diaphragm as the dome of a parachute, with weight pulling the cords down and a constant upward pressure lifting the center of the dome upward. This uplifting is constant as the heart sits atop the dome.

An average non-yoga trained person inhales by pushing down on the center of the diaphragm, flattening out the dome, and exhales by collapsing the chest down onto the lungs. This inevitably leads to the ‘pear shape’ body you see in many middle age humans accompanied by a diaphragm that moves less and less. For this person, the diaphragm needs to learn how to move more and practices diaphragmatic breathing or belly breath. The abdominal wall moves up and down as the diaphragm disentangles. Hopefully the exhalation comes from the rebounding and restrengthening of the abdominal wall, pushing the diaphragm back up toward its natural dome shape. This type of breathing is also often taught to singers. Yogic breathing takes this several steps further in sophistication

II- 51 baahyaabhyantara-visayaaksepii caturthah
The fourth (in addition to outward, inward and restrained) surpasses the limits of outward and inward.

This suspension of the breath is spontaneous and not the result of the previous mentioned kumbhaka practices. In other words, there is no sense of ‘practicing pranayama’, but of resting in deep neurological stillness. It is from here that we begin to feel the more subtle realms of energy and psychic presence and surrender to the deeper layers of fluid movement. Instead of waves, there are felt as much much slower tidal rhythms that we will discuss in a future posting on craniosacral practice.

TII- 52 tatah ksiiyate prakaashaavaranam
Then the covering of illumination is weakened.

The covering of illumination, the “narrow chinks of his cavern,” is weakened, or cleansed upon the refinement of the art of pranayama. What might this mean from a neuroscientific perspective? An article in Scientific American on the how psychedelics act in the brain states: “In effect, psilocybin appears to inhibit brain regions that are responsible for constraining consciousness within the narrow boundaries of the normal waking state, an interpretation that is remarkably similar to what Huxley proposed over half a century ago.” (Aldous Huxley, is his famous book, “The Doors of Perception” spoke of his experience with mescaline.) In many ways, the waking state restrains consciousness, primarily as a survival mechanism in the modern word. You would not want to be driving a car or operating heavy machinery while having a shamanic experience. You might also have trouble doing your taxes or writing a legal brief with the mystical channels open. Jill Bolte Taylor, author of ‘My Stroke of Insight” had her left brain citta vrttis nirodhahed by a stroke that left her in an ecstatic state of right brain bliss. But her barely functioning left brain saved her life.

Pranayama, being not quite so dramatic, inhibits mind activity by calming down the reactivity of the autonomic nervous system through the balancing of the fire and water elements. In modern culture, the water element is totally neglected, with fire and air predominant. We have a planet full of angry people, full of deluded ideas and belief systems, unable to feel their own aliveness, never mind anyone else’s.

The Practice: Last posting was about refining our perception of the breath. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized. Today we will begin to differentiate ribs from diaphragm, in perception as well as action. You can do this in any seated position, provided you are aligned, upright and comfortable, or lying down in any supported restorative posture. When lying down you gain spinal relaxation, but lose mobility in the ribs. In sitting, you have more mobility in the ribs, but more potential effort in the spinal column.

Step 1: Relax and let the normal breathing settle. Let your heart be light, open and spacious. Get a feel for how you are this moment. Soften all unnecessary tension, especially in the face, neck, and throat. Drop the groins and release the anal mouth. (We’ll get to mula bandha later. Most people hold way too much autonomic tension here and the nervous system cannot shift to the deep parasympathetic tone needed with a tight asshole.)

Step 2: Imagine you have bird wings and let the inhalation begin with a widening of the ribs, as if you were extending your wings sideways. As best possible keep the diaphragm relaxed so the ribs can work. Feel the pelvis widening simultaneously.

Step 3: On the exhalation, let the ribs and wings wait a bit and the belly squeeze the diaphragm up into the center of the chest to initiate the exhalation. As the diaphragm ascends, gradually allow the ribs and wings to release back to center, without the ribs sinking.

