Did you make a "New Year's Resolution" for 2011 that involves a challenging change? According to our pastor's research for his sermon yesterday. if people are totally honest they'll admit that they no longer make resolutions because they never keep them anyway. He even asked the congregation to raise hands if they continue to make resolutions and only one woman raised her hand---and it was me! Of course, I don't keep all of my resolutions, but I do try!
I'm idealistic enough to believe that change is always possible if we go about it with wisdom and help from above. (Go back and read the December 30, 2009 blog called "Resolve to Allow Change.") I'm also learning to break down the resolve for change into smaller steps, employing the philosophy that "small steps make a distance." Evolution means a slow change as opposed to a revolution which is sudden. So if I want to clean out my closets and drawers (which I do!) I know from experience that I'll have more success if I choose small, manageable sections, one day at a time. Or, say I want "to become a better person" (which I do!) but that seems too broad and non-specific. I've found that it helps to make a specific list, mental or on paper, of several small steps that I can take to make a realistic difference in my lifestyle. Then when I accomplish one targeted goal for a short, manageable period of time (Let's start with just one month.) I can then extend the time until that step becomes a habit. By the way, "experts" say that it takes approximately three weeks of regular behavior for something to be embedded as a routine, so get started today! Whatever you want to change you can do it, one small step at a time!
If one of your resolutions is to practice yoga daily, I suggest that you go back to one of the most basic and specific tools that connect all the rest---the breath of life. The fourth of eight threads, called Pranayama (rhythmic control of the breath) keeps us present in each moment and helps us to become more aware of our life as we are living it. Many yoga practitioners feel it is the single most significant component or ingredient of a mindful yoga practice, and the all-important element that distinguishes yoga from other forms of exercise. Because breath is our energy, our spirit, it reveals our true intentions. If we can control our breath (with the help of our Creator, of course) we can begin to control our intentions. With the intention to breathe more mindfully with gratitude, begin right now, where you are.
- Physically---No matter where you are or what you are doing at the moment, slow down several times throughout the day long enough to tune in to your breath. Momentarily take your attention away from your physical posture---away from the third limb called asana.
- Mentally---At first just observe the way you're breathing "normally." Is your breath entering through the nose only and also exiting through the nose, or are you breathing through your mouth? If so, change that small detail with the next inhalation so that you feel the cool, dry air as it passes through the nostrils, and notice how it changes to become warm and moist on the way out through the nose. Is there a smooth and regular rhythm, or is your breathing short and choppy? Are you breathing deeply into all corners of each lung or is the breath short and shallow?
- After observing these details take a few more moments to begin practicing pranayama, or breath control. With the very next breath in, allow the diaphragm to drop into the lower abdomen for what is referred to as a "belly breath" or "bellows breath" as it draws the air (called prana) into the lower lobes and then upper lobes of each lung. Notice how the energy moves upward as the rib cage opens and expands three-dimensionally---front and back and sides. Then lower the chin slightly toward the lifted chest to engage the chin/throat lock in the back of the throat (called jalandhara bandha) in order to slow down the release of carbon dioxide with a long sighing exhalation. In order to establish an even rhythm to each breath, count the number of seconds that you're breathing into your lungs, and then try to equal that same number as you exhale. Wait to begin the next breath until your diaphragm automatically drops down and slowly draws in the next burst of energy. Spiritually---Keeping the attention on the quality and rhythm of each breath and its source, (our Creator) will prevent the mind from wandering outside of the body into a past or future time. This discipline of present-minded, conscious breathing becomes the foundation of being "present with the Lord and absent from the body." As the apostle Paul describes this brief spiritual experience:
(II Corinthians 5: 6-8, KJV)
May your 2011 begin the healthy process of deepening your pranayama practice as a precursor to being "absent from the body, and ...present with the Lord." Namaste, plf
