Monkey Mind or Mindful Moments?
By Atma Khalsa

The monkey mind jumps from thought to thought, mostly, without noticing the present moment - like an uncontrolled monkey.  Yoga is union of body, mind and spirit.  Being present in the moment promotes this union.  Having our minds elsewhere preoccupies our lives with worry and stress about yesterday and tomorrow and limits our happiness and living to our full potential. 

In yoga, we practice control over the monkey mind with conscious breathing techniques.  Conscious breathing helps us harness our active mind and the emotions it triggers.  Practice this breathing technique to experience awareness in your irreplaceable and precious, mindful moments:

1.  Read all the instructions below first.  Then do your best to remember them as you close your eyes 1/10th (just barely open) and focus your eyes at the tip of your nose (Lotus Tip).  This will create a pressure at your pituitary gland between your eyebrows.  The Hand Mudra (hand position) is with the index fingertip and thumb tip touching on both hands as you rest them on your knees.

2.  With a straight spine, sit on the floor on your yoga mat in a simple cross-legged position or in a chair with both feet flat on the floor directly under your knees.

3.  Start a slow, deep breath through your nostrils.  Consciously fill your lungs with air starting at the base and continuing the breath up through the middle as your ribs expand and finally to the top near your heart.  Notice every molecule of fresh cool oxygen moving from the basement of your lungs all the way to top of your sinuses. 

4.  Then release the breath out of your nostrils from the top of your lungs, through the middle as the ribs close back down and finally with the lower lungs deflating last.

5.  Then continue these long, slow deep breaths for 3 minutes.  Let your belly expand as you receive the breath like a gift.  Neutralize any tightness that may exist in your stomach or other organs and push the breath in a bit deeper to help release their resistance.  Mentally hug your internal organs with your breath to help them relax and gain vitality.  Be aware of the air as it moves through you with your feeling and hearing senses. 

With each breath, feel the fresh cool oxygen moving into your lungs as you inhale and the warm moist air passing your upper lip as you exhale.  Listen to your breath (hear the sound) exiting your body as you show your monkey mind the way out too.  Gently bring your mind back each time to the sound and feeling of your breath.  Do this for 3 minutes a day to experience mindful moments of bliss and a heightened state of awareness.