your house, you would not think the kettle would boil in a third of the
usual time and your lights burn three times brighter. You know you
would immediately burn out all the circuits and be left with nothing.
Why should our body be different? That is why Patanjali clearly stated
that between the practice of asana and pranayama, there is a step up.
There has to exist, through proficiency in asana, strength and stability
in the circuitry of the body to withstand the increase in current that
pranayama practice will bring.
Many people have approached me over the years full of the woes
that befell them because they did not respect this elementary precau
tion. Often they were ignorant about the need to build a solid founda
tion and had signed up for various courses in the hope of leaping into
a facile spirituality. Their weakness of body and mind betrayed them
and compounded their troubles. Patanjali himself warned that if the
base is not firm, sorrow, despair, unsteadiness of body, and shakiness
of breath will result. Mental depression and accompanying tremors are
a serious matter. They are extreme, and in his third sutra on asana,
Patanjali specifically said that asana practice will protect us from the
dangers and vicissitudes of extremes. He called extremes dualities. In
this context it means we have to build up sufficient fortitude in body
and mind to control ourselves sensibly. To gorge one day and fast the
next is not sensible. If an unkind word at the office plunges you into
gloom, anger, or resentment, it is not sensible. If we still ricochet be
tween behavioral, emotional, and mental extremes, we are not ready
for pranayama. If we have a reasonable strength of body and nerves
and stability of emotions and mind, then we are.
For the Inward Journey, we will need a lot of energy, and a very
subtle, high-quality energy too. This never-ending exploration, occu
pation, and illumination requires the special energy of prana. Prana is
spn:ial because it carries awareness. It is the vehicle of consciousness.
It you want to send your awareness to the furthermost cell of your big
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