A Journey Into Yin Yoga

200 A JOURNEY INTO YIN YOGA

Use deeper and more invigorating pranayamas in the morning. This might

include breath of fire (bhastrika) and skull shining breath (kapalabhati). You

can use more soothing and relaxing pranayamas in the evening before bed.

This could include even breath (sama vritti), alternating nostril (nadi shodhana),

or unequal ratio (vishama vritti). No matter which pranayama you use, the

key is to avoid strain while practicing because much of the power of pranay-

ama comes through allowing as opposed to striving. Through a regular and

steady practice, you will feel over time an increase in prana. All the benefits

will come to you naturally.

MEDITATION

If I told you that I had a pill that would boost your immunity, improve memory,

lower blood pressure, increase clarity and creativity, decrease stress hormones,

improve digestion, reduce wrinkles, give you better skin, decrease suffering,

and improve your happiness, I bet you would be willing to pay big bucks for

that. Right? Well, that magic pill exists and it’s called meditation.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

—Viktor E. Frankl

Meditation is yoga that takes place inside the mind. In meditation, we take

time out of our busy schedules to become quiet and go within, to deepen our

relationship with ourselves and become the observer of our own thoughts.

Inevitably, our thoughts lead to actions, our actions lead to habits, our habits

lead to our personality, and our personality leads to our present reality. Simply

put, everything traces back to the thoughts moving through your mind. To

shift your outer reality, you must start by shifting what’s happening within.

The real battle is the one that takes place inside the mind. During medi-

tation, if you experience boredom or resistance, or if the ego rears its ugly

head, screaming, “Stop! You’re wasting your time,” just know that you are not

alone. In fact, one particular Tibetan lama describes the process of meditation

as being “one insult after another!” This is why so many people talk about

meditation but don’t practice it. It’s difficult to erase old mental programs

we’ve established, but if you conquer your mind, you will start to establish

mental programs that are conducive to living the kind of life you want to live.

When meditation is practiced regularly, the benefits are plentiful. Here is

just a sample of the beneficial effects: