At sunrise
Sūrya trāṭaka
At sunrise the gaze on the horizon where the sun is coming up, or on the sky beside it; ended when the sunrise ends. Never on the risen disc. Its guidance will be added later.
taught in the camp · its guidance is comingMorning
The five of phase one · to warmth
All five, in order, before deciding how you feel today.
The effort to warmth, the breath quicker, but with room to speak. Moderate effort did most for low mood and anxiety.
OpenThe seventh group · Ascent, in laya
On the in-breath the chest up, only as far as it rises today; on the out-breath the forehead to the ground, and the out-breath long.
The hum in the child's pose on its third time, and ॐ three times at the end. The sound on the whole out-breath.
Begin the group · LayaSama vṛtti · the even breath
In, a pause, out, a pause, each part the same count. From the first level, in its page's own count.
If the pause frightens, leave it out: only in and out, equal. While opium is still being taken, keep the pause short.
OpenBy day
Cyclic Meditation, with DRT inside it
Postures and lying rest, in turn; inside it DRT, the body let go part by part. Taught in the camp; its guidance will be added later.
taught in the camp · its guidance is comingYoga Nidra, in the afternoon
Lying down, the attention travelling the body. The first of the day's two. Taught in the camp; its guidance will be added later.
taught in the camp · its guidance is comingEvening
The Mahāmṛtyuñjaya · Antaryātrā
On the page choose Antaryātrā: the first third aloud, the second whispered, the last in the mind. One line, one breath.
The mantra speaks of coming free as ripe fruit does, like a cucumber from its stem, without being pulled. Not a fight; a release.
OpenNāḍī śodhana
In through one nostril, out through the other, then the other way; the out-breath slow. From phase four.
OpenAt night, before sleep
The complete breath, in śavāsana
On the back, one hand on the belly, one on the chest.
Fill from the bottom: belly, chest, collarbones. Empty from the top, and let the out-breath be longer. Hold nowhere.
Ten breaths, then simply lie there.
Yoga Nidra
Lying down, the attention travelling the body, into sleep. Taught in the camp; its guidance will be added later.
taught in the camp · its guidance is comingWhen the fear or the weight comes
The long out-breath
Wherever you are: sit down or lie down, one hand on the belly.
In through the nose, and let the out-breath grow longer than the in-breath: in to three, out to six, or as is easy. Hold nowhere.
Do not argue with the fear, do not chase it off. Only give it the breath's rhythm, for a few minutes, or until it eases. Fear keeps time with the breath.
Bhrāmarī
Sit upright, eyes closed, the lips lightly together. Close the ears with the thumbs.
Breathe in through the nose. Then hum like a bee on the whole out-breath, in the throat, the mouth closed.
After each hum touch a lamp, or keep the count yourself. Ten times. There are no photographs of it yet.
Its own pageAt home
Every morning, every afternoon
On waking, after the movement: sama vṛtti, from the first level, its ten rounds.
In the afternoon a lying rest, as in Yoga Nidra: the attention travelling slowly through the body.
The doctor, and when
If thoughts of ending life come: a person and a doctor, the same day.
If the fear comes with pain in the chest, breathlessness or a sense of fainting: a doctor first.
If the past comes back again and again in full force, or a doctor has given a medicine for the mood: someone who knows, and keep taking it as given. This practice goes alongside.
Why this order
The fear centre was found to keep time with the breath through the nose, and the breath is the one thing in it that can be changed. Within half an hour of a single bout of movement the mood was better and the anxiety less; five minutes a day of a long out-breath lifted the mood more than meditation; chanting ॐ aloud quieted the fear centre; and in men coming off opioids, yoga alongside the medicine lowered the anxiety further.
Before you begin
Stay well within what is comfortable. If anything hurts, stop. This supports treatment and does not replace it; anybody on buprenorphine or methadone stays on it.
While opium is still being taken, keep every breath hold short.
पत्र · a letter of Sri Aurobindo
To a disciple; the letter does not say who. The third way, turning to the Mother, belongs to his path.
When a habit of these moods (depression or revolt) has been formed, they cannot be got rid of at once. There are three ways of doing it — (1) to strengthen your own will, so that nothing can come or stay as it likes but only as you like; (2) to think of something else, plunge the mind in some healthy activity; (3) to turn to the Mother and call in her force. One can do any of these or all, but even in doing them, it will take a little time to get rid of the habit.
Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga IV (Complete Works, vol. 31), p. 735
Why it is here
He names the cause as a habit of moods, and says a habit takes a little time to go. This page begins with movement, which is his second way: a healthy activity for the mind. That reading is ours.