Tag: breath

Let your breath be my music

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In yesterdays Ashtanga class I asked my students to concentrate and to keep a strong focus on their breath, bandhas and drishti. I asked them to let each inhale and exhale initiate a movement. I asked them to follow my instructions and even if it’s not their pace, to make it their pace. There’s no such thing as a pause when practicing Ashtanga. We keep the focus, we keep on moving. We flow to the final rest, shavasana.

The stronger the focus the easier it gets to let upcoming thoughts just pass by, to tune in, to find yourself in your own bubble, while the breath of your neighbor yogis constantly confirm the frequency you’re connected to. Be in your body, feel what you are doing, align your body, check in to yourself.

My students yesterday seem to ride the same wave, it was such a precious and beautiful energy – I love your music, let’s play it again!

 

No rush

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Yogi, take the necessary time to observe and understand what is going on in your body when practicing. It’s not just your body doing asanas, your mind has a job too. Yep, understanding what’s going on in your mind is crucial too. You just can’t separate it, body and mind go together. We should always practice mindful, feeling, observing, understanding.

I sometimes recognize, that my practice is just one asana after the other, while my mind is somewhere else. Time to connect. Time to go internal. I usually close my eyes for a moment, just listening to my breath, before restarting my practice. Activate my bandhas, deepen my breath, establish a strong drishti.

Take your time, rushing around and not paying attention will just get you tired, and make you more exposed to injure yourself, and also create mental madness. Your practice is a journey and so is each pose. You have to learn from it. Mastering a posture doesn’t mean anything if you haven’t learned from it. The physical level is quite obvious, but you might also be confronted with your weaknesses on a mental and emotional level.

Practicing yoga means digging into yourself, facing your true self and work on that changing process. Develop your body and mind, work on your flexibility on all levels. Create prana, learn about yourself. Don’t be afraid to change. It’s crucial to develop on each level. Enjoy the beautiful journey and take your time yogi!

 

Photos by Dee Gandhi, www.AlokaCreative.com

Yogamusic – yoga and music

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Are you practicing with music? Have you got a yoga playlist?

Well, opinions are divided and I believe, everybody should do whatever feels good. There’s no wrong or right.

I attended a lot of classes with music. This kind of music I call ‚pling plong‘, very slow, gently in the background. I thought it’s just part of this yoga thing. But I couldn’t see any reason, it didn’t do anything with me.

During my home practice, I tried different music styles, and found out, that I prefer it loud, a good beat and swing, matching my mood that moment. So I kind of danced through my practice. This felt much more like a flow! I immersed into the music, which creates the rhythm. No playlist, I chose whatever fits that moment. But sometimes I struggled finding the right fit and it seemed I was more busy with this, or I even tried to adjust my practice to the music, which felt odd.

The music stopped when I started my Ashtanga practice. I found my music internally, my breath. What a difference, very intense! For quite a long time it was just this, my mat, my breath, my body, my soul. ME.

Recently I gave music another try and I have to admit, I love a good beat during my warm up. Yes, my old joints need a proper warm up and I allow myself to focus on my body and just move with the music. I stop the music to chant the opening prayer and switch to my breath music. For me – an excellent combination.

What about you yogis?

The heart of yoga

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During your practice focus on your breath. Your breath initiates the movements. There’s nothing but breath. The rhythm of your inhales and exhales. Without the breath there is in fact no yoga. Your steady focus on the breath is what makes your practice deep, intense and finally a moving meditation. Not asanas, but breath is the heart of yoga.

On the mat you let go. Each inhale nourishes you, with every exhale you let go. Stiffness, inflexibility. Limiting beliefs, bad habits, fears. Judgement. Your breath creates the rhythm of your practice. You feel what you are doing without thinking about it. Learning to trust. Yourself.

Your breath is your music. Listen to the sound of the ocean you create. Allow the waves to flow through your body, wash you internally. Making your body smooth and flexibel.

Let the wind of your breath drive your movements – stretch, bend, fold, bind, lift, open. Turn the world upside down. Feel. Free yourself and open your heart.

Allow your breath to lighten you up inside. Start shining.

From this point on yogi – just promise me you’ll keep a steady focus on the breath while practicing! This is yoga.

How to transform air into breath

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Yogis!

Read my new post @ YOGA LIKE A BOSS – all about pranayama and breathing and me…. Sorry, German only!

