Pranayama - the yogic art of breathing

Pranayama, the yogic art of breathing, and Meditation are increasingly common practice nowadays, and for me I couldn’t live without them. Both require practice and patience. .

They are both different practices which compliment one another. Pranayama leads to a control of the emotions and balances our Prana or energy. BKS Iyengar states in his book Light on Pranayama, “it leads to a control of the emotions, which in turn brings stability, concentration and mental poise.... It is the bridge to cross from the physical to the spirit, in a journey of self realisation”. Sounds pretty similar to meditation, no? Well yes, except the focus is narrowed down to just the breath. .
Meditation can also be narrowed to the breath or a one pointed object, or it can be a vast and open, taking in all your sensations and surroundings. .
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Both of them are about becoming aware. Aware of what’s arising and aware of our reactions to it. Over time, with both practices you can interrupt your habits of judging and reacting and pushing and pulling in the moment. .

Sam Harris, author, neuroscientist and long term meditator says of meditation “It can become a kind of super power. It can become something that changes what you are able to do in each moment. The things you are able to say or not say”. .

See if you can find these moments of clarity in the midst of your day. Catch the thinker thinking!
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Ps for those of you new to meditation The WAKING UP app by Sam Harris is proving a huge hit with my family and friends.