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Dear friends, welcome again to the Yoga in Daily Life Center in the Om Vishwadeep Gurukul, Swami Maheshwarananda Ashram. We are having our yoga retreat seminar here with Paramahaṁsa Svāmī Maheśvarānanda, and every day we practice āsanas according to the system Yoga in Daily Life. Today, we proceed to level two of this system. In the second part of the Yoga in Daily Life system, there are seventeen āsanas. Five at the beginning start from a sitting position on the floor. Then come āsanas performed in a standing position. At the end of this level, there are a few āsanas again in positions on the floor. The difference between the first level and the second level is significant. In the second level, we engage with the real āsanas. Every āsana has its starting position, in which you concentrate on the movement and the āsana you will perform. Then you make the movement and get into the position. In the position, which is called the āsana, you have two options: either stay in this position for some time with normal breathing and relax, or you can, with an exhalation or inhalation, come back to the starting position. When you return to the starting position, you feel the effect of the āsana for a few seconds or as long as you wish. These steps should be followed with every āsana. We will start our practice by singing OṂ, followed by breathing techniques and relaxation. Then we will perform a few stretching āsanas from the first part before beginning level two. Prepare yourself. Take a comfortable seat, straighten your back, take a deep inhale and exhale, and we will start singing OṂ. Deep inhale with the whole body, and feel the vibration of the mantra OṂ inside as well as outside. Inhale deeply and exhale long, and prepare yourself for relaxation. Lie down into Ānanda Āsana, the position on the back, legs slightly apart from each other. Hands are about 15–20 cm apart from the trunk of the body. Correct your position so it is as comfortable as possible. Move your pelvis, move your shoulders, move your head left and right, and correct the position of your back. Ensure your spinal column is as stretched on the floor as possible and that you feel very comfortable. Deeply inhale and exhale long. With every exhalation, feel how the body relaxes more and more. Relaxation takes place through your mental and breathing force or process. Concentrate or put your awareness towards the toes of your right foot. Only feel that part of the body, and with every exhalation, relax your right toe. Relax your foot, relax your calf, relax your thigh muscles and your buttock muscles. With every exhalation, feel how the tension in the muscles dissipates. You can imagine that this part of your body is breathing, and with every exhalation, it becomes softer, lighter, and warmer. The feeling depends on you; you can have different feelings. The main point is that this part of the body becomes more and more relaxed. Relax your left leg. Relax your toes, calf muscles, thigh muscles, and buttock muscles. The whole left leg is completely relaxed, lying on the floor. Relax both hands. Relax the right fingers one after another, the palm, the wrist. Relax your arm, elbow, and upper arm. Feel your shoulder and shoulder blade and relax it completely. Feel your concentration together with your breath on the left side. Again, relax all the fingers of your left hand, one after another. Relax your palm, your wrist. Relax your arm, elbow, upper arm, and your shoulder together with the shoulder blade. The whole left hand is completely relaxed on the floor. Relax also your lower abdomen. Relax your pelvic muscles and lower pelvis. Feel your abdominal muscles and relax them. Try to imagine your chest, ribs, muscles between the ribs, and the large muscles above the whole chest skeleton, and relax it. Now, move your awareness towards your spinal column. Feel the bottom of your spine; if you can imagine it, go upwards with your relaxation. Feel the sacral part of your spine, relax all five lumbar vertebrae, the twelve thoracic vertebrae, together with all the muscles and ligaments there. Relax also the seven cervical vertebrae, the muscles of the neck, as well as the muscles in the front part of your throat. Relax the thyroid gland, and bring the relaxation up towards your jaw. Do not bite your teeth; relax them. Relax the tongue, the lips. Relax all the small muscles on your face: the round muscles around your eyes, the muscles on the forehead, the whole head and hair. Feel your nose and nostrils, and concentrate on the breath, how it enters your body through the nostrils. Feel the gentle touch of the inhalation in your nostrils, and feel how the slightly warmer air comes out from the nostrils with exhalation. Be aware of your breath. Just feel how the body breathes naturally, spontaneously. It is a natural process in your body which doesn’t require any of your will. But also, it is a process in your body which can be influenced by your will. There is no other such process in the body which has both parts, and that is why it is so unique. The