PPY Manifesto Pt 2

Part 2 of 4: Breath + Movement

Synchronized Vinyasa seamlessly matches movement and breath. This is how it works:  

Pranayama translates to “energy” control, and in the context of yoga this means breath control. Your life energy, or “prana,” is your breath. Your breath is one of the very few things that you can either control entirely or not at all. Since your breath is ALWAYS happening in the present moment, learning to pay attention to and control your breath during yoga will help you control your response to whatever happens in the present moment outside of yoga, regardless of external circumstances.  

Matching a precisely timed movement to a precisely timed breath requires 10000000% of your attention. Your attention, therefore, cannot be on what is happening in your brain (99.99% of which is what has happened in the past or will happen in the future). It can only be on what is happening RIGHT NOW, that is, the singular task of matching your movement to your breath. This means you get an hour of freedom from the past/future thought machine. Honing your ability to stay with each movement and breath increases your ability to stay with each moment of your ACTUAL LIFE, which—just like your breath—is only happening RIGHT NOW.  

The Pranayama has 4 parts: an inhale, a pause or “retention” of the inhale, an exhale, and a pause or “retention” of the exhale. This ability to control when you let your breath out and when you take your next breath builds your capacity to see that you have choices in how you respond and react to everything in your life.