Samskara: Unearthing the Scars that Limit Us

In a previous post, I proposed meditation as a living practice, one that may be embodied in every interaction we undertake with the world. Finding beauty, connection, and stillness in the busyness that can often feel inseparable from our existence. Meditative moments are essential in stepping back and assessing, with clarity, the stories we have written for ourselves. Such stories can consist of anything from five-year plans to grocery lists and, once written, have the potential to dictate our lives.

For instance, let’s say I decide to become a “vegetarian.” Like others on this path, I have personal reasons for making this decision. I have written the story of my vegetarian identity, which I can use to explain my dietary preference to others. However, it is when I lose the true essence of my intention that I allow this vegetarian script to run on autopilot: I might think, speak, and eat in ways no longer because I consciously choose to, but because I have let them become prerecorded. I use the example of dietary choice, in particular, because of a comment a friend once made about his own food identity: “I don’t drink or eat meat. It might change, but that’s where I’m thriving right now. I’m not straight-edge or a vegetarian – I’m just a human being.”

Nadi Shodhana: Breathing into Stillness

Feeling stressed? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Try practicing this simple breathing technique to calm and soothe the mind.

Nadi Shodhana, also known as Alternate Nostril Breath, is a powerful tool to find balance in any situation. Translated from the Sanskrit, nadi, meaning ‘channel’ or ‘river,’ and shodhan, meaning ‘cleaning’ or ‘purification,’ Nadi Shodhana clears the subtle channels in the body’s physiology.

From an Ayurvedic standpoint, this clearing is important, for it unblocks any places in the body where the flow of Prana, or the ‘vital life force,’ is hindered. If blockages exist, the more subtle energies, such as those expended in mental or emotional processing, not only become stuck, but accumulate in certain areas of the body. Manifestations might include tightness in the chest, weak digestion, or trouble sleeping, to name a minuscule few. In Western terms, we can think of it this way: when individual cells cannot communicate well – or a blockage in communication exists – the potential actions they intend to transmit will not be executed properly, if at all.