Loving life with nature, beauty and yoga's wisdom.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Noticing Earth's Breath

"The earth has music for those who listen." Shakespeare

Being trained during my childhood as a dancer and having morphed into a yogini/nature enthusiast, I wholeheartedly understand Shakespeare's sentiment in this quote. Months ago when I decided to lead the pranayama/breath exercise classes I'm currently teaching, I knew I would get to the stage where I would have to explain hearing the So Hum rhythm of Mother Earth, in other words her prana.

Often we hear in yoga class that the definition of prana is a Sanskrit word that means "life force" or vital principle. Going deeper into prana's meaning, Wikipedia includes that in yoga, Indian medicine and martial arts, the term prana refers to a cosmic energy believed to come from the sun and connects the elements of the universe. This universal principle of energy or force is responsible for the body's life, heat and maintenance. Prana is the sum total of all the energy that is manifest in the universe.

I find that an easy way to understand and commune with the earth's prana is to go outdoors and enter a trance state through the use of rhythm. You can dance, drum, chant, walk rhythmically or move through a vinyasa flow of yoga postures. Whatever you do let the earth's heartbeat and breath dance with your own. Feel your mind and body shift into a deeper sense of what is alive. Feel the Goddess, Mother Earth and listen to what she has to say to you. She's at her most talkative now since we've passed the summer sun's solstice which has beamed the most powerful life-giving rays of light upon her. When you are finished ground and center by taking three deep breaths.

Please join me Fridays at 2pm during July at www.bamboomovesyoga.com in Palisades Park, NJ for my Pranayama, Restorative Yoga and Meditation classes. All levels are welcome.