TV Channel

Parananda Ashram, a yoga retreat center in the northwest part of India, in the state of Rajasthan. We are holding our yoga retreat seminar here with Paramahaṁswāmī Māheśvarānanda, and we are practicing systematically according to the book and the system called Yoga in Daily Life. This system has been spread throughout the world by Paramahaṁswāmī Māheśvarānanda as an original stream of wisdom, light, and yoga science. This light has been transferred through the centuries from one master to another without any interruption. Its origin comes from Śrī Alagpurījī, a Himalayan master who has been living in the Himalayas for hundreds of years, to Bhagavān Śrī Dībnārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, his disciple Swāmī Mādhāvānandajī, and Paramahaṁsa Śrī Swāmī Maheśvarānanda. Today we are continuing our practice in Level Two. We ended our last practice with an āsana called Meru Pṛṣṭhāsana. We will begin from this āsana and complete the whole of Level Two. So, we will start our yoga lesson again with three Oṁ chants. Take a comfortable seat, either Siddhāsana, Sukhāsana, Vajrāsana, Padmāsana, or any other comfortable seat according to your abilities. Your hands are relaxed on your knees, your back is straight, and your eyes are closed. Deeply inhale and long exhale. Prepare inwardly for your yoga sādhanā, for your yoga practice. Inhale and chant three times: Oṁ. Feel the vibration of Oṁ in your inner space, as well as expanding to the outer world. Deeply inhale and exhale, and lie down on your back into Ānanda Āsana. It is a relaxation position, and every yoga class begins with relaxation. Your legs are slightly apart from each other, your hands are about 20-30 cm apart from the body. Correct your position. Correct the position of your pelvis; lift it up a little bit and try to spread your lower abdomen and the lumbar part of your spine on the floor as much as possible. Adjust the position of your shoulder blades. Move your head to the right side and to the left side, and make sure that your spine is very straight and, as much as possible, lying and touching the floor. Deeply inhale and long exhale. With exhalation, relax the whole body. Relax all the muscles of your right leg. Begin with the toes and feel how, with every exhalation, the muscles of the toes are more and more relaxed. You can feel the relaxation as a warmth or lightness, a light or softness. You can have different feelings according to your individual capacity and ability. Relax the whole foot on the right side, relax the ankle, relax the calf muscles, right knee, and relax the thigh muscles together with the hip joint and the buttock muscles. The whole right leg is completely relaxed, lying on the floor. Move your concentration to your left toes. Again, relax each and every one of them. Relax your feet, relax your ankle joint, calf muscles, your left knee and the thigh muscles, together with the hip and the buttock muscles. The whole left leg is lying on the floor and is completely relaxed. Move your concentration to your hands. Relax all the fingers on the right side. Relax your palm. Relax all the muscles of your right arm, your elbow, all the muscles of your upper arm and shoulder, together with the shoulder blade. Do the same on the left side. Again, relax all the muscles of the fingers, your palm, all the muscles of your arm, elbow, upper arm, left shoulder, and the shoulder blade. Both hands and arms are completely relaxed, lying on the floor. Feel your abdominal muscles and relax them. Feel the muscles of your lower pelvis and pelvic bottom, and relax them. Relax all the organs in your lower pelvis as well as upper pelvis, all the organs in your belly, intestines, stomach. Relax your spleen on the left side, upper part of your belly, and relax your chest. Relax the chest muscles. Relax the front part of your neck, the back side of your neck, and all the muscles of your face. Relax your jaw. Completely relax all the small muscles in your face, your lips, tongue, your teeth, nose, eyes, and completely relax also your forehead. Try to feel the space behind the forehead and relax it. Now, move your concentration towards your breathing process. Feel the breath coming into the nostrils and going all the path into the lungs, in and out. Try to watch the breath, how it is going deeply inside, through the bronchus, the bronchi, the alveoli, and again the same path going out. Feel your natural and normal breathing process. Just feel how your body is breathing. Now we will start with a breathing exercise called the full yoga breath. This breathing consists of three parts, beginning with abdominal breathing, then coming to chest breathing, and then the clavicle part of the breath wave. And again, exhalation is going down as in clavicular breath, chest exhalation, and exhalation from the abdominal part. These three parts create one wave which goes up on the body and back down again. So, put your right palm on your belly in the navel area, and put your left palm on your chest in the middle of your chest. With inhalation, a deep inhale begins in the abdomen, and the abdomen is going up. Then the chest is expanding, and then the collarbones