Cooling Breath - SITALI Pranayama

Curb Anxiety and Halt Hot Flashes

Picture a puppy playing in the grass... back and forth she brings the ball, she chases the ball again and again. Her heart happily pumping, body temperature rising until, plop, out comes the tongue and the panting begins.

Nature's air conditioning system. Many animals, especially carnivorous ones, must breathe through the mouth to cool the core temperature of their bodies. They cannot sweat through their skin as you can, so they pant. Panting increases saliva as the tongue is stretched. The incoming air collects even more moisture from the environment then becomes 'swamp cooled' as it passes through the 'wetland' of the mouth. The blood is therefore cooled before reaching the brain.

Sitali which means cool, is a method of yogic breathing that reduces the fire energy principle we call pitta which is associated with catabolic processes in the body. Yogis likely have our animal friends to thank for this one - try it below and you be the judge.

EASY METHOD

1. Purse your lips into a tiny "o" shape, like a reaching kiss. Keep your tongue inside floating , so it doesn't touch teeth or gums.

2. Slowly inhale through your mouth, feel the cooled air. If your mouth becomes dry, be patient and slow it down more.

3. To exhale, use the tip of your tongue softly against the top inside roof of your mouth. Exhale even more slowly as you inhaled. The air will exit your nose, so feel the heat exiting too.

TRADITIONAL METHOD

1. Curl up the sides of your tongue and stick the tip outside your lips. Use your teeth gently to keep tongue in place, lips kept as relaxed as possible.

2. Inhale slowly as in step 2 above then exhale through your nose as in step 3.

3. In a more advanced method, breath is retained and chin locked against collarbone (jalandhara bandha) as shown. 

To experience these instant cooling, calming effects, start with 3-4 minutes of relaxed practice. Never strain, never struggle. Rest about half way through and enjoy a few quiet moments afterward. To enhance your concentration think the word "cool" with each in-breath and the words "I am" with each out-breath. Now...SMILE.

FROM OUR STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVE

One yoga student reports that she combines Sitali with drinking plenty of room temperature water when she does outdoor work in the Houston summertime. "I used to get very overheated and suffer from complete exhaustion while doing heavy yard work. I'd be wiped out for the rest of my day." Her futile attempts to combat these effects by alternating heavy physical activity with lots of iced tea only increased these effects. After deciding to adopt a more yogic approach… "I take Sitali breaks in the shade and drink water without ice. I find myself cool, more energized and ready to go again."

Many of my female yoga students use the technique to control hot flashes. One woman taught several of her co-workers this form of breathing. It has been a boon in their high energy, fast-paced office environment as it helps them to regain calm composure when needed. Practice of Sitali will begin to cool the body's core temperature in about 4 minutes. It also 'cools' the mind or activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our gateway to personal tranquility and relaxation.

In Western culture, our comforts may often increase our discomforts. Switching from a steamy and hot environment to a tremendously dry and cold air-conditioned automobile, home or office is rather traumatic for our systems. When chilled, the body shivers as it tries to heat back up and may even try to insulate itself by producing more mucus. 

When under stress, digestion slows down, breathing becomes shallow, labored and the chemical balance inside shifts making it nearly impossible to feel at calm and at peace. Though this is only one of myriad practical applications of yoga, using it may be likened to riding a runaway train. You can sit stiffly in your seat watching the world whirl by out of your control or you make an attempt at taking control. Hop into the conductor's seat and see what happens! In our high tech world, the low tech of Sitali Pranayama/Cooling Breath is a welcome retreat.

(reprinted from ye olde yogini website )

The Daily Bandha: Stretching, Growing Older and Your Down Dog

The Daily Bandha: Stretching, Growing Older and Your Down Dog



It seems many folks talk the yoga talk and yoga on the web abounds! I love the web for sharing and the mat for yoga! Generally I preach Do Your Practice and as BKSI used to say "my body is my laboratory". Doing yoga is one of the best ways, IMO, to learn and to understand yoga.



However, this blog is WORTH a mat break... Check it out.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE NO PROBLEM

HOUSTON, WE HAVE NO PROBLEM

I  write this blog post on March 4, 2015. This is THE day, Houstonians; the first day that you see pollen on your cars, walkways, et cetera. The conditions became perfect at noon: lack of moisture for a moment, the right wind applied and the trees all excitingly fecund. The magical dusting of yellow pollen has occurred.

For many of you, instead of enjoying the lovely budding scenery, trees full of sprouts and flora, you will panic. Your eyes will become puffy and red, your throat will start to close and your head will come close to exploding.

PREEMPT that. You can do it easily, trust your yoga mama on this, it is avoidable with very little effort. Uhuh. 

There’s a little brown bottle filled with magic

A few drops under your tongue, 2-3 times a day, used at the FIRST sign of pollen and NOT much after that, is miraculous. Once you are buried in the pollen, it won’t be very effective. In other words, you have a few days window of opportunity. Find it here or here. If you do not reside here, they make one for your area, New Mexico, Colorado, et al, have their own local formula. Keep on using it daily until you no longer see and are sweeping that yellow powder.

