A change in breath can diminish the experience of limits. A breathing pattern is usually committed to memory and the limits are associated with it. When the breathing is altered, the memory of the limit disappears and we can explore beyond.

For this practice you will need a place to sit, a few quiet minutes and familiarity with Ujjayi breathing:

• Find your quiet place and a comfortable seated position with your eyes closed.
• Sit quietly for a minute or two and observe your natural breathing.
• Gradually move into Ujjayi breathing – let it build until the length of your exhale is longer then (or at least equal to) the length of your inhale. Do this until you have a steady pace of breathing.
• Count 8 breaths.
• Count 8 more breaths adding a short pause after exhaling.
• Count 8 more breaths adding a short pause after inhaling (in addition to the pause after exhaling).
• Count 8 more breaths without any pauses (like the first 8).
• Resume natural breathing and stay for another minute or two to observe.
• Gently open your eyes.
• Resume life

If you have a tailored pranayama practice you can ask your teacher for a shorter variation you can use instead of this general sequence.

One of the motivations for the alchemy of breathing in asana experiment is to experience these two qualities of heat in practice. If you review the breathing patterns in the experiment you will find that the variations are based on the holds – the pauses between inhaling and exhaling (the inhale and exhale remained consistent througout the experiment).

These qualities comes into play when designing a practice. Asana sequences can be used to both stimulate energy and bring it to the center – using a combination of postures and breathing formulas. Pranayama regulates energy flow and meditation directs it. The overall practice would vary for individual practitioners and life circumstances, and a relevant mode of practice.

• Comfortable using Ujjayi breathing in your Asana practice.
• Comfortable with the basic relationship between breath and movement.
• Familiar with the length of your breath and how it applies to breathing formulas.
• Familiar with basic yoga asana.

The expriment is about performing the same sequence of asana’s using different breathing patterns. The breathing patterns are selected to evoke different energetic affects. It is advisable to do one sequence a day, under similar conditions (same time and place in your usualy daily schedule). Take time after each practice to observe the effects of the practice. You may also want to write down some impressions. If you have a familiar practice sequence you may use that. Alternately you may use the sequence described at the end of this post.

Following are the breathing formulas for the experiment. The formulas are offered in multipliers – so please apply them to your own length of breath. Some of the formulas may be quite challenging to perform – therefor you may wish to work with a breath that is slightly shorter (~75%) of your full capacity. For example, if your base inhale is usually 8 seconds, you may consider practicing with a 6 second inhale instead.  I invite you to use the breathing formulas in the order they are offered:

1. Equal inhale and exhale, no holds: 1 – 0 – 1 – 0
2. Hold after the inhale: 1 – 0.5 – 1 – 0
3. Hold after the exhale: 1 – 0   – 1 – 0.5
4. Both holds: 1 – 0.5 – 1 – 0.5
5. Optional Extended hold after inhale: 1 – 1 – 1 – 0.5

When I was first introduced to this experiment it was on retreat in a group setting. It was very useful to share my experiences and to hear what other people experienced. I invite you to come back to this article and to share your experienceand observations with others.

As promised, following is a short sequence of standing postures and some counter-postures you are welcome to use for this expriment. If you do, you may want to review reading practice illustrations. You can click on the image to enlarge it and you can download it as a printable PDF you can take to your practice space.

It is possible to intensify this cycle by introducing breathing formulas into Asana. To do this you must first have an established relationship with:

• Asana – you need to have a well defined and rooted physical practice before introducing another dimension of physical and consciousness effort.
• Ujjayi – ujjayi should be an inseparable part of your asana practice.
• Pranayama – you need to be familiar and comfortable with your breathing capacity and with structured breath formulas.

The first meeting between breathing formulas and asana should occur in familiar and comfortable settings:

• Breath length – choose an inhale length (your basic breathing duration) that is less then what you use in your Pranayama practice. If in Pranayama you use an 8 second inhale then in Asana start with 6 seconds.
• Breath formula – start with an equal inhale and exhale and with a 1 second pause after inhale and exhale to allow for a controlled and smooth transition. For example, if your inhale is 6 seconds your breathing formula in asana would be 6.1.6.1
• Asana – start with simple and accessible Asana, introduction of the breath is a worthy challenge, don’t overdo it by choosing difficult or challenging asana. If you have a personal practice that is gradual and balanced then it is probably best to start with the first set of postures.