are coming up. With exhalation, the collarbones are going down, the chest is relaxing, and then the belly is going down. With another inhalation, start the inhale from the abdomen, which is going up, then the chest expanding, and then the collarbones are a little bit lifting up. And with exhalation, the collarbones are going down, the chest is squeezing, and the belly is going down. So, consciously influence your breath this way. Full yoga breath. Feel the wave coming up on the trunk of the body and again going down. Deep inhale and exhale with the full yoga breath. With another exhalation, put your hands beside your body again. With another inhalation, we will add the movement of the hands to the breathing process. So, wait for inhalation, and with inhalation, slowly start lifting your arms up above your head. Feel the breath wave going on your trunk. And with exhalation, the hands are going back, and the breath is running on your trunk again, back down. And completely relax with exhalation. Continue the movement with normal breath, and let your breathing guide your movement. After inhalation, you can feel a straight, natural holding of the breath, which the body actually requires itself. Respect this holding of the breath, and stop completely the movement in this moment after exhalation. Again, this holding of the breath naturally comes, and completely relax in this moment. And when the body requires inhalation, continue the movement up. After inhalation, you can feel a slight tension in the whole body, and after exhalation, in the holding of the breath, you can feel complete relaxation and peace within the whole body. Together with the relaxation, now we will start with stretching exercises. With inhalation, lift your right hand up above the body and stretch the hand over the body. Feel like somebody is pulling your fingers and your heel, and stretch the whole right part of the body. The left part, try to keep relaxed as much as possible. With exhalation, the hand goes back beside the body. And completely relax the stretched part of your body. With another inhalation, do the same on the left side. Deeply inhale, stretch the whole left side of the body, the whole leg muscles, arm muscles, muscles on the side of the trunk, and at the same time, try to relax completely the non-stretched part of your body. Once again, we continue both sides. Deep inhale, right side stretch as much as possible, the right side of the body, and try to feel and try to relax the left side of the body. The left leg and left hand are not being used for the movement, so you can relax them. And with exhalation, go back and completely relax in the peace of kumbhaka. With another inhalation, continue the movement according to your breath requirements. Exhalation, come back to complete relaxation. With another inhalation, we will lift both hands above the body and stretch the whole body, both legs and both hands. And at the same time, try to keep your hip joints, and also a little bit your lower back, close to the floor. Stretch your body behind your fingers and behind your heels as much as possible. With exhalation, again relax with hands beside the body. With another inhalation, continue the movement and again try to feel the stretching of the body after the inhalation and the slight tension in the whole body in that moment. After exhalation, try to feel the complete relaxation of all the muscles and the inner peace, and stop all the movements in your body. Deeply inhale, inhale and exhale. Now we will continue the āsanas from Level Two. The āsana where we ended up last time is the 9th āsana, called Meru Pṛṣṭhāsana. This āsana is performed in a standing position. So, slowly, slowly, with the help of your hands, stand up. First, lift up your head, then your shoulders, and then slowly, slowly come to the sitting position, and from the sitting position, slowly, slowly come up to the standing position. Legs are slightly apart from each other. Toes are facing sideways. We will first do the movement very slowly and show the positions which should be kept during the quick movement. So first, inhale deeply and put the tips of your fingers on your shoulders. The tips of your fingers are on the shoulders, and the arms are parallel with the floor. With exhalation, rotate the upper part of your body to the back side, but keep your pelvis facing frontwards as much as possible. Look back side, turn your head back side as far as it is possible and comfortable for you. And with exhalation, come to the front position again. Again, do the movement with exhalation. Twist your body and turn the upper part of your body. Make sure that your pelvis is not moving, if possible not at all, and try to get as far as possible, as is comfortable for you. Keep your back straight and look up behind your shoulder. With inhalation, come back to the front position. With another exhalation, again get back to the twisting position. Rotate your body again back. And in this position, when we finish the movement, we bend our body so that our back is parallel with the floor, the look is in the front, and then rotate the body to the front, still keeping it parallel with the floor. And when we