This audio will lead you through a 6-minute introduction into  three-part breathing, or Dirgha pranayama. This style of breath is fairly easy to access, and can be practiced anytime during your day (even while sitting at your desk at work). It involves inhaling from the pit of the belly all the way up into the top of the chest, then exhaling from the top of the chest down into the bottom of the torso. This complete breath helps you to draw in more air with each inhale, allowing more oxygen to enter the lungs and travel to your cells. It can lead to a calmer, more relaxed  mind and body, and breaks the cycle of shallow breathing that often occurs during the day.

To start, you can either find a comfortable seat or lie down on the floor. If you are seated in a chair, allow your spine to grow longer by rooting sit-bones into the seat and extending the crown of your head towards the ceiling. Your hands can rest on your lap as your shoulders soften away from your ears. If you are lying down, take up space. Your feet can fall open to the sides, completely relaxed, and the palms of your hands can turn to face the ceiling. This will help your shoulders to roll open, and create more space for the breath in your chest. I will go over these cues in the audio as well, so let’s get started!

Yoga with my Mama

Much of my time was spent on Coronado Island at the Yoga Journal LIVE! San Diego Conference.The conference was located in the beautiful Coronado Hotel. We waited too long to take advantage of the discounted rates, so stayed about a block away because that place is expensive! We got to spend plenty of time wandering the halls between classes, and wandering through the entire hallway of upscale shopping in the basement. The weekend of yoga started off with a bang. I spent a full day at a workshop with the amazing Tiffany Cruikshank delving deeply into the anatomy of the hip joint (fodder for a future post!). My mom and I took a blissed-out class with Eoin Finn, and shared our very first paddle board yoga experience together the next day! I rounded out the weekend with a fun and light-hearted hamstring-focused class with Kathryn Budig (MC’d by DJ Drez), a heart-pounding immersion into backbends with Annie Carpenter, and a slow and steady hip-opening flow from Jason Crandell. It was a nice balance between the physical and intellectual sides of yoga. Next conference? Maybe San Francisco in January 2016?

La Jolla Kayak Experience

Monday was the only full day with no yoga plans, so my mom found a kayaking expedition out of nearby La Jolla. We walked over to the beach where our kayaks were waiting. There, we got a short tutorial on how to row together and tips for getting beyond the waves to the calmer ocean water.  I was in a double kayak with my sister, and all started out well. We thought we were home free until…a huge wave started forming up ahead!! We were paddling ferociously, but the wave rose way above our heads and came crashing down upon us! We still kept paddling, but eventually it took us down and almost all the way back to shore. Unfortunately for my parents in a kayak behind us, we took them out too. Thankfully we all recovered (and the water wasn’t too frigid) with only one bruise between the four of us. The second attempt was a success, and I’m glad we kept on going. We kayaked over towards some cliffs, pausing occasionally for the tour guides to give tidbits of history on the surroundings. At the cliffs, we were greeted by the barking of sea lions and spent some time watching them spiral through the water together. A bit further down, a flock of Brandt’s Cormorants rested on the cliff slope. Apparently they are an aquatic bird that can dive over 100 feet below water to find food! One by one, our tour guide led us into a cave under the cliffs to view the incredible geology of the place. The journey back to land was a lot of fun! We caught a few waves and skirted the shore back to safety and solid land.

Relaxing on the Water

While most of my days were filled with yoga, we traveled around a fair bit during the evenings and final day (with the help of our tour guide, my sister’s boyfriend). We walked along Mission Beach and Mission Bay, strolled the pier at Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach, and spent some time relaxing at Sunset Cliffs. After dropping my parents at the airport at the end of the trip, I had a few extra hours to kill. My delightful sister and her boyfriend took me to another marina (can’t remember where now) that was supremely peaceful and still. Standing on dock at the water’s edge, we spotted a baby and adult dolphin approaching us. At one point, the adult dolphin’s fin stopped popping above the surface, and the tiny baby fin was the only one rhythmically appearing. It was so quiet out that we could hear each breath when the baby rose out of the water, and it swam by just a few feet in front of where we were standing. We walked along the dock, keeping pace until the dock ended. The adult had swum ahead and was waiting a bit beyond the edge of the dock, and the two swam off into the sunset together. It was a beautiful final memory to add to the trip.

In review: First time in San Diego, not too shabby. I look forward to our next family vacation now