Step 4: repeat, slowly, mindfully.

Step 5: As the ribs widen on inhalation, feel the perimeter of the diaphragm, where it attaches to the ribs, being drawn inward and downward, like the cables on a hot air balloon. Imagine the diaphragm connected through the pelvic bones all the way to the feet. Keep the center of the diaphragm always lifting up through the heart, so the heart floats lightly throughout the inhalation.

Step 6: Now on the exhalation, as best possible, keep the ribs expanding, resisting the urge to exhale by dropping the chest. Let the fibers of the diaphragm lengthen up and the dome of the diaphragm expand higher and high upward to push out the air. Over time, the ribs will get more expansive and the diaphragm longer and more elastic. Slowly release the ribs back onto the uplifted diaphragm without dropping the sternum, like a bird drawing in its wings while keeping its chest open.

Step 7: and any time in this process, pause and let the normal breathing return. Notice any tension sneaking in. When you are finished, lie down and digest to sensations. Imprint the felt differences between ribs and diaphragm, and then rest as deeply as possible. Feel the spaces between breaths, thoughts, bones and organs. Let time slow down, space expand and see what arises from the depths of stillness.

In you next asana practice, keep feeling the differentiation. Which poses help open the ribs? Which help stretch the diaphragm? Which compromise the breath?

I’ve Got Rhythm (and so do you!)

Posted on October 7, 2015 by admin

Who could ask for anything more?

One of the major means of facilitating shamanic journeying is the rhythmic beating of a drum or shaking of a rattle, to help the brainwave patterns shift to 4 – 8 cycles per second (Hz) theta waves, the range just above the delta waves of dreamless sleep, but just below the alpha waves of waking consciousness. This dream state band is a rich source of information about not only our inner world, but also about the hidden dimensions of the outer world. What is it about rhythm that is so powerfully transformative? There is no culture on the planet that does not have a rich tradition in music and dance, including India, home of yoga, so we may discover the roots of yoga embedded in the inner rhythms of our embodied being. What is the connection between rhythm and our aliveness?

Many eons ago Mother Nature decided a nervous system would be useful for life on planet earth. Animals (as opposed to plants, which do not have nervous systems) needed to be able to move about their environment, to find food, mates and shelter, while simultaneously avoiding danger. The nervous system evolved to coordinate perception, prediction and movement so animals could learn and master certain survival skills that could be called upon in a moments notice. Mother Nature’s secret to coordinating this complex system is rhythm.

Rodolfo Llinas, In ‘I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self’ develops a model of how timing waves generated in localized neuronal structures modulate global neuronal activity, much as a conductor sets the pace and dynamics for an orchestra. He describes the origins of the nervous system, and the related mind and ‘the mindness state’ as the need for “predictive interactions between mobile creatures and their environment.” (Here is the beginning of dance.) “Neurons arose within the space between sensing and moving. This space mushroomed to become the brain.” (The possibilities of dance became more and more complex.) “Neurons came into existence in order to facilitate and orchestrate the ever-growing complexity of sensori-motor transformations.” (Action and perception are integrated rhythmically. As we yogis know that samyama is the integration of the organs of action and the organs of perception with the intelligence to create a single conscious movement within the entire body, we can now say that yoga involves learning how to shake your buddhi. )

From the back cover of ‘I of the Vortex’: “At the heart of Llinas’ theory is the concept of oscillation. Many neurons possess electrical activity, manifested as oscillating variations in the minute voltages across the cell membrane. On the crests of these oscillations occur larger electrical events that are the basis for neuron to neuron communication. Like cicadas chirping in unison, a group of neurons oscillating in phase can resonate with a distant group of neurons. This simultaneity of neuronal activity is the neuro-biological root of cognition. Although the internal state that we call the mind is guided by the senses, it is also generated by the oscillations within the brain. Thus, in a certain sense, one could say that reality is not all “out there”, but that we live in a kind of virtual reality.”