This meeting of structured breath and asana can be a rich experience. You may find that each asana leads to a different experience. Some asana may seem connected and flowing with the breath, others may lead to friction. Different asana will challenge different parts of the breath – some asana may be aligned with inhaling and others with exhaling. Remember to retain a healthy relationship between breath and movement – the breath is a home to movement, movement takes place inside the breath. Adjusting breath to movement will probably lead to over-exertion, friction and tension -  the breath will “run-out”. On the other hand, adjusting movement to breath is fairly simple and may at most lead to some friction with the ego.

Practicing Asana with structured breathing may take some getting-used-to and it will intensify the development of the breath. When it becomes an established part of your practice you will have gained access to the alchemy of energy in Yoga.

Intent comes first – for example “I am going to inhale and raise my arms” is formulated before the inhale begins. Only then does the inhale begin, shortly followed by movement. When movement is completed, inhale continues a bit longer and when it has completed there is again closure & confirmation of intent – for example “I have finished inhaling and placed my arms on the floor”.  A similar pattern is then followed on the exhale.

Intent “takes place”  between inhales and exhales – during breaks/holds in the breathing.  To practice intent you need to first develop an extended capacity of breath – including breaks and holds which you can hold comfortably. Otherwise intent will become a rushed, unsteady, destabilizing practice that may compromise the development of the breath & movement.

At this elaborated phase of practice there is an opportunity to glimpse some under-currents in Yoga philosophy and practice:

• Vinyasa  – each layer of practice is a foundation for a more subtle form of practice. Each subtle development in practice reinforces the foundations upon which it was built. There is a gradual learning process – each step a preparation for another.
• Dismantling and Rebuilding – despite the popularity of Yoga as a “calming” practice – it is actually a purifying process in which the system is disturbed and then re-assimilated, over and over again.  Breath separates movement and forms a new & refined unity, then Intent separates breath and create a new and further refined unity… and so on.
• Expansion – each sheath extends each cycle of practice in both quality (length & intensity) and quantity (subtle refinement).  Expansion eventually leads to energetic practices with an opposite quality of compression.

• Find a starting seated position that is good for you. If your flexibility is limited you can sit on a chair – that will be excellent for the intents of this practice.
• If you are sitting on the floor – bend your knees.
• Find a correct placement for your arms.

When you have a comfortable seated position. Take a few minutes to practice just the movement of the arms together with directional breathing (the movement is similar to what we did when we introduced the idea of movement and directional breathing, except that now it is in a seated position). Remember – inhale is a downward movement of the breath, exhale is an upward movement of the breath.

We begin the forward bend from the arms raised position – this means that we have just finished inhaling (and raising the arms). Therefor, the forward bend begins on an exhale. The exhale begins in the abdomen – and so does the movement. The first part of the back to bend is therefor the lower back – while the rest of the back and the arms remains stretched straight. Then as the movement of the breath progresses UP the back – so does the movement. When the lower back can no longer bend, movement begins in the mid-back, then the upper back and finally the neck – as the weight of the head pulls it down.

Coming back up is a reverse process – but with one important difference. Going down, you were assisted by gravity, going up you will be moving against it – it will require more effort. We come up on the inhale. The inhale begins in the chest – and so does the movement. First to move are the arms – and when they come up parallel to the head (in your correct arm placement), the head begins joins the movement. Then the upper back begins to straighten. As the inhale moves DOWN the back – so does the movement. Only after the mid-back has straightened, and the breath has filled the chest, movement finally reaches the lower back.

You may want to combine the two movements – raising & lowering of the arms and bending forward into one sequence. This gives the arms and back a chance to rest – maintaining a soft quality of practice. The sequence (demonstrated in the animation below) is 2 breaths long. You can repeat it numerous times.

Bending in this way works the back effectively. It fulfills what my teachers describe as “a little movement in many places, instead of a lot of movement in only a few places”. If practiced effectively it has potential for improving both both flexibility and strength. It is supported by the breath and it develops breathing stamina. The directional breathing together with the directional movement activates the energetic system – opening up even more options and variations of practice.

The explanation about directional breathing focused on the torso – the chest and abdominal area where breathing takes place. Now let’s take a step back and see it in play when looking at the entire body. The following animation is an overlay of the torso movement on a stick-figure of the entire body (the arms have been removed for the sake of clarity, they will soon be reintroduced). The blue dot indicates the focus of movement along the back during the breathing cycle.

You can again see the core idea of directional breathing: (1) inhale begins in the chest and moves down to the diaphragm and then to the abdominal area; (2) exhale begins in the abdominal area and then moves up through the diaphragm and ends in the chest. You may want to revisit the details of this wave movement by re-reading directional-breathing.

Inhale is a top-down movement. Exhale is a bottom-up movement.

Now we will remove the torso, leave the blue dot to remind us where breath-movement is taking place in the spine and introduce a simple movement of the arms. The point of this exercise is simply to stay focused on the directional movement of the breath while performing a simple coordinated physical movement.

