The 3 Layers of Practice
The power of pranayama meditation lies in the layers
Breath - To Create Calm Energy: This builds the foundation
Focus - To Channel Energy Flow: This points the way
Insight - To Build The Inner Body: This creates the connection
These combine to create an all-encompassing meditation that stills the mind & summons strength from nature
1. Creating Calm Energy
This builds the foundation. This is the physiological component of the practice. We breathe to create energy. The way that we breathe (the pace & depth) affects the amount of energy created and how it makes us feel (energised, lethargic or settled). This means we can change our state of mind by altering the way we breathe.
We use breathing techniques that regulate our energy level and mood, bringing mind & body into calm balance - creating the ideal state for meditation.
2. Channeling Energy Flow
This points the way. This is the sensory (somatic) component of the practice, based on layer 1 (the controlled breath-flow). There are essentially five different ways we can channel the breath in and out of the body. We use a range of physical techniques (such as alternate nostril breathing) to do this.
Each breathing pattern generates a clear feeling of direction that we sense travelling through the body and resonating in the mind. Each energetic current inspires a different meditation.
3. Building The Inner Body
This creates connection with the cosmos. This is the cognitive component of the practice, based on layer 2 (the channeled energy flow). The mind’s eye traces a structure inside the body using our directional breathing pattern as a framework.
Our techniques shape & amplify the felt sensations of the breath cycle with a series of unspoken, inner sounds (manasa) and inner body visualisations (dhyana).
These shape an inner, subtle body that maps the energies of nature within us. This creates a stable, fortifying layer that connects the inner with the outer world.
The 4th Layer
The one that is not a layer at all. The goal of the meditations is to open the bounded, individual self to a sense of merging with the unbounded outer world. The shift into a sense of an unbounded self is referred to as laya (merging or dissolving). This is initially felt as a directional connection - such as elevation or grounding - guided by breath-flow and the power of the mind’s eye.
When ending the physical practice, we gently dial-down & then drop the directed breath-flow, mantra & visualisation and move into a calm, stable state of observation. A sense of stillness occurs spontaneously. There is now no physical effort or will-power involved. We are simply sitting quietly, doing nothing.
The more well-known meditation paths aim directly for this, such as za-zen/”no-mind” meditation. The practise is to observe your thoughts without engaging with them, without building on them. This may be described as “letting go”, “thought witnessing”, “being with what is” or ”being aware of awareness”.
Disengaging from thoughts & emotions is a very difficult way to meditate for many people. It can easily be counter-productive: creating irritation, disappointment, dissociation or lethargy. The ability to “let go” is far easier for most people to achieve after a breath-driven, focused attention meditation that fosters the necessary calm, clarity and balance of mind & body.
And crucially, during the practice - “along the way” - the active approach yields a range of nourishing, connective experiences between inner and outer world. These contribute to the many physically & psychologically therapeutic benefits of an active practice that a passive meditation cannot provide. (See Breathwork for more on the therapeutic applications of the physical techniques that underpin the meditations.)