breathing can guide you very deep inside towards your inner self. Now we will start with breathing techniques and the full yoga breath. The full yoga breath consists of three parts: abdominal, thoracic (or chest) breathing, and clavicular breathing. We will start with only abdominal breathing, training ourselves in it. Lift your right hand up a little and put it on your belly. Feel the belly, and try with every inhalation to expand your belly a little upwards, and with exhalation, back down. Feel the expansion and contraction of your abdominal muscles, which follow the pressure in the abdomen. The pressure increases while inhaling because the diaphragm goes down by the expansion of the lungs, and that is why the organs in the belly have less space and must move a little more to the front or upwards in the lying position. Place your hands towards your chest and put them along the ribs. Your thumbs face downwards and your fingers follow the direction of the ribs. You can use both hands. Feel the chest, and with inhalation, expand the chest as much as possible, directing your breathing towards your chest. Do not concentrate now so much on the abdominal breathing, but try to breathe consciously into the chest. This is the second part of the full yoga breath: chest breathing. With inhalation, the chest expands not only forwards but also sideways, and with exhalation, it contracts again. The third part of the breath is clavicle breathing. Put your hands on your collarbone, fingers facing toward the ears, and feel the breathing there. Feel how with every inhalation the collarbones lift up a little, and with exhalation go back down. You are breathing into the top part of your lungs. This is the third part of the full yoga breath. The full yoga breath has a wave created by these three parts. The wave begins in the abdomen, then goes to the chest, and then to the clavicle part. Now, put your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your chest. Start by breathing first to the abdomen, then to the chest, and then feel the collarbones lifting up a little. When exhaling, the collarbones go down, then the chest contracts, and then the belly goes down. With inhalation, the same: first belly up, then expansion of the chest, and then a little lifting of the collarbones. With exhalation, the same way back. Consciously breathe with the full yoga breath and relax. After another exhalation, put your hands back beside your body, palms facing downwards. Now we will add movement to the breathing process. Wait for another inhalation, and with the inhale, start lifting your arms above the body, both hands. With exhalation, go down. Feel how this simple movement improves the full yoga breath, guides you to breathe the right way, and helps you feel all three parts of the breathing process. Do not influence your breath; only add the movement to your natural and normal breathing process. At the end of the exhalation, relax completely and feel the slight, natural stop in the breathing. When the body requires it, start inhaling and add the movement to the inhalation. Continue the movement with the hands up. When you are up and have inhaled, feel just a slight stop of the breath in that moment. When the body requires, continue the movement together with a normal, natural exhalation, and feel the slight, natural stop of the breath. This is the moment when, in the body, everything stops, and you feel inside very calm and peaceful. With another movement, we will start stretching the body. With inhalation, lift only your right hand upwards and stretch the whole right side of the body towards the fingers and the heel. Press your lower back and hip a little to the floor, and with exhalation, relax completely. With another inhalation, the other side. Feel the complete stretching of the left side of your body with inhalation. Utilize the holding of the breath to slightly increase the movement and stretching, and with exhalation, go back down and completely relax. With another inhalation, lift both hands above the body and stretch the whole body towards your fingers and heels. Press the lower back to the floor and feel the stretching in all the muscles of the body. With an exhalation, go back down. After exhalation, complete relaxation. Deep inhale and exhale. With another inhalation, gently, with the help of your hands, rise up: first the head, then the shoulders, and then the trunk of the body. Now we will start with the second level of Yoga in Daily Life, following the breathing and stretching exercises from the first level. The first āsana is called Śaśāṅkāsana, the position of the rabbit. It begins from Vajrāsana. Sit in Vajrāsana. Heels are a little apart from each other, and the buttock is in the middle. Hands are nicely relaxed on the thighs. The back is straight, and your gaze is to the front. From this position, with inhalation, lift your hands up above the body and stretch the body towards the ceiling. With exhalation, bend your body downwards, but with the spine stretched, as far as you can, put the hands on the floor and put your forehead on the floor