Life is filled with periods of waiting. We wait to regain our strength after an illness or surgery. We wait for someone who is late getting ready to leave or to arrive, or for a meal to be served. We wait, and wait. In this day of instant gratification and lightning-speed technology our waiting skills have become a bit rusty. Yesterday was the first Sunday in the Advent season, a period of waiting for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It marks the beginning of four weeks of waiting for the arrival of Christmas Day. By the time December 1st rolls around we have only 24 more days to prepare for the big day---to shop, decorate, send greetings, make, bake and wrap presents, attend parties, and the list goes on and on...just like the waiting!
This period of waiting for Christmas (or any celebration) passes much too rapidly for those responsible for all the physical preparations. Yet for children, the wait can be agonizingly long, especially if the emphasis is on presents and Santa. Much depends upon what we're anticipating and how we spend the time in waiting. The way we wait certainly influences our waiting experience! Each and every day of waiting for Christmas can become a joyful celebration in itself because our God has already reached out to us and came down to earth for the human experience. He knows what it feels like to wait, and wait. We don't have to wait for His peaceful presence---simply stop to notice it.
If the journey is pleasurable, the destination carries less pressure and is less likely to be a disappointment. The entire Christmas season with all its activities can be enjoyable in each moment if the actual day is just one part of the big picture. The Advent of our Savior, Jesus, has already arrived, and now, as Christians we wait patiently for His Second Coming when all of the promises in Scripture will be fulfilled. (By the way, for those doubters, God is incapable of lying since He IS truth!) This week let's practice waiting patiently as we breathe in faith and exhale all doubts using a yogic breathing technique called Sama Vrtti Pranayama or "Equal Breathing." Consider this an antidote to the hyperventilation that can occur over the supposedly holy holidays!
- Physically---Practicing yoga often requires that we wait, and wait. We move the physical body slowly into different positions or postures called asanas, and then wait to experience the physical resistance signaling that it's time to stop. With each breath we breathe deeply into all four corners of the lungs, filling them (puraka), and then we pause briefly in antara kumbhaka to wait for the energy called prana to be absorbed into the body. Then after a long and extended sighing exhalation called rechaka, we wait in bahya kumbhaka for the next breath to come to us. The breath is never rushed but experienced as a deep, slow and rhythmic celebration of life. When you're in your least favorite pose in yoga class, the wait probably feels like an eternity, but if it feels good, you don't mind the waiting period. As a challenge this week, practice waiting in your least favorite pose for a minimum of one minute. That's approximately 8-12 three-dimensional ujjayi breaths, depending on the length of the pauses or periods of waiting between each segment of each breath. Then rest in "Corpse Pose" or Savanasana (described in the January 24, 2009 blog) to practice Sama Vrtti Pranayama or "Equal Breathing" with full concentration on a conscious breathing process.
- Begin by counting the number of seconds that it takes to fill the lungs (puraka) and then extend the exhalation (rechaka) for an equal number of seconds. Once the duration of the inhalations and exhalations are comfortably equal, begin to practice antara kumbhaka by waiting to exhale for a few seconds. (A kumhba is a container in Sanskrit, and in this case it's the lungs.) Then gradually increase the waiting period until it's equal to the duration of the in and out segments. Do not try to wait for an equal number of seconds after the exhalations (bahya kumbhaka) until it's comfortable to breathe in, hold, and breathe out for an equal number of seconds. It's best to practice either antara kumbhaka OR bahya kumbhaka separately or alternately until both breath retentions become comfortable and equal before all four segments of the breath can become equal in duration. If the breath becomes short and choppy, please discontinue and wait to practice under the guidance of an experienced yoga instructor.
- Mentally---Keep the mind calm and focused by carefully observant of the quality of each breath. Counting the number of seconds in each segment---puraka, kumbhaka, and rechaka---will help to keep the mind present and aware of all body sensations. Please discontinue Sama Vrtti Pranayama if the mind becomes unsettled or unfocused.
- Spiritually---Since each breath is a gift to be received with gratitude it celebrates and connects both the gift and the giver. Waiting is an exercise in patience. Some form of the word wait is used hundreds of times throughout Scripture, indicating its spiritual significance. Below are just three quotes beginning with David from his 25th Psalm:
"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him." (Isaiah 64: 4, KJV)
"For we are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
(Romans 8: 24-25, KJV) So let us wait, and wait with patience. Namaste, plf
