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.
प्रच्छर्दनविधारणाभ्यां वा प्राणस्य
pracchardana-vidhāraṇābhyāṁ vā prāṇasya
Or the mind is steadied by breathing out and holding the breath out.
Yoga Sutras 1.34 · verse 34 of 196
Unfolding the thread
Here is the first of several alternative methods, and it's the most physical. A long, gentle exhale, followed by a short natural pause before the next breath comes in. The out-breath is the body's way of letting go, and the pause after it is one of the quietest moments you have.
Try today
Take five breaths where the out-breath is longer than the in-breath. Notice the small pause at the end of each exhale.
The Echo
The same truth, heard in another tradition
“When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe.”
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