too. In this position, deeply relax. Feel how the blood circulation increases in the head, and feel the gentle massage of your belly with the thighs while inhaling and exhaling into your abdominal part. Completely relax in this position. With inhalation, go back up again, but ensure your arms are straight, and throughout the movement, your back is straight too. With exhalation, return to Vajrāsana. Deep inhale and exhale, and relax. Perform this āsana once again. With inhalation, go up. Straighten your body as far as possible from the hips. Exhale, straight head. As soon as you touch the floor, relax the hands and head, and deeply relax and breathe. This āsana improves circulation in the head, helping concentration and addressing problems with concentration. It nourishes all the organs in the head, meaning it helps eyesight, ears, and nose. It is also very good for people who have anxiety or depression. It increases abdominal breathing and digestion, relaxing all the muscles of your back and neck. With another inhalation, you can come up. With exhalation, relax in the starting position, and for a few seconds, with closed eyes, feel the effect of the āsana without any movement. Just deeply inhale and exhale, and let the āsana and its effect work. After exhalation, you can move or prepare for another āsana. The next is called Meru Ākaraṇa Āsana. The starting position is sitting with straight legs. Concentrate on your whole body, and with inhalation, move yourself sideways with the help of your hand. Ensure your left hand and left arm are straight at the elbow, and the right arm is relaxing on your thigh, calf, or the outside part of your knee. Try to pull the left arm as much as possible towards the body so that you feel the stretching of the muscles on the left side of your trunk. Stabilize this position and fix your gaze on one point. This fixing of your gaze helps you keep balance in this position. Now you can close your eyes and, with exhalation, bend your left elbow and go down to the floor with your trunk. Bend your elbow, put your head into your left palm, and keep your right hand relaxed on your thigh. Wait for another inhalation, and with it, bend your right knee, touch your big toe, and straighten your leg upwards. If you cannot touch your big toe, you can also touch your knee, calf, or ankle. With exhalation, bend your leg back again and straighten it, relaxing nicely on the lower leg. Repeat this practice again. With inhalation, get into the position. Straighten your leg, and in this position, you can stop for some time with normal breathing, or you can go back with another exhalation. Usually, we repeat the practice three times. The first time we do not stay in the position, but the second or third time we can stay with normal breathing, and the effect of the āsana deepens in this moment. With exhalation, go back, bend your knee, and again put your leg back and relax. Deeply inhale and exhale, and prepare yourself for the third round. At this moment, your body already knows how to perform this āsana, has gotten used to it, and it will be much easier, so you can stand in this āsana for a longer time. With inhalation, get into the āsana into the position, and now remain. Deeply inhale and exhale. There should be no pain anywhere in your body. You can feel stretching of the muscles, but no pain. In this position, breathe deeply and try to relax as much as possible all the muscles of your body. This āsana stretches the muscles on the side of your trunk. It improves the flexibility of the hips and helps the sense of balance. It also stimulates kidney functions, so for people who have kidney stones, it is not actually recommended. It opens the respiratory system and helps with frontal sinus problems. It calms the mind because it requires concentration. With exhalation, slowly go back again. Relax in the starting position. Take a deep inhale and exhale, and feel the effect of the āsana. Let the body get used to the change of position now. At this moment, the āsana is really working, and its effect is really working. Deeply inhale and exhale, and change to the other side. Again, we start with straight legs. Prepare yourself, and with inhalation, turn your body. Put your arm as far and as close as possible to the body. Feel the stretching of the muscles on the side of your trunk, and concentrate on one point. With exhalation, go down, relax your head in your palm, and wait for another inhalation to perform the āsana as before. With exhalation, go down. With another inhalation, go back to the āsana. You can remain for some time, and with exhalation, come back. The third time can be longer; it depends on you, on your feelings. Come back and relax in this position, and feel with deep inhale and exhale the benefit of this practice. Deeply inhale and exhale, and we will go to another āsana called Bhūnamanā Āsana, which means greetings to the earth. The starting position is with straight legs, body straight, hands resting on the knees. Lift your stretched arms to the level of the shoulders. In this position, you can move a little forward so