Yoga With Granville

Take some time to rest your attention on the posture to see if your a correctly aligned. Then allow yourself to become aware of the body breathing as if observing it inpersonally. After a while direct your attention to the very top of your nostrils and feel the touching sensation, created by the breathing process, at the very tip of the nostrils. Allow your mind to rest there to the exclusion of anything else. If thoughts, feelings, smells sounds etc, arise in your consciousness, simply notice and return your attention to the touching sensation of the breath at the tip of the nostrils. Continue in this way for a period of 5, 10, 15, 20 mins or more, until you can do this practice for as long as you wish. Practice on a daily basis preferably in the morning before you begin your daily activities. This is a very emotive title for this post. Do we ever really consider why we do what we do and are we aware of why this system of yoga was developed . Over the years I have seen many changes and developments and the direction yoga has taken. Is this how it was supposed to go…. I recently attended a showing of ‘Awake’, a documentary of the life of Paramhamsa Yogananda. He wrote a book about his life called Autobiography of a Yogi, a cult book of the 60s. What a powerful read. I remember being so inspired after reading this book that it had a profound effect on my future in yoga and my quest to find myself as a spiritual being in this world… and what a journey it has turned out to be.

We sit comfortably, preferably in the Vajra Posture or crossed legged positions on a suitable cushioned mat. We join our hands placing the right hand on top of the left hand with the tip of the thumbs lightly touching each other. We keep our belly relaxed, our spine straight with the crown of the head extending towards the sky. The chin is slightly lowered and our eyes can be partially open or closed. Our tongue is resting against the roof of the pallet and lightly touching the back of the top teeth.