quiet practice

Returned today to the quiet, slow-paced, and gentle practice I've been doing variants of, with numerous add-ons and changes, for the past six months. It's perfect for my physical, mental, and respiratory needs, and lasts nearly exactly an hour.

It always begins with a 40-minutes (including savasana, the rest period at the end) asana sequence, based on the routine in Gary Kraftsow's Yoga for Transformation, pages 70-88. What I find particularly attractive about this sequence is the unusual breath prescription for most of the postures: staying one breath longer during each successive repetition of the movement, up to four breaths/four reps. This is a user-friendly approach for a an older person like myself who also suffers from emphysema. Staying one breath longer with each repetition prevents any of the breathlessness which often occurs when I try simply moving in and out of these postures with each breath.

Next is pranayama, and I've learned to keep it simple. Six breaths to warm up deepen the inhale and extend the exhale, then, by the clock, six-second inhales and 12-second exhales with short, one-second pauses in between for a 20-second threshold, 18 repetitions. This works out to about eight minutes and leads directly into a short period of chanting: Om; then om namaha; then om shanti.

From there, the practice becomes very quiet indeed. With the eyesight turned inward, I meditate on the first four chakras, the ones with characteristics we have in common with the animals, and those associated with the four common elements: muladhara, the base of the spine, the "earth" chakra, and the foundation of our security; then svadisthana two inches above it, the water in which the earth is dissolved, the creative and regenerative instinct. Then comes manipuraka, the fire which vaporizes the water, and is the fire of transformation; finally anahata the heart, the wide air into which the fire is dispersed, and the lotus which, when right-side-up and open, allows us to love.

After that I slowly open my eyes and begin to come back to a more ordinary state of mind. It's kind of like waking up from a deep sleep, but not exactly the same. I notice a very slow, quiet hour has gone by, and I'm better for it.

--30--