reach the front position, with deep inhalation, we go up into standing position and with exhalation, hands are going back beside the body and relax. This movement we will now do quickly, with quick and active exhalation, and then inhalation is passive. So with inhalation, the hands are going up, fingers touching the arms, and do the movement ten times quickly. The exhalation is strong, and the inhalation is passive. When you finish ten times, finish in the ending position, bend down while holding your hand, and rotate your body to the front. When you are in the front, still holding the breath, with inhalation go up, and with exhalation completely relax the hands beside the body again. And feel the strong effect of the practice on the whole energy of the body, how it is filling you with energy. Do the same exercise 10 times on the other side. This practice is especially relaxing for the deep muscles of the back. It’s increasing the flexibility of the spine. It’s very strongly stimulating the whole energy in the body and the circulation. It’s deepening the breath, giving inner balance. Also stimulating digestion and blood circulation, and it’s very good for those people who have low blood pressure. Only those people who have slipped discs or problems with the spine should not practice this movement, or at least not so strongly. And with exhalation, completely relax the hands beside the body. Close your eyes. Deep inhale and exhale. And just feel the benefit of this āsana. How it is waking you up. How it is increasing the energy in the whole body. How it’s improving circulation. You can feel your heart beating a little bit quicker also. Now we will go, slowly move to another āsana called Catuṣpada Āsana. The starting position is with legs close to each other. Feet are close to each other. Hands are nicely relaxed beside the body. Concentrate your energy in front of you, and you can also gaze on one point in front of you. With inhalation, raise your hands up in the front and stretch your body upwards to the ceiling. With exhalation, bend your body. The back is all the time of the movement stretched, and put your hands as far as possible and comfortable for you, that you keep your knees stretched, and the best position is if your heels are also on the floor. Remain in this position for a few inhalations and exhalations. Concentrate your look in front of you on one point, and deep inhale and exhale in this position. With exhalation, come slowly, slowly up with your hands towards your feet. Completely relax in this position, and with another inhalation, come up again with your hands, arms stretching over your head. Again, stretch your body towards the ceiling, and with exhalation, come with your arms again beside the body and relax. Deep inhale and exhale, and again perform this āsana another round. Concentrate on the movement. Wait for inhalation. With inhalation, start a movement stretching the body as high as possible towards the ceiling. Feel the whole body. Then the bending begins in the hip joints. Your back is straight. Try to reach the floor as far as possible so that your knees are stretched, and it would be good if your heels are touching the floor. Make yourself comfortable in the āsana. Āsana means, except for other meanings, also comfortable. So āsana should be a comfortable position. You should feel relaxed and good in the position. You can also explore the position. The right position is that your body weight is balanced on the feet and on your palms. If you try to pull the weight of your body a little bit more on your hands, you can feel the changes in the tension of your muscles, especially the abdominal muscles. And then come back again to the right position. Also, it is important to—okay, we come back to the starting position. Stretch your body as much as possible, and with exhalation, relax your hands beside the body. Deep inhale and exhale, and the third round. Again, wait for inhalation and start the practice. Āsanas should be practiced three times, and each time we are deepening the effect of the practice on the whole body. Again, make yourself comfortable in this position. The position of your head is very important, and it depends where you look. You can look either 50 or 40 centimeters in front of you, and in this position, you can feel that your abdominal muscles are very relaxed. If you raise your head a little bit more up, and you look in front of you far, then you feel that your chest muscles and upper abdominal muscles are stretching more. So you can find yourself in the āsana and feel yourself comfortable in the āsana. With exhalation, come slowly, slowly back, relaxing, hanging the hands. And with another inhalation, come slowly, slowly up, with the hands going up towards the ceiling. Again, stretching yourself behind the hands, and with exhalation, relax your hands beside the body. Close your eyes and feel the effect of the body. How is it improving kidney functions? How is it strengthening the arms, legs, and back? How it is improving the blood supply towards the head and nourishing the brain and all the organs of the head with blood, and how it is stretching the muscles of the back part of the