Breath Training
The Tantric sages tell us that our in-breath and out-breath actually mirror the divine creative gesture.
With the inhalation, we draw into our own centre, our own being.
With the exhalation, we expand outward into the world.
– Sally Kempton, Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga
Here’s a meditative and uplifting music track to practice your breathing exercises with
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This 5 minute breathing meditation is from the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA
Audio for this 5 minute breathing
Find a relaxed, comfortable position
Seated on a chair or on the floor, on a cushion
Keep your back upright, but not too tight
Hands resting wherever they’re comfortable
Tongue on the roof of your mouth or wherever it’s comfortable.
And you can notice your body
From the inside
Noticing the shape of your body, the weight, touch
And let yourself relax
And become curious about your body
Find a relaxed, comfortable position
Seated on a chair or on the floor, on a cushion
Keep your back upright, but not too tight
Hands resting wherever they’re comfortable
Tongue on the roof of your mouth or wherever it’s comfortable.
And you can notice your body
From the inside
Noticing the shape of your body, the weight, touch
And let yourself relax
And become curious about your body
Seated here
The sensations of your body
The touch
The connection with the floor
The chair
Relax any areas of tightness or tension
Just breathe
Soften
And now begin to tune into your breath
In your body
Feeling the natural flow of breath
Don’t need to do anything to your breath
Not long not short just natural
And notice where you feel your breath in your body
It might be in your abdomen
It may be in your chest or throat
Or in your nostrils
See if you can feel the sensations of breath
One breath at a time
When one breath ends, the next breath begins
Now as you do this you might notice that your mind might start to wander
You might start thinking about other things
If this happens this is not a problem
It’s very natural
Just notice that your mind has wandered
You can say “thinking” or “wandering” in your head softly
And then gently redirect your attention right back to the breathing
So we’ll stay with this for some time in silence
Just a short time
Noticing our breath
From time to time getting lost in thought and returning to our breath
See if you can be really kind to yourself in the process
And once again you can notice your body, your whole body, seated here
Let yourself relax even more deeply
And then offer yourself some appreciation
For doing this practice today
Whatever that means to you
Finding a sense of ease and wellbeing for yourself and this day
This 5 minute breathing meditation is from the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA
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There are many reasons that people chose to start yoga for some it’s about flexibility, or stress relief, general health and physical fitness.
The health benefits are very real. Yoga can increase your flexibility, improve your balance, and decrease your cholesterol. A recent review in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that yoga can reduce the risk of heart disease as much as conventional exercise. On average, yoga participants lost five pounds, decreased their blood pressure, and lowered their low-density (“bad”) cholesterol by 12 points. There is vast growing body of research on how yoga improves health problems including chronic pain, fatigue, obesity, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and more.
Here’s a beginner’s routine for yoga for anyone to try, Morning Yoga for Confidence & Energy (Strength, Posture, and Mobility) from Man Flow Yoga.
1. Reduction in stress
Studies have shown that practicing daily yoga can reduce or even fully prevent insomnia. When experiencing insomnia, practice relaxing asanas or postures, such as forward fold (uttanasana), or child’s pose (balasana), or lying on your back with your feet up the wall. Relaxing yoga poses can calm both your body and mind.
2. Improve posture and flexibility
A few minutes a day practicing poses like the warrior or the downward facing dog, will soon make you really feel the difference in your flexibility, whether you’re pretty bendy already or not. Yoga is for all and whatever your level of flexibility you can find a yoga position that works for you and your body.
3. General fitness
Yoga gives you all that a gym can, but in a peaceful, safe and more holistic way. It combines aspects of cardio, functional and strength training all in one.
4. Weight loss
To truly grasp the concept of how weight loss and yoga go hand-in-hand, we must understand the three layers that our energetic bodies are comprised of: the mind, body, and soul. Each layer depends on and affects the other two. When one layer is unbalanced, such as the mind, the body and soul follow suit.
You cannot have a healthy body and pure soul if the mind is overactive and unbalanced, which is the case for more people than not. Luckily, yoga has a way of uniting and creating harmony among these three key decision-makers that rule your life.
When all three bosses get along, everything runs in a more balanced and efficient manner. You have a real chance at success and weight loss.
5. Increase your energy
Just a few minutes of yoga every day will provide that much-needed energy boost in our busy lives and will keep us fresh for longer. Yoga, with its unique synergy of body and breath work, is perfect when your reserves are running low.
Here’s another set of simple yoga poses to get you started with yoga.
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There’s something very erotic and sensual about breathing in unison with your lover.
It’s a connecting moment where you are paying attention to each other and bringing your energy together. Breathing in this way can feel playful, sensual and joyful.
You may feel self conscious or silly asking your partner to sit with you and breath together. Many partners find it difficult to even look at each other directly in the eye for anything more than a brief moment. They are unable to truly look and gaze into the eyes of their lover, drinking in what they see and build that intimate connection.
When we did lose our ability to really connect with each other? How did we lose the ability or willingness to be close? What events could have taken that away from you? I will let you consider that for yourself as we are all individual and the reasons for why we push people away or don’t let them close is different for everyone. The first step is being aware whether you are truly allowing yourself to be connected with and have the door open to connecting with your intimate partner.
When you are ready to begin this journey of true intimate connection then I recommended the following playful and erotic breathing experience.
Before you begin really ask yourself, am I open to connecting with this person and letting them in? The answer needs to be a joyful and accepting yes. If it isn’t then it sounds like you are not ready for this, take a step back and think about what is holding you back.
