Sādhana Lab Ep. 4 - the Air Element

How can understanding the Wind help us bring balance into our life?

Good day friends,

Thanks for joining me for another Episode of “Sādhana Lab” where we explore themes, ideas and concepts related to the path of Tantrik Hatha Yoga. In these episodes I analyze and investigate the “inner workings” of the spiritual sciences of Tantra and Yoga and provide a modern interpretation of these ancient, transformative methods. My intention behind writing and sharing these thoughts is that it informs, empowers and inspires your personal sādhana so that you can experience more joy, balance, harmony and ultimately happiness in your life. I hope you enjoy these publications and be sure to subscribe if you are finding them helpful!

PS — at the very bottom of this publication you will find a gift of a 30 minute guided prānāyāma practice to follow along or use for home study, in case you feel inspired to breathe with me :)

Let’s get into it!

Understanding the Chakras

A useful place to start is to understand, first, what are we talking about when we’re talking about the “Air Element”. If you haven’t read my other publications on the other Mahābhūtas (Great Elements), be sure to check out Earth, Water, and Fire in the links provided. These linked essays provide more of a backbone and context to what we will be sharing today. All of what is being shared has been inspired by the ancient Tantrik practice of Bhūta Śuddhi — the ritual technique of Elemental (bhūta) Purification (śuddhi) or transformation through working with the underlying archetypal constituents of our body, mind and energy. Working with the Elements has been a central part of my own personal sādhana for the past 10 years and has been the framework for how I approach the Yoga Teacher Training programs that we’ve done through Keepers of the Earth, a school of Yoga & Mystical Arts that I founded in 2022.

To better understand the Elements, we must first understand the chakras in the subtle body, of which there are SIX notable chakras to pay attention to: Mulādhāra, Svādhiṣṭhāna, Maṇipūra, Anāhata, Viśuddha, and Ājñā. We intentionally omit the crown chakra as it is believed that only once the earlier chakras have been subsequently purified and “open”, that the energy can flow to the crown center and stabilized there. Premature attention on the crown can leave people feeling dissociated and disconnected from their bodies, where the first 6 chakras live. Since our path is one of liberated embodiment, as observed in the goals of Tantra, we emphasize our attention first in the body and in the energies that are directly perceivable and available to us in our embodiment (or disconnection from!). Only once we have mastered and gained access to the realms within us, do the realms beyond us begin to open their doors. This is the idea that we are working with and we find that this intention allows for a more balanced & sustainable approach to spiritual transformation.

How do the Chakras “work”?

There are many interpretations related to the subtle science of energy and modern schools of spirituality have imposed a wide variety of ideas onto the traditional methodologies from which the science of the life-force emerges. When we refer to the “science of the life-force” we are referring to traditional Tantrik philosophy and the underlying metaphysics of this particular channel of spiritual thought. The Tantrikas and their spiritual experimentation was key to the wisdom that we are receiving today related to how we understand the inner workings of the body & mind. They produced replicable hypotheses in terms of how to approach the vast mysterious internal Universe and to observe & develop alignments between the inner world and the outer world. These experiments were designed to lead the Tantrika (a practitioner of Tantra) to the ultimate goal of life — an experience of total harmony & freedom on all levels. Many of the ideas of Tantra and the process of spiritual transformation that lead to this freedom is mapped within the subtle terrain of the individual. These “maps”, if you will, outline the spiritual physiology within and the territory of which we must traverse, if we are determined to live a life of harmony and balance.

Related to the chakras and essential to help us understand them, one of the very important revelations of Tantra was the discovery of Kuṇḍalinī Śakti: what it is and how it functions to drive spiritual transformation in an individual. Again, there are many modern interpretations regarding this word of Kuṇḍalinī, and similar to the variety that we see in the chakra models, there are various conflations and distortions to this concept today. As it has been stated in mystical literature, experience and practice alone is what brings understanding, and so our inspiration to write about these concepts is only to bring some clarity in terms of what we’re working with and how to approach it. Experience and personal investigation alone will integrate the ideas presented.

What can & should be stated about Kuṇḍalinī is in relation to its practical nature, beyond mystical or esoteric language. Having a grounded view of the subject of Kuṇḍalinī will assist us when we circle back to the chakras.

What is Kuṇḍalinī Śakti?