legs and back. Deep inhale and exhale, and we will go to Cakrāsana. Cakrāsana is the position of the wheel, and it begins with the legs slightly apart from each other. Toes are facing a little bit sidewards, and now, in front of your body, clasp your fingers and keep your palms facing downwards. With inhalation, lift your arms up above the body, and look at your fingers all the time of the practice; keep your look on the fingers. With exhalation, bend your body again in the hips so that your back is parallel with the floor. With inhalation, rotate your body to the side. Keep your pelvis as much as possible in the front. And with exhalation—with inhalation, go back to the front. Exhalation, sorry. And with inhalation, rise up again. And with exhalation, release your hands beside your body and relax. Deep inhale and exhale. And we will do the practice on the other side. Again clasp your fingers, turn your palms towards the floor, deeply inhale, and stretch your palms and hands above the body. Look at your fingers. With exhalation, bend down, head parallel with the floor, back parallel with the floor. With inhalation, rotate your body to the left side. Keep your pelvis facing forward as much as possible. With exhalation, come to the front. With inhalation, come up. With exhalation, relax your hands beside the body. Deep inhale and long exhale. Completely relax and feel the effect of the āsana. Prepare for another round. Do it yourself according to your breath. Return. Turn your fingers. Inhalation going up, watching the fingers, stretching yourself. Exhalation, bending the body. Inhalation, rotation. Keep your look on your fingers, keep your concentration. This practice is improving the posture, it’s strengthening the back muscles, it’s stretching the back muscles and the muscles on the back side of the legs. We can continue after a deep inhale and exhale on the other side also. It’s stretching the muscles on the side of the trunk. It’s helping to get rid of fat on the sides of the trunk. It’s deepening the breath, and it’s opening the side parts of the lungs. It’s also stimulating digestion and kidney functions. Only those people who have problems with dizziness should practice carefully or avoid the practice. It’s also very strong practice for the abdominal muscles, especially the side parts of the abdominal muscles, strengthening the arm muscles and muscles around the shoulders very much. Again, deep inhale and exhale. The effect of the āsana is there. After this feeling, you end this āsana and you can go to another āsana. It is called Dvikoṇāsana. The beginning position is again with feet close to each other, and you start the practice by putting your arms behind your back in a wide arc. This wide arc is actually correcting the position of your shoulders and your shoulder blades and increasing the effect of the Dvikoṇāsana. Clasp your fingers and keep your palms facing the ceiling, towards the ceiling. With exhalation, bend your body from the hips with your back stretched, and let your hands and arms go as far as possible and as far as comfortable for you. You should not feel any pain, only pleasant and comfortable stretching. Relax your head, but keep your knees straight and stretched. Relax in this position completely. With inhalation, come back up again slowly, slowly. Guide your movement by your fingers or your palms. Release the clasp of your fingers and put your hands beside the body again. Again, deep inhale and exhale, and feel the āsana. Feel the effect of the āsana. We will do a second round again with the wide arc. We clasp our fingers behind the body. Deep inhale, exhale, and bending forwards, and relax. Completely relax in this position. Only make sure that your knees are stretched and your elbows are stretched. Now you can again try to find yourself in this position and try to, with slight movements, correct the position. If you pull your head, if you pull your arms a little bit more towards the floor, you can feel the slight increase in the stretching of the muscles and ligaments around the shoulder. Also, if you try to pull your head a little bit more towards your knees, you can feel that you have to use the abdominal muscles. You can play in this āsana and try to find yourself in the āsana, that position which is just comfortable for you. With a deep inhalation, we come back again into the starting position and deeply inhale and exhale. Relax your hands beside the body. Close your eyes and feel how the āsana is working. We will do the third round. Now the body knows how the āsana looks, and the body is comfortable in the āsana. So we will try to feel the real effect of the āsana. Slowly get into the āsana and feel how it is. You can bend yourself and feel how it is, stretching the back muscles, improving the mobility in the shoulders, and stretching the muscles in between the shoulder blades. It is helping the people who have a rounded neck. It is very good for growing children, and it is improving blood circulation, particularly to the head. Relax yourself in the āsana. Use only those muscles which are necessary for keeping the position, and the muscles which you do not use for the position, relax. And in