The Complete Yoga Community

THE BREATH

The breath, it sustains our life. Our bodies are most grateful for the sustenance it carries. We can go for days without food and water but if the breath stops for a short while…we die. The breath is also the carrier of our vital life force – the Prana which rides on the breath like a rider on a horse.

It is bizarre that even though we rely so much on this valuable commodity we hardly even notice it. The times we may become aware is obviously when we lose our breath and we panic, when we dive down into the water or when we climb to altitudes so high that we have a direct experience of how important it is to breathe.. Besides these moments we are hardly aware of our dear friend. Sportsmen & women however know the secret to the breath and work with it as a driving force to reach higher levels of physical and mental achievement. Yogis do the same but add a special spiritual spice – pranayama – the science of breath work.

Advanced yogis are not only aware of their breath at the time of an asana / pranayama session, they are able to monitor their breath during their day. They are aware of the quickness of breath at times of strong desire or anger & so too are they aware when the breath becomes slow and long in times of deep relaxation. In this way they can change their emotions, energies and thoughts just by observing and changing their breathing.

Meditators the world over use the breath as a fundamental tool to develop the instrument of mindfulness.

We are so keen to develop the body through tough physical asanas but we are so quick to neglect the breath and our valuable attention on it. Our bodies become stronger with the asana practice and hopefully we are conscious of our breath as we hold our postures.

The mind works like a muscle, the more we become aware of our breathing and we observe it in its natural state the more our minds settle and calm.

Meditators are taught to observe the breathing, in an uncontrolled and natural way.

‘Are you breathing or is the breath breathing you?’ a Zen master would say. A mind that has spent many hours meditating on the breath will become one with the breath, as if there is nothing else in the entire world but just the inhalation and the exhalation. Can you imagine a mind free of the constant chattering of thought? A mind in a truly relaxed state, at one with the universe and experiencing more bliss than a relaxed holiday by the sea.

It is hard to believe and many will never taste the true and essential peace that this practice brings. Our minds are so abused by daily life, we have the stresses of living in the city, of our jobs, of being a parent, the worries of our economic and political environment and so many blah blahs that steal our precious mind space. Our minds are really like an ocean during a storm, with thoughts and emotions like the waves. When we focus on one object and nothing else, an object like the breath, the winds of agitation that churn up the ocean into waves begin to settle. As the ocean of our mind settles we see into the still blue waters, and what we see is our own true nature which is clear, vast, aware and blissful.

Meditation is being widely taught in all forms and from many angles, the most popular form of meditation is for the teacher to take one on a journey, and often it can be a fantastic flying carpet ride through realms and chakras. The mindfulness of breath may seem very boring in relation to other types but simplicity is often the most profound path, any Zen practitioner will vouch for that.  The breath introduces us to the art of being here and now free from the fantasy of the future and the blurry patchwork of the past.

My journey grew out of suffering, I used to suffer from panic attacks which stopped my breathing and caused me to throw up. This would happen throughout the day until I noticed blood in my bile. I was told by the doctors that I would do some serious damage to my stomach lining if I did not stop my affliction. The prescribed medication did very little and I reluctantly visited a therapist. I was introduced to Pranayama by alternating my breath through the nostrils. I was ordered to practice this deep rhythmic breathing when I could feel the onset of a panic attack. Within two weeks of my breath work the panic attacks almost completely disappeared. I was most certainly a changed man!

I began Yoga classes with an elderly man who deepened my understanding of the eastern philosophies of breath and meditation. I became so absorbed in the way of the still mind that I wanted to explore more of this practice.

After travelling and living in temples in the east and in South Africa studying and meditating with gurus and lamas, I sit at home and forget these colourful experiences and do my best to absorb myself into the breath.

The more the mind can stay in that place of stillness the less we experience anxiety, fear and hope. Our minds become content and experience the high and lows of life from a quiet equilibrium.

Mindfulness of breathing is not packaged and sold or even advertised on TV as a way of curing stress and mental illness, as no one is going to make any money off teaching this profound and simple technique. Many people are used to the quick fix way of doing things and would rather take a pill than have to sit still for a few minutes. They get into the habit of being busy all the time that to relax is something alien to them. Their poor minds get bashed around in the wild waves of distraction and stimulation, it’s no wonder that tempers are short and any little problem seem to them to be huge.

Beginning meditators often become disturbed and complain that their minds are too busy and that they will not be able to meditate. For the first time they are aware of the constant flow of thoughts, feelings and emotions that flood their minds and it can be overwhelming. Once we realise that this is going on all the time and not just in a moment of stillness, we can realistically asses where we are and take steps to a calmer way of being by using the breath.

A daily practice is the most precious gift you can give yourself. You will discover amazing results if you can integrate meditation into your Yoga practice, gently training yourself to always return to the present moment, to abide in reality and to then share this knowledge of peace with others around you.

By Mark Joseph

For more information on group meditation sessions at Living Yoga, e-mail Mark Joseph at mark@buddhistcircle.co.za