Long breath –

Longer the breath, the better.

Fill up completely,

Empty out completely.

The more you empty out,

The more you fill up,

Longer will be the breath.

Breathe in, breathe out,

Rhythmic breathing,

Rhythm of your soul.

Through the breathing arriving at the quietness,

Inner quietness.

Through being quiet,

Reach to meditation.

Breathe in, breathe out,

Creating a rhythm through the breathing.

Rhythmic breathing will quieten your mind.

Longer the breath the better it is.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in completely,

Breathe out completely.

Strong breath,

Strong enough to be able to hear it.

Rhythmic breathing,

Totally relaxed.

Relaxed in body and mind.

It is a smooth flowing of the breath,

One breath moving into another.

First one side, one nostril,

Then the other,

Then alternate.

For the three channels:

The Ida, Pingla and Sushumna respectively,

The moon, the sun and the central channel running through your spine.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

Fill in completely,

Empty out completely.

Breathe in, breathe out.

It will bring you to a stop in yourself.

 

Long breath,

Longer the better,

Deep breath.

Stay with the breath and nowhere else.

Thoughts come up,

Whatever that comes up,

Keep letting them go.

It is no concern of yours.

Breathe in, breathe out,

One side, then the other, and then alternate.

At least one to three minutes each side and when you alternate.

Minimum one minute on each side and when you alternate,

That comes to about twenty counts of breath each,

A total of sixty counts,

Depending on the length of your breath –

The longer the better.

Progressively to increase to three minutes each,

About sixty counts each.

A total of one hundred and eighty counts.

It is progressive, remember.

Learn to enjoy it.

If you create a rhythm,

It becomes smooth and effortless.

It is extremely healthy.

It balances both sides of your being.

It integrates and completes your being.

It harmonizes and therefore is easy to reach to meditation.

You work with the breathing,

And the breathing will reach you to meditation.

Stay relaxed throughout with yourself,

As you breathe in and breathe out.

Be at ease with yourself.

There is nowhere else to go,

There is nothing else to do,

You are with yourself; you are in yourself.

Whatever relationships you may have to things and people,

They are left outside.

You are all by yourself inside.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

Fill in completely, empty out completely.

You are on your own –

Complete and centered in yourself.

Thoughts come,

Whatever comes up,

Let them come and go;

You watch and observe them consciously.

You will be able to recognize them for what they are,

The feelings, motives and emotions behind them.

Not only should you observe the pure thoughts,

But also recognize what is behind them.

If there are feelings, emotions,

Or passions behind them.

That will make you more and more conscious,

And able to observe anything and everything.

In this way you reach to deeper and subtler layers,

Of your consciousness through your observation.

Breathe in, breathe out,

Breathe in, breathe out:

The rhythm of your soul.

Let the breathing bring cheer to your soul.

 

Longer the breath,

The better it is.

More you empty out,

The more you will fill in,

And longer will be the breath.

Longer the breath,

Quieter will be the mind.

Then something special will come upon you,

There will be tightening of the breath,

It will enter deep into you and carry you in,

Slowing down and even coming to a quiet stop.

This is the effective practice of breathing.

Of course our help has a special place in it.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

Fill in completely,

Empty out completely.

You should be able to hear yourself breathing.

But there need be no necessity for others to hear you.

You are meditating for yourself.

So the breathing is also for yourself.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

It is a joyful journey.

 

Long breath,

Longer the better.

It is the best place to be,

In, in yourself, with yourself.

When you know how,

When you discover this,

You will not want to be anywhere else.

Breathe in, breathe out.

When you have done this long enough,

It will start relaxing you.

Your mind will become quieter.

Thoughts if any,

Will become slower, even stop.

And the breathing will draw you in.

You will feel an in-drawing of the breath,

And like a magnet draw you in,

As if there is a magnet within.

These are processes of yoga.

Secrets found thousands of years ago.

Let there be no hesitation,

Just keep the breath long and deep.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

You should be able to hear it,

As you breathe in and breathe out.

Let the happiness from within come to the fore.

It is a fresh morning and a fresh day,

And that should be enough to be joyful and happy.

The breathing will release the happiness,

That is locked up within,

It is the unlocking of all that is joyful.

The breathing will help you to do that,

If you stay relaxed.

You hold nothing locked up in you to stay stiff and tense.

Be aware of it if that is the case,

Unlock and release consciously.

Be relaxed and let go of any tension if there is any,

Bodily, mentally,

Because of yesterday, because of someone.

Watch, observe consciously.

Be relaxed, let go.

It is preventing you from being with yourself.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Nothing can disturb you,

Even if you are aware of them,

If you stay relaxed.

Meditation is a skill to develop the capacity to stay undisturbed,

Amongst any and every disturbance.

 

Feel the freshness of the morning,

As you breathe in long and deep.

Let the old pass out,

Let the freshness of the morning enter into you.

Let it fill up the whole of your being,

Even so fill up the pores of your body.

Feel good with yourself,

As you breathe in and breathe out.

These are the most precious moments of your life.

 

When you become sufficiently relaxed and quiet,

Stopped in yourself,

Then you will feel the Force rising upwards through the spine,

Reaching to the top of the head.

The more you can manage that,

The more you will open out.

The more you open out within,

The freer you will become,

And capable for greater realizations.

The time is reached when the breath starts to move within.

That is when you enter into yourself,

That is when you are drawn in like a magnet,

Drawn in into your being.

 

Breathe in, breathe out,

Fill up completely,

Empty out completely.

Thoughts come up,

Whatever comes up,

Keep letting them go,

Watch over them,

Be a witness unto them.

 

You will feel the tightening of the breath,

You will feel the slowing of the breath,

Keep it going.

The longer it is the better.

It will become tighter, slower.

It will even come to a stop in yourself.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

Fill up completely,

Empty out completely.

Stay with yourself,

Through the help of the breathing.

Through the breathing,

To arrive at the quietness in yourself.

Through the quietness reach to meditation.

 

Long breath,

Longer the better.

 

You are with yourself,

You are in meditation.

 

We will chant the Gayatri for ten minutes.

Empty out the breath completely,

Fill up completely each time you start to chant.

 

Chanting of the Gayatri Mantra

 

In silence now,

We continue with the breathing.

Through the breathing being centered in yourself,

Through being centered,

Reach to meditation.

 

Centered in yourself,

Reaching to meditation.

Quiet in yourself,

Reaching to silence in yourself.

 

Stay centered in yourself.

Stay in meditation.

The breath remains long and deep.

 

Stay centered in yourself.

 

Stay in yourself,

Stay in meditation.

The breathing can continue long and deep.

It will help to draw you in further,

And bring you to a stop in yourself.

Reach to Mediation.

 

We will stop here for this morning.

 

Rishikesh

7 January 2010