Awaken Prana Maya Kosha
1. Walk around the gallery. Look for art or specific artworks that resonate with you. When you determine which artwork this is, focus on its design, colors, and textures. Walk around the artwork, view the art from extremely close up, and then walk away and view the art from a farther distance. Find a place in the room to close your eyes and visualize the artwork in your mind. Reimagine the details, colors, and textures.
2. Still meditation
a. Find a comfortable shape, close your eyes, place your hands palm up on your thighs, and begin to relax your body. Take a few deep breaths, focusing on rolling your shoulders back during your inhale, and pushing them downward during your exhale, continuing through the spine and relaxing into your hips. Take another deep breath in, again focusing on pushing your shoulders back, and a full exhale, pushing your shoulders down and feeling the motion continue down your spine, through your hips and into the floor.
b. Come back into your natural breath and allow your weight to continue to press down into your hips, connecting to the downward exhale of your breath. While feeling your natural breath, try to remain relax and still.
c. Begin to picture your chosen artwork in your mind. Clear your mind of everything else. Inhale deeply and exhale fully, clearing your mind of any distractions. Shift your attention to your artwork, thinking of the colors in your piece. Try to feel the colors, warm and bright. Or maybe cool and dark. Think back to the close detail your observed. Reimagine the textures and try to feel the movement and motion in the piece.
d. Now bring your attention back to your natural breath. Focus on the stillness of your body and the calmness of your breath.
3. Pranayama
a. Now you will begin the practice of pranayama, a guided breathing meditation. Keep your eyes closed. Through out this practice go back to the visualization of the art in the gallery. Begin by taking a full, deep inhalation followed by a slow, gentle exhalation. In this way, practice several rounds of full yogic breath to help awaken the prana maya kosha (the energetic body) and to clear any obstructions that may prevent the practice of pranayama. When the breath feels full, natural, relaxed, and open, you may begin the practice of nadi shodhana.
b. Bring the right hand into Vishnu mudra by folding the tips of the index and middle fingers inward until they touch the palm at the base of the right thumb. Align the length of the ring and pinky fingers on the right hand. During this practice, you will alternately use the right thumb to close the right nostril and the right ring and pinky fingers to close the left nostril.
c. First, use the right thumb to close the right nostril. Exhale gently, but fully, through the left nostril. Keeping the right nostril closed, inhale through the left nostril and deep into the belly. As you inhale, allow the breath to travel upward along the left side of the spine—from the pelvic floor, the left lung, the heart, and up through the left side of the throat, face, and head. Pause briefly at the crown of the head.
d. Next, use the ring and pinky fingers of the right hand to gently close the left nostril and simultaneously release the right nostril. Exhale through the right nostril, surrendering the breath down the right side of the body—from the right side of the head, face, and throat, down the right side of the spine through the heart, the right lung, and down to the pelvic floor. Pause gently at the bottom of the exhalation.
e. Keeping the left nostril closed, inhale once again through the right nostril, drawing the breath back up the right side, pausing briefly at the crown of the head.
f. Then again, use the right thumb to close the right nostril as you release the left nostril. Exhale through the left nostril, surrendering the breath back down the left side of the body. Pause gently at the bottom of the exhalation.
g. Continue the nadi shodhana breath with the visualization of the art piece clear in your mind.
• How has your mind wondered through out the pranayama?
• How has your view of the art changed?
• What parts of the art have become enhanced in your mind?
• How has the visualization in combination with the pranayama made you feel emotionally or spiritually or mentally or physically?
4. Now go over to the large white canvas paper and use the art supplies to convey the answers to the above questions through art. Be spontaneous, creative, imaginative, simple, complex, messy, and expressive. Let the feelings and visions you had in your mind and body become expressed onto the canvas. You have contributed to a new artwork that will be covered with the visual art of every individual’s inner personal experience.
1. Walk around the gallery. Look for art or specific artworks that resonate with you. When you determine which artwork this is, focus on its design, colors, and textures. Walk around the artwork, view the art from extremely close up, and then walk away and view the art from a farther distance. Find a place in the room to close your eyes and visualize the artwork in your mind. Reimagine the details, colors, and textures.
2. Still meditation
a. Find a comfortable shape, close your eyes, place your hands palm up on your thighs, and begin to relax your body. Take a few deep breaths, focusing on rolling your shoulders back during your inhale, and pushing them downward during your exhale, continuing through the spine and relaxing into your hips. Take another deep breath in, again focusing on pushing your shoulders back, and a full exhale, pushing your shoulders down and feeling the motion continue down your spine, through your hips and into the floor.
b. Come back into your natural breath and allow your weight to continue to press down into your hips, connecting to the downward exhale of your breath. While feeling your natural breath, try to remain relax and still.
c. Begin to picture your chosen artwork in your mind. Clear your mind of everything else. Inhale deeply and exhale fully, clearing your mind of any distractions. Shift your attention to your artwork, thinking of the colors in your piece. Try to feel the colors, warm and bright. Or maybe cool and dark. Think back to the close detail your observed. Reimagine the textures and try to feel the movement and motion in the piece.
d. Now bring your attention back to your natural breath. Focus on the stillness of your body and the calmness of your breath.
3. Pranayama
a. Now you will begin the practice of pranayama, a guided breathing meditation. Keep your eyes closed. Through out this practice go back to the visualization of the art in the gallery. Begin by taking a full, deep inhalation followed by a slow, gentle exhalation. In this way, practice several rounds of full yogic breath to help awaken the prana maya kosha (the energetic body) and to clear any obstructions that may prevent the practice of pranayama. When the breath feels full, natural, relaxed, and open, you may begin the practice of nadi shodhana.
b. Bring the right hand into Vishnu mudra by folding the tips of the index and middle fingers inward until they touch the palm at the base of the right thumb. Align the length of the ring and pinky fingers on the right hand. During this practice, you will alternately use the right thumb to close the right nostril and the right ring and pinky fingers to close the left nostril.
c. First, use the right thumb to close the right nostril. Exhale gently, but fully, through the left nostril. Keeping the right nostril closed, inhale through the left nostril and deep into the belly. As you inhale, allow the breath to travel upward along the left side of the spine—from the pelvic floor, the left lung, the heart, and up through the left side of the throat, face, and head. Pause briefly at the crown of the head.
d. Next, use the ring and pinky fingers of the right hand to gently close the left nostril and simultaneously release the right nostril. Exhale through the right nostril, surrendering the breath down the right side of the body—from the right side of the head, face, and throat, down the right side of the spine through the heart, the right lung, and down to the pelvic floor. Pause gently at the bottom of the exhalation.
e. Keeping the left nostril closed, inhale once again through the right nostril, drawing the breath back up the right side, pausing briefly at the crown of the head.
f. Then again, use the right thumb to close the right nostril as you release the left nostril. Exhale through the left nostril, surrendering the breath back down the left side of the body. Pause gently at the bottom of the exhalation.
g. Continue the nadi shodhana breath with the visualization of the art piece clear in your mind.
• How has your mind wondered through out the pranayama?
• How has your view of the art changed?
• What parts of the art have become enhanced in your mind?
• How has the visualization in combination with the pranayama made you feel emotionally or spiritually or mentally or physically?
4. Now go over to the large white canvas paper and use the art supplies to convey the answers to the above questions through art. Be spontaneous, creative, imaginative, simple, complex, messy, and expressive. Let the feelings and visions you had in your mind and body become expressed onto the canvas. You have contributed to a new artwork that will be covered with the visual art of every individual’s inner personal experience.
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