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tamasomajyotirgamaya
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 08:52:44 AM
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I have been doing simple deep breathing pranayama while driving to work. Question is, since many of the practitioners have time availability issue, do others on this forum use the time in car doing some basic pranayama? Off course you don't want to do anything which will create unsafe conditions on the road.
Om Tat Sat. |
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Parallax
USA
348 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 10:05:12 AM
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Very good question. I would frequently pray the rosary on the way to and from work, as a way to make better use of my time in the car; over the past 6 to 9 months I've been using the time to stretch my tongue back in order to achieve Kechari Stage 2 (which I did about a month ago). I continue to use the time for working on Kechari 2 to acclimate to having my tongue behind the soft palate. Couple of times I had to take it out because it felt too good for driving...prudent self-pacing 
I haven't done pranayama, but am curious as well as to what other people think about some light pranayama in the car...?
A couple of things you DON'T want to do while driving:
1) Practice Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka
2) Chin Pump Jalandhara
3) Close your eyes and engage in Deep Meditation
4) Sit in Lotus Pose
5) Most tantric practices
Peace & Namaste |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 10:54:51 AM
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Hi tamasomajyotirgamaya,
Welcome to the AYP forums.
If you are short on time, then yes, practicing spinal breathing while driving home, so as to save on some time is OK.
Yogani talks about this in the lesson Lesson 50 - Pranayama Q&A – Managing the time.
quote:
What about while driving the car? Many of us are spending an hour or more sitting in traffic going to and from work every day. It is a big slice of time out of our day. Can we be doing anything useful with it? Not with eyes closed. That's for sure. That leaves meditation out. But what about pranayama? It is best to do pranayama with the eyes closed. However, it is possible to derive some benefit doing pranayama with the eyes open, because it is a physical practice. Doing it while driving the car is far from ideal, but it can be done with some benefit. You may want to try doing some slow, deep breathing for ten minutes or so while driving home from work. You can also trace the spinal nerve up and down with the rising and falling breath, with your eyes open. Keep your attention on your driving. Be aware that pranayama is secondary. Be easy about it. Pranayama with the eyes open is less distracting than listening to the radio. It is your first responsibility to drive safely. There can be some pranayama there too; going on in the background.
If you are doing pranayama in the car, don't overdo it. When you get home, sit and mediate for at least ten minutes to sow the seed of pure bliss consciousness in your fertile pranayama field. We don't want any weeds taking root in those beautiful cultivated nerves of yours. If you are committed to your spiritual transformation, it will be your job to get in two sessions of practice every day. There are many ways to do this. Be creative, and always be safe in how you do your practice
Yogani coves other useful ways to fit practices into our busy lives in these lessons:
Lesson 209 - Fitting daily practices into a busy schedule
Lesson 18 - Meditation Q&A – Finding the time
There are some more lessons. Go to the topic index and look at the lessons under "Time Management in Practices".
Hope these help. |
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cosmic_troll
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2009 : 6:09:33 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Parallax
5) Most tantric practices
I like how you said "most" . Wholehearted agreement  |
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Parallax
USA
348 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2009 : 07:23:50 AM
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Was wondering if anyone would pick up on that nuance!! Nice catch Cosmic 
Shanti, you are a rock star...you have such a mastery over all the info on this site...very much appreciated |
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tamasomajyotirgamaya
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2009 : 5:16:58 PM
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Thanks Shanti. That clears the question. I guess one thing I had not realized and still don't know exactly what I am going to about it is the fact that doing pranayama in the car creates "a fertile ground" and to be careful not to sow some negative thoughts in it. In the morning after 10-15 minutes pranayama I reach my office and get busy. I guess I need to think of some good positive thoughts to "close" the mobile pranayama session before I get on with the daily work.
Appreciate your help. I agree with the post above, it seems you have a great handle on the website content.
Om Tat Sat.
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cosmic_troll
USA
229 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 12:11:20 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Parallax
Was wondering if anyone would pick up on that nuance!! Nice catch Cosmic
LOL  Dirty minds think alike, my friend |
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Lili
Netherlands
372 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 05:50:49 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by tamasomajyotirgamaya
I guess one thing I had not realized and still don't know exactly what I am going to about it is the fact that doing pranayama in the car creates "a fertile ground" and to be careful not to sow some negative thoughts in it.
