This year for whatever reason I have a hard time grounding myself. I am constantly bombarded by things, overwhelmed with tasks, unable to carve enough time for my practice. So I take it from my sleep, which is not the most yogic thing to do. Lately, I have started to revisit my sandhana, fueled by a deep desire for change. I have toned my asana repertoire to those poses that really feel good. I have given up some of my advanced poses and replaced them with a yin-flow.

I also changed my breathing sequences that always ushered me into the practice. I dropped all the exhilarating, energizing and detoxifying breaths altogether and now prefer a receptive and grounding pranayama flow.

When I am out of touch with reality, nothing flows. I get jittery over little things. I am constantly spaced out, longing for the impossible. I am unable to make wise decisions, and feel blocked when relating to others. I get too judgmental and beat myself for every little thing I couldn’t do. And the worst – I get nothing done. And have to cope up with the misery of having failed to fulfill my plans. I am not a depressive person, so when this happens, I know that I need to ground back down.

I find time for my practice and emphasize deep breathing and meditation to Earth down and bounce back to my center. Once I anchor down and root into my presence, I start to take it easy. I get to enjoy the quality of my breath, the way it enters and exits my body, and how it fills me up with energy and trust. The trust in my own resources and purpose is what brings me back down. It brings back my hope and core focus. I am able to weed the wheat from the chaff and channel my force into what really matters.

It’s truly fascinating how a simple breathing technique can relax us and root us in the here and now. It’s the space where we reside unhampered by external stimuli and circumstances, open to accept things as they come and go. It is not a state of drifting, but a state of resonance and flow.

I have recently discovered that being in the flow, is not about riding the current only, but about being present and aware – always receptive to intuit when to head in a certain direction and change course. In order to experience this state of effortless grace, we first have to restore our lost balance. It is the equilibrium between work and play, between longing and belonging, between being and achieving. Swinging from one extreme to the other is counterproductive and draining. The secret is to find that middle ground, when life happens from us, not to us.

And all it takes to get there is to relearn how to breathe. By breathing peace into our mind, we breathe calm and serenity into our space. With a regular pranayama practice our vital energy gets stronger and we emanate the power to transform others and the world at large.

Breathing in light, and breathing out worry is all it takes to root down and ultimately branch out.

Grounding Yoga Breathing: Anchor Down

This Yoga breathing series combines mudra and pranayama to ground down and root into your purpose.