Pranayama - the Science of Breath

http://greenyogaindia.com/prana-and-pranayama/

Remember Rishi Patanjali's eight-limbed Yoga?

1. Yama
2. Niyama
3. Asana
4. Pranayama
5. Pratyahara
6. Dharana
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi

We've seen a little on asana - the physical posture - and on the last four limbs that deal with the mental posture.

Meditation, particularly Buddhist meditation, is often centered on watching the breath, just watching it go in and out without forcing it in any way.

Pranayama is completely different: we control breath.

Patanjali doesn't offer a very detailed explanation. The verses that refer to pranayama are only five: II-49 to II-53

49. Asana having been perfected, regulation of the flow of inhalation and exhalation is Pranayama.
50. Pranayama has external operation, internal operation and suppression. These, again, when observed according to space, time and number become long and subtle.
51. The fourth Pranayama transcends external and internal operations.
52. By that the veil over manifestation of knowledge is thinned.
53. Moreover, the mind acquires fitness for Dharana.

[Adapted from https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=qUHabpdmSCkC)]

Apart from continual oral transmission, we had to wait almost 1000 years to have a detailed written instruction on pranayama, in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Let's make a little experiment.

Lie down on your back and relax. Remember savasana?
Now pay attention to your thorax and abdomen and try to discern how they move with breath. Take your time...
If you're stressed (aren't we all?) you'll find that you are breathing from the top of your lungs. That's bad.
Now inhale deeply: begin by dilating your abdomen and then propagate the dilation to the chest, like a wave that begins just above the pubis and ends by the throat. Don't hold your breath; just let physics work and empty your lungs. When they're naturally emptied, there are still a few gases remaining: contract your chest and then the abdomen to expel the last possible ounce of residual gas. You've never taken such a deep, full breath in your life!

Traditionally the phases of breath are called

1. Puraka - Inhalation
2. Kumbhaka - Retention
3. Rechaka - Exhalation

There is also kumbhaka after exhalation. If you are very mindful you can detect both kumbakhas even in your normal breathing. In fact, that's one of the advanced themes for Buddhist calm (samatha) meditation.

You may have noticed that the amount of air that flows through the left and right nostrils is not the same. This is natural. We have a dominant nostril, and it changes along the day - it is said that the dominant nostril changes every 108 minutes. If your dominant nostril is always the same, especially if you never breath through one of them, see a doctor: you probably have some physical obstruction.

When you do long breathing meditation (not pranayama) sessions you sometimes catch the dominant nostril slowly switching. It's a lot of fun...

Did this experiment make you want to further explore pranayama? Then sit. The ideal position for practicing pranayama is one of the meditative asanas that we've seen in a previous post on meditation.

I'm going to show you four pranayamas based on Swami Sivananda's The Science of Pranayama. The idea is to take a few minutes every day, preferably early in the morning, and practise one exercise during one week. Try not to skip steps. If at any time you feel dizzy, stop immediately. Your body is warning you that you are over-straining. As I said before, this is Yoga - not gymnastics!

First week: exercise #1

Close your eyes. Inhale deeply, as before, through both nostrils, very slowly and gently until your lungs are full. Remember that inhalation begins in the abdomen. Do not retain the breath. Then slowly exhale. Do twelve times. This will constitute one round. You can do two or three rounds according to your capacity, strength, and time at your disposal.

Second week: exercise #2

Close your eyes. Close the right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale very slowly through the left nostril as long as you can do it with comfort. Then exhale very slowly through the same nostril. Do twelve times. Do not make any sound during inhalation and exhalation. Then inhale through the right nostril by closing the left nostril with your right ring and little fingers and exhale very slowly through the same nostril. Do twelve times.

Vishnu Mudra - used for opening and closing nostrils.
http://sacred-earth.typepad.com/yoga/2008/07/mudras-for-pranayama.html

Third week: exercise #3

Close your eyes. Then inhale slowly through your left nostril. Close the left nostril with your right ring and little fingers and open the right nostril by removing the right thumb. Exhale very slowly through the right nostril. Then draw the air through the right nostril as long as you can do it with comfort and exhale through the left nostril by removing the right ring and little fingers. There is no kumbhaka in this pranayama. Do twelve times.

