by Claudia Bartsch

Yogic practitioners have known for thousands of years that breath control (pranayama) increases physical health and mental/emotional well-being. By now science has examined and validated this ancient knowledge: conscious, slow, diaphragmatic breathing has the power to move us from the sympathetic (stress response) to the parasympathetic (relaxation response) nervous system. Both are branches of the autonomic nervous system which was for a long time believed to be out of our direct control.

Conscious breathing opens the opportunity to take direct charge of our nervous system. As it orchestrates everything in our bodies, minds and emotions, it becomes an incredible powerful tool to take charge of our health and lives.

And yet, at times it seems tedious and boring to focus on the breath; it is something we do anyway, so why bother?

Because most of us have established over the years dysfunctional breathing patterns with which we literally reduce the amount of oxygen we take in at any given moment, which reduces the amount of prana, or life force, we take in. We just don’t live our lives to the fullest.

There are many reasons why this happens. For example, prolonged experiences of stress, trauma, anxieties or depression will change our breathing patterns. Or emotions that we don’t like to feel or don’t have the capacity to digest, are suppressed by altering the way we breathe. We don’t think about it—it happens unconsciously, initially to protect us.

Unfortunately this creates a negative vicious cycle: our history creates a certain pattern of breathing, and by getting stuck in it, we lock our stories, particularly the challenging and painful ones, into our breathing and ultimately into our bodies.

The good news is, that we can start creating awareness on how we breathe and practice new, healthier patterns. Initially emotions and memories might surface that we finally can deal with. Over time we can literally free ourselves, not just from dysfunctional breathing patterns, but also from old mental and emotional structures that don’t serve us anymore. This of course doesn’t happen overnight, it is a process that takes regular practice, determination, patience and persistence. But it can be done and can be one of the most rewarding experiences.

Please join us for a workshop on November 8th at 11.30. We will examine the anatomy of the breath more deeply, learn how to be more aware and conscious of the breath and how to alter it to support health, resilience and happiness.

by Marc Mukunda Morozumi

There are many ways to tell a story and our lives are all built from them. Sometimes, these are stories that are passed down verbally, or written and published, and sometimes they are erased and made to be forgotten. In any event, the truth still exists and will always be a light that shines through whenever darkness tries to hide it. But because of human nature, it just might take some years, decades and even lifetimes for that truth to become welcomed and commonly accepted.

In celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, it’s a way to honor that story that wasn’t told correctly in most of our educations. A story that plainly identifies colonization and decimation of human life in the name of progress. Welcome to planet Earth. Somehow, it was able to happen 500 years ago, but let’s not uphold a story and perpetuate the harm when we’ve learned the truth. Let us honor this day as a way to recognize that omission and raise awareness of the genocide of America’s original earth keepers.

There was a movement in 1977 at the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, which then took over 10 years until it sparked the first honoring of the day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in South Dakota followed by the cities of Berkeley and Santa Cruz, CA. Then, not until 15+ years until it gained popularity for other states across the U.S. Today, not every state in the U.S. has switched Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Including California), but some have. View CNN article HERE.

How many things are like this and we’re simply not aware? How many things are like this and we’re aware but we don’t care enough to do anything about it? Truly, take a minute and think about that for you personally. ……………….. Is it possible that we’ve spent more time working to be comfortable in the version of the story that we once heard rather than being well informed? These truths can challenge our minds to the point that our nervous systems go in that fight or flight mode and it appears as a real threat. Just like any threat to our sense of freedom or safety. It can feel unsafe to hear an inconvenient truth and so we’ll consciously or unconsciously block it and even try to build a wall between the truth and our carefully constructed, modified reality.

Why would we not want to honor one another? Why has it made sense to kill and harm in the name of progress and survival? Is this just the way of our natures or is there another way to still feel like we are progressing but without the need to resort to our animal instincts of survival? Maybe not. At the very least, can we recognize that within each and every one of us, there is an option and maybe even common wish for peace and joy, love and light. By learning how to listen to the deeper insight of our own life’s purpose versus accepting only survival mode whether basic or glamorous, we might find a way to enhance not just our own life, but the lives of others. Truth is One, Paths Are Many (Sri Swami Satchidananda). And I’ve found yoga to be one of those paths that has revealed this Truth.

We have our own paths to accept, choose, rediscover and embark upon. That’s the mystery and liberty of taking this body in this lifetime! It’s up to each of us to decide how much we want to listen and give, and how much we want to talk and take. The thinking mind is often given all the credit but maybe it’s clear it will only get us so far. May the intuitive, creative mind awaken to spirit and let’s see what’s written about in 500 years from today.

This article was republished here with the permission of Marc Mukunda Morozumi. The original article can be viewed HERE. 

by Swami Divyananda

The yogi’s emergency response practice has three pillars: Breathe. Be calm. Smile.
As we envision all the possible scenarios for the US presidential election on November 3rd, one thing is for sure: there will be a lot of emotion! Already we have fear verging on panic and anger verging on violence.

So as we place our votes for US president, let us also place our votes for peace. By that I mean: commit to a peaceful attitude no matter what happens.

Yes it’s scary and we are in a truly vulnerable and pivotal moment of history. All the more reason to renew our moorings and reassert our values. This is not to say that we should be ostriches and deny the realities around us—but rather, keep on being yogis.

Slow down, lighten up, breathe.

A basic stress management approach is to do whatever we can do, and control whatever we can control. “Do your best and leave the rest,” as Integral Yoga founder Sri Swami Satchidananda always advised. The main thing we can control is our own mind. What we harbor in our minds is as powerful as what we mark on our ballots, so choose carefully. It’s our response-ability.

Whatever the outcome of the election might be, it does not benefit ourselves or anyone to hate and revile our leadership. That is only piling darkness on top of darkness. According to our Yoga tradition, all of us who have taken human birth on this planet, in our respective countries, share a collective karma. If that karma—pandemic, elections, inequality, climate crisis—has now come due, we’re going to have to face it in one form or another. Be calm.

Let’s see if we can face our emotions without being overwhelmed by them. Let’s take to heart the example of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the equanimity that he brings to every situation. Take note of these words from Sri Swami Sivanandaji: “When the mind is filled with discord, the soldier cells become panic-stricken.” Swami Satchidananda often told a story about a cholera outbreak in India in which 1,000 pilgrims died. Five hundred died from cholera and five hundred died from the fear of cholera. If nothing else, let’s stay calm for the sake of our own health.

The author E. A. Bucchianeri once wrote, “A new challenge keeps the brain kicking and the heart ticking.” We’ve definitely got a big challenge at hand, one which can propel us either up or down. The Tibetans look upon this kind of crisis as a “portal,” an opportunity to awaken to deeper dimensions of spirituality. It’s up to us to make the choice: it is our response-ability.

May we each find our way to radiate health and happiness into our communities, and be lamps onto the world.