The first descriptions of both kuṇḍalinī and the chakra system were revealed around around the 9th or 10th century in a Kaula Śakta Tantrik text known as Kubjikāmatatantra. This text became key to the further development of the chakra model and working with the Elements connected to each chakra, as seen through Bhūta Śuddhi. We can go into the esoteric detail, however it must be stated that much of what was exposed in these early Tantrik text was meant solely for advanced sādhakas — spiritual practitioners at the time who were determined the crack the code of the Universe. The ideas were exposed via a “hidden language”, in that these teachings were meant only for advanced students of the mystical arts. At the Bhūta Yoga Academy we are interested in decoding this mystical verbiage in order to bring these ideas to life in the modern yoga space. Thus, beyond vague descriptions from Tantrik scripture of kuṇḍalinī being “coiled like a serpent at the base of the spine”, one way of looking at this term is in reference to its functionality and the mechanism of action. To ground the subject, we offer a cross-disciplinary analysis of kuṇḍalinī and draw some conclusions through observation and evaluation of natural forces and patterns.

One must consider that one is bound by evolutionary law. Our biology has evolved and been dictated by an intelligent set of patterns and principles which have informed our growth as an organism, theoretically since the very beginning of life. We simply would not be here today if it weren’t for some highly intelligent, self-organizing principle directing energy from behind-the-scenes. Are you with me on that? We inhabit this advanced bio-computer of a human suit and think that we are operating with free will, and yet a precursory glance at the situation might reveal that obvious truth staring us in the face: we are basically animals driven by highly predictable behavior that has been programmed to help us pass on our genes. This basic understanding may help us penetrate into our spirituality from a deeper angle. Why? Because the idea of spirituality is to connect to the spiritual force beneath and behind all things and to develop a relationship to this force so that it can become more apparent in our lives. Ultimately, this helps us understand who we are and what we’re doing as humans on planet Earth, and yet clearly experiencing some ineffable force within and all around us. Alignment between the two — spirit and matter, you could say — is the point and goal of yogic methodology, which leads us to the goal(s) of human life. As a reminder, yogic methodology is the inner understanding of the Tantrik path. The two — Yoga and Tantra — are effectively inseparable. I may go into more detail on their parallels (and distinctions) in future publications, but this will suffice for now.

So, IF we are bound by evolutionary laws, AND we are an embodied being living this life of relativity, AND we seem to house some ineffable spiritual force within us (we may call this force a Soul, or in yogic terminology, ātman), then what is the purpose or role of Kuṇḍalinī?

The Ego

Going a little further down the rabbit we must introduce the concept of ahaṁkāra — literally, “the I-maker” (from ahaṁ = “I am” and kāra = “activity”). According to Sāṅkhya, the underlying metaphysical framework behind Tantra and Yoga, as embodied beings we experience the mechanistic activity of creating a “self-identity”. This identity we know of as “I” and is the self-referencing object between ourselves and the Universe external to us; it is the central locus around which our individual Universe coheres and through which we interact. Without the function of ahaṁkāra, the Universal Intelligence remains dis-embodied. We rely on this mechanism to become embodied, to a degree. In this way, ‘ego’ is essential to the existence of the individual life-form.

When we look at the metaphysical principles of ahaṁkāra we look at the greater system out of which this idea emerges: the system of Sāṅkhya. Our understanding of Sāṅkhya helps to form the framework of the mahābhūtas which are central to the Bhūta Yoga Method. A crash course and modern translation: Spirit (in the form of Puruṣa) descends into form to become Matter (Prakṛti). To make this descent, the Infinite Spiritual Consciousness must follow a distinct pathway of manifestation. In other words, from pure, undifferentiated Light, we become some “thing”. This pattern of manifestation from the One to become the Many has been mapped out via Sāṅkhya. We are very much interested in understanding this, as the path of yoga is a pathway of the Return back to the Source — where all clarity, wisdom, and energy is emerging and radiating out into the form of the Universe (including our self-identity). We make this return to, literally, re-Source ourselves. This is the purpose of sādhana.

What about the Mahābhūtas?