Fourth week: exercise #4

Close your eyes. Close the right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale slowly through the left nostril while mentally counting one-two-three. Using the ring and little finger, close the left nostril too and retain the air for the time it takes you to count to twelve; exhale through the right nostril for the time it takes you to count to six; keeping the right nostril open, inhale through it counting to three; close both nostrils while counting to twelve; open the left nostril and exhale through it while counting to six. Do twelve times.

As you have guessed, the aim is to have a 1-4-2 proportion for puraka-kumbhaka-rechaka.

From the end of the fourth week onwards you can try to slowly increase the time, by both slowing and deepening the steps. You began with 3-12-6; next week try 4-16-8. After a few months you may be able to get to 16-64-32 without undue strain. 

Watch Baba Ramdev demonstrating pranayama.

http://ramdevyoga4all.blogspot.com/2010/07/complete-eight-pranayamas.html

Gymnosophists - the naked philosophers

When Alexander the Great's army invaded India, sometime around 320 BC, his Greek followers were puzzled to find what they called 'naked philosophers' - the gymnosophists.

The Greek found nothing out of the ordinary in 'street philosophy'; after all, Alexander had been tutored by the great Aristotle. They also found nothing out of the ordinary in male nakedness since there was no concept of shame associated with the body. The word 'gymnos' - naked - can be found in gymnasium - a place to exercise naked.

As happens many times, it was the conjunction of two common things that felt, maybe, odd: naked philosophers...

We can easily imagine those gymnosophists to be the ancestors of modern naga babas.

https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/155514993357883219/

One Greek philosopher, a member of Alexander's court, seemed to be especially struck by Indian philosophy: Pyrrho of Elis, known today as the founder of skepticism.

https://alchetron.com/Pyrrho-807275-W#-

Not much is known today about Pyrrho. In fact, what remains of his philosophy is a fourth-hand report: a summary of Pyrrhonism which was preserved by Eusebius, quoting Aristocles, quoting Pyrrho's student Timon, in what is known as the "Aristocles passage:"

"Whoever wants to live well must consider these three questions: First, how are pragmata (ethical matters, affairs, topics) by nature? Secondly, what attitude should we adopt towards them? Thirdly, what will be the outcome for those who have this attitude?" Pyrrho's answer is that "As for pragmata they are all adiaphora (undifferentiated by a logical differentia), astathmeta (unstable, unbalanced, not measurable), and anepikrita (unjudged, unfixed, undecidable). Therefore, neither our sense-perceptions nor our doxai (views, theories, beliefs) tell us the truth or lie; so we certainly should not rely on them. Rather, we should be adoxastous (without views), aklineis (uninclined toward this side or that), and akradantous (unwavering in our refusal to choose), saying about every single one that it no more is than it is not or it both is and is not or it neither is nor is not."

This exposition has led Christopher Beckwith to find some parallel with the Buddhist three marks of existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), anatta (absence of an inherent, independent self), and to infer an influence of early Buddhism on Pyrrhonism.

While there is a clear formal similarity - three characteristics that are negatively defined - and we can equate adiaphora with anatta and astathmeta with anicca, anepikrita and the following consequences, which seem to be the core of Pyrrho's thought, remain unpaired, as does the Buddhist view of suffering.

We can find, however, a perfect parallel between anepikrita and one of the tenets of a less known religion that was contemporary with Buddhism: Jainism. These are

Ahimsa - non-violence,

Aparigraha - non-possessiveness,

Tapas - asceticism, and

Anekantavada - many-sidedness, pluralism, pluralism of viewpoints.

Not only anekantavada is strikingly analogous to Pyrrho's anepikrita but the primitive Jains (and some today) were naked ascetics - gymnosophists.

http://jainteerth.com/photo-gallery-mahaveerji-rajasthan/

https://theatuljain.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/myths-of-jainism-demystifying-jainism-for-a-layman/

I will return to Jainism some time in the future. This beautiful religion deserves to be better known in the West. For the time being, you can freely browse the online Jain Library.

Suryanamaskara, Salutation to the Sun

We meditate in the adorable glory

of the radiant sun.

May he inspire our intelligence.

(Rig Veda)

Yoga postures - asanas - are static, right? As I said before, it is better to hold a position for three breath cycles than to repeat it three times.

There are two notable exceptions: salabasana, the locust, which we will see some other time, and Suryanamaskara, the salutation to the Sun.

Saluting the Sun has a certain 'pagan' ring to it, but doesn't have to. After all, our star is the source of life on Earth. We can pay our respects, our homage, our gratitude to it. Every day, billions are spent on trips to... places in the sun! We can have our little place in the sun at home and daily bathe in its invigorating energy. Naked, if possible.

