Daily Meditation Series



A few years ago I found a deck of meditation cards on sale and bought them.  I have never actually used them so I thought I will explore and share them on here so we can learn together :)  There are a few different types of meditations in this deck.

10 basics
9 daily meditations
30 visualizations


So for the next 30 days I will combine 1 visualization with a mix of 1 basic and daily meditation (these will repeat but I will random them to change it up)

Day 1

Basic Meditation

Meditation is a tool that has een used for centuries to promote inner peace and health.  Modern scientific sutdies have shown that regulare meditation can help reduce hypertension and stress.

1. Find a quite place.  Turn off the phone or move to silent.  Find and devote a comfortable place in your home for your meditation practice.  Pillows, boolsters, blankets, your mat, or nothing can be used.  This is your practice.  Come to a crosslegged seat with your back supported and spine long.  Allow for the legs and knees to become heavy.  Releasing tension you are holding in your body.  Take a deep breath in through the nose and out of the mouth with a sigh.  Allow the shoulders to draw down the back, neck long (repeat 2x)

2. Allow your eyes to gently close.  Notice your breathing.  As you focus on the inhaltions and exhaltions of your breathing you will notice it will start to even out.  Same count inhaling as exhauling.   If distracting thoughts come up, let go of them.  Acknowledge them and then shelf them for later.  Return your focus to your breathing to help keep the mind from wandering.  This isn't easy right off the bat.  Living in a fast paced world and asking our brains to slow down from that pace is hard.  Over time you will find your mind calms easier.

3. Too keep focus, set an intention.  Use of a mantra or mudra also help.  This also helps the further your meditation but incorporating these two.  Mantras can be spoken verally or mentally to oneself.

4.  Allow for enough time for yourself to meditate.  Meditation should not have a short time limit if a time limit at all.  The intention isn't to meditate and move on like we do with majority of things in our life.  Meditation is a time and practice set aside for you.  The opporutnity to turn inward and be present.

Daily Meditation

You can bring the concentrated energy of meditation into a simple act of nourishment.

After completing your meditation, pick out a large juicy fruit of your choice.  Feel its texture in both of your hands.  Close your eyes and roll it around your hands.  Inhale the fragrance.  Smell the sweetness of the fruit.  The ripeness.  Slowly peel or cut the fruit feeling the texture change.  Break off a peice of the fruit, smell it, then put the fuit in your mouth.  Allow the sense to full engage.  The smell of the fruit combining with the taste.  Roll your tounge over the fruit.  Chew it as slow as possible noticing each different taste.  Sweet?  Bitter? Tangy?  Imagine all of the nutrients deeply feeding your body.  Providing the building blocks of life.  Finish the rest of the fruit in this manner.  Remember, it isn't about eating the fruit as fast as possible.  But truely enjoying the fruit.  Slow down and enjoy the fruit for what it is and what it does.  It isn't just a peach or an orange.  It is the sustinance the body needs to survive as it should in nature.

Visualization

Your wise self is part of your that can help your find solutions to challenges you come across in this jouney.  Take the time to Meet Your Wise Self

After meditating, imagine you are going to a beautiful meadow at the top of a mountain, or a beautiful place you feel safe.  The beach.. the woods..

Sit comfortably in your place.  Imagine golden light coming toward you.  Feel its warmth start to grow as it grows brighter while moving closer.  As it grows bigger, allow it to fill your heart space.  Allow this to relax you and feel the positivity and light.  When the light is upon you, it can take any form that comes to you or stay as light.  Allow yourself to be and be present in that very moment.  Stay as long or as little as feels right. 

Write down any thoughts or feelings that may have come to you.  This can sometimes stir up or bring forth things we forget that maybe be painful.. but can also bring forward some of our most cherished forgotten memories.

Meditation is an ever evolving practice.  Each person's meditation and experience is unique and different from the next.  Take the time for yourself each day.

Namaste
Ash

Prana Part 5

Nadi Shodhana

Breathing left nostril right nostril.. moon and sun.. Centering and calming to the nervous system.

