First Light
How First Light worksTuesday 27 October·
- Sunrise
- 07:55
- Quiet hour
- 06:19–07:07
- Brahma Muhurta
- Moon
- Waning gibbous
- Next full moon: Tue 24 Nov
Autumn
The quiet hour (Brahma Muhurta) is the traditional time for practice, just before sunrise.
दुःखदौर्मनस्याङ्गमेजयत्वश्वासप्रश्वासा विक्षेपसहभुवः
duḥkha-daurmanasyāṅgamejayatva-śvāsa-praśvāsā vikṣepa-sahabhuvaḥ
Distress, low mood, a restless body and uneven breathing come along with these distractions.
Yoga Sutras 1.31 · verse 31 of 196
Unfolding the thread
Patanjali notices that the obstacles don't stay in the mind. They show up as a heavy heart, a body that can't settle, a breath that catches or rushes. That's useful: the body often tells you the mind is scattered before you've noticed it yourself. An uneven breath is a signal, not a failure.
Try today
Three times today, check your breath. If it's shallow or held, let one long, slow breath out.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?”
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