Lesson 30:Online Education in Yoga by Sri Prashant S Iyengar

In this lesson Prashantji explains:
1. The importance of the how and why of correct use of the finger-tips for digital prāṇāyāma. Also how digital prāṇāyāma is not for beginners. For learning, prāṇāyāma must start with s̍vāsāyāma which has great value and must be practiced in the beginning.
2. Breath factor needs to be understood. All our functions depend on breath. It is integral to all actions, functions and manifestations of body and mind too. Breath needs to be personified and understood as an entity.
3. Body, breath, mind are agencies.
4. Human body has many delimitations. Mind has many delimitations too. Just having will is not sufficient. It has karmic gravity.
5. Breath does not have such delimitations. It does not have a karmic background and gravity. It comes in and goes out. It does not have any age. Every 4 seconds it is ever new and fresh.
Minds and body is not always new, even though the matter is renewable, but is not all the time new like breath. There is a corresponding breath to every kind of manifestation.
5. Āsanās are not contortions. Our body has a wide range of movements provided by nature. Hence varied number of āsanās are possible. Āsanās use that range to fullest possible extent. Through that range, we can work on blood circulation as also breath circulation. Hence breathing can be wholistic.
Breath, body and mind become multi-tasking agencies which is explored in āsanās.
6. Use supta (supine)positions to work with and understand the breath operations, with velocity, volume variations and their combinations; with graphic modes of breath. Also about how breath can interact with different parts of the body including sense organs and what sensitivities can be created. To know how breath moves differently in different terrains of the body.
7. Keep at least 5-10% of your time in asana practise to devote to understand breath.
Every time you practise the āsanā you have different conditions, so understand that difference.
8. Educate yourself about breath usage, breath handling, breath applications, breath purposes, which is all so important for embarking on prāṇāyāma practice. Take this opportunity to understand and identify and map the potentials of the breath. Only then you can be fit to regulate it.
8. Let us not be dictators on the breath. The more you watch the breath and breathing, you will be relieved from the grip of māyā.