Not that we need to ground our shamanic experiences in science, but here we are. We are resonant with the world around us at a multiplicity of frequencies, both internal and external, and we build a sense of reality and self from our perceptions of these fluctuating rhythms. How many of these resonances do we actually perceive, how many are fully activated and integrated into our daily activities, how many others are available to explore in our practice?

Llinas goes on to propose that in the background of the brain, “continuously humming”, are 40 Hz coherent electrical waves linking the thalamus and cerebral cortex in timing waves that may be the basis for a ‘self sense’. As we mentioned above, the shamanic journeys often involved traveling on the 4 – 8 Hz theta wave frequencies in the brain. There are many other rhythms of aliveness available for exploration as well.

Practitioners of Chinese and Tibetan medicine learn to read the pulsing of the heart and circulatory system and a skilled practitioner can differentiate 24 – 29 different types of pulse. Heart beats run in the 40 – 100 beats per minute, translating to .8 – 1.6 cycles per second. Craniosacral therapists tune into the three tidal rhythms of the cerebro-spinal fluid system. These much slower rhythms include: the cranial rhythmic impulse at 8 – 12 cycles per minute; the middle tide at 2 – 2.5 cycles per minute, and the very subtle long tide is 90 – 100 seconds per cycle. We will explore these craniosacral rhythms in a future post.

Yogis and other somanauts learn to travel on the physiological frequencies of the respiratory system, and our exploration in the next few posts will be to play with these in pranayama practice. The breath is universally acknowledged as a gateway into the inner functioning of mind and body as it links the structures, diaphragm, ribs, spine and limbs with all of the emotions, from fear and anxiety, to delight and joy. We will learn how to ride the rhythmic oscillations of the breath like a surfer and possibly discover new worlds and new rhythms of connectivity between our selves and the inner realms of creation.

The first step, and our practice today, is to establish contact with the feel of the breath and dive deeply into its waters. In yogic terms, it is dharana – dhyana – samadhi aka samyama applied to the flow of energy we call breathing. The fundamental rhythmic pattern has four stages: inhalation where the lungs fill; exhalation where they empty; a brief pause where the inhalation ends and before the exhalation begins; and another pause after exhalation and before the inhalation begins. In a normal healthy breath, these pauses are smooth and fluid. There is no residual tension. If very relaxed, the pause after exhalation may be quite long, revealing a deep inner stillness. (Remember that all energetic processes arise in stillness and look to find completion by returning to stillness.) These pauses are unique and very important in our practice.

Either lying or sitting in a comfortable position, let your attention move to and stay with the breath. (This is meditation 101.) Sustain the sense of being suspended in the breath while your curiosity awakens. Some questions to consider: How does the skin move/respond to the breathing? the bones? the large outer muscles? the smaller, inner muscles?, the pelvic organs? the abdominal organs? the heart and lungs? the neck, throat and face? And: can you feel your diaphragm? your intercostal muscles? Many questions for many days and years of practice. Perhaps only one is needed to nourish you in this practice session.

Allow the breath to become smoother and softer by dropping whatever tension and sense of effort you can. Pay special attention to the pauses. The breath may become more shallow, or possibly deeper. Either way, let the breath lead you. You are feeling, listening, receiving sensation riding on the waves of breath. Let the breath lead you deep into the stillness and rest there. Let the stillness radiate out through your cells. Nurture this state so it becomes easier and easier to access. Then bring it into your daily activities.

Here is Patanjali on pranayama, (with my commentary) from the Sadhana Pada.

II- 49 tasmin sati shvaasa-prashvaasayor gati-vicchedah praanaayaamah
The mastery of asana allows the exploration of more subtle life energies through regulating the natural flow of inhalation and exhalation.