this position, stop the movements completely. Deep breathing and complete stop of all the movements in the āsana, and this is the real posture: complete relaxation, deep breathing, and no motion in the āsana. When you decide, wait for inhalation and come back to the starting position very slowly. Relax your hands beside the body. Keep your eyes closed and feel the effect of the āsana. Just feel it. Do not move anything, just feel the effect of the āsana. Deep inhale and exhale, and we will prepare for Bhūta Āsana. Bhūta Āsana, and it is standing from squatting. The beginning position is again with the legs slightly apart from each other. Clasp your fingers downwards, and the palms are facing upwards. Wait for exhalation, and with exhalation, slightly bend your knees so that your palms reach the level of the upper part of your thighs, as if you’re sitting on a high chair. Keep your head straight, and your look should be in front of you. Your back is also straight. With inhalation, come again up. With another exhalation, go a little bit more down with your palms to the level of your knees. It’s more difficult for the knees and for the thigh muscles. With inhalation, come up again. With another exhalation, go a little bit more down so that your hands get to the level of your thighs. And with inhalation, come slowly back up. Now we can remain in each position for a few deep inhalations and exhalations. So do the practice yourself and stay in the position for two deep inhalations and exhalations. This practice is very good for women before delivering babies because it strengthens the lower pelvic muscles. It’s also very good for irregular menstruation, stretching, and strengthening the muscles of the thighs and also the calves. It develops stability for regulating the breath. It’s also increasing the circulation because it’s nourishing the leg muscles with the blood, and that’s why the heart rate after this practice can also increase a little bit. This practice should not be practiced by those people who have problems with the knees, especially after operations on the knees, or they should practice only the first stage. Make sure that when you are in the position, your knees are parallel with your feet, that they are not facing more backwards or frontwards. They should be parallel with your feet. With inhalation, again, deeply inhale and exhale, and feel the whole body. Feel your heart rate; your breath is a little bit maybe quicker, even and deeper. Feel your leg muscles and the circulation there. After feeling the effect of the āsana, deeply inhale and exhale. And you are prepared for another āsana. It is called Setu Āsana, the bridge. The starting position is sitting position with straight legs. Your head, your hands are behind the body, facing backwards. With inhalation, lift your legs upwards as much as possible, especially the pelvis. And you can start the movement by bending your toes downwards, then make your legs strong and pull, actually mainly your pelvis upwards, and your body should be in one line. With exhalation, go back down, starting with the knee, the heels, calf muscles, then put your thighs, and then the buttock, and then straighten your trunk of the body. Deep inhale and exhale. We will do the same again, and we will remain in the position for a few inhalations and exhalations. Deeply inhale and exhale, and with inhalation, you start a movement. The trunk of your body is firm, keeping the position. Your head is relaxed backwards. And if you put your toes close to the floor, you can feel the effect of the practice increased. With exhalation, slowly come back again to the starting position. Relax your body, deeply inhale and exhale. Wait for another inhalation and perform the āsana again, and after each repetition, try to make it more perfect. And in the third position, try to relax in the position as deeply as possible. So with inhalation, start getting into the position and relax completely all the muscles which you do not use for holding the position. Feel the effect on your leg muscles, buttock muscles, shoulders, wrists, arms, how all these big muscles of the body are being strengthened. This is recommended also for women and for people who have problems with the lower abdomen, and it encourages the blood flow to the head, so it is also good for memory and circulation. It’s also regulating the kidney functions and the function of the thyroid gland. Only this practice should not be performed by those who have pain in the wrists or elbows, and who have problems with the cervical spine, hyperactive thyroid gland, high blood pressure, or dizziness. With exhalation coming back, relax in the starting position with a deep inhale and a long exhale. Feel the whole body, relax the whole body, feel the changes of the energy after the āsana. And try to explore the effect of the āsana on your physical body, on the inner functions of your energy, on your breath, on your mental state, and on your feelings. After this, deeply inhale and long exhale. And prepare yourself for another āsana. It is called Hastapādāṅguṣṭhāsana. The starting position is lying on the side of the body. So lie on the side of your body. Put your