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Chapter 1 – Breath and the Life Force
Breath is life. It sustains us and it is an expression of the life force within
So much of life is instinct. We breathe, we eat, we sleep, we become active, we procreate… Within all of that, we are making choices about what to do with our life, going about our business – getting an education, pursuing a career, making money, raising a family, working for the things that matter to us, and so on. All the while, something is wondering inside: “What is all this for? Why am I here? Is there something more?” We have an instinct to be asking these questions. Like breath itself, the questions are spurred through the impulse of life stirring deep within us.
Within all of that, we are making choices about what to do with our life, going about our business – getting an education, pursuing a career, making money, raising a family, working for the things that matter to us, and so on. All the while, something is wondering inside: “What is all this for? Why am I here? Is there something more?” We have an instinct to be asking these questions. Like breath itself, the questions are spurred through the impulse of life stirring deep within us.
What is this life force that sustains and animates every aspect of our existence, and spurs us on to find answers? We know that all of material existence is made up of energy. Physics tells us that all matter is empty space made to behave as solid by the polarities of energy whirling inside.
The whirling energies are still there creating the appearance of matter. Yet, something more is operating to bring the matter together into an intelligent expression – an intelligent and evolving system. This something else we can call the “life force.” In the ancient teachings of yoga from India, the life force is given another name – prana, which means “first unit” or “first manifestation.”
The rocks and earth are expressions of prana. The seas are an expression of prana.
stillness is the source of prana, the life force that energizes the universe we experience. The stillness we speak of is of a special kind – a stillness that is filled with possibilities. It is an awareness that does not move.
But one stands out above all the rest. It is called spinal breathing pranayama. The reason it stands out is because of its effectiveness in stimulating and regulating prana within us in a way that covers the three primary objectives of all pranayama: Culturing the nervous system to become a steadily improving vehicle for inner silence rising from deep meditation. Awakening the nervous system to a condition of permanent ecstatic conductivity. Increasing and balancing the flow of inner energy (prana) over the long term to facilitate a progressive and safe unfoldment of the individual toward enlightenment.
This is the central principle in deep meditation, where we systematically go from thinking to inner silence and come out into the body/mind with great purifying effects. This kind of process is also central in the application of spinal breathing pranayama, on the level of the breath and the body, where we are going in and cultivating the nerves in a specific and purifying way. In doing so, we are improving the ability of the subtle neurobiology to serve as a much better vehicle for inner silence brought out through deep meditation.
AI Summary
Spinal Breathing Pranayama - Journey to Inner Space by Yogani presents key insights from the Yoga tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
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