The Practice of Breathing
One of the basic skills that we practice in Yoga is learning how to breathe. We learn to slowly deepen the inhale and fully release the exhale. In advanced practice, there is also the prolonged and controlled retention of breath. As we learn to breathe consciously, we begin working on the muscles that control breathing unconsciously.
Breath and Letting Go
When you learn to breathe, you are also learning to let go of tension. This practice of releasing tension through breathing is the first step in moving towards who we really are. You cannot move forward until you release what is stopping you now. And so this ability to breathe in order to let go of stress and anxiety is the first step in the process of transformation, of awakening.
The Cost of Not Learning
If you cannot learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you are unable to let go of fear, anxiety, physical pains and stress. If you cannot make the time to learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you cannot control your own thoughts, which you seem chained to and cannot get free of. But if you do learn how to breathe and let go of fear, then you will learn how to release tension, anxiety and stress; and you will be surprised at what else you can learn to let go of.
The Intelligence of the Breath
With practice you find that, in learning how to breathe, the breath seems to take with it that which you want to release or get free of. The breath serves us in major ways, if only we would relax and allow the breath to do its job. Things that we struggle with, things that we are trying to figure out how to fix, how to change, all of this falls away by itself when you develop an understanding of the importance of learning how to breathe.
Sri Sudarshan Jyotirmayananda is the founder and preceptor of SKYLIGHT YOGA University in Miami Beach, Florida — a direct disciple of H.H. Pujyatman Sri Swami Jyotirmayananda and an initiated disciple of H.H. Sri Swami Rajarshi Muni. His teachings on Bhakti Yoga and Vedanta are available through the SKYLIGHT YOGA University membership library.
To explore devotional practice with personal guidance, visit the Yoga Life Coaching program or inquire about the next Teacher Training Certification.
