I am coming back to the subject of feelings, emotions, experiences, traumatic events and mishaps. We are all loaded with this baggage. We are like donkeys carrying enormous loads on either side. We can barely walk as the past is dragging us and intervening in our thoughts and actions. I am aware that we cannot change our thinking overnight.

Also we are influenced by our emotions and experiences. They can be both joyful and traumatic. How do we get around this? There is a way and it is through our breathing process.

The practice

We inhale, pause to the count of 10, exhale to the count of 10, pause outside to the count of 10.

This is called the Samvrit pranayama, it is the balancing pranayama. If you have difficulty with 5/10/10/10, you can do 5/5/5/5, or just pause holding the breath a little longer.

What is happening here? In the pause your Samana Prana is functioning. It operates between the diaphragm and the navel. It is like a pendulum and swings from left to right and right to left. The Samana Prana works on your digestion of the thoughts, feelings, emotions, experiences and past. It also works on your digestive system and supplies nourishment to the blood. The mantra can be “So Ham”, “Aim Hrim Klim”, “Om Samana Swaha” or your personal mantra.

Practicing daily with awareness and counting your breath from 27 to 1 backwards several times a day will make you look at life in a different way. Not being influenced by negativity, but remaining purposeful and detached, and having a neutral response.

Aim Hrim Klim