I am lucky to have a garden for the warmer months and windows facing East for the colder ones, but that isn't strictly necessary.

Suryanamaskara is not a position but a sequence of twelve positions to execute in sync with the breath.

Remember to do every movement as slowly, intentionally, and mindfully as you can. In each position, feel the muscles and ligaments being extended and contracted.

Here is the classic sequence:

1. Pranamasana (Prayer)
Raise your hands to the chest while inhaling, then exhale.

2. Hasta Uttanasana (Raised Arms)

While inhaling, raise your arms over your head and stretch back as far as you can.

3. Padahastasana (Hand to Foot)
Exaling, bend forward until you touch the ground with your hands on either side of your feet. Try keeping your hands there until step 10. If possible, your legs should be straight, which can be difficult at first but will happen with practice.

4. Ashwa Sanchalanasana (The Horse)

While inhaling, extend the right leg backwards as far as you can, bending the left knee and arching your back. The right knee should touch the ground (unlike on the following picture!)

5. Parvatasana (The Mountain)While exhaling, bring the left foot close to the right one, raise the buttocks and lower the head. Your feet should be flat on the ground which, at first, is not easy. Don't worry, and don't over strain your hamstrings: in time it will naturally happen. The head does not need to touch the ground.

6. Ashtanga Namaskara (Salute with Eight Parts)
Still holding your breath out, bring your knees, chest and chin to the ground.

7. Bhujangasana (Cobra)
While inhaling, raise your torso as far as you can first only with your back muscles, in the end with the help of your hands. Tilt your head back.

8. Parvatasana (The Mountain) [=5]

9. Ashwa Sanchalanasana [=4, with reversed legs: bent right knee, left leg back]

10. Padahastasana [=3]

11. Hasta Utthanasana [=2]

12. Pranamasana [=1]

This completes one round of Suryanamaskara. If you have the time, do several rounds: I try to do at least three at dawn. If you are really into it, the tradition sets 108 rounds daily... Don't overdo your practice: the middle way is the way to go - not slack, not self-punishing. Between rounds, rest standing up, with your arms loose by your side, and normalize the breath. In the end, after all the rounds, if possible, do a few minutes of savasana.

Suryanamaskara is an almost complete Hatha Yoga session. You can complete it with a side bend, such as trikonasana, a spinal twist, such as ardha matsyendrasana, and an inverted posture, such as sirshasana. We'll get to that later. But remember: if you are pressed for time, do at least one round of suryanamaskara per day. You'll feel the benefits.

There is one book that describes and analyzes suryanamaskara in great depth: Suryanamaskara, a Technique of Solar Vitalization, by the great Swami Satyananda Saraswati, the closest disciple of Swami Sivananda Saraswati. Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Surya-Namaskara-Technique-Solar-Vitalization/dp/8185787352

Mantra: meditation is not confessional

When we hear the word 'mantra' what comes to mind?

Hare Krishna?

Credit: http://www.krishnayoga.info/radhanath-swami/the-hunger-for-krishna/

Actually

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

is an old Hindu, Vaishnava, mantra, probably dating back to the 15th century CE.

A mantra is just a sentence, heavily loaded with significance, which helps us to concentrate - or meditate. Significance does not equate to linguistic meaning. What is maybe the oldest Sanskrit mantra, Om, cannot be translated.

If we slowly pronounce it A - U - M, lengthening the 'M', it induces a peaceful, insightful state of mind.

Theravada Buddhism doesn't use mantras much. However, some of the forest tradition masters recommend using the word Buddho to help in the beginning stages of concentration: thinking 'Buddh' while inhaling and 'dho' while exhaling.

And this is the key.

We aren't used to watch our breath and soon our mind runs away like a crazy monkey. Associating words with each in and out breath helps us to keep focused.

Ajaan Maha Boowa said that he spent several days repeating Buddho in every waking moment. And he didn't sleep much...

Aren't the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary mantras, especially when concatenated in a rosary? The four largest religions in the world, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, all use prayer beads.

If, like me, you have trouble concentrating, especially at the beginning of a meditation session, use a mantra. Only two conditions: it must be meaningful to your heart and it must have an even number of syllables (or just one - OM) so that you can sync it with your breath.