Developing Breath Awareness In your Practice:

In Asana practice adopt a calm, peaceful, and steady breathing pattern while mindfully keep coming back to your breath during your practice.  Use exhale to release and still the mind as the chatter expels with your exhale.

When transititioning in an asana, most inhale as the heart rises and exhale as the heart falls.  Breath proceeds transition as you ride the breath through to your next pose.  Inhales create length and expansion.  Exhale to find space,surrender, and relax.  In twists and binds always create length first with the inhale, move into the twist with the exhale.  While in the pose exhale to find space and with each exhale move deeper into the pose.  In standing, balance the center first.

"B.K.S. Iyengar explains how the three stages of the breath in pranayama—inhalation (puraka), retention (antara kumbhaka), and exhalation (rechaka)—can connect us to the universal soul. During our inhalation, we are inviting prana to come in. According to Iyengar, the individual self must then move out of the way in order to make room for the soul. Iyengar believes that through this process, we are able to generate energy, expansion, and awareness within."

Aum Shanti <3

Prana Part 4

Developing Breath Awareness

Diaphragm: Low gravity area of the lungs.  The Diaphragm contracts and moves towards the abdominal area.

Thoracic or Chest: Brings oxygen to the upper lungs, by itself is inefficient, more frequency of breaths.

Clavicular: Movement in the collar bones expands very top of the lungs for maximum oxygen intake.


Most Efficient Ways to Breath

Diaphragm Breathing: Best suited for everyday relaxed functioning, the lungs expansion is focused on the lower area of the lungs where oxygen can exchange most efficiently.  When more oxygen is needed, the thoracic is then engaged.

Full Yogic Breath:  The three types of inhalation can be coordinated into one smooth exercise in which a maximum deep breath is taken.  This is the Yogic Complete Breath, which has the diaphragmatic, thoracic, and clavicular phrase.

Phase One: Diaphragm contraction resulting in slight expansion of lower ribs and protrusion of the upper abdome, drawing oxygen into the lower lungs.

Phase Two: The middle portions of the lungs expand with outward chest movement, the inhalation proceeds further.

Phase Three: At the end of inhalation, still more air is admitted boy slightly raising the clavicles.

Full Yogic Breath must be mastered before moving on to other forms of pranayama.

Nadi Shodhana

Breathing in the left nostril (moon) and then out the right nostril ( sun) and then breathing in the right nostril ( sun) and them breathing out the left nostril (moon).  Repeat this to desire.  This helps center and calm the nervous system.

Prana Part 3

Breathing Modes and Habits

Diaphragmatic or thoracic (diaphragm or chest)
Continuous or interrupted by pauses
Rhythmic and continuous or irregular and choppy

How Do We Breath When...

• we are angry
• we are excited
• we are emotionally effected or very sad
• we are scared
• we are physically exhausted
• we are clam and relaxed

 So if our physical, emotional, and mental state has such an obvious effect on our breath, is the reciprocal true?

Practiced breath control envokes a corresponding state in body, mind, and emtion.  This is why in yoga breath proceeds motion a thought.  Controlling the breath and calming the nerves is the pre-requisite to integration of and control over mind and body.. the Ultimate Subjugation of the Universal Energy of Prana.  To the Yogi; body, breath, nerves, mind, prana, and the universe are all part of the continum, with no distractions between them.

The Link

So how can this be? Why?  What is the link between the body and mind, conscious and unconscious, physical from and subtle body.  In the body our nervous system is subdivided into the central and autonomic system.  Breathing is the only body function we can control both unconsciously or consciously.  If we do not attempt to control our breath our brain will carry on breathing automatically and unconsciously through our autonomic nervous system that runs all of our other automatic functions (heart beat and digestion are a few to name)  If we have the ability to deliberately channel and regulate the breath through the conscious mind with the central nervous system we create a bridge between the two nervous systems and hence between our conscious and unconscious minds.  We also begin to control the body through breath.