the back is straightened, and with exhalation, turn your body to the right side as far as comfortable, and go down with your head towards the floor. Bend both arms, but ensure your buttock remains as much as possible on the floor. Feel the twisting in your spine. With inhalation, come back up again. Straighten your hands, and with exhalation, put your hands back on the knees. Inhale and exhale. Prepare yourself for performing this practice to the other side. Again, with inhalation, hands go up to the level of the shoulders. Ensure your back is straight, and with exhalation, turn your body to the left side, touch the floor with the palms and twist, and try to put your body and head towards the floor as much as possible. Try, with every exhalation, to put the trunk of your body a little closer to the floor, but do not force the movement. Only relax with an exhalation and let your body fall down closer to the floor, as the weight of the body is actually doing this work for you. With inhalation, come back up, and with exhalation, relax. Deep inhale and exhale, and feel the whole spinal column. Feel the thoracic part of your spine and the effect of this practice. We will slowly prepare for another āsana, called Aśva Sanchalāsana, the horse riding exercise. The starting position is again with straight legs, and the concentration is on abdominal and back muscles. Now, bend your knees and put your foot soles on the floor. Clasp your fingers together and put your arms parallel to the floor—not on the knees, but parallel with the floor, a little more up. With inhalation, lean your body a little back and lift your legs about 40 centimeters above the floor, approximately to the level of your eyes. With exhalation, go back to the front, and with inhalation again, to this position. Repeat the movement with exhalation and inhalation, and feel that the movement is actually directed by your hand, the clasped hand. You can have a feeling that you are holding a horse, riding a horse, and it is pulling you forwards and again backwards. With exhalation, relax in the position with straight legs. With another inhalation, you can start performing this practice once again, ten times. This practice stimulates circulation in the whole body. You can also feel that after this practice, your heart rate increases a little. It strengthens the abdominal muscles, back muscles, and thigh muscles. It increases the mobility of the knee joints and helps maintain good posture and prevent back problems. It is good as a preparation for a meditation posture. The only contraindication is after an abdominal operation. It should not be practiced by ladies who are in the later stage of pregnancy or during menstruation. After this practice, relax in a sitting position with straight legs. You can also lean backwards and feel the effect of the practice. Feel your abdominal muscles, feel your back muscles, and feel your heart rate too. Slowly prepare yourself for another āsana. The next is called Utthāna Prastha Āsana, raising the upper body from a lying position. The beginning position is lying on the abdomen. Your legs are very slightly apart, the toes can be touching each other, your elbows are bent, and you keep them at the level of your shoulders. Hands are touching the elbows, and ensure your thumb is across your elbow from inside. Wait for inhalation, and from this position, start lifting your body. Start from the legs, then lift your pelvis, then the back, and then the head, and look up at the ceiling. Try to keep your back straight, parallel with the floor. Do not bend it anywhere, especially in the lower part, the lumbar part of the back. With exhalation, go back: first go the legs, then the hips and pelvis, and then the head, completely relaxing between the shoulders. Deep inhale and exhale. Completely relax in this starting position and just feel the effect of this practice. We will repeat once again. Wait for inhalation. With inhalation, start the movement: first the legs, then the pelvis, and then the head. Look up to the ceiling. Feel your abdominal muscles and feel especially the side parts of your abdominal muscles. They are being strengthened, and also the diaphragm, which is a muscle dividing the thoracic and abdominal parts of your trunk, is being strengthened in this position. It deepens the breath and strengthens the shoulders, back muscles, pelvis, and abdominal muscles. It also stimulates the energy in the whole body. Relax completely, deep inhale and exhale, and feel the effect. It can also be practiced three times. Now we will slowly move to another part of level two of Yoga in Daily Life, which is in a standing position. This practice is called Hasta Uttānāsana, crossing the arms above the body, above the head. The starting position is the standing position. Legs are slightly apart, and toes are facing sidewards. Correct the position of your spine. Put your arms a little lower or backwards, and correct the position of your head. With inhalation, raise your hands sidewards towards the level of the shoulders—only to the level of the shoulders. Now, again, lift