Honoring the Winds of Expression: Finding Balance in Bloom with Udana Vayu
7/1/24
Good morning dear friends,
The first Monday in July is here. I welcome you as always to take a nice pause, 10 mins from the activities of before for a read, a listen, maybe an insight :). In the Pacific Northwest, cooler mornings are giving way to warmer, sunnier afternoons. These past few weeks have been introspective, marked by the Cancerian waters of reverence, nostalgia, wholehearted connections, and holding space amidst the vibrancy and fun in the season of sun.
The Image
The image above was taken on a recent walk, capturing the essence of expression, transparency, integration, and pause I wish to bring forth today. Let's continue in the spirit of the winds, the Vayus, and life force—Prana, carried by these winds.
The fullness of the blooms and the greens surrounding them caught my eye. When I pause to look closer, I see not only the fence as support but also the tarnish it carries. Deeper still, the environment surrounding this scene—a volatile and often troubled neighborhood now calm, with lingering residues of human indulgences—adds layers to the scene. Nature's gray skies with wisps of mist caress the quiet morning.
This practice of witnessing all these expressions of life integrated and kind is the aspiration for me. To practice deeper listening, slowing down, and stillness, appreciating what is there in its expression through the senses. The vibrant blossoms within us express color and aliveness. May we honor our weathered foundations that carry this spirit and meet the volatility and ever-changing demands of external life?
The Winds
Last week- Prana Vayu, the supporting life wind, is inherently circulating, enlivening, and expansive. From last week, this wind is present in this image. This week, the focus is on the expressions of the blooms themselves—colorful, vibrant, and sharing their beauty in harmony with the landscape. This is Udana Vayu, the upward and ascending wind.
Udana Vayu governs speech and expression, channeled in the body through the throat, neck, and head. Expression is often our largest source of agency. The neck, cervical spine, and throat are also inherently vulnerable. Right use of Udana Vayu bridges the heart and head and, when in balance, purifies through the throat. This purification is both in outward expression and in what we take in, carry down, and ingest. In a culture that often talks too much, listens too little, and overly consumes, we easily see the misuse of Udana Vayu, where expression becomes horizontal, simply taking up space. Or when our emotions and expressions become stuck or stifled, as a knot in the throat from repression or unexpressed feelings from the heart.
“Before you speak, ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve the silence?” - Sathya Sai Baba
As I consider Udana Vayu, it has become a practice of listening, becoming clearer, and expressing wisely. While honoring my tarnished fence, knowing that ruptures may happen but repairs can also follow, expressing and ingesting wisely is the practice.
Considerations: Does my expression improve the silence? How can I make thoughtful choices about what I take in, perhaps through all the senses, not just comfort eating and drinking? And. How to honor, the feelings from the heart that desire to be shared, purified, and expressed? Is this the space, the audience, the relationships I wish to offer such expression? Expression and ingestion that support our spirit, without causing harm to ourselves or others is a practice in Nonviolence (Ahimsa).
The practice. Supporting Udana Vayu
I welcome you to take a moment now to pause. Adjust your seat, with an alert and relaxed posture. Let the spine become more upright to receive prana as it moves through your breath. Lift your heart, tuck your chin slightly, let your shoulders relax down, and gently lengthen your neck. Open your throat. Take a cleansing breath, let your mouth open, and release an audible sigh.
Close your lips, relax your jaw and breathe in and out through your nose. Imagine this air soothing down your throat, tracing, purifying, soothing. Let these breaths fill your belly as your lungs rise. In and out, steady. Welcome a slight whisper to your throat—Ujjayi—soothing, subtle, victorious breath. Steady, kind, intentional breath. 5 to 10 rounds.
Then. Start to hum on your exhale, let your throat feel the vibrations. Unrushed. After a few rounds, hum on the exhale and draw your chin to your chest/neck long. Inhale head rises, chin back to neutral, then exhale chin toward chest humming. 4-5 rounds. Rest in the pause.
Gratitude and Blessings
Deep gratitude for your time, your practice, and your listening. With summer holidays, gatherings, and connections on the horizon, politics and topics of dissent and difference may inevitably arise. Remember to keep a light heart, sing, dance, smile. May you indulge wisely in food and drink. In service to your heart and spirit, may you use this bridge of purification and consider the healthful expressions and ingestions of your Udana Vayu. Bringing a bit more clarity through self-care, to share and taking in more kindly, wisely, with more joy and transparency. With nonviolence and non-harm as your guiding light.
May you integrate the lessons of the blooms of Udana Vayu—vibrant, colorful, humble, and courageous. May you honor your weathered foundations that carry your spirit. With more clarity and wise expression, may you meet the volatility and ever-changing ecosystems of the season of the sun.
Come explore Udana Vayu with me this week! Online or in Person- offerings here, connect or follow on social and above all, take in wholehearted week.
Here with you in practice, in love & light.
-Maya