„Wie Luft zu Atem wird

Oh, was für ein Thema! Atmen, das war eine grosse Nummer für mich. Ich meine nicht den Automatismus, das Luft holen zum Überleben, das klappt prima. Aber jedes Mal, wenn ich darauf geachtet habe, wie ich eigentlich atme, dann ging es plötzlich nicht mehr. Es ruckelte, schüttelte mich, ich habe mich Luft-verschluckt……“

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Dedicate your practice

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Did you ever dedicate your practice to somebody? I know lots of yogis do so, but honestly, I was never into this, as I never really understood. I mean, what is the relationship, where is the connection between my practice and another person? And what does dedicating mean in this situation?

Yesterday I heard about a friend, that passed away. Even if we only spend some weeks together, I always felt her beautiful soul. I met her again some month ago in India and she was so happy, in love and just shining. Her death touches me deeply, my chest in pain, my eyes filled with tears.

On the mat this morning I felt the urge to dedicate my practice to her. It felt so right. Same time I was keen to learn what exactly this means. My practice itself didn’t change, reflecting where I am today, with all my strength, with all my weakness, with all my limitations. But there was one thing, that was truly different: I was giving. My breath. My love. I opened myself even more and I felt a strong energy within as well as around me.

I experienced a very strong and calm practice. Simply beautiful. For you Cathe, in love.

Meditation vs meditation

Kathrin4 Comments

I read a lot about meditation. I took lessons. I did the 30 day challenge with Deepak and Oprah. I tried. Again and again. I failed. Again and again. Struggling with my feet falling asleep, my back complaining. Struggling with the feeling, that I simply can’t do it. Due to all the benefits of meditation, I couldn’t accept to not doing it. It was a catch 22.

My philosophy teacher in India was referring to the rising sun in his meditation lessons. He always said ‚I am the rising sun. I am shiva‘. I had to smile, it was kind of matching the situation, but I didn’t understand.

One day when doing my Ashtanga practice, I managed to focus that much on my breath, that my practice was nothing but intense deep breathing, while my body moved through the asanas. This felt so amazing and my only thought after practice was, THIS is meditation! A moving meditation.

This experience made me look closer to my definition of meditation: sitting in stillness, getting rid of all thoughts, calming down, release, finding peace within.

It was this definition, that was holding me back from meditating. Yoga is union and this is where meditation starts for me. Unite with myself. Going internal, connect with my breath. BE my breath. Feeling my love in my chest. Feeling the sun rising in me. Let it spread, let it shine. Being the rising sun. This deep connection is my meditation. And the journey to it is breath.

It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing. It might happen while practicing, or walking my dog. I might be sitting, lying down, or cooking. It might take a couple of seconds, minutes or hours. It doesn’t matter.

There is no right or wrong. This is how I meditate. Your experience might be totally different. But if you are struggling, maybe this is some inspiration for you.

These are MY moments. My silent moments, my deep connection to myself. My meditation. My moments when I am SHIVA.

Breathe Yogi

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“If you can breathe, you can do yoga.”

Krishnamacharya

Through yoga I learned proper breathing. I learned to breathe deep into my belly. I learned that my breath is my friend and even more, we can play. Lengthen the inhales and exhales, also pause, so called breath retention. I learned that breathing is much more than an automated process to survive.

Working with our breath in yoga is called pranayama. Built from the terms prana, which means life energy and ayama, control or extend. Through pranayama and the different breathing techniques, we control our life energy or even extend the life force.

In the Ashtanga tradition, we use Ujjayi breath during practice. We breathe through our nostrils, and when exhaling, we constrict the back of our throat, generating a sound, that reminds us on the sound of the ocean. Ujjayi breath creates the rhythm of our practice, while building and keeping the body heat inside. There are a lot of benefits, such as regulating blood pressure, increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood and many more.

I found Ujjayi breath very helpful to keep my focus. It’s my music when practicing. My rhythm. Deepening my asanas.

Bring your awareness to your breath and just observe. Start a good relationship with your breath, become friends. And eventually, extend your life force!

Transformation

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Recognize

the moment, when you get off your clothes

and jump into your yoga pants.

Let the transformation start.

Recognize

how your mind releases immediately,

the skin in your face get smooth,

your jaw relaxes.

Recognize

your body waking up,

your muscles silently vibrating.

Recognize

your breath and deepen it,

become mindful.

Feel your happiness,

on your way to the mat.

Love is the breath within the breath

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Love is the breath within the breath

Inhale the word LET — exhale the word GO

Breathe in suffering and pain — breathe out love and kindness

Inhale your guilt — exhale forgiveness

Inhale the word LET — exhale the word GO

Inhale tension — exhale softness

Breathe in adherence — breathe out ease

Inhale the word LET — exhale the word GO