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School of Santhi
Yoga Teacher Training School in India &
Europe
...........................
Traditional
Yoga School in India
for spiritual seekers
guided by
Swami Santhiprasad
...........................
Swami about the breath: Swami Santhiprasad, Spiritual Yoga Master & Yoga Guru
Learn more about Traditional Yoga, Swara Yoga and Indian wisdom from Swami Santhiprasad, Spiritual Yoga Master at
School of Santhi
Yoga School in India,
Traditional Yoga Teacher Training in Kerala, South India
November 2006
Dear Yoga friends,
Become
the flute playing
the music of living!
While we exist in this body,
the breath is the essential sustainer of our existence. Therefore,
it is so important for us to know our essential breath.
Become
the flute playing
the music of living!
The essential breath is natural and the
changes that happen to it in order to cope with different circumstance are also
natural. For example, no one can enter into sex without the breath is naturally
modified. Also without changing the breath, no one can let out ones tension through
anger and cannot enter into possessiveness, which is a basic instinct for survival.
Similarly without
the modification of the breath, one cannot
be greedy or passionate. When one feels compassion and love,
the breath also undergoes modifications. It changes continuously.
As long as we are alive and therefore breathing, our breath will change in conjunction
with our reactions to our surroundings. Certainly, these fluctuations are
essential for the human survival as a being. It is good and bad at the same
time and hence we need a balance. Essential breath is the balanced breath.
When a person is
totally relaxed and balanced there will be a small
whistling sound made by the breath.
When the breath starts to whistle you
can be sure that, you are with the
essential breath. It is the subtle
music of life, the symphony of
living!
The essential breath is constant for every one of us. It depends upon both the
psychological and the physical make-up of the individual. It also depends on
the intensity at which one has taken his first breath. What is normal for one
person may not be normal for another.
The normal breath
changes according to the state of ones body and ones mind. When one is anxious
due to insecurity, the breath changes to a level, which is normal for that situation.
There are qualitative as well as quantitative changes in the breath when one feels anger, pride, avarice, competition and fight. The same is true for sorrow, empathy, compassion and love. When one feels deeply integrated within oneself, the breath becomes feeble, starting to flow without even the air noticing it. This is the state of Kevala Kumbhaka or absolute retention as told by Yogis.
By looking at the
essential breath and its manifestations, the corresponding changes, which happen
in the mental and physical plan, you will be able to know in due course that
everything is functioning quite naturally. When you confirm this, you will be
able to accept yourself as you really are. Accepting without attempting to modify
is the first step in the process of evolution.
Firstly, you have to accept that you are an animal. After that comes the
development of realizing that, you
are human. When your humanness is fit
enough to accommodate the entire
existence, you will realize that you
are in every being and every being is
in you. Then you have transformed
into divine!
You will in turn experience the intelligence flowing as an unbroken stream of
consciousness that expresses as Existence! You become the flute that plays the
music of living, connecting you to celestial ecstasy.
Settle your breath
and your mind settles!
As breathing
is an involuntary activity we remain ignorant
of the Pranic cycle. Whether we are aware of it or not we are like
simple puppets playing on two strings that pass through our nostrils.
One day the puppet will inevitably
have to fall by breaking the string
as the body is too heavy for the
string to hold on. When the string is
broken no one can tie it together
again. The puppet finishes, the play
and the curtain falls.
It is important to know the play, the
player and his tool, the string,
before it falls otherwise you will
not know the game. When one becomes
aware of this game you will become
more joyful. As it goes, the joy
develops into a kind of celebration.
It is natural for all beings to go
there and experience our own inner
joy. There's no need to do anything
special to experience this. One has
to simply be aware of the Prana,
which is operating through the
process of breathing.
As long as you are alive you can
experience this, as you exists with
Prana. Our life itself is sustained
by Prana, and are in a way the
program for experiencing, knowing,
getting satisfaction, happiness and
liberating us from the bondages of
birth and death.
You does'nt need any extra tool,
other than being aware of your own
Prana. This will offer you the
essential experience, based on which
all other experiences become genuine.
We are fortunate in having this
opportunity to experience our own
life and its inherent celebration! It
works usually without our knowledge
or will. It happens by itself. When
we are simply aware of this flow, the
mind starts to relax. The relaxation
that leads to meditation will happen
only with the settlement of the
breath. When your breath settles,
your mind settles. When the mind
settles, you enters into deeper
relaxation. A tensed mind cannot
reach the state of clarity needed to
comprehend the true self.
Listen to the sound of the breath! The simplest way to study Prana is to
listen to the sound of the breath. It
carries with it a subtle vibration,
which explicitly shows who you are.
The breath constantly chants the
mantra SOHAM, which means, "I am
that". It chants at least 26400 times
a day in an adult human being. This
sound of breath is known as Swara.
Within the Swara all the planes of
existence are hidden. Swara is
considered to be the cause of
creation, existence and dissolution.
In Siva Swarodaya it is said that
within the Swara, the entire Vedas,
Sashtras and musical knowledge are
hidden. Music always makes one move
according to its rhythm. Moving
according to the rhythm is dancing.
Effortless movement in its own accord
will lead to forgetfulness.
Forgetfulness is the quality of
innocence. Innocence leads to the
experience of love. When love
blossoms you cannot tie up yourself
with your own body and bodily
pleasures and comforts alone. Going
beyond the limitations of the body is
flying and a celebration by itself!
Settle your breath
and your mind settles!
Swami Santhiprasad Swami Santhiprasad, Spiritual Yoga Master & Yoga Guru
I
have committed myself
to be available always for all
of you and share whatever I have understood during
the course of
journey of my life, both in the Indian spiritual Yoga traditions and
beyond, as a seeker. What we need in this
world is few individuals who could commit themselves to explore
their own inner world! It is really difficult to find few
of them.
However, I commit myself to be available always!
Love
Swami Santhiprasad
Spiritual leader • Yoga Master • Yoga Guru
School of Santhi Yoga School, Kerala, South India