hands above the head and touch the palms. Your body should be straight. Knees are touching each other from the inner parts, and also the ankles are touching each other. Make sure that your body is very straight, like a piece of wood. Do not bend it anywhere, just make sure that it is straight. Wait for inhalation, and with inhalation, rise up your right hand and left leg, and touch wherever it is comfortable for you, your leg, but keep your knee straight. You can either touch your calf muscles, the ankle joint, your foot sole, or the toes. It depends on your ability, or your stretching capacity, and it’s increasing while you are practicing yoga in daily life for a longer time, of course. With exhalation, go down with your leg as well as with your hand. Touch your palms, touch your ankles, deeply inhale and exhale. Change to the other side. Again, fix yourself in the position. Make sure that your body is straight and it is not bending forwards or backwards. Wait for inhalation, and with inhalation, again start rising up your upper hand and upper leg. The knee is straight. Touch your leg wherever you are capable, and fix yourself in the position. Deeply inhale and exhale, and come back to the starting position. Deeply inhale and exhale, and we will do one more round on each side. So, change the side again. Now your body knows how to perform the āsana, so we can remain in the āsana for a little bit longer, more inhalations and exhalations, and if we do the further repetition, we should try to rest and relax in the āsana as much as possible. So with inhalation, go up, fix yourself in the position, and feel the muscles and the ligaments, how they are being stretched. Feel the stretching of your leg muscles, stretching of your arm muscles. Feel the lower back and feel the area of the kidneys. In this position, the kidneys are a little bit squeezed, so the blood is going out of them, and when we come back from the position, there is a new blood supply into the kidneys, so it means that it is improving and encouraging the kidney function. Only those people who have kidney stones should not practice this. It’s increasing mobility of the hips. We can slowly go back and change to the other direction. After a deep inhale and exhale, turn your body to the other side and perform it on the other side. The last time again, wait for the inhalation, and with that, direct the movement of your leg upwards carefully and with control. Movement all over its performance, it’s under your control all the time until you touch wherever you want. Then stretch the knee and fix yourself in the āsana, and try to relax in the āsana with a deep inhalation and exhalation. So this āsana is improving also the mobility of the hips, stretches muscles along the back and leg muscles, and it’s improving concentration and sense of balance. With exhalation, come back slowly, slowly down. Relax in this position. Deeply inhale and long exhale. Come back on your back. Deeply inhale and exhale, and prepare for another āsana called Sumeru Āsana. The starting position of Sumeru Āsana is Vajrāsana. So sit up in Vajrāsana, relax your hands on your knees, keep your back straight, your look is going in front of you, you can fix your gaze on some place in front of you, and with inhalation you start rising up on the knees. Hands are in front of your body, going up. Raise your legs up. With exhalation, go down, touch the floor, and lift your back and buttocks up, keeping the position on your toes. Your head is relaxed in between the shoulders. Completely relax in this position. And feel how the slight movements of your toes can change the complete feelings of the muscles, especially in the abdominal part, and also the calf muscles. Different parts of the calf muscles are being stretched when you keep your position completely on the tip of the toes, or you keep the position on the whole part of the toes. Again, fix yourself in the āsana as it is comfortable for you and relax there. With exhalation, go back down. Put your heels on the floor slowly, and then slowly, slowly start bending your knees and feel the stretching of the muscles of the foot sole while bending the knees. Bending the knees slowly, slowly, and feel the stretching of the muscles of your foot sole, and then put your buttock back again, heels into Vajrāsana, and deeply exhale. Deep inhale and exhale. The last āsana is called Meruvakrāsana. The starting position for this āsana is sitting with straight legs. So sit with straight legs. The hands are beside the body, and the fingers are facing sidewards. The beginning position is sitting, with the hands beside the body, facing sidewards. With inhalation, put your left hand close to the right one, and at the same time, put your left foot parallel with the outer part of your thigh at the level of the knee. Stretch your body there, touch the palms with the floor, and rotate just the upper part of your body and your shoulders backside, and your look should be behind your shoulder. Deep inhale and exhale in this position. Keep the rotation only of the upper part of your body, and be sure that both buttock parts are on the floor. With exhalation, come back into the starting