By Tim Feldmann
Chale vāte chalam cittam – nishchale nishchalam bhavet
When breath moves, the mind moves – when breath is still, the mind is still.
- Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā 2:2
The conscious breath is essential to the Ashtanga method and its potential towards health, healing and self-discovery. Without it, our powerful Yoga practice remains incomplete. As yoga aspirants, we need to cultivate a certain level of skill in breathing if we are to move beyond the more obvious physical layers of the practice and discover what lies underneath.
In many ways, the breath functions as a gateway between the body and the mind. Through its direct relationship with our nervous system, brain activity, emotions and muscular activity, the way we breathe has an immediate influence on our entire experience.
Pattabhi Jois often spoke about proper breathing as what transforms the Ashtanga Krama – the method or system – from physical exercise into a spiritual practice. The breath is therefore not simply something we add to the asana. It is what gives the asana its deeper dimension.
Prāṇāyāma, the fourth limb of Ashtanga Yoga, becomes a powerful bridge towards the four internal limbs that follow – pratyahara/sense management, dharana/concentration, dhyana/meditation and, ultimately, the more mysterious experiences of samādhi.
To understand the yogic breath, we need to understand through practical discovery, some of the keys of prāṇāyāma: bandha, ujjāyī, retentions/kumbhaka, and the many subtle ways in which breath can be utilised. A practical understanding and application of these principles directly amplifies the positive effects we experience in our asana practice, while at the same time leading us towards a deeper personal understanding of the golden principle of Tristhāna – Ashtanga’s Three Pillars of breath, posture and gaze.
Prāṇāyāma is not easy. But it is a powerful and profound way of learning how to better ourselves. As we regulate the nervous system and organically increase our breath capacity, we begin to discover how the breath can teach us clear ways to choose&find quietness, calm and peacefulness even when internal anxiety, conflict and upsetness are moving through our inner reality.
The effects are deeply physiological too. We stretch and strengthens the diaphragm, we develop greater breath capacity and learn to breathe more fully and efficiently. At the same time, we develop mental focus and begin to encounter different – sometimes entirely new and unknown – states of being.
But perhaps most significantly for the spiritual practitioner, prāṇāyāma has an unparalleled ability to lift us out of lethargy and into a more awake state of calm clarity – a key stepping stone for any serious yoga practitioner.
And it gets more interesting.
The kleshas – the patterns of unwholesomeness and disturbance that live within us all – rise from being philosophical concepts understood only intellectually, to actual internal mechanics we can experience directly in body, breath and mind. Slowly we begin to clearly see how these patterns operate within us and colours our every choice.
Krishnamacharya beautifully suggests in the Yoga Rahasya (4:31):
“When the body is disordered – make use of the body to reduce. When thought is agitated – make use of Prāṇāyāma to reduce.”
- use the body to work with the body, use the breath to work with the mind!
So, prāṇāyāma is much much more than a breathing exercises. It’s a profound method of investigation, a way of entering into a more intimate relationship with ourselves and learning, through direct experience, how body, breath and mind are constantly influencing one another.
Explore Prāṇāyāma with Tim Feldmann on Omstars
In this workshop, we’ll lay the foundation for a practical understanding of these principles and explore how to apply them directly within your practice. The intention is to deepen the effects of āsana while opening the door to a more refined relationship with breath, mind and the Ashtanga method.
Join Tim Feldmann for this limited live prāṇāyāma series on Omstars, where each session builds progressively on the last through breath, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā and dhyāna.
Practice with us on Omstars.
