Pranayama: Control Your Breath To Calm Your Mind

In this introductory session, we’ll explore the concept of pranayama and exactly what it means and encompasses. We’ll also look at how universally important breath is and investigate why we should care about something that our bodies are already programmed to do automatically. We’ll conclude with a simple breath practice to bring awareness to the power that we hold at our fingertips.

Session Two will illuminate the powerful life-force energy that is prana. We’ll dive into the differing opinions about what establishes life and what encompasses prana across different cultures, religions, and philosophical schools. We’ll discuss the incredible power of prana and how we can harness its energy in our everyday lives. And we’ll finish with an empowering pranayama practice to create warmth and calm the mind.

In Session Three, we’ll dive into the fascinating subtle body and explore the way that Tantric Yogis codified our energy bodies. We’ll branch out from prana—the building block of the subtle body—to discuss nadis, chakras, kundalini, enlightenment, and more. This session will culminate with a breath practice to balance the subtle body and, therefore, balance the physical body and mind as well.

Session Four will introduce the power that pranayama holds over the physical body. We’ll examine different elements of the nervous system and the science behind why conscious and controlled breathing can have so many benefits for the body and mind. We’ll also look at the global epidemic of stress and anxiety and how pranayama can help alleviate these issues. We’ll end this session with a simple breath practice to soothe.

Session Five will further investigate the physical body and the nervous system—specifically the parasympathetic nervous system. We’ll look at the “relaxation response” and specifically how to consciously and intentionally initiate this “rest-and-digest” part of the nervous system. We’ll finish with a meditative pranayama practice to relax and release the whole body along with the mind.

In Session Six, we’ll explore our yin sides and connect to our soft, lunar, cooling, and mysterious energy. We’ll connect everything that we’ve discussed about physical and subtle anatomy as we dive into the concepts of yin and yang and how they relate to our parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. This session will culminate with a pranayama practice to soften the body and mind by stimulating the yin side of our bodies.

Session Seven will introduce the concept of samsaras—the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. We’ll explore some basic Hindu and Buddhist philosophy and, ultimately, the concept of enlightenment. We’ll also explore how and why the breath is the perfect metaphor for the cycles of life. And we’ll finish this session with a pranayama practice that emphasizes cycles to honor their inherent nature in all life and to breathe life into our own unique cycles.

In Session Eight, we’ll look at the breath as a link to connect us to all life as well as to our innermost selves. We’ll examine the common mantra "om" and how it is believed to connect us all. Then we’ll work with a breath technique that resonates at the same frequency as om to link us with the energy of the cosmos and to our own unique role within it.

In Session Nine, we’ll delve into the deep, mysterious, and fascinating world of meditation. We’ll explore one yogic philosophy of how to both prepare for and ultimately practice real contemplation and reflection. And we’ll examine how we can utilize the breath as a focal point to help us reach deeper states of pure meditation.

In our final session, we’ll wrap up everything that we’ve spoken about throughout the course and solidify why taking the time to breathe is so vital to our health and well-being. We’ll look at both a beautiful ancient Indian poem and an old Zen story about the breath to put its importance into greater context. This session will finish with an incredibly simple pranayama practice to prove just how easy and transformative it can be to take the time to breath.