position, with the hands beside the body, fingers facing sideways. Wait for another inhalation and perform the same practice to the other side. With inhalation, put your head close to the other one and rotate your body as far as possible. Keep your body, keep your back straight. This position is a preparation for Ardha Matsyendrāsana, and it is actually relaxing all the muscles of the back, it’s improving the flexibility of the spine, also the flexibility of the hips. It stabilizes the spine, it is stimulating the digestive system, and is very good for the eyes. With exhalation, come back into the starting position, deeply inhale and exhale, and feel the effect of this āsana, especially on your spine and the muscles around the hips, the deep muscles around the hips. Deeply inhale and exhale, and we will end with the relaxation in Ānanda Āsana. So lie down in a comfortable posture on your back. Legs are slightly apart from each other. Hands are nicely relaxing beside the body. Correct your position again so that your spine is stretched on the floor, and deeply inhale and exhale. Relax the whole body from the toes to the top of your head, and from the top of your head to the toes. Relax all the muscles of your right leg. Relax all the muscles of your left leg. Completely relax the muscles of your right hand and arm, including the shoulder, and relax your whole left hand and shoulder. Feel your abdomen. Relax the abdominal muscles and all the inner organs in your belly and lower pelvis. Relax all the muscles of your chest. Relax your lungs. Relax your heart. Feel the muscles of your throat and neck and relax them. Relax the area of the thyroid gland. Relax your toes, all face muscles. Relax your forehead and the whole head. No tension in your face. Your face is completely relaxed. Try to find out and ask yourself how you feel after this yoga exercise. What are the changes in the body? What are the changes in your physical, mental, and emotional state? Deeply inhale and exhale. Feel your breath. Feel your breath in the nostrils and follow it the whole path till the lungs. Deeply inhale with full yoga breath, deeply exhale with full yoga breath. Slowly move your fingers, move your toes, move your arms and legs, and, slightly with the help of your hands, rise up, beginning with the head, then the shoulders are rising up, and then the whole trunk of the body into the sitting position. Sit up in meditation posture, that one which is comfortable for you, and prepare yourself for Prāṇāyāma. We will do the second level of Prāṇāyāma practice. So prepare yourself. Put your hands in Chin Mudrā on your knees, three fingers nicely stretched. Deeply inhale and exhale, and concentrate on your breath process. Feel the breath, how it is coming and going through the nostrils. With inhalation, make prāṇāyāma mudrā with the index finger and the third finger touching the eyebrow center. Make a prāṇāyāma mudrā and start breathing through the right nostril by closing the left nostril, closing the right nostril with your thumb. Inhale left and exhale through the right nostril by closing the left nostril with your ring finger. With inhalation again, close the right nostril and again inhale left and exhale right. And keep this way of breathing through the left and right nostril while keeping the breath a little bit deeper than the normal breath. Twenty times inhalation through the right, through the left, and exhalation through the right. After twenty times, put your hand back on your knee and deeply inhale and exhale through both nostrils. We will do the opposite. It means that again make prāṇāyāma mudrā and inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril. Another inhalation is again through the right, and exhalation through the left nostril. Make twenty times inhale and exhale like this, keeping your breath a little bit deeper than normal. After this prāṇāyāma practice, you are perfectly prepared for meditation from Yoga in Daily Life, second level. This meditation is more oriented to concentration techniques on the breath, together with the mantra so’haṁ, observing your thoughts, and in the end, meditation and singing the Gāyatrī Mantra. So in this moment, we will end our practice by singing three times Oṁ and three times Śānti, Śānti, Śānti, which means peace. Deeply inhale. Oṁ. Śānti, śānti, śānti. Remain in this position for a while and feel the inner peace. Become aware of the space where you are now. Imagine the room where you are sitting, all the equipment, pictures, furniture. Move your fingers, move your legs, move your hands and arms, and rub your palms together as strongly as possible. Make your palms very, very warm, and activate with this movement the whole body, and extrovert yourself. Try to put your hands on your face muscles and warm the face muscles. Rub them nicely and become aware of yourself, of your external world. Open your eyes, and you can bend your head down. Touch the floor with your forehead and feel the blood circulation into the brain and into the organs of your body. With this practice, our second part is finished, and we will continue with the third part of Yoga in Daily Life. Have a nice day. Enjoy your time.