Mastery of any asana means the ability to sustain the posture through time without any aggression or dullness in the organism. This is the natural state of the animal kingdom but because the human mind can interfere with this natural state of relaxed aliveness we need the interventions learned in asana. Eventually asana, the innate intelligence of posture and movement sustains itself as we move through life. (We do need to keep practicing to maintain this!) When the outer layers of the body, the musculo-skeletal system, are harmoniously integrated (sattva) the more subtle physiological or organic movements are seen more clearly and they may reveal more subtle blockages in the pranic flow. Pranayama practice is a way to help dissolve these blockages.

II- 50 baahyaabhyantara-stambha-vrttih desha-kaala-sankhyaabhih paridrsto diirgha-suukshmah
The movements of breath are outward, inward and restrained. Practice involves allowing the stages of the breath to become longer and more subtle as you explore where the breath is felt inside the body, how longs the movements take, and how many cycles you can perform safely.

Pranayama is not a practice of the will the way asana can be. It emerges as a natural sensitivity to the pranic flow that you can ride the way a hawk rides a thermal or a school of fish rides ocean currents. The practice involves constantly getting out of the way of aliveness, of dissolving the subtle blockages in the pranic flow from emotional memories and habits, and releasing the inner currents of prana through the organs and cells.

Although Patanjali mentions three movements of the breath, there are technically four: exhalation (rechaka), restraint or retention after exhalation (baahya kumbhaka), inhalation (puraka), and retention after inhalation (antara kumbhaka). The two retentions are different from each other because of the physiology of respiration and are included in the more advanced forms of pranayama

Inhalation is a neurologically initiated action. When the CO2 level in the blood reaches a certain level, the vagus nerve triggers the diaphragm to contract and draw air into the lungs. Exhalation does not have such a trigger and thus we often have to learn to exhale. This is especially true in cases of COPD, emphysema and asthma where sufferers struggle to inhale into lungs that have no room because the exhalations have been forgotten. In yoga, the exhalation is learned first as it is calming to the nerves and mind. Then, when exhalations comes easily, inhalation can begin to be prolonged. Trying to force air into lungs still half full is stressful and pranayama is about releasing stress, not adding more.

Over time, the ribs, diaphragm and spine become more elastic and integrated and the breathing cycles flow more and more effortlessly. Then you begin to notice the natural pauses that arise at the end of the in breath and again at the end of the out breath. These ‘restraints’ are spontaneous and natural. As your pranayama practice becomes more relaxed, you begin to prolong the pause after the in breath. This is known as retention after in breath or antara kumbhaka. As there is no reflex to exhale, this is safe. The ribs are sustained in an open state and the diaphragm is suspended dynamically. Ideally there is no sense of strain or effort but simply an allowing of the lungs to absorb more and more of the oxygen and release more of the CO2.

In baahya kumbhaka, retention after exhalation, the lungs and blood stream have become so saturated with oxygen from the expanded inhalations and retentions that there is no reflex to inhale for quite some time. This is a very quiet internal state and can lead to the experience of a new level described next.

II- 51 baahyaabhyantara-visayaaksepii caturthah
The fourth (in addition to outward, inward and restrained) surpasses the limits of outward and inward.

II- 52 tatah ksiiyate prakaashaavaranam
Then the covering of illumination is weakened.

Obscurations is a lovely Buddhist word describing the nature of the dull or stuck (tamasic) and agitated or chaotic (rajasic) mind states and activities that are said to cover the inner light of seeing, vidya, of the Seer resting in unbounded awareness. Even the breath can be seen as a very subtle disturbance and when the mind is in deep rest, the breath is effortlessly suspended and only light remains. This is not an action of the will, but the result of a natural stillness.

II- 53 dhaaranaasu ca yogyataa manasah
And the mind becomes fit for concentration

Manas is that aspect of mind dealing directly with the senses and thus it is often busy. When it is still and undisturbed, buddhi, the aspect of mind that sees, is now ready for its refinement. The vital energies, as prana, have been calmed and clarified by pranayama practice leaving an alert stillness in the mind field.

Photo of George and Ira Gershwin courtesy of Stephen Pond.