autumn is coming

fear nada

One of your greatest sources of protection is your breath.

Vayu, is a strong symbol of the power of your breath, the element Wind. He is an important part of the team of vedic Gods, he is known as the ‘life breath of the Gods’, also as a wanderer, and explorer, a messenger of the gods’.

Vayu is also known for his prodigious strength, when angered he becomes severely tempestuous, and can blow down nearly any obstacle, trees, houses, cars, even mountains, so too will you be able to blow down any obstacle when you become a ‘vayu siddha’, a master of breathing, and a master of directing internalized prana.

In protecting yourself from internal demons it is essential to bow to Vayu so that he is on your side. Developing a clear relationship to the ebb and flow rhythm that takes place with unerring regularity within your chest is one of the best means of physically and psychically protecting youself.

The sacred texts teach you that the mind and the breath go together like a person and his/her shadow. When you regulate breath you regulate thought, thus you are using breath control to bring mental order and clarity to your thinking processes.

There’s a mental barbarian inside your mind that is subject to whim, anger, needing to show off, etc and so by connecting the mind with the breath you can subdue that beast and protect yourself from great harm.

Yoga practice can give you the skill to make the strength of the breath greater than the strength of activated klesha’s (afflictions) that cause disturbances in the mind. WOW what a revelation. The strength of Vayu makes him perfectly suited to the task of slaying demons that are generated by your undisciplined mind.

And there’s a very beautiful yoga sutra that says when you’re established in order (Shaucha), you get a desire to protect your body. Its very helpful to begin to be very intent on developing the rhythm of your breath as a means of bringing order and clarity to the field of your mind. Mental agitation happens when your breathing becomes erratic, irregular, or chaotic.

There is a certain logic that comes to your efforts when you learn to trust in and bring forth your breathing rhythms. And then you train yourself to stick to this breathing logic even when the ego or other afflictions attempt to divert you away from breath and into unsafe, irrational, harmful actions.