Welcome to Morning Practice
Follow the India trip. Live and recorded broadcasts will be posted on this page.
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Please come to Kripalu Center, Lenox, MA
Tue and Fri 6:00 - 6:40 am ET Left Right Yoga (in various poses)
Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat 6:00 - 6:40 am ET Left Right Yoga 2 (everything else)
Next Full Moon Mahoorta Class: 48 minutes Left Right Breath
Mar 3, 6-7am: . Can you do 48 minutes of gentle yoga? Yes, you can.
Full moons:Mar 3, Apr 1, May 1, May 31, June 29, July 29, Aug 28, Sept 26, Oct 26, Nov 24, Dec 23
2000+ days… of experiments and refinement
These guided group classes are meant to be short, juicy, and adventurous. There is a big advantage practicing everyday.
Set up for class:
1. Face the east, towards the rising sun.
2. Have yoga blocks ready to support your elbows.
3. Wash your hands and face really well. It helps.
We use 2 preparatory practices and then 24 minutes of Left Right Breath (nadi shodhana)
“The Tethered Balloon” Fill up with as much breath as possible, pause, wiggle around a little bit, then exhale completely. Contract the lower belly back, up and into the ribcage. (2 times)
~ 4 Breath Inversion Turn the lungs upside down! Everyday.
“8 Abdominal flushes” A helpful preparation is to slowly back flush the sinuses while pumping the belly… s l o w l y. Relax the belly 100% in between, and not keep it taut as in other practices.
The Stillness Practice We let the breath settle. After ‘doing nothing,’” we follow the next exhale to its end…. and become physically still, the breath is still, the prana is quiet and then the mind becomes still. Dwell in the still space after the exhale. Learn to be silent inside. Let go of the pause at anytime. Release the stillness according to your timing and metabolism. We explore the zone of mental stillness mechanically induced by the breath. “Presence: The Witness comes out of the background into the foreground.” You’ll develop the ability to silence the “lower talking mind,” while remaining present. Be still and know thyself. everyday. Investigate this practice over and over for many months.
“Left Right Breath” (nadi shodhana et al.) the most undervalued, misunderstood and under practiced technique in yoga. 24 minutes everyday sustained for months, is the minimum threshold, for this practice to get going. And that is very easy to do! If you are a busy person, once to realize the value of this, you’ll make it a priority to breathe left and right for 24 minutes every morning. We experiment with Left Right Breath and countless variations, meditation points, mudras, mantras, humming, tapping, contemplations and experimentations, as a way to stay on the edge of each breath. It is a mini yoga teacher training every morning. If you are new to left right breath remember one simple instruction: “Change sinuses before the exhale.”
74 Belt St, Warwick, RI 02889
With Gratitude
Thank you for bringing Left Right Yoga to life.
Your contribution will always be considered priceless.
The online classes are Community Supported. Like the Breath, the classes are free for all. If you feel grateful for these lessons and classes, please make a donation in any amount. Small donations gratefully appreciated. Pay the gift forward so other people can benefit. Support yourself, support your own practice, support the online gatherings, and support Tom in his ongoing development of these fascinating, paradigm shifting practices that the world has not really seen.
The initial purpose of these classes is to help you show up for a minimum of 24 minutes of Left Right Breath everyday.
Unique and fascinating, join This Next Breath classes everyday and your life will be full of gratitude and joy every morning. Everyday there is a short reading from poets, saints and sages of all kinds.
A Long Term Practice
Over the long term, your breath will slow down. Ordinary people doing this practice are discovering the power of a slow concentrated breath. Anyone can successfully go very far this practice. We make it easy. You don’t have to be a special person, have a special guru or have special talents. Everyone will benefit. 24 minutes of Left Right Breath for many months, everyday, you cross over a few thresholds: 21 Days, 90 Days, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years.
All the significant neurological and physiological benefits begin to happen with consistent uninterrupted attention on the breath. What this practice requires is persistence. Show up for your practice everyday. Join the broadcasts if they are helpful to you, get one of the online courses or use the free recordings on YouTube.
Subscribe to the Youtube channel and you will find more. (click)
“Dig the well before the house is on fire.”
This was a saying in Kripalu ashram during the 1980's. It means that one needs to practice during the good days of your life, so that when the difficult times come, you are ready to face them. Develop your breath practice now, in the sunny times of your life. Then, when life hits the fan, your practice has strong momentum to carry you through, and "put out the fires."
2025: “Okay, the house is on fire now.”