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While there are a multitude of different yogic pranayama (breathing exercises) the highest is also the simplest: savour the breath.

It is quite easy, if one pays attention for a short while, to become aware of the subtle nuances of the breath. This naturally encourages a deeper, more steady breathing, without the use of force. In this breath there is a richness that in turn feeds consciousness: the process of becoming aware postively feeds back on itself.

Begin to notice the brief pauses between the inhale and exhale. The moment of stillness in fullness at the top of the inhale and the moment of stillness in emptiness - a touching on the creative void - at the bottom of the exhale. Hang onto none of these states but allowing your awareness to pass freely through the full range of experience, growing deeper and richer with each passing breath. When you feel you have connected with the breath sufficiently, rather than absent-mindedly falling off into unconscious breathing or thoughts, choose to take three last full breaths before consciously returning to your ordinary awareness and activities.

Yoga is the process of becoming whole. It starts with the physical process of opening up tight muscles and strengthening and encouraging movement through the body and then goes much deeper. It connects not only the physical parts of ourselves, making the body more unified and graceful, but also brings us greater awareness of our minds and our emotions and how these influence, and are influenced by, the functioning of our bodies.

Yoga begins right where you are sitting now. Beginning students often feel that they are somehow disconnected from the practice because they are stiff or inflexible and that the postures as they imagine them to be are not possible. Yet this is exactly where we must be if we wish to pursue this goal, that of wholeness and self-knowledge. Simply being in the postures, for a few moments, a few deep breaths, initiates a deep process in the body. Tensions our minds wish not to recognize are brought to the surface, a humbling experience for all of us, yet simultaneously our body begins to let go. This takes time and patience and so the real challenge of yoga is to quiet the restless mind and simply let the process happen. Almost immediately we begin to receive some assistance: as the muscles relax we begin to feel the mind and the emotions relax and so the whole cycle supports itself. Yoga becomes easy.

It is appropriately ironic that the stiffest, most inflexible people are often the ones who benefit most from a regular yoga practice. Likewise, people experiencing a high degree of mental stress in their day-to-day life find tremendous calm and serenity by giving themselves permission to slow down for an hour or so each day. Time spent in active relaxation is rewarded by increased mental clarity and efficacy, and by a deeper, more satisfying sleep. The practice of physical yoga seeds a return to wholeness that spirals out into the rest of one’s life, encouraging harmony, balance, and insight. It is to consciously choose the highest path in one’s life.

Written by Chris Tucker -A Vancouver Yoga teacher… one of our teachers at the Space.