your arms, lift your hands towards the level of your shoulders and stop there. With inhalation, continue the movement upwards behind your head, palms facing upwards. With exhalation, go back, hands at the level of the shoulders. With inhalation, continue the movement up and down. Again, stop in this position with inhalation. The hands go up, crossing each other behind the head, and with exhalation, the hands go to the level of the shoulders. With another inhalation, going up. You can repeat several times. Just feel the effect of this practice between the shoulder blades and shoulders. This practice is specially beneficial for people who work for long periods in a sitting position. It relaxes the shoulders and stretches the muscles of the chest. By strengthening back muscles, it encourages deep breathing, especially thoracic breathing, and it is calming and balancing the mind and relaxing. In standing position again, another āsana is called Utthita Lolāsana, the swinging of the upper part of your body. The standing position is again the beginning position, and both legs are a little wider apart. Toes are again facing sidewards. We will again start this āsana with lifting the hands from above the body. Relax your palms completely from the wrist with exhalation, one part of the exhalation. Bend your straight back towards the front, and with the other part of the exhalation, go down between the legs. With inhalation, going up to the back straight, parallel with the floor, and with exhalation again, your hands go between the legs. With inhalation, going again parallel with the floor. Create this movement quickly with deep and quick inhalation and exhalation, and completely relax the upper part of your body so you feel it is relaxed. The movement is stopped in the position parallel with the floor. With inhalation, go up, and with exhalation, go down and relax the whole body. We can do this practice once again, ten times. This practice stimulates the energy of the entire body. It deepens the breath, stimulates blood circulation, and increases the mobility of the back and hips. It should not be practiced by those who have high blood pressure, a tendency to become dizzy, or who have a slipped disc. This practice helps the body get rid of old energy and helps those who feel tired. Another āsana is called Akaraṇa Dhanur Āsana. The starting position is again in standing position, legs slightly apart and toes facing sidewards. Turn your body to one side by turning your feet to that side. Lift your hand and gaze on your thumb, which is upward. Then, with inhalation, put your other hand to this first hand and pull the right arm backwards. In this position, when the palm is touching close to the shoulder, release the tension, and with exhalation, pull your arm back towards the left arm again. Make a fist with inhalation, and feel that you are pulling the string of the bow. With exhalation, release the tension and put your right hand again to the left hand, and continue this movement with inhalation and exhalation. In this position, open your chest and feel the stretching. With exhalation, go back, release the tension, and relax again. Catch the string, tie it firmly to the shoulder, hold it, and release the arrow now and go back. So there is a big difference between the full tension and concentration on your thumb, as if you wanted to loose an arrow, draw the arrow, and after loosing the arrow, shooting the arrow, it is complete relaxation. And again, coming back for another one, and up in this position, and put your hands back again beside your body. Turn yourself, and deeply inhale and exhale. With another inhalation, turn to another side. Turn your feet so that you see that there is a right angle between both feet. Again, lift your hand, lift another hand, catch the string of the arrow, and start pulling it. Your concentration should be fully on your thumb, and with inhalation and exhalation, repeat the movement. This practice opens the chest very much, stretching the chest muscles and helping to deepen thoracic breathing. It is very good for those who have asthma or chronic bronchitis, strengthening the shoulders and back muscles. It also encourages concentration and is good for those who have poor vision; very good for the eyes. Complete the movement in the relaxed position, and with exhalation, go back down to the standing position, and deep inhale and exhale. Feel the effect of your practice on all the parts of the body which were practiced: muscles between the shoulders, your chest muscles, your shoulders, your arm muscles. With this āsana, we will end the second part of the second level of Yoga in Daily Life. We will continue the other part tomorrow. Our practice will end with prāṇāyāma, relaxation, and with OṂ singing. First, we will do relaxation. Again, assume Ānanda Āsana, the lying position on the back. Relax your whole body, keep your legs slightly apart, and your arms also apart from the body. Again, correct your position. Correct the position of your pelvis. Ensure your lower back is nicely on the floor, touching it. Move your shoulder