As the Spirit descends to become crystallized into form, one of the steps it takes before becoming more localized matter is the step that we are calling ahaṁkāra (ego) — the locus of “self”. From here, as this spiritual force descends, it crystallizes into each of the subsequent Elements, beginning with the least dense (Space), and traveling down the spinal column to reach the tailbone, home of the densest Element (Earth). The vertical journey of Spirit to become form is, as you can see, mapped out in in the subtle body. Infinite Source exists beyond the crown and as its vibration “slows down”, it further configures itself into distinct patterns or geometries of space-time so that manifestation can be complete, with all the interactive and layered principles of the cosmos woven coherently together. Here is a visual reference

As you can see in the visual, with Purusha on the left and Prakriti on the right, we have two inseparably connected aspects of the cosmos — consciousness and matter, or Soul and form. When they join and descend into the process of becoming, a step known as “Mahat” manifests, which is sort of like the cosmic intelligence — the first mechanism of “individuation” from the Infinite. Following to this spiritual science, in order for One to become Many (as we see in our relative Universe), the One must distinguish Itself from Itself. This is Mahat — a fundamental discriminative process creating a separation between This and That. This is a more primordial step than the ego which you can see in the next step at ahamkara.

As Spirit continues in its descent of becoming, the energy must now condense further into the self-referencing locus which is known as ahamkara. As you may remember: the “I-maker”. This gives the Spirit a container to come into being and cohere around.

Then, it manifests in stages according to the density of the Elements.

The Sanskrit word for Element is bhūta, which literally means “that which is in the past.” The implication of this meaning is significant, as we can study this map and understand, fundamentally, that as we begin to perceive the world of form, it is already in the past. Once Spirit has made the descent, it solidifies and becomes what we perceive around us; what we can “know” and hear and feel and see and taste and smell. However, as this spiritual science indicates, what we perceive is not fundamentally Real — it is merely and evolute of the Spiritual Force behind and before all things. The Light, which is the foundational essence at the “top of the chain”, as it were, is the origin of All Things.

The Return

The Pathway of Yoga

As we mentioned earlier, Yoga describes this pathway of “Return” — back to the Source from whence we came. Initially seen as a transcendent function — the transcend the world of “form” aka the unreal, and to make one’s way back to the Fountain of Being. This journey, if you will, has been described of in various cultures across time. The archetypal journey of the Soul exists as a Universal theme. Yoga has described and offered a map of this pathway using the language found in this spiritual science — it is not the only map, however, it bears great utility for the spiritual seeker.

A word on Pilgrimage: as a universal theme, the idea of pilgrimage has existed in nearly every culture spanning across time. To make the journey to a sacred site which represents the “center of the world”, or as Mircea Eliade called it — the Axis Mundi. Eliade was one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century and made numerous in-depth and cross-cultural analyses of religious & spiritual functions based on the many different expressions of human thought. His conclusion was that there was and are universal themes present within all of them. One of those universal themes was the idea of pilgrimage, and the process was the same — a journey to the “Center”.

When we look at the methodology of Yoga, we can see that this was the objective and goal. At Patañjali puts it, kaivalya: the separation and distinction of the Soul between everything that is not Soul. The word kaivalya literally means “aloneness”, and a play of words shows us that, if we are to make this journey, we arrive at place where we experience being “alone AS the One”. Analysis reveals that this is the fountainhead of all regeneration — where all Source energy enters into the world and becomes form. Everything else is already in the past — it is already Created! So, when we are looking for transformation, we must investigate how the process of transformation works and what to do about it. This study, if you will, and furthermore the practice of these Principles, is what has been laid out for us through the Bhūta Yoga Method — a modern interpretation of these ancient spiritual sciences.

The Air Element

With adequate contextualization, we can now bridge into the topic of the Air Element, or vāyū. I’ve posted a snapshot of a page from my book below. If you interested in purchasing a copy and diving deeper, please click this link:

As you can see (and you may remember from earlier publications), this “analysis” is what we call the Self-Diagnosis: it is a practical examination into what is going on under the hood, so to speak. In other words: how are we relating to these archetypal forces? Understanding our relationship to these primordial qualities is a key in becoming more aware of how the energy is manifesting through us. The Soul, as it makes its descent into form, often becomes distorted due to one or more of these dimensions being corrupted in some way. The “pipe” becomes clogged and the passage of Light through our system is affected. What ends up happening is our experience of life is affected — as what we perceive through our senses in no longer an accurate representation of the One. In other words — the relay system between form and energy is disrupted.

When it comes to Air, this Element is esoterically connected to our mind and our breath. When our relationship to Air is compromised, we may experience a mind that is unruly — flying from place to place just like a bird on the Wind. A mind that is completely uncontrolled can become like a raging storm, with the “winds” of our thoughts blowing us hither and thither. This obviously affects everything up- AND down-stream from this Element. Hence why we look at the holistic development of the person through Bhūta Yoga, making a systematic step-by-step progression through the Elements and their corresponding chakras and domains of influence to provide a complete and total sādhana for the individual. A sādhana that brings each respective layer into balance with every other layer.

