Anahata Breath: Compassion in Action

Hello, Kel here and today we have something a bit different—a video! A little while back Sarah wrote this post about the heart chakra and mentioned a couple of different asanas or components of Dru sequences, one of them being the Anahata Breath. We thought it might be good to offer a refresher of how to do these asanas or movements for those of you practicing at home.

Anahata Breath is one of Dru Yoga’s signature techniques, bringing movement, breath and heart alignment into one simple action. At its core, yoga is simply the alignment of the body and soul (and everything in between), and the Anahata Breath is a beautiful way to achieve this alignment.

Once you have the motions and breathing synchronised, reflect on the mantra: “May all my actions be filled with compassion”. What does this mean to you? Compassion for other people? Compassion for animals? Compassion for the planet? Once you have a baseline of peace to draw upon, consider more challenging ones: compassion for someone you may be at odds with. Compassion for the driver that cuts you off on your drive home. Compassion for a spider or cockroach caught where it shouldn’t be. And for some of us, perhaps the most challenging: compassion for ourselves.

Bring this practice into your every day life and see what happens. Note that by bringing it into your every day life, I don’t necessarily mean you have to stop and physically do the Anahata breath every day. I mean simply bring the experience of compassion into every day. Yoga as practice is the foundation that teaches us what is possible. Yoga as a way of life is what happens when we allow those possibilities—infinite love, compassion and joy—into our daily lives because we understand that these things are internal processes, not the products of external events.

So enjoy Sarah’s demonstration, try Anahata Breath for yourself and let us know how you go with your practice of compassion and living from the heart.

Namaste

Kel