Rhonda Mills and Bradford Smith have teamed up on Guided Practices to Simply Live and Evolve to share ancient practices from the Himalayan Yoga Tradition along with the healing and balancing sounds of Tibetan Bowls in support of people bringing spirit to life in their bodies, minds, and hearts.
About Meditating on the movements of Prana:
In the Yoga tradition, prana is considered the first unit of life, the lifeforce. Yogically speaking, however you see and experience your life is a mirror of your prana. Change your prana and your life will change too. In this CD, I am sharing practices to strengthen the 5 ways prana moves in your body. These are the subvisions of Prana, called the pranavayus. Each has a location within the body, certain physical organs and actions it relates with, and a specific psychological and mental function as follows:
* Pran (or pranavayu) moves inward to the brain center, and/or the heart center. In this meditation the focus is the brain center, and Pran energizes and revitalizes the body, mind, and heart.
* Samana (or samanavayu)’s movement is inward to the core, where it collects and provides nourishment, integrations, and assimilation, which then spirals through the whole body.
* Apana (or apanavayu)’s movement is downward, collecting near the pelvis and tailbone, and then outward, creating a grounding effect and facilitating elimination and letting go.
* Udana (or udanavayu) is upward and expressive movement, and is related to growth, enthusiasm, inspiration and aspiration to evolve and expand, as well to speech.
* Vyana (or vyanavayu) moves expansively in every direction from the heart. Vyana is the distributive force, and the energy which integrates and balances the other pranavayus and the nervous system.
HOW TO PRACTICE
1. Each of the seated practices begins with a specific pranayama, or breathing practice, and a visualization. There is a saying in the Yoga tradition – imagination creates experience. As you listen to each guided meditation, visualize and imagine as vividly as possible. Through dedicated regular practice, you will eventually gain the ability to experience and direct the subtle energy of Prana.
2. If you determine you need or want to strengthen a particular pranavayu, you might choose to listen to that meditation daily for a month or more.
3. If you believe your pranavayus are fairly balanced, and you want to support overall balance, you may choose to do the guided meditation which includes all the pranavyus on a daily basis.
4. In the Himalayan tradition, meditation is traditionally practiced with spine tall – head, neck and trunk in a straight line - rather than in a lounging or reclining position. When you meditate - If possible, sit on the floor or in a chair, with your hips positioned toward the front of the chair rather than leaning back. The result of practicing meditation in this position is that sitting tall strengthens and awakens your body, mind, and energy. If you are physically or mentally depleted or have an injury that prevents you from sitting tall, then be creative in finding another body position that works for you.
And most of all, ENJOY!
About Rhonda and Brad.
Rhonda Mills, ERYT500 and BodyMind Coach, began dancing as a child and hasn’t stopped yet. She has a life-long interest in spirituality, and has studied Yoga extensively at the Himalayan Institute and with ParaYoga Founder Rod Stryker since 2003. She also is steeped in the work of Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.d. of the Hendricks Institute. www.SimplyLiveandEvolve.com, RhondaMills.com
Bradford Smith, an accomplished musician on woodwinds, piano, and Native American flute, joins Rhonda on this series with the Tibetan Singing Bowls, also known as hand-hammered Himalayan chakra bowls. These bowls create entraining sound wave interference beats that slow brain waves to a conscious dream state. Brad is certified as a Sound Healer with Tibetan sound healer Suren Shrestha, who teaches sound healing techniques he learned from Tibetan monks and the yogi Tahalkishor Maharaj. Brad offers sound healing sessions with the Tibetan Chakra bowls and other instruments and leads kirtans - devotional singing, sounding, and music - several times per month in St. Louis, Missouri. Learn more about Brad at www.bradfordsmithmusic.com.
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