“How do we work with the Air to bring it into balance?”

Once we’ve analyzed our relationship through the Self-Diagnosis, the next step is to address specifically the area of imbalance. If the breath & mind are out of control, then the obvious answer would be to bring them under control, or align them in some way. This occurs predominantly through our work with the breath.

The Principle of Spanda

In Bhūta Yoga we apply the Principle known as Spanda, which means “pulse”. This term and concept comes from the Tantrik methodology from Kashmir Shaivism, and describes the subtle pulsation of the cosmos occurring at all levels. Indeed, Spanda is considered to be a principle of Creation. When we look at the “pulse” of the breath — the expansion and contraction of the inhale and exhale — we can compare this to the expanding and contracting principles occurring at every level of existence: from the atom to the galaxy. Everything is ebbing and flowing, like waves in the ocean. Manifesting into an expanded state for a time before returning to the origin point and repeating the cycle. We’re talking about vibration & movement, and no matter at which size or scale we make our observation, this is apparent.

The primary characteristic of the bhūta of Air is movement or expansion. And as such, Its nature is to move. The gaseous state of matter does not want to be still. The molecules in their gaseous state tend to expand in all directions and circulate constantly. This is a fundamental property of this force and the state of matter connected to it. Understanding this helps us begin to work with it and align ourselves with the Element of Air.

“But how?”

We look at the breath. One of the key aspects to develop when it comes to the Principle of Spanda is a technique passed on through Krishnamacharya: it has to do with creating a “breath-centric” movement pattern. The way we do that is thus: before we start moving our body, we begin our breath. Once we finish our movement, we continue our breath until it reaches its completion. We call this “breath envelopes movement”. If you could imagine in this crude textual representation:

[Inhalation begins (body movement begins → body movement ends) inhalation ends]

[Exhalation begins (body movement begins → body movement ends) exhalation ends]

There is a second or two of breath only BEFORE the body movement initiates, and there is an additional second or two of breath only AFTER the body movement terminates.

This simple but very effective technique forces our mind to cooperate with the actual capacity of our breath and body movement. Why this is so important is that, many times in vinyāsa practice, we rush ahead of our movements with our mind. As mentioned earlier, the mind’s nature is like the Wind — to move, to flow, to fly ahead, as it were. What we accomplish through the application of this particular technique is stop the mind from its normal tendency to fly free in this way, and place it inside of the container of the breath, and the body inside of the container of the breath.

When people apply this technique, they will initially discover the difficult of maintaining it consistently; at first, this can be frustrating. However, with time & practice, we can begin to string together one, two, three or more movements (vinyāsas) in a row without losing the container & envelope of the breath. Eventually we get to a point where the Principle of Spanda is so well interwoven in our sādhana that we no longer have to think about applying it consciously — we secure our relationship to the movement of the Air with the breath and no longer try to force the mind or impose the mind on the natural forces in the body. This also helps us accomplish the principle of ahimsa from the Yoga Sūtras, as in order to perform this technique effectively we cannot be aggressive or forceful in our movements. We must concede to the forces beyond us and do so gently and patiently.

This is one of the primary ways that we begin to enhance our connection to Vāyū Bhūta — the Element of the Air/ Wind. As we begin to pay attention to our breath in this way and weave it consciously into our sādhana, we gain control over the mind, and the mind settles down. The mind must be given a task in which it can focus on and succeed, or it remains looking for the next thing to satisfy it. This tendency of the human mind is a condition which we must untangle if we are to be successful in our journey of spiritual transformation, and make our way back to the Source via the Return mapped out for us thus.

I hope that you find this helpful, inspiring and supportive to your home practice. These teachings and practices have been nothing but empowering and life-giving to me, personally, and so it brings me great joy to organize my thoughts on the subject and pass them on.

If you feel inspired to learn more or practice with me, you can check out the Bhūta Yoga Academy where we offer plenty of online resources to take you deeper, including a membership where you can join us for a weekly Live Stream and also access a rich library of video content including guided practices and satsangs.

With that, I shall conclude on this essay for today by giving thanks to you for reading and giving thanks to the path for inspiring. I look forward to seeing you for more soon :)

Om Namah Shivaya

-GI

PS — here is a gift of a guided prānāyāma practice to follow along or use for home study, in case you feel inspired to breathe with me. More like this can be found in the Inner Sanctum library over at BYA.