• Roots and extension: Try to approach any posture in a yoga sequence from the ground up, no matter the difficulty. Creating stability in the base of a pose will keep you safe and strong through the rest of the body. In a standing pose, root firmly and evenly through the corners of the feet. I typically teach the foot as having three corners: the center of the heel, behind the ball of the big toe, and behind the ball of the pinky toe. By pressing down through these three points evenly, you can learn to activate the three arches on the bottom of the foot. This will help to create a stable dome architecture at the bottom of the foot, and will start to activate the muscles of the lower legs. At the same time you are rooting down through the lower body, extend up through the upper body. This may mean extending the crown of the head or the hands towards the ceiling, depending on the pose. The opposition of rooting and extending will help to create more space in the body, including the spine, helping to reverse some of the compressive effects of sitting or standing unevenly during the day. The same idea can be applied to arm balances and seated postures. An added benefit of rooting and reaching is it will decrease the weight being poured into the wrists in poses like arm balances or planks, Rooting evenly through the three corners of the feet in standing poses will help you find proper alignment, avoiding pain in the knee and ankles.
• Sthira/Sukha: In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (an important text on the practice of yoga originating about 2000 years ago), the practice of asana is only mentioned directly once, in line 46 of the second book. The sutra says “sthira, sukham, asanam”. Translated from sanskrit, this sutra speaks of finding both steadiness (sthira) and ease (sukha) in one’s posture. Patanjali is mostly speaking of finding this balance between relaxation and strength in a seated posture for meditation, but yoga has evolved to include many more postures, as we all know! T.K.V. Desikachar, author of The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice, explains this sutra by saying, “It is attention without tension, loosening up without slackness.” Finding a balance between these two opposing characteristics in an asana will keep the pose strong without creating needless stress.

Check in next week for some introductory videos! I hope you are having a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.

1. Yamas: Ethical restraints, or actions to limit in your life.
   • Ahimsa: Non-violence. This can also be translated as compassion for all things, including yourself. This means working to eliminate the detrimental thoughts, judgements, and actions we make against ourselves and others. Ahimsa is considered to be the most important goal to strive for.
   • Satya: Truthfulness. Yogis are encouraged to be honest and truthful in all things. If being totally honest will end up causing deep suffering, sometimes ahimsa will trump the importance of satya.
   • Asteya: Non-stealing. This includes the stealing of material items from another, but more importantly encompasses the stealing of nonmaterial things. If someone does something impressive, we should not try to steal their joy or feel jealous of their success.
   • Brahmacharya: Virtue. Find moderation in all parts of your life, trying not to over-indulge in any arena.
   • Aparigraha: Non-possessiveness. Embrace simplicity in life and do not grasp for physical possessions. Notice what is driving you to possess more and more.
2. Niyamas: Qualities to encourage and nurture in life.
   • Saucha: Cleanliness or purity. Keep both body and mind clean. This includes personal hygiene, eating foods that keep the body clean, and practicing mindfulness to keep the mind clean. Asana and pranayama (discussed below) can help to cleanse the body internally as well.
   • Santosha: Contentment. Accept life as it comes and try to find happiness within yourself.
   • Tapas: Heat or discipline. It is important to have goals and to work hard to achieve them (without grasping or becoming attached to exact outcomes). Tapas means to have the self-discipline or internal fire to keep striving for the bettering of one’s own life and that of others.
   • Svadhyaya: Self Study. Study to learn more about yourself and the world around you.
   • Isvara Pranidhana: Surrender to God. Yoga does not tell you what religion to follow, or even that you need to follow any religion at all. It encourages developing a form of spirituality in order to find a sense of purpose, serenity, and understanding of your role in the world. By appreciating something outside of yourself, you can avoid the pitfalls of excessive pride and find compassion for others.
3. Asana: This is the physical practice of yoga, the postures we think of when we hear someone say they do yoga. The main goal of an asana practice is to encourage flexibility and strength in the body, in order to create flexibility and strength in the mind. By moving the body through various positions, muscles, bones, connective tissues, internal organs, and lymph tissues will be massaged and invigorated. Developing stronger body-awareness over time can be a powerful method of increasing mind-awareness as well.
4. Pranayama: Breath Control. Prana is defined as breath, energy or life. The breath is the only vital function of the body that we can consciously control. Controlling the breath can lead to the slowing down of the thoughts and the release of tension in the body. There are countless different methods of pranayama, designed to bring about different results in the body and mind.
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses. This can be as simple as closing the eyes or wearing earplugs. By eliminating one of the senses, the others can become enhanced. The body can more deeply feel sensations, the mind can more fully focus.
6. Dharana: Concentration. Once the body is calmed with asana, the breath deepened with pranayama, and the senses withdrawn via pratyahara, the mind can come to a focus on a single point, thought, or idea.
7. Dhyana: Meditation. Dhyana goes a step deeper than simple concentration. It arises when one concentrates fully and “body, breath, senses, mind, reason, and ego are all integrated in the object of [one’s] contemplation”1.
8. Samadhi: Ecstasy. This is the ultimate goal, the holy grail, of a yoga practice. It is a state beyond consciousness, where body and senses are at rest while the mind remains awake. This results in a deep connection with the universe and an awareness of one’s role within it. This leads to a liberation from fear and eliminates the duality of self and non-self.

If we can even embrace the very first aspect of the eight-fold path – nonviolence – imagine how much improvement could come to our world! If you first come to yoga simply as a form of exercise, you might be surprised by changes you see in other parts of your life.

