Breath As Your Lover

This somatic guided journey integrates the atmospheric environment of the Gunehr Sound Museum with the ancient breath science of Swara Yoga (the flow of prana through the nostrils).

Preparation: Find a comfortable seated position. Allow your spine to grow tall, like the surrounding Himalayas. Rest your hands loosely on your knees, palms facing upward.

Close your eyes. Bring your awareness to the breath. Gunehr is a village of layers—the distant rush of the river, the rustle of terraced fields, the occasional chime of a cattle bell, and the curated artistic resonances within the museum itself. Let these sounds wash over you without trying to label them. They are not distractions; they are the external soundtrack to your internal landscape.

Transcript

Welcome to this somatic guided practice brought to you by Guni Hairsound Museum. Today we are going to practice the ancient breath science of Swara Yoga. We come to you live from Himalayas in India. And today we will celebrate the flow of prana through nostrils. But before we do that, Wanted to play you a song by great Indian poet, Aamir Khusro. Khusro calls love a game. A game where you become one with your lover. Similarly, I want to propose that your breath is your lover for this session. Can you see your breath as your lover? And if you lose, Do your breath. You will become your breath. And if you win, The breath will become you. In the end, Basically you will become one with your breath which is the purpose of this exercise. You arise from your breath. And the breath arises from you. With this little thought, Find a comfortable seated position or lie down. Allow your spine to grow tall like the surrounding Himalayan mountains. Rest your hands loosely on your knees, Palms facing upwards. Close your eyes, Bring your awareness to your breath. Your breath is not a distraction. Your breath is your internal landscape. Bring your attention to the tip of your nose. Now we are going to practice circular breathing without pauses. So follow the breath in the background and inhale and exhale with it. Without pauses. Feel the cool air entering your nostrils and the warm air leaving. Swara Yoga teaches us that our breath and its dominance shifts throughout the day. Breath can alter our physical and mental state. What is your current dominant swara right now? Let us determine it. Identify which side feels clearer, More open and more effortless. If your left nostril, Which is Ida, Is dominant, You are tapping into your moon energy. Passive, Cooling, Creative and receptive. You're perfectly primed for this artistic inward sound journey. Keep breathing inwards and outwards. And if your right nostril, Which is called pingala nadi, Is dominant, You are tapping into the solar energy, The sun energy. You are active, You are analytical, You are dynamic, You are passionate right now. You can try this any time of the day. And our ultimate objective is to reach a place where both Ida and Pingala are equally open. And that is possible in a very rare state of absolute spiritual equilibrium. Is it possible to reach this rare state of equilibrium? Keep inhaling. From both your nostrils, Keep exhaling. Till you realize your dominant nostril is not either or neither pingala, It becomes Sushmana. The space when both your nostrils are equally open. Just exhale and hold. You have the ability to change. The dominance. Of any of your nostrils. Stay still. You have the ability to alter your physical and mental state. Hold and with a deep inhale, Hold again at the top. Let the energy rise to your crown. Be in this. True state of yours for as long as you can. And release. Now close your left nostril gently with your right thumb. Breathe in and out through your right nostril a few times. And notice the restriction or the ease with which you are breathing from one nostril. Swara Yoga teaches us that our breath shifts throughout the day. Breath has the power to alter our physical and mental states and we have the power to alter this breath. And now release and close your right nostril with your ring finger. Breathe in and out through your left nostril a few times. Keep breathing with the rhythm. And now release and breathe normally with both your nostrils. Do a check again if your left nostril is dominant. Is your moon energy more dominant? Are you more emotional right now? Or if your right nostril is more dominant, Are you tapping into the solar energy? Are you passionate and practical? Or are you already reaching the Sushmana? Space, Where both your nostrils are equally open. Keep breathing till you reach a rare state of absolute spiritual equilibrium. Accept whichever flow is present in you. Do not force to change it. Just observe it. As you inhale, Imagine drawing the physical texture of your body. Feel the mountain air entering your nasal, Traveling down your throat and expanding into your lungs. And as you exhale, Let go of any tension held in your shoulders, Your jaw, Your belly. Sink your sitting bones deeper into the ground beneath the floor. Feel the solid earth supporting you. Listen closely to the ambient space around you. Sound is vibration. And vibration is physical. As a sound plays. Do not just hear it. With your ears. Feel it with your body. Can you feel your breath with your body? Exhale and hold and feel the low frequency rumble of your body. Where do you feel the rumble? From your body. Let the low frequency rumble. Perhaps in your pelvic or your feet. Or any other body part? Where do the high-pitched birds or artistic frequencies resonate in your body? Is it in your chest or your throat or the space between your eyebrows? Diggity binhead. And let the energy rise to the top. And prepare your body to understand the five sheaths or panchakosha. The place. Much much beyond our physical skin. Hold your breath for as long as you can, Remaining in absolute stillness. Soon we are going to begin our gentle journey back to the surface of awareness. But hold and release. To anchor this experience. We are going to share with you. The Pancha Kosha, The five layers of being. Let's start with the deepest layer which is Anandamaya Kosha, The bliss layer, The bliss sheet. Rest for a moment in the deepest core of your being. This is the silent center beneath all the sound. It is the pure joy, Peace and spaciousness you touched when your nostrils flowed in perfect balance. It is your unchanging essence. Vignamaya Kosha, The Wisdom Sheet. Step into the witness mind, Observe the profound intuitive clarity that arises. You are the broad receptive awareness that holds both the artistic concepts of your body and the ancient wisdom of the lineage. Third is Manomayakosha. Bring awareness to your thoughts and feelings. Notice the calm, Rhythmic hum of your mind. The mental chatter has dissolved into the ambient sounds of your body. Fourth is pranamaya kosha, The energy sheath. Feel the subtle life force pulsing through you. Notice the balanced energy radiating from the central channel out to the surface of your skin. Your breath has harmonized the solar and lunar currents leaving you. Alive, Vibrant and deeply recharged. And the last is Annamaya Kosha, The physical sheath. Finally return fully to your physical container. Feel the weight of your body resting on the ground. And gently open your eyes. Love and light to all of you. Keep breathing.