Namaste

Prana Part 2

Continuing on with Prana.. Here is part 2 :D

Everyone breathes, just not as well as others.  Without developing awareness of breath it is easy to fall into unhealthy breathing patterns that effect both mind and body.  The breath can be allowed to run haphazardly and create havoc in the body and mind, or it can become part of your constant awareness and be harmoniously coordinated.  Once the breath is integrated into your awareness...the mind will calm, and you will live in the moment and develop body awareness.


Why breath fully, deeply, completely?

Increasing breath volume (inhalation) increases the amount of oxygen supply.  By increasing the oxygen supply on inhale we then exhale more toxins.

• Mental Toxins
• Emotional Toxins
• Physical Toxins
• Environmental Toxins

All toxins have a tendency to be held and stored in the body in "stale" dead areas where there is only a small amount of oxygen.  This can lead to a vast array of health problems and eventually chronic disease.

The main reason we practice breath control in yoga is to still the mind.  Yoga Sutra 1.2 states " Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind".  To work mindfully means focusing awareness on the movement and breath acting together so that such single-pointed concentration unites the body, breath and mind in the present moment, and the NOW.

Breath awareness can teach us about our attitude in posture.  At times the breath may sound strained, labored, short, aggressive, and flat shallow or fast.

By bringing back an ideal smooth rhythmic breath we can begin to correct our attitude in posture.

Prana Part 1

Prana is the currents of energy or life force.  Prana is the Vital energy of the Universe.  For now we will focus on the vital energy within our being.  One who has learned to control prana has learned to control both physical and mental and also control of the body and mind.

Breath is the vehicle for prana as the energy travels through and extremely complex anatomy, composed of pathways called Nadis.  What in the world are Nadis?  Nadis are energy channels that flow through out the body.  According to text the number of nadis exceeds 72000.  Of these 14 are the most key.. and of the 14, 3 are of those relate to breathing.  These energy channels extend from our base and travel up the spine to the right and left nostrils.

Pingala (solar or surya) sun flowing through the right nostril, and Ida (lunar or chandra) moon flowing through the left nostril and sushumna (central energy channel up through the spine to the top of the head) which is the moment when both nostrils flow freely without obstruction.

Left Nostril or Lunar: Breathing through the left side promotes relaxation, passiveness, and sleep
Right Nostril or Sun: Breathing through the right side stimulates the mind and body as well as aids in digestion.

The physical body is built around this subtle framework of energy channels (nadis) sustained by the flow of prana through this network.  The techniques of pranayama are aimed at opening up subtle energy channels (nadis).  The currents of prana flowing through these nadis are the subtle counterparts of nerve impulses.

When we breath badly we create obstructions in various parts of the body.  All these blockages clog up the free flow of prana, the life breath that animates our body.  With practice like pranayama we learn how to move and generate prana to store it and use it.  We are then able to loosen and dissolve these obstructions so prana can flow free.

In Sanskrit the most basic translation of pranayama is the science of breath.  Pranayama literally means "the ayama" (expansion or manifestation) of prana (the energy)

Pranayama is the 4th limb of Yoga.  Pranayama is a separate practice from your asana practice.  Both practices should have separate times.  Prana also helps drive your asana practice.


Stay tuned for Prana Part 2!

Ash

Hatha : Ashtanga vs. Iyengar

When practicing yoga we sometimes hear our teachers speak about the types of yoga that are available... or you hear different studios offer one of the three types of yoga.  Being the most popular types, I wanted to go over what each type of yoga is and what it means for you in your daily practice.  Maybe branch out and try something new!  I practice at an Iyengar based studio that has a monthly Ashtanga Primary Series.  Heres what that means..

Hatha Yoga:

The word hatha means willful or forceful. Hatha yoga refers to a set of physical exercises (known as asanas or postures), and sequences of asanas, designed to align your skin, muscles, and bones. The postures are also designed to open the many channels of the body—especially the main channel, the spine—so that energy can flow freely.  Hatha is also translated as ha meaning "sun" and tha meaning "moon." This refers to the balance of masculine aspects—active, hot, sun—and feminine aspects—receptive, cool, moon—within all of us. Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. In our physical bodies we develop a balance of strength and flexibility. We also learn to balance our effort and surrender in each pose.