blades. Move your head and feel your spinal column. Deeply inhale and exhale and relax. Relax the whole body with each and every exhalation. Relax the whole right leg. Feel it completely relax on the floor. Begin from the toes and go up with the feeling of relaxation towards your hip. Relax your buttock. Relax the whole left leg again. Begin from the toes till the hip joint and the left part of your buttock. Both legs are completely relaxed, lying on the floor. Relax both hands, palms, both arms, shoulders, and shoulder blades. Feel the trunk of your body from the lower pelvis, back side and lower side of your spine, relax. Abdominal muscles, relax. The chest, chest muscles, relax. The thoracic part of your spine and all the big muscles of your back, relax. Relax the back part of your neck, the front of your neck, and the whole head. All the muscles of your face are nicely relaxed. Relax your hair. Relax your forehead. Feel and relax the space behind your forehead, and ask yourself how you feel after this practice of your Yoga in Daily Life. What is the difference between the feelings in your physical and mental body, as well as your feelings before the practice and after? Ask yourself, "How do you feel? How do I feel? What is this practice given to me, and how can I give the benefit of this practice to others?" Become aware of your breath. Feel the cool air coming into the nostrils, and try to follow the whole path: how it enters your throat, the bronchus, bronchi, and alveoli, and fills the lungs. Follow the whole path back. Feel your breath. Do not influence your breath, just feel it. Prepare yourself mentally for practicing the prāṇāyāma breath technique. Move slightly your hands and toes. Move both legs, move your arms, move your head one side and the other side, and slowly rise up with the help of your hands, then sit yourself up to the front. We will continue with prāṇāyāma practice, so take a comfortable seat. Relax your hands on your knees, and you can make Chin Mudrā. The thumb touches the index finger; all the other fingers are nicely stretched, facing downwards, and your palm is facing upwards. Close your eyes and again feel your breath. Feel how it comes inside your body and how it goes out. Just follow the path of your breathing process. Bend your right elbow and make Prāṇāyāma Mudrā. Place your index and middle fingers between the eyebrows, and with your thumb, close your right nostril. Inhale through the left nostril slightly deeper than normal. Then open the right nostril and, at the same time, close the left nostril with the right ring finger and exhale. Perform twenty rounds of this alternate nostril breathing. Your breath should be a little deeper than normal. Prāṇāyāma techniques balance the flow of energy in the body by influencing the flow of breath through the left and right nostrils, thereby influencing the flow of energy in the right and left parts of the body, bringing it into harmony. The breathing process is very much connected to the left and right nostrils, which are very much connected with the brain centers. The right nostril is connected with the left hemisphere, and the opposite. So, with this kind of breathing, we balance both hemispheres of our brain. After twenty times, with exhalation, put your hand back on your knee. Deeply inhale and exhale. With another inhalation, we will continue the opposite nostril. Again, make Prāṇāyāma Mudrā, and with inhalation, close the left nostril and inhale through the right. With exhalation, close the right nostril with the thumb and exhale through the left nostril. Continue this alternate breathing again twenty times. Feel the flow of your breath into your lungs; do not influence it. At this stage of your yoga practice, just become a friend with your breath and try to investigate it. After twenty rounds, with exhalation, put your hand back again on your knee. Deeply inhale and exhale, and relax the whole body. After this practice, your inner environment, your body, is prepared for meditation. So you can continue your practice with meditation from Yoga in Daily Life Level 2. Today we will finish our practice here with three times OṂ singing. Deeply inhale and sing Auṁ. Feel the vibration within the inner space of your body. Feel the calmness created by Auṁ singing in your inner space, and how it penetrates your body outside. Deeply inhale and exhale. Move your hands slightly, move your arms, move your toes, and wrap your palms together. With the wrapping of the palms, extrovert yourself. Become aware of the environment where you are. Feel your whole body. Imagine your surroundings and just become extrovert. Put your palms on your face and wrap your facial muscles firmly. Open your eyes and bow your head down to the floor. Relax the face muscles and feel the blood circulation coming to the brain, nourishing the brain and the organs of your head. With exhalation, rise up slightly. Our today’s practice of Yoga in Daily Life, Level 2, is finished. We will continue tomorrow with another part of the āsanas from Level 2. Have a nice day. Looking forward to seeing you again.