We will be practicing doing the "japa" of Haṃsa. Japa means a mantra that is whispered or spoken, it is directed outward into our waking life, a vibration or sounding (in this case the sound within the breath), so that it connects with the outer body and the flow of life-breath. Haṃsa really is a practice of a state of consciousness. Haṃsa means ‘I am this. I am all that is’. So, with either eyes open or eyes closed, you can have this very gentle awareness, this practice of Haṃsa. It connects the innermost energy of Consciousness with the flow of the breath. This mantra is divided up into two parts: We have the in-breath (apaṇa) on the syllable HAṂ and the out-breath (prāṇa) on the syllable SA. We have the gentle soft awareness of this simple rhythmic beautiful flow: "HAM" on the in-breath, "SA" on the out-breath and as you do so, allow yourself to simply rest in this deeply inside yourself.