Some of the mantras that I use are

OM

BUDDHO

OM NAMO BUDDHAYA

OM MANI PADME HUM

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

So, why not

MARY

or

YAHWEH

or

ALLAH

?

Free books on Buddhism and Yoga

The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts (Dhammapada 354)

Painting of the Buddha's first discourse, turning the Dharmacakra.

Sanskrit Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript. Nalanda, Bihar, India. Circa 700-1100 CE.

Wikimedia Commons

One (...) should not go about as a trader in the Dhamma (Udana 6.2)

In our society we are used to paying for stuff. There is also a culture that if something is free it must be worthless.

The survival of Buddhism, on the other hand, has always been based on dana - donations.

We can call it donationware...

When I first became a Buddhist, in the 1970's, there was not much information available, except on books, few and expensive. With the Internet we began having access to free ebooks, mainly Theravada, the oldest branch of Buddhism, prevalent today in Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

In the Theravada tradition books are free, temple stays and retreats are free, and no one will ask you for payment. You should freely give, though. It's dana and a great feeling of helping to support those nice bald men in orange robes.

Other traditions don't take the above Udana and Dhammapada quotations to the letter, so it's harder to find free Vajrayana or Zen books, for example.

You know you can find anything online if you put yourself to it. Just remember that illegal downloads are a violation of the second moral precept - not taking anything which was not given to you. More on that later.

Even more than Buddhism, Yoga is big business in the West, so it's also difficult to find free resources online.

Here goes a limited list of trustworthy sites I visit, in alphabetical order. Feel free to add more in your comments.

Buddhism

• A Buddhist Library, with many books of all traditions, not only Buddhist.
• Access to Insight, the colossal work of a Western monk, Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
• Buddhanet eBooks, the work of another Western monk, Ajahn Pannyavaro, contains ebooks on all Buddhist traditions.
• Ajahn Buddhadasa Indapanno (Buddhadasa Bhikkhu) at Suan Mokkh, the monastery he founded to welcome foreigners.
• Ajahn Lee Dhammadaro and other Thai forest tradition masters, at Ajahn Thanissaro's website, including his own work.
• Ajahn Maha Boowa Nanasampanno, who was a student of the founder of the Thai Forest Tradition, Ajahn Mun Buridatto, of whom he wrote a biography.
• Buddhist Publication Society, founded in 1957 in Sri Lanka, the BPS is perhaps the world's largest publisher of Buddhist texts, most of which are available for download.
• Dhammadownload, Burmese site, with books in English.
• Forest Sangha Books, from the Ajahn Chah tradition, ebooks in twelve languages.
• Internet Sacred Texts Archive, classical texts of all religions
• UrbanDhamma, Buddhist books and Dhamma talks in PDF plus audio and video downloads.
• Vipassana Research Institute, S. N. Goenka's living legacy, the largest non-monastic Buddhist meditation community.

Yoga

• Bandha Yoga, the anatomy of yoga postures.
• Centre for Yoga Studies, Paul Harvey's huge library of yoga texts.
• Holybooks.com, a search engine just for that! Free yoga books, and many other.
• Roger L. Cole's YOGeBooks.
• Sri Aurobindo's writings.
• Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj: his and many other books at the Divine Life Society he founded.
• Sri Ramanashram, books by and on Sri Ramana Maharshi.
• Swami Krishnananda Saraswati books; he was the successor to Swami Sivananda as head of the Divine Life Society.

Buddhism and Yoga

Buddhism and Yoga

Tibetan yogi (naljorpa) https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/316870523761191828/

Of course Buddhism and Yoga share a lot.
Buddhist practitioners are called yogis in several traditions, such as the Burmese Theravada and the Tibetan Vajrayana.
Some scholars even argue that the epitome yoga treatise - Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, possibly of the 4th century CE - borrows a lot from the Buddhist tradition.

Patanjali - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3225694

My feelings have been, for a long time now, that the Buddhist approach to meditation is unsurpassable in its directness to enlightenment. But...

... But if your body isn't minimally fit, meditation is impossible!
Let's see what Patanjali has to say about this.

He defines Yoga in the second verse of the Yoga Sutras:
 - Yoga chitta vritti nirodha - Yoga is the stilling of mind's waves. Meditation.

Patanjali's Yoga is also called Ashtanga Yoga, the eight-limbed yoga. Limbs are:

1. Yama - Abstinences
2. Nyama - Observances
3. Asana - Posture
4. Pranayama - Breath control
5. Pratyahara - Withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana - Concentration
7. Dhyana - Meditation
8. Samadhi - Absorption

You may recognize Samadhi from the Buddha Dhamma: it's part of the path to enlightenment, together with Sila, morals (Yama and Nyama in yoga,) and Panna, wisdom.