1. B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York, Schocken Books, 1979). pp. 51.

I was painfully shy for much of high school and college (and, to be honest, even now). Social situations would find me standing in a corner trying to blend into the wall. When I went off to college and left the comfort of the friends I had made as a child, I completely fell apart. My freshman year, I exclusively spent my time with two friends I had from high school. If they were busy, I stayed alone. My friends and family would say I just needed to “get out there”, say hello to whoever I met. I would get so upset, thinking they didn’t understand, that it simply wasn’t possible.

It’s a spiraling path that is hard to escape. The more you avoid life, the harder it is to get back out there. Starting this blog, the hardest part by far is putting my life out there, sharing myself and opening up to the ‘judgement’ I so fear from my peers. A fear of being measured and found to be inadequate.

I absolutely love this quote as a source of inspiration. It helps drive me to power through the fear when it starts to overwhelm.:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.  -Marianne Williamson

Even during my weakest moments, I have always felt that I have this inner light. I have just struggled with the shade that hovers on top of it. Struggled with why I worry so much about the parts of life I can not control (like the thoughts of other people, the events of day to day life). This is a big reason why I am so enamored with the notion of the Atman.

Atman Explained: Looking Through the Koshas

What exactly, IS an Atman, you ask? I was first introduced to the concept of the koshas, and ultimately the Atman, in my 200 hour yoga teacher training. Koshas are a way of viewing the different layers of a human being. You can think of them like layers of shades over a light bulb. The light at the very center never changes; it is always shining brightly, doing its damndest to brighten up the room; this is the Atman. Each lampshade covering the light is subject to change, so moment to moment the light has a different effect on the world around it. The koshas describe five shades or layers surrounding the Atman,  the eternal light inside of us all.

The first and outermost shade is the annamaya kosha, or the food body. This layer is literally the food we put in the body, and the physical cells the food creates and helps to maintain. Yoga aids here through the physical asana practice. Nutrition is another huge part as well. You can notice changes in your physical body with an asana practice as well as with different food options given to the body. How your body feels and functions has a huge effect on the way you move through your day.

The second shade is the pranamaya kosha, or energy body. This includes our breath, the beating of our heart, the flow of blood in our veins. In yoga, we work to affect change in this layer through conscious breathing. If you pay attention to your breath, you can see that it can not only change your body (one layer up), but can also change your thoughts and slow your emotions (one layer deeper) through meditation. This is why when anger arises, people recommend taking a few deep breaths before responding.

The third layer is the manamaya kosha, or mental body. These are the thoughts that flit through the mind, the reaction and interpretation of the mind to events in life, and the emotions we experience as a result.

Fourth is the vijnanamaya body, or wisdom body, often referred to as the intellect. This layer of the mind is what allows us to discern why we are really experiencing an emotion. This allows us to take a step back from the heat of the moment and view our environment without judgement. The wisdom body also encompasses our ego, or feeling of “I am”.

The fifth and deepest layer, right over the Atman, is the anandamaya kosha, or the bliss body. Being so close to the center, beyond the intellect, this is a state that is harder to put into words. If you are trying to experience it, it will continue to elude. Reaching a state of complete bliss, unattached to any event or situation going on in the world around you, is experiencing your anandamaya kosha.

Finally, buried deep within, we have the ATMAN! This inextinguishable light, soft and bright, inside of us all. The Atman is a key concept within the Upanishads, an ancient Vedic text. The Atman as presented in the Upanishads also ended up influencing many ideas of the Self in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. “In all persons, in all creatures, the Self is the innermost essence. And it is identical with Brahman; our real Self is not different from the ultimate Reality called God.1″ This Self is not subject to change; it is only the world around the Atman that fluctuates.

My highs in life have been so high, my lows so low. With the koshas,  I had a new way of understanding how this could be possible! Some days I allowed my Atman to shine so brightly! Other days I allowed it to get bogged down by my thoughts and deeply ingrained fears. 

An interesting exercise to try during your day is to sit and contemplate these different aspects of being. Notice in the moment what does your physical body feel like? What is it telling you? Are your shoulders hunching forward, arms crossed over your chest? How about your energy? Is your breath deep and smooth? Short and harried? How does it feel to slow down the breath? Is your heart racing or steady? Notice any thoughts and emotions drifting or running through the mind.  See if you can select a specific thought or emotion and go beyond it to discover what is REALLY causing the experience. Can you catch even a glimpse of bliss and inner light under all that is going on in your body and brain? Can you even believe it is possible this bliss exists? Try this exercise at different points in your day and life. Notice the differences between moments of joy and moments of stress or fear. Maybe you can find a way to start shifting your perspective during harder times.

I believe deep down that the possibilities available in life are infinite. We are limited only by how hard we try and how fully we believe in ourselves. I have come to believe that it may not be failure I fear, but how great my life could be. This is not to say that my fears have drifted off into the wind, but I have a new perspective on viewing them.  Like a turtle hiding in his shell, I spent many of my formative years ignoring the conflict brewing within until it boiled over again and again. By sharing my process of unleashing my Atman, I hope to help others uncover their own as well!

1. Eknath Easwaran, The Upanishads (Tomales: Nilgiri Press, 2007), pp. 38.