Hi TMJG,
I think you're right. Pranayama should be followed by meditation not work with or without a break, precisely for the reason you point out. I think Yogani meant you can do it when driving from work back home, not the other way round:
"If you are doing pranayama in the car, don't overdo it. When you get home, sit and mediate for at least ten minutes to sow the seed of pure bliss consciousness in your fertile pranayama field. We don't want any weeds taking root in those beautiful cultivated nerves of yours." This is from lesson 50 http://www.aypsite.org/50.html.
I think it's better if you don't do yoga at all while driving as it might distract you--you job while driving is to fully focus on safety--your own and that of other ppl on the road. Good luck, Lili |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 08:24:16 AM
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Yes Lili is right, Yogani is talking about doing pranayama on your drive back home.
If you do it on your way to work, then it must be an extra session of spinal breathing, after your morning practice? Well in that case, AYP does not encourage you to do more than two sitting sessions in a day. You will overload if you do too much spinal breathing during the day. If however you do feel drawn to do some spinal breathing in the car on your way to work, after you park your car.. take a few mins in the car and go into silence before you go about your day. Don't immediately get out of the car and jump into activity.
If you would like to use your drive to work to do something spiritual, I would recommend getting some mantra CDs like Gayatri Mantra or Maha Mritunjay Mantra, or get some kirtan CDs and sing along with them. They are huge heart openers... so if you do get them.. self pace on them too. Look at the Yoga FAQs on Chanting and Kirtan. |
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Vayu
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2011 : 11:08:06 PM
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| I have a question that I want to ask here. Is it possible for someone who never had any kundalini awakenings/experiences to suddenly(in a timespan of 30 minutes driving) have it in the car while practicing spinal breathing? If so, are such sudden awakenings so overwhelming that they are comparable to seizures? Or does Kundalini ever awaken quickly enough that it might suddenly "surprise" the driver? Thank you |
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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2011 : 12:06:45 AM
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| Have you had this experience or are you speculating? Sounds like too much imagination and worry to me, just do your practice regularly and only use the car on those rare times when you just can't practice at home |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2011 : 6:32:08 PM
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| I would be careful what kind of pranayama you do while driving. I wouldn't recommend any of the kinds that involve holding your breath. That can take your attention away from driving, and/or cause lapses in consciousness. |
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Vayu
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2011 : 8:05:44 PM
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Hey Victor. As you have figured, I never had any such experiences. Thats why I was asking just to be sure that nothing too overwhelming can happen from doing light SBP. When I read about the term "overload" in this forum, I don't really know the range of intensity of the overloads that can possibly happen to someone who is totally new to doing practices. So I just wanted to be sure that in case that it does happen, the worst case scenarios that I can imagine doesn't happen.
Alternatively(and this might be slightly off topic), I also try do breathe with awareness on the nostrils up to the brow-center and back since it feels a little easier to do while driving. Its almost like SBP but on the all the nerves surrounding the 2 cylinder-like nostrils instead of the spine. I was wondering if doing that can have any purification effects on the ida and pingala channels? |
Edited by - Vayu on Jul 26 2011 8:12:21 PM |
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Tibetan_Ice
Canada
758 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2011 : 11:19:55 PM
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Hi,
About three years I did some pranayama deep breathing while driving, on my way to visit a friend out in the country. It was during the winter and it was night time. I got into a real calm euphoric state which felt so good. When I finally came to my senses, I realized that I had missed my turn and had overshot by 1/2 hour!! Boy, was I embarassed.
Presently, if I did one or two rounds of spinal breathing, the ecstatic conductivity would be much too distracting for me. Just too dangerous..
I don't recommend doing any kind of breathing practices while driving. It's so easy to start to feel good and get distracted.
My opinion.
:)
TI |
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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - Jul 27 2011 : 8:20:10 PM
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| Well, its a conflict of attention. When you are focused inward you are not focused on the road. I would make an analogy to talking on the phone while driving, people do it but its not advised. As far as having overhwelming kundalini experiences from doing light spinal breathing while driving I think that is highly unlikely as long as you haven't done some kind of psychoactive drugs. Its more of an attention issue in my opinion, You can't go as deep and you have less attention for the road. I have done it on days when I could not do my daily practice but it was rare. I don't do it anymore because my practice is much deeper than it used to be and so requires full attention. I am a bit fanatic about doing at least one practice session per day regardless of circumstances, so on rare occasions I fit them in where I can if my usual spot is not convenient. |
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Practicing in the car while driving?
