Prāṇa, Balancing

Over a decade ago, during a meditation retreat, something curious happened. During a meditation session, my breath naturally and unexpectedly paused for some time. I had not planned for this to happen; it simply did. I remember breathing with such ease before it occurred. There was a balance between making the most subtle effort to breathe and allowing the breath flow on its own. It was like the perfect dance—and then the breath paused into tranquility. There were no comings or goings of anything. It was as if I were suspended in time and space.

In the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, a yoga philosophy book, it is stated:

“When the breath is steady, the mind is steady. When the breath stops, the mind dissolves.”

This steadiness of the breath is not something we force upon ourselves, but rather the result of a naturally balanced flow of prāṇa, or life force, within the breath. This quality of steadiness is one of the things that we cultivate as we breathe during yoga practice. 

As we make a subtle and sustained effort to breathe in this way, we begin to experience another facet of ourselves. Even if we catch only a glimpse of it, we recognize that it is accesible to us.

We will continue to learn how to guide prāṇa as we experience it through the breath.

As always, breathe easy.

Blessings

Jorge Nihāl