Here’s a step by step guide to breathing together and eye gazing with your lover.
1. Intention and permission
Permission
For you both to come together this was way there needs to be permission given to enter into this experience. There is an equality in this experience, a balance. There is not a moment of euphoria for one and not the other. You both share in this experience equally at the same time.
Ask each other, “can I sit with you and can we try breathing together?” or “can we share in this experience of siting together and looking into each other’s eyes, I want to feel close to you?”
Set your intentions
You are here to truly accept the person before you and for yourself to be unconditionally accepted. If you have resentment or anger towards the person in front of you, then you cannot truly accept them. Coming together in this way needs a clean slate. There needs to be a forgiveness of anything which has so far not been forgiven.
When your intention is to unconditionally accept the person before you, then you are ready to begin.
2. Space
Create a warm and inviting space which is comfortable for you both to sit close together.
3. Position
Sit together in a comfortable position, where you can both see each other’s face. You can sit cross legged together or entwined, whatever feels comfortable for both of you.
4. Touch
Place your hand on each other’s chest. You may want to place your hands on each other’s heart. You may want to ask each other’s permission before you do this “can I touch you here?” or “can I connect with you?” whatever permission language works for you and your partner.
5. Sight
Hopefully you have already been looking at each other and not elsewhere. Now that you have connected through touch you can connect intentionally through sight.
Look at your partner’s face, and focus on their eyes. Look into their eyes with your intention of acceptance, care and joy. You may want to pick one of their eyes to focus on, and take these moments to truly look at each other. It may take practice to feel very comfortable doing this. Looking into your partner’s eyes builds intimacy.
6. Breathe
You can add breathing together. Take a deep slow breath in unison and exhale together. If it helps count to five in your mind to inhale and count five to exhale. Pay attention to how your partner breathes and mirror their slow and deep breath. You can try different breathing exercises together, for example your partner takes a breath first and exhales, as they exhale you inhale. This breath exercise can feel like a wave of energy between you.
When you approach these activities they are not to be thought of as chores or tasks, take a playful approach, it does not have to be perfect, adapt this to work for you. The most important element is the intention to unconditionally accept each other.
When you have experienced looking into each other’s eyes, breathing together and being with each other in this way, it is possible for your empathy and emotions towards your lover to open up in new ways.
Try it. It might be daunting at first. Follow this guide to help you along the way. Breathing together can bring a deeper sense of intimacy between you and your partner.
Breath Training
Kundalini awakening refers to Kundalini or “coiled one” in Hinduism which is said to be a form of divine energy or shakti. You may have heard a lot of about the Kundalini as it has become a bit of a buzz word. Kundalini awakening is frequently reported to be a distinct feeling of electric current running along the spine. It derives its name through a focus on awakening energy said to be located at the base of the spine.
It was originally an important concept in Śaiva Tantra, where it was seen as a force or power associated with the divine feminine, which when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, could lead to spiritual liberation.
Kundalini is also a practice within yoga, for example Kundalini yoga is a school of yoga that is influenced by Shaktism and Tantra schools of Hinduism. It derives its name through a focus on awakening kundalini energy through regular practice of mantra, tantra, yantra, yoga or meditation.
Kundalini yoga combines asana, pranayama, music, mantra and meditation, which can lead to a profound sense of personal transformation. Yoga Bajan first introduced Kundalini yoga from India to the West in 1969 and it quickly grew in popularity, with teachers developing a variety of different styles.
The practice of Kundalini awakening through yoga, tantra and mediation arouses the sleeping Kundalini energy or Shakti from its coiled base through the six chakras that are said to reside along the spine.
Through tantric massage, feeling relaxed, using breathing techniques as desired, exploring touch, sensuality and waves of energy to a climatic release, an awakening of energy and wellbeing can be experienced.
Tantra Massage is a leaf out of Tantra Yoga. It’s an effort to experience the very deepest valley of relaxation. Awakening of your dormant kundalini energy, enabling it to move upwards. Making one revitalize their energy which is livelier, more alive and more radiant.
Tantra massage sets out to free blocked energy throughout the body and awaken the Kundalini, potent energy that lies to rest at the base of the spine.
When the Kundalini rises from its restful state, it spreads out along the spine and precipitates healing throughout the body.
Breath Training
From my tantric library, “to promote good erections, we have to promote the flow of energy to the lingham (lingham is the sanskrit word for penis). Any man regardless of age can promote the supply of oxygen to his lingham.” – Lingham massage, awakening male sexual energy, by M.Riedl and J.Becker.
The following is a list of exercises that help with increasing oxygen supply to the lingham.
Breath training: focused, deep breaths in a relaxed rhythm, paying attention to your pelvic floor, testicles and lingham. Breathe into your lower abdomen and mindfully send towards your pelvic floor.
Sports: endurance sports (promotes stamina), tennis (promotes ability to react to stimuli), hula hoop exercises or salsa dancing (promotes circulation to hip area).
Pelvic floor exercises: increases circulation to the pelvic floor, see pelvic floor exercise video from Physio Fitness Tim Keeley.
Yoga: exercises such as the cobra promote circulation.
Starting one of these exercises can help promote circulation to the pelvic floor and lingham. Practicing these exercises regularly means the benefits will build.
This blog post contains extracts from Lingham massage, awakening male sexual energy, by M.Riedl and J.Becker.
If you are unsure about starting any new exercise, you should consult your doctor.