Evolution through Breath

At the heart of yoga is the idea of transformation. Everyone who starts practicing yoga feels the desire for change on some level. These changes we seek are usually both physical and mental - broadly speaking, we look for better health and more peace.

But how does yoga change us? We experience both physical and psychological transformation through yoga - how does this happen?

All mental activity is based on physical processes (sensation, endocrine and brain chemistry) - and all bodily states are the result (if not directly) of mental states.* They are two sides of the same coin - mental anguish causes physical pain and we use physical pleasures to relieve mental stress.

According to yoga, the physical and mental are not two - they are one entity (Prakriti) - mind is nothing but subtle matter. Our experience ranges from that of the solid matter of our bodies to the subtlest thought we can entertain with our minds but there is no break in the range of experiences which says - my body ends here and my mind starts there.

Since mind and body are so intimately connected, it is often very difficult to trace the causes of physical pains and mental distress - since each one influences or causes the other. But if we wanted to have more influence over the apparent constant play of this pleasure/pain cycle where should we look?

We would have to gain access to the interface between the mind and body - between conscious and unconscious - or the threshold of consciousness.

This interface would be the place where we can observe the most subtle interplay of these two aspects of our experience: the place where physical process becomes conscious or mental process becomes unconscious - this is the place where the mental and physical overlap or merge one into the other.

Breathing - The Interface Between Mind and Body

In all the processes which maintain the life and functioning of the body - such as the beating of the heart and circulation of the blood, secretion of hormones, the process of digestion… in breathing we find the one essential function which is sometimes unconscious and sometimes conscious.

Most of the time we do not breathe consciously - we do not control the way we breathe and we are unaware of our breathing rhythms.

But if we start to look at the connection between breathing and the mental and physical states we experience - we see that the breath is directly affected by everything that we experience. Breathing is always affected by the conscious and unconscious states of mind - it is like a monitor which directly indicates the mental and physical states we experience.

When we experience stress, sadness, depression or joy, laughter or peace - the breathing reflects these states. If we are habitually in one state this may lead to a contortion of the breathing system - e.g. someone who is depressed will tend to have a long exhale (sighing) and will hardly breathe in - someone who is stressed will have very shallow and quick breathing, perhaps with a tendency to hold the breath after inhalation.

Mind and breath are mixed together like milk and water - inseparable - according to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika - when the breath moves, the mind moves and when the mind moves, the breath moves - when the breath is modified or controlled, the mind is also modified and eventually brought under control. This technique is at the heart of the yogic process which leads to deeper or more subtle levels of experience and understanding.

Breathing has 4 nodes - inhale, exhale and a possible pause either after inhaling or after exhaling (it is also possible to hold the breath in mid flow). Different emotional or mental states will affect one or more of these four nodes.

Generally speaking, in yoga practice, one should try to keep the breath smooth and even - inhalation should be the same as exhalation (in duration, sound and intensity) and there should be no pause between them. Deep even breathing results in a calm state of mind - relaxed and focused - it provides us with the capacity to face physically and mentally challenging obstacles. (Breathing can be adjusted to suit health needs of an individual: in some cases, inhalation can be emphasized, in others, exhalation. Breath retentions during asana practice can also be introduced. Eventually exhalation is lengthened for deepening states of meditation.)

Releasing Stress

Asana practice puts the body into unfamiliar positions while challenging us to control our breathing (and mental state). When you move the body, the mind wants to assume this new posture - but the posture may be both physically and mentally challenging - maybe this is the result of unfamiliar physical sensations or the mind not being fully present - so the mind ends up experiencing resistance and instability and this manifests in the pattern of breathing.

When a posture puts a certain stress on the body it can generate fear or other emotion, and if the breath becomes strained, other related fears or emotions can well up from the unconscious amplifying the sensations.

If you allow this new pattern of breathing to persist, then the posture will be very challenging: one will experience pain and instability and not be able to enter or maintain the posture. But if you resist the instinct to panic and maintain smooth even breathing, then a real shift on both the physical and mental planes may be possible.

Smooth breathing is like a lubricant which eases release and change - it facilitates subtle movement, balance and the maintaining of mental focus. Using the breath in this way allows one to ease oneself into a posture and facilitates a deep release of unconscious tension, while forcing oneself into a challenging asana without the awareness of breath will often otherwise lead to pain or injury.

Transformation of Mind

Often, in asana practice, the full array of our current preoccupations - our thoughts, experiences, desires and drives - is paraded before us without our control. Whatever we are busy with at the moment will present itself to "distract" us, if only fleetingly, in yoga practice. One of our goals during practice is to remain focused on the body, breath and bandha - this is impossible as long as we do not eliminate the stream of thoughts which follows us everywhere.

