Yogic Practices For A Peaceful Life

Bhramari Pranayama, also known as bumblebee breath, has tremendous therapeutic benefit. Like other pranayama practices, it has powerful healing effects on the autonomic nervous system. Lengthening the exhalation relative to the inhalation activates the calming of the parasympathetic nervous system. For people suffering from anxiety and/or anxious depression, this practice can begin to quiet the mind within a few breaths. The soothing humming sound of Bhramari Pranayama can drown out the endless, repeating mental stories that fuel emotional suffering, even if only for a few minutes. This is a great starting point for everyone, especially those whose feel their minds are too “busy” to meditate. If you are having any heart issues or abnormalities, or are pregnant, you may wish to consult with your doctor before practicing breathing techniques.

Nadi Shodhana, also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing, is another powerful pranayama practice with many benefits. This technique is primarily aimed at clearing and purifying the subtle channels, or nadis, of the mind-body system, while simultaneously balancing the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and masculine and feminine energies. Alternate nostril breathing helps with circulatory and respiratory issues, and is known to lower the heart rate. It also supports the release of stress, fatigue, and anxiety. After only a few minutes of Nadi Shodhana, one can experience a deep calm in the body and mind. This practice is a great way to prepare the body for meditation.

Everything in the universe is vibrating energy. Your body, plants, trees, the planets and stars are, at the deepest level, composed of energy. When we chant Om, we are creating sound energy vibrations, that resonate with all that is within us and without. This can take us into a meditative state where we feel a deep sense of calm and relaxation, and can experience the Essence or Presence of our innermost Self. Chanting the Om Mantra also has many health benefits some of which include decreased blood pressure and the strengthening of the vocal cords. It is a powerful practice to feel connected to our experience of the inner and outer world as our awareness moves deeper inside for meditation.

For this practice you will need a mala, or meditation necklace, with 108 beads. For each of the 108 beads we will chant a mantra in the Sanskrit language. The practice of chanting allows for the healing and restoration of our body, mind, emotions, and subtle bodies, and brings us back to our natural state of wholeness. Sanskrit chanting aligns our entire being with peace and balance. Each mantra reminds us that we are already whole and that we are an embodiment of spiritual source energy. When we chant, we are chanting to the divine qualities that reside inside of us. The practice of japa expands our experience of inner peace, and of our infinite nature.

This powerful meditation takes us even deeper inside as we move through the layers of consciousness, from activity to stillness. For this practice, we begin by reciting a mantra out loud with passion and volume, and then gradually decrease volume until the mantra is only a whisper in our mind. In this way, we move from the gross to the subtle, from conscious or surface awareness to subconscious awareness, or even the depths of consciousness itself. As we reduce mental activity we experience more quiet and rest, and move from a more agitated state to a peaceful state. The Stillness meditation guides us to a deep experience of stillness, or even transcendence.

According to Sanskrit scholar, Thomas-Ashley Farrand, “Mantras are energy-based sounds that create thought energy waves.” This means that the practice of chanting a mantra aligns us with higher vibrational energies like love and joy, and every time we chant, we are planting seeds of these higher vibrational energies, ultimately bringing us to an elevated state of consciousness. The practice of chanting a mantra nourishes all that is beneficial for our lives. It is said that as we silently chant a mantra, the thoughts that arise are stress energies being released. We allow the thoughts to come and go, as the mantra guides us into the deep ocean of stillness that is the Self.

Kirtan, or devotional chanting/singing, is becoming more and more popular in the west. For thousands of years, people of all walks of life have sung and cried the names of the Divine through devotional chanting. Kirtan is part of an ancient form of Yoga known as Bhakti Yoga, or the Yoga of Devotion. Through this variation of mantra chanting, often in a group context, one can experience a profound expansion of consciousness, dissolving into the song as drops that merge into the ocean. Where we experience a state of pure loving awareness, of being, consciousness and bliss that is beyond words and concepts. As mentioned in Lesson 4, when we chant the names of the Divine, we are chanting to those same Divine qualities inside of us.

The healing and rejuvenating practice of Yoga Nidra, or Yogic Sleep, guides the practitioner into a deep state of rest where the brain produces theta brain waves which are associated with deep levels of relaxation and restorative sleep. Even though this state is very much like sleep, the practitioner remains conscious. This allows for the conscious planting of seeds into the subconscious mind through visualization, and by creating a sankalpa or intention that is awakened from the heart. Yoga nidra takes us into the parasympathetic nervous system where the body naturally knows how to heal and rejuvenate. This euphoric practice also has many health benefits, some of which include deep, restful sleep, decreasing pain, improving heart functioning by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reduction of anxiety, and so much more.

According to Ayurveda, a 5,000 year old system of healing, we're all made up of three different energies, ordoshas, known as vata, pitta, and kapha. Vata relates to the elements of air and either, Pitta relates to fire and Kapha relates to earth and water. Once we are aware of our individual makeup of the three, we have access to a deeper understanding how and why we often act and feel the way we do in body and mind. We also develop greater awareness of when we are out of balance, and how to bring our whole being back into a state of harmony. As part of this lesson we will learn a recipe for a delicious, healing drink that can balance all three doshas!

The word Sadhana means daily spiritual practice. It is the foundation of all spiritual endeavor, meaning daily practice is key in cultivating the life experience you truly wish to have. A life of peace. A life of joy. A life of acceptance. A life of harmony, and so on. Earl Nightingale said, “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.” So in this lesson we will spend some time looking at different variations that can be supportive for your daily practice.