Basic Pursuits

Have you ever noticed how every thought that you have has an "echo" in the body? This echo is felt as tension. For example your boss is telling you that you are not giving it your all and you know that you are.  The muscles in your throat tighten so much you can barely talk.

In 20 years of yoga practice and countless hours in meditation, I've spent a lot of time exploring these echos. The idea is that the thought and the echo are all part of the same process and calming one automatically calms the other. In order to bring about the "cessation of mental modifications" as the second verse of Pantanjali's yoga sutra describes, bring about the cessation of the corresponding physical modification.

When you use the breath to to this, you have a convenient calming influence that is with you wherever you go.

Try it. At first it's very surprising to discover all the  places in your body that you carry tension, which is why you have to focus on a single place of tension. Trying to do it all at once is like trying to run between rain drops without being hit.

So choose a place in your body  where you feel tension. For example a good area to start may be your hands. On your next inhalation, breath into the tension in your hands. As you do, you'll notice the tension dissipate. On the exhalation, release the tension further, as if you set it adrift in a river that carries it downstream.

Change your focus to your arms, legs, stomach muscles and so on. With practice you will begin to sense your emotional echoes. Mine are in my throat, in the back of my eyes, jaw muscles and inner ears. Calming these emotional centers is the beginning of inner peace.

Calming the major muscle groups is relatively easy. Five breaths is sufficient for most of us. However, the emotional tensions require more time and attention.

Again:
Inhale into the tension and feel it dissipate.
Exhale it away.
Repeat.

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