As we exert more effort in keeping the mind focused, we are able to eliminate some of these thoughts but the most important or pressing thoughts are much more tenacious - we may have to pay attention to them. Later today you will have to deal with this or that issue and in the meantime you have to figure out a solution. Or maybe you feel a deep sensation of sadness or anger during practice - where did that come from? You would feel compelled to try find out.

At such times the breath becomes shallow or irregular and one loses the sense of harmony and rhythm of breath. The breathing starts to follow the pattern of emotion and in so doing, one can become aware of certain points of pain and tension in the body.

In this way, our mental stresses can be seen painted on the body. By coming to an awareness of these tensions and by returning to conscious smooth breathing we may start to unravel some of these conditioned reflexes which translate mental stress into physical tensions.

Receiving adjustments can increase these effects. A good adjustment can safely take you deeper into the unknown. The adjustment first stabilizes the body and then facilitates deeper access to the posture - something you could not experience by yourself. Receiving an adjustment requires surrender and trust on the part of the student while giving the adjustment supplies steadiness and ease.

A good adjustment is like a mudra. A mudra is a posture which is held with intense steadiness usually with bandhas and kumbhka applied. The word translates as - “that which gives pleasure” - adjustments amplify the effects of asanas.

Rewiring the Brain

Everyone’s mind is wired in a unique way. When a particular stimulus or a group of stimuli is experienced - a predetermined response results. This is known as conditioning or Vasana. Each of us has his own unique set of experiences and memories which structures our tendencies for thinking and behavior.

That is not to say that all we do is simply respond mechanically according to certain neuronal structures - but once something is habitually known and not freshly experienced - repetition leads to a mechanical response. So much so that unless we experience something new, we are mired in repetition and mechanical responses to everything.

Developing an asana practice opens a window in this closed loop stimulus-response pattern. It allows a breath of fresh air enter the stagnant repeating thought loops. The universe expands with the sense of new horizons and possibilities. Practice brings us the unexpected - surprise and delight at our successes and disappointment in our failures and ego attachments. Slowly our attitudes and habits start to change.

With repetition the mind starts to re-wire itself. This has been demonstrated experimentally. The brain is plastic - not fixed as has been asserted by most neurologists for decades. As neurons are repeatedly recruited together they start to form stronger connections facilitating quicker and easier co-ordination. These patterns get fixed over time but can be re-wired with new patterns. As Dr M Merzenich says in his book about his pioneering research into brain plasticity “Soft Wired” - “Neurons that fire together wire together”.

As we start to re-wire the brain we experience a paradigm shift - we start to re-assess our values and change our behavior.

Detoxification

Breathing also works in a mechanical way to detoxify the body - which in turn leads to reduction of toxic thoughts which are caused by physical discomfort.

The action of breathing not only infuses the blood with oxygen and prana but vigorously massages the the heart which is situated between the lungs as well as the abdominal organs. The blood brings both oxygen and carries away toxins from the internal organs which are massaged by the action of deep breathing.

In this way the transformative practice of yoga also becomes a deeply therapeutic tool on the physical level - facilitating healing, detoxification and tonification of the internal organs.

Since the mental and physical are completely connected, all deep physical changes will reflect deep changes in the mind as well. Thus the physical healing process and the process of mental transformation go hand in hand.

Control of the breath through pranayama is also the vehicle for introversion of awareness (pratyahara), concentration and meditation. Breathing is thus not only the preliminary and primary vehicle, but also leads to the ultimate in yoga.

As Krishnamacharya said: “If you can breathe, you can practice yoga.”

Workshop: Subtle Yoga - Breathing and Pranayama - 9-11am EST - October 18 - Online via Zoom:
https://www.ashtangayoga.nyc/workshops

Notes:

* The main cause of physical distress is unhealthy eating. According to yoga, food has a much wider connotation than we normally attribute to it.

Everything is food - everything we consume through our senses is food - one aspect of food feeds the body and another feeds the mind. If the mind feels distressed it often desires (comfort) food of one kind of another. This food is designed to eliminate the distressed feelings, which does work for a short time. But because the kind of food or the manner in which we consume the food is also poisonous to the system, it produces further cravings.

For instance, a desire to go out drinking (mental cause) leads to a hangover the next day and the need for 5 cups of coffee (physical cause). The latter, physical cause is actually caused by the original mental cause - the desire to drink alcohol. So it can be seen that most causes of distress are originally of mental origin.