Mental Tranquility, the Yoga Way: Breathe, Move, Meditate

By Claire Diab and Dennis Boyle

As we approach the holiday season, it is important to be aware of your connection to mind, body, and spirit. As we celebrate and go from shopping to parties to family gatherings to religious events, it is easy to get swept up into the stress as well as overindulge in food and drinks. We end up coming through the holidays feeling depleted instead of enriched. Yoga is a beautiful philosophy with many tools we can use to find mental tranquility in the midst of this busy season. The quieting of the mind that naturally occurs when your attention is focused on breath and movement is a great way to clear up the mental clutter that builds up throughout the day. Additionally, meditation is a calming practice that is an integral part of the yoga philosophy. Finding time in your day to breathe, move your body, and meditate will help to keep your body, mind, and spirit balanced throughout this holiday season.

To feel the destressing benefits and become mentally sound through a yoga practice does not involve bending yourself into a pretzel-like position, which is lucky for the everyday yoga practitioner who still wants to receive the benefits of a nurturing practice. Moving the body with the six directions of the spine is an easy and effective way to increase circulation in the body and strengthen and nourish your spine. These movements also tone the abdominal and back muscles as well as activate digestion and stimulate kidney function.

One of the key yoga techniques linked to feeling more tranquil is breathing. There are many different types of breathing exercises in the practice of yoga, but possibly the most simple and the most beneficial is belly breathing. Not only does this help to clear your body of toxins and increase blood flow, focusing on deep belly breaths is an amazing way to clear the mind of any outside factors that may be causing stress. The actual deep breath itself serves to release the tension that builds throughout a stressful day and causes muscles and the mind to tighten up.  This type of breathing practice is a perfect way to lead into your meditation. The simple act of taking this bit of time to yourself is the perfect way to allow the mind a break from outside stressors. After having started noticing and focusing your attention on your breath, the transition into meditation is simple. Using the repetition of a mantra will help to bring you back each time the mind might wander and think of thoughts. You can use your own mantra or gently allow the mind to repeat a universal mantra, “So Hum Namah.” At this time, you will allow the breath to flow naturally.

A half hour is an amazing amount of time to give yourself daily for your meditation practice. A busy schedule doesn’t always allow for this, so five or ten minutes a day is just fine! Breathing, moving, and meditating daily will give you peace of mind and allow for mental tranquility among all of the things going on around us this holiday season. Enjoy! 

Breathe~

The Complete Breath (Belly Breathing):

1. Sitting with your spine straight, or lying down on your back, take a few deep breaths. Relax.
2. With a slow and steady breath through the nostrils, inhale into the three chambers of your lungs: abdominal (expanding the belly), thoracic (expanding the rib cage), and clavicular (expanding the upper chest and shoulders).
3. Slowly exhale, emptying the lungs from the top to the bottom. Gently squeeze the abdominal muscles at the end of the exhalation to squeeze out all of the residual air.
4. Continue breathing in this way for five to 30 minutes, focusing on the sensation of breathing.

Contraindications: recent surgery to abdomen or chest. (NOTE: All pranayama practices are best done on an empty stomach.)

Move~

Six Directions of the Spine:

Directions 1 and 2

FORWARD BEND/BACK BEND (CAT/DOG POSE):

From tabletop, inhaling, lift your chin and tailbone up toward the sky, relaxing your belly toward the earth and bringing your shoulders away from your ears. Exhaling, bring your chin toward the chest, tucking the tailbone under and bring the navel in toward the spine.

Directions 3 and 4

SIDE BEND RIGHT/SIDE BEND LEFT:

From tabletop, exhaling, slide your feet to the right; bending your right elbow, look over your right shoulder at your feet. Inhaling, come back to tabletop. Exhaling, slide your feet to the left, bending your left elbow, looking over your left shoulder at your feet.  Repeat 6-8 times.

Directions 5 and 6

TURNING RIGHT/TURNING LEFT: 

From tabletop pose, bring your knees wider apart. Inhaling, raise your right arm up, lifting your fingertips up toward the sky, looking up at your fingers. Exhaling, lower the right hand back to the mat. Inhaling, raise your left arm up, lifting your fingertips up toward the sky, looking up at your fingertips. Exhaling, lower your left hand down. Repeat 6-8 times. These are the six directions of the spine. Finish by balancing the spine, coming back into tabletop, do Cat and Dog (forward bend/back bend) 3-6 times.

Meditate~

 Mantra Meditation:

1. Pick a time of day or evening that fits your schedule (dusk and dawn are best).
2. Find and create a sacred place.
3. Shut off the phone.
4. Sit comfortably and easily with a straight spine in a comfortable chair (use a cushion or book to slightly elevate your feet, preventing backache. If you sit on the mat, use a cushion so that your knees are higher than your hips, also protecting your lower back from discomfort). Place a towel or light blanket or shawl over your shoulders.
5. Have a clock and watch, or meditation timer, so you can check the time.
6. Close eyes and silently say to yourself, “I will now meditate for __ minutes.”
7. Begin repeating your mantra. Mantra:  So Hum Namah (English Essence – Coming back to my true self).
8. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the mantra.
9. After your time is up, you may end by taking some deep breaths.

Claire Diab is an internationally recognized Yoga therapist. She is the director of the Yoga Program for the Chopra Center founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Simon. She is an adjunct professor of Asian Studies at Seton Hall University. She is the author of several books and DVDs on Yoga including “Yoga For Firefighters.”

Dennis Boyle is a retired fire director and acting chief with the West Orange (NJ) Fire Department. He was the recipient of the 1999 New Jersey Deputy Fire Chiefs “Fire Officer of the Year” award.