You may experience some friction in the mind – there may seem to be a contradiction. When the arms move up the breath moves down, when the arms move down the breath moves up. If you experience this confusion, stop moving the arms. Be still and focus again just on the directional breathing, then when you are ready try again to move the arms.

There is one last exercise you can do when you feel you have made this connection. Try reversing the relationship between breath and movement – raise your arms as you exhale and then lower them as you inhale. How does that feel?

I recently made a change to my Pranayama practice – introducing longer exhales. During recent sittings I’ve experienced how much pure and simple concentration affects practice. If my mind wanders during the shorter breathing cycles, my breath doesn’t falter (I can get away with it). But, if I lose focus and wander off during longer breathing cycles, I come up short and the length and quality of the breath may be compromised. In fact, if I am focused and steady, I can easily accommodate the practice – the challenge is more in my mind then in body.

My focus is improving, my mind is becoming steadier throughout a practice session and now I have noticed something else happening. A new kind of distraction appears, a wonderful distraction. I am experiencing bursts of creativity – ideas and answers to questions appear out of nowhere, rapidly & clearly. New ideas and answers to existing questions flood through my mind, so much so that I am tempted to break my practice and write them down. I don’t. I try to let them pass through me and rejoin the ticking metronome. It’s harder to do with creative thoughts then with plain distractions.

I have experienced this before, but the extended breathing cycles have increased the frequency of these occurrences, so I was able to identify a pattern. I am involved in numerous projects but I have a very spacious day. I am not constantly preoccupied with challenges and questions, I let things simmer slowly and I have faith that insights, solutions and ideas will appear on their own (and they do!). This is to say that I do not begin a practice with disturbances on my mind – I am not actively searching and hunting for solutions. So when insights appear to me in this way I consider them miracles of creation – they come from beyond the mind.

I don’t remember all of the ideas that appear before me. When they appear I don’t grasp at them – I try to gently let them pass and then refocus on counting and breathing. Some of the ideas are available to me later when I conclude the practice. Others disappear, I trust that the ones I truly need will reappear, and the rest will dissolve or remain hidden me for good reasons.

My current Pranayama practice was something like:
10 – 0 – 15 – 0  x8
10 – 0 – 15 – 5  x8
10 – 5 – 15 – 5  x8
10 – 0 – 15 – 0  x8

When my nasal passages are open and free I practice Nadi Sodhana, at other times I use Anuloma Ujjayi. Usually in the morning my nasal passages are still partly blocked, so I use Anuloma Ujjayi, while in the evening I usually practice Nadi Sodhana. Though it does vary.

A few weeks ago I felt there was a space for me to take the practice one step forward and I tried adding 10 – 5 – 20 – 0  to the sequence. I was able to contain it rather well. Shortly after (a few days) I felt like my entire practice receded – I was unable to reach the 20 second exhale peacefully (I could do it more or less with force) and my nasal passages became more blocked and I lost access to Nadi Sodhana. So I took a step back and resumed the core practice with Anuloma Ujjayi.

Then a few days ago I again felt in my body an invitation to bring back 10 – 5 – 20 – 0 but my mind resisted – I thought I could not do it. When this happened again I began to wonder if my mind was trying to push me away from something which I could do. So I gave it a try. The practice confirmed my suspicions. For some reason I got it in my mind that I cannot perform a quality 20 second. Even as I reached the extended breathing ratio with a sense of calm and space in the body I had thoughts like “no, this won’t work”. I set those thoughts aside and had a steady and calm sequence of breaths. Even then, when I had actually done the practice, there were doubts in my mind. Amazing! Thoughts (of self doubt!) were preventing me from using the breathing capacity I had in me.

Over the next few practices I focused on this internal dialogue. I answered the “no I can’t” doubts with “of course I can” convictions. A part of my practice was to practice a new perception – one which would replace the inhibiting patterns.

This morning’s practice surprised me even further. As I was doing my practice I felt my body inviting me to take even another step forward (it usually takes months or weeks at best for Pranayama to evolve – this time it happened in days) and I added a 10 – 5 – 20 – 5 ratio (I also made a few other small changes in the overall practice to make room for this new formula). Again I was able to go through a steady and calm sequence – though at the end I felt I had exhausted my stamina.

My practice is now:
10 – 0 – 15 – 0  x4
10 – 0 – 15 – 5  x4
10 – 5 – 15 – 5  x8
10 – 5 – 20 – 0  x8
10 – 5 – 20 – 5  x8
10 – 0 – 15 – 0  x8

Note: A few days after writing this came this