Ashtanga Yoga:

Is a system of yoga transmitted to the modern world by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009). This method of yoga involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body, and a calm mind. 

Ashtanga yoga literally means "eight-limbed yoga," as outlined by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. According to Patanjali, the path of internal purification for revealing the Universal Self consists of the following eight spiritual practices:

Yama [moral codes]
Niyama [self-purification and study]
Asana [posture]
Pranayama [breath control]
Pratyahara [sense control]
Dharana [concentration]
Dhyana [meditation]
Samadhi [absorption into the Universal]

There are six different Ashtanga series through which a student progresses at his or her own pace.

The Ashtanga method stresses daily Vinyasa flow practice using ujjayi breathing (audible sounding reath,ocean breath), mula bandha (root lock), uddiyana bandha (abdominal lock), and drishti (point of focus while practicing).

There are six different Ashtanga Primary Series.  The first or primary series, called Yoga Chikitsa, is described in Yoga Mala. Yoga Chikitsa, which means yoga therapy, realigns the spine, detoxifies the body, and builds strength, flexibility and stamina. The series of about 75 poses takes an hour and a half to two hours to complete, beginning with sun salutations (surya namaskara A and surya namaskara B) and moving on to standing poses, seated poses, inversions and backbends before relaxation.  The intermediate or second series is called Nadi Shodana, meaning nervous system purification. It cleanses and strengthens the nervous system and the subtle energy channels throughout the body. This series is only introduced when the primary series is strong. It follows the same progression (sun salutations, standing, sitting etc.) as the primary series, but introduces new poses and variations.  The four advanced series are called Sthira Bhaga, which means divine stability. Pattabhi Jois originally outlined two intensive advanced series, but later subdivided them into four series to make them accessible to more people. These series emphasize difficult arm balances and are only appropriate for extremely advanced students.

Iyengar: 

The Practice

The Iyengar method of Yoga is initially learned through the in-depth study of asanas (posture) and pranayama (breath control).
BKS Iyengar has systematised over 200 classical yoga Asanas and 14 different types of Pranayamas (with variations of many of them) from the simple to the incredibly difficult. These have been structured and categorized so as to allow a beginner to progress surely and safely from basic postures to the most advanced as they gain flexibility, strength and sensitivity in mind, body and spirit.

Asana

In practice Iyengar yoga focuses particularly on three aspects. Correct body alignment allows the body to develop harmoniously in an anatomically correct way so that the student suffers no injury or pain when practising correctly. As all bodies are different and people have different weaknesses and strengths.  Iyengar makes use of props to help the body into the correct positions required. Props are objects like wooden blocks, chairs, blankets and belts that help one adjust or support oneself in the different postures so that one can work in a range of motion that is safe and effective. An added benefit is that although the therapeutic aspects of asanas and pranayama have been known for centuries, Mr Iyengar's unrelenting emphasis on correct anatomical alignment and methods of working have refined the therapeutic aspects of Yoga. Thus practice of Iyengar yoga will often result in eliminating aches and pains, improve posture etc. but Iyengar Yoga can also be used to treat many ailments, including extremely serious medical conditions, under the supervision of a suitably experienced teacher. The other two key aspects of asana practice in the Iyengar system are correct sequencing in which there is a powerful cumulative effect achieved by practicing asanas in particular sequences. The concept of timings means postures are held for considerable lengths of time to let the effects of the poses penetrate deeper within the individual

Pranayama

Pranayama is started once a firm foundation in asana has been established as physically the student requires the alignment, flexibility, lung capacity and training necessary to sit and breathe correctly while practicing. Pranayama gives numerous physical benefits including toning the circulatory, digestive, nervous and respiratory systems, activating the internal organs and creating a feeling of energy and calmness. Equally importantly it also brings the mind and senses under control and make the individual fit for the experience of meditation.

With that being said, the studio that I practice at makes great use of props that are available.  Blocks, blankets, straps, bolsters, sandbags, and the Great Yoga Wall.  Each of these props allows for safe practice allowing you to explore your comfort level and then if ready, taking it to the next level.. all safely :)

Ash