It works much like a vaccine, by introducing minuscule amounts of the same stuff that makes you ill, and allowing your body to do what the body does, which is deal with it. Some of you use local honey for this very reason and when your local honey is actually local, that works toward building immunity, though in my opinion, for Springtime allergy sufferers, this is the Mack Daddy. If you do only this, with the parameters I have lined out in mind, it’s going to work. Forget your allergy shots and over the counter remedies that either make you manic or turn you into a zombie. Uhuh.

In a perfect world, I would also have you performing nasal lavage (see neti pot blog post) and keeping your eyes rinsed out, too. Keep it simple here. Make an eye wash solution with Boric Acid from your local drug store:

Use distilled or boiled water. Mix one eighth of teaspoon of boric acid powder and one cup of water. This is a good solution to use. If you do not have a collection of antique eye cups, a clean shot glass will suffice nicely. Use the solution warm and it will feel marvelous. Be sure to test the temperature with a sterilized finger before rinsing your eyes. If you wear contacts, wait 10-15 minutes before putting them back into your eyes.

The gist according to AyurVeda (here's a lovely introduction to this time-tested health system,) is that for most of us, allergies are cumulative. You may dodge the effects for years and never suffer until one day, wham, you reach critical mass and you're down. After living in this area, allergy free, for years, I began losing my voice every year like clockwork. I made potions that I sipped all day that kept me vertical but still was affected annually until I began using this homeopathic remedy. 

Another factor causing us to experience these symptoms, is that we are so far removed from the sources of our food, thus, we haven't acquired the immunity or put simply, we've lost the ability for the body to do what the body does, keep us health, happy and safe from imbalance. Granted, there are other environmental factors at play, this is but one layer of the onion.

So. There you have it. Go forth and frolic again. Sigh no more, sniff no more except to draw in the intoxicating scents around you!

I’m an Ass, You’re Okay

From My Rules of Etiquette

This is dedicated to all of the obligatory hello people out there. You should STFU.

There are times and places where a vocal acknowledgement is unnecessary and indeed, to me, intrusive.  One memory that for no reason stays with me or it stays with me to remind me I am an ass, occurred on a particularly serene morning walking alone.

In the days of yore when my children were at home and in their school years, I ran a bustling business, volunteered and was competing for the domestic goddess title. I had a personal practice that had me awake at 4:30am for mediation and physical conditioning; no alarm needed (that’s a yoga practice for you). By about 7:30am I enjoyed walking in our pleasant neighborhood along streets and bayou paths. This time of day was important because in the sprawling and humid city of Houston, Texas, the car exhaust was noticeable to my sensitive deep breath-ed yogi nose and lungs, any later in the morning.

Once in a blue moon, I would walk with a friend in the morning, usually someone who was on a temporary health kick, but mostly mornings were my sacred space. It is said that prayer is when you talk to God and meditation, including walking meditation, is when you listen to God. The place where the sounds of my foot pattering and my breathing synchronized, was an arena that recharged me immensely. As I have said before, we need to create some space between our thoughts and this was mine.  When I encountered another soul and their soles those early mornings, a nod of the head or a lighted smile would usually suffice as a greeting. Rather, it was just an acknowledgement, Hello Person.

This day, I was out a bit longer and later than was my norm. Ahead in the distance, a bundle of color was moving toward me. As it got closer a cacophony of shrill feminine voices pierced my peace. It was jarring in every sensory way.  Literally, my ears were assaulted, my eyes I could smell their lotions and/or makeup (okay, maybe I couldn’t also taste it) and I believe I felt the rush on my skin as they parted the air. As this was happening, and I tried to take it all in and process it fully, and I was working into my smile-nod Hello Person…. wham! All of these hello, good morning, hello, hi, howdy, good mornings – showered over me. I was still trying to form words when I heard - bitch, fucking bitch, and what’s her problem, coming from the gaggle of joggers. Part of me wanted to give chase and convince them that I’m really a nice person, really I am. Instead I thought, whoa, what a lot of hostility. Then I thought, gee, maybe I need to quit judging, need to meditate more or maybe less?  I exhaled it all for the moment and went on about my walking. Yet, it has stuck with me.

At present, I have a different life and job but seem to still enjoy solitude amidst the craziness that is our plugged in - connected world. More, there are places where most of us expect solitude or even privacy. One which comes to mind is the bathroom. What I do in there is private. I consider it my personal space. I feel that the creators of the modern Western style public restroom must have envisioned it this way. That is why they created the stall. The thing with a door that separates you from others while going about your “privacy”.  The Privy, in some places? Here are some  bathroom-etiquette-signs, just because.

If you choose to conduct business on your telephone, that’s your business although I do wonder about those flushing sounds your callers hear; it is your private and personal space – so do what you will. I will admit here, that I have engaged in this behavior on a few occasions. Shame, shame or should I say, poo, poo. Where I draw the line is when you decide to start a conversation with me, you in your stall and I in mine. STFU. I am here to have a private moment with my bodily functions. You are interrupting my stream………..of consciousness, of concentration. In yoga/meditation we practice being in the moment. Being present. Doing what you are doing fully. Whether it is your work, the dishes, love-making or listening to a friend.  Just not while I’m already doing this, thank you.

So like the nod of the head thing, I try not to always be an ass and have developed a soft hmmm hmm. Nothing with too much vigor lest it be confused with any other restroom audio. Mostly though, I will instead just be an ass and ignore you and what better place to show your ass-ness?

Namaste, Dammit.