Actually, if you look carefully into it - and practice a lot - you'll see that the Buddhist Samadhi encompasses yoga's Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.

I'll return to meditation later, often. For now, let's look briefly at the physical limbs of Yoga: Asana, Pranayama, and Pratyahara.

Asana is a 'yoga posture'. The lotus sitting posture is called padmasana, and the headstand shirshasana. What is sometimes forgotten is that in the Yoga Sutras the word 'asana' means exclusively 'the correct sitting posture to meditate': no downward-facing dog, no turtle, no bow - yes lotus! But those and other 'cultural' poses will be very helpful for getting physical balance as well as other kinds of development.

Pranayama is the exact opposite of what the Buddhist Theravada tradition recommends for meditation - just watching the breath without any attempt to control it. But, as we'll see later, a few rounds of pranayama, prior to meditation, can be very helpful.

Pratyahara is, of course, essential in any meditation technique. You won't be able to meditate if your mind keeps being attracted by the senses, in all senses.

Actually, what today is called Hatha Yoga, the physical yoga, dates back 'only' to the 11th century CE and has roots in a much older, parallel, tantric tradition. And that's ok.

If, to prepare physically for meditation you run a marathon or lift weights, you may get a nice body but won't be able to meditate.

'Do yoga' instead!

Suryanamaskar - http://srisadgurunarsimha.com

Naked body, naked mind

As you saw in the first post 'naga' means, among other things, 'naked'.

The Naga Babas are well known all over India, their naked bodies covered in ash from the sacred fires, most of the time alone except when there is one of the great Khumb Mela festivals.

Naga babas at Khumb Mela in Haridwar, 2010.

https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/551128073122317762/

The Buddha was not fond of the physical body. He taught that it was a strong source of attachement and hence of suffering. The monastic rules (Vinaya) specify that monks must never be naked, not even when alone. Of the forty meditation subjects He defined, one is on the loathsomeness of the body (patikkulamanasikara), as an antidote for sensual passion.

"He said: 'Nakedness is unbecoming, unsuitable, improper, unworthy of an ascetic, not allowable and not to be done'. He objected to it on two grounds. The first was because like all austerities or surface changes, nudity does not lead to significant inner change. He said: 'Not nakedness nor matted hair, not mud nor fasting, not lying on the ground, being unwashed or squatting on the heels will purify one who has not passed beyond doubt'. He also objected to nudity because it contravened the norms of polite society for no good reason." [From 'Nudity' in the Guide To Buddhism A To Z]

As we can see, the Buddha's arguments agaist nudity are mostly cultural and so, while they made sense in 500 BC India, they can be reverted in today's Western society.

First, being accustomed to a life of comfort, any discomfort is a worthwhile subject for meditation and hence inner change. Then, our society has fewer and fewer norms against nudity, to a point where almost no one is shocked by the sight of a naked body.

Clothes are a form of societal discrimination by enforcing consumerism. I don't like clothes, so I try to be naked whenever possible.

And, of course, I try to practice naked whenever possible.

Yoga asanas (postures) are best practiced naked. Without the bindings of clothes, movements are more free and I can focus on the exact sets of muscles and sinews that are being stretched or contracted.

The pranayama (breath control) techniques that I practice are strongly heat-inducing; even in winter I perspire profusely. By the way, it's pranayama, in part, that allows Tibetan yogis to practice naked in the Himalayas.

Meditation is also best practiced naked: legs lock best and your body is in direct contact with the environment.

If you look for a patron Saint of naked Buddhist yoga you'll find him in Tibet: Jetsun Kabum, Milarepa - who, by the way, was not a monk.

Rechungpa meets Milarepa - http://www.rinpoche.com/mp1.html

I am a Theravada Buddhist in my heart but my attitude towards the body sympathizes with Tibetan Vajrayana... The different flavors of Buddism (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen, and much more) are not that different, after all, as you can read in Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, by H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama. Highly recommended.

Mind you: all this talk about nakedness has nothing to do with sex! See the 'Brahmachari' in my name? It means one who has vowed total sexual abstinence.

Does this mean that I am 'against' sex? Heck, no! It just is distracting, for the time being, in my spiritual life.