Yoga for potters

This is a post related to all professions where we sit for a long time. Long time means for an hour at a stretch. Specifically for potters , since i happen to be one. In my decade of practising this craft I have faced quite a few challenges. Also potter friends have physical problems surfacing. Hence this post. However, you can use these techniques anyways just to be balanced and healthy.

Sitting on the wheel we are contracting our hip muscles, the psoas and the illiacus muscles. These are one of the strongest muscles in our body. If these muscles are contracted alot they tend to not strech or release fully when we stand up. This limited release can show up as pain in lower back, hip, groin and even in our neck. It also intereferes with taking full breaths. So all these make us tense and tight affecting how we feel overall, not just physically.

Basic practises.

1. Shavasana.
Focus is on relaxing, releasing every part of the body, systematically allowing all parts to drop towards the floor. Breathing is slow and deep without effort. Just observe the breathe and let it go the way it wants to. gradually it opens and slows down. Keep 5 minutes minimum for this to happen.

2. Pawan mukta asana.
Holding one knee to chest at a time , releasing gently.
then practising with both knees . Breathing gently.

3. Setu bandha or bridge pose.
Lying on back bend knees with feet a few inches from buttocks, on floor.
Gently lift the hip up, pressing the feet into floor. transfer the weight into thighs and then to the feet.
use a bolster to keep hip up for some time. Feel the stretch from inside the hip to front of legs.
keep breathing gently.
while lowering imagine the spine to land one vertebra at a time on the floor. slowly when the sacrum is to land pull the belly button in so it curls inwards. This lenghtens the spine and stretches it out.
Try a few times.
Relax in shavasana noticing any changes like relaxation in lower back, release in sides of waist.

4. Trikonasana or side bends.
keep the feet apart 3 feet. Right foot inward slightly, left foot fully flexed to left. swing hips slightly to right, bend to left, right arm up to sky and left arm on left leg or if you can reach to wards the left foot. Make sure that the breathe is smooth and not constrained. Ease up a bit to allow this.
Practise on other side.

5. Ardha chandrasana
in this pose keep focus on both the feet.  Do a lunge and push the hip down towards the ground.

Right foot onground, left knee on ground. Arms up joint .

Bottom on the floor

Yoga is about where we find ourself. Its about this moment. Being aware of the bottom touching the floor, the feet on the floor. It is the sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, emotions, ideas, visuals all that we are aware of right now. How can we then limit the understanding of yoga as a posture, a movement , a value , an attitude?? Is it not all of our life? The totality of what is going on, what we are present to, right now?

in own practise and life, I have come to question everything. I have reached a place where labeling things is just not interesting anymore. It seems futile and quite meaningless. Everything is such a constant state of change, of flux that pinning things down is pointless.

When I have so much beauty around me, how come I overlook it? Beauty in so many expressions of life. This doesnt mean that there is absence of unpleasantness or pain. It means that there is the pain and also here is something beautiful. Here is joy and something else which could be repulsive or worth rejecting. Something that can overtake the senses and engage the mind fully so as to ignore other present aspects of reality.


The challenge is how to remain grounded in reality. All of it, even if at times we narrow our focus. Zooming in and zooming out! This image I found on the net, nails it

Wiiling to receive

We have to relax, we have to relax in our bodies to receive all the help around us. -
Reginald Ray

It all is going on in our bodies...  we have to quieten down enough, make room for what has been hidden to come up. And all this is in in the body. We normally understand meditation as a way to quieten our mind. But what after that?
The letting go of our ideas, conceptes, expectations allows us to relax. AND this happens in the body not just our minds. We have to bring in our body as a whole into this meditation practise only then can we really relate to who we are.

Intelligence in every cell

Recently at a family constellation workshop, the facilitator was explaining the psycho somatic understanding of our selves. A participant was complaining of body aches and headaches, to which he expressed that these can happen due to processing from deep work worked on the previous day. At that moment it struck me that most of us see pain and aches as something to correct  and change, something we do not like and to get rid off.

This way of looking at pains and aches just add another layer to what is going on. This is resistance to the current moment expressions of our self. There is this intelligence in every cell, in every part of our being that is completely true. It is the best of us expressing itself. In body pains we find a communication, a message for our understanding. Here is some part of us telling us , showing us something which needs to be acknowledged and known by another part of our own self. This very ache is part of our process of being aware of our larger self.  The ache is something coming up just now for us to pay attention to it and listen to the message. At times, we can get assistance from therapies like massage and treatments. This may help us to quieten down, open our perceptions to see what is going on within.

Yoga is about being in a steady way - quietly aware of what is going on at any moment and being able to attend to what is needed - in every moment. Listening to the flow of our own life , to do what is needed. The listening is as much needed as is the doing. Some call it the "being" -  the presence to all of our life. This attitude can give us a new respect for all the calls we receive from our bodies, to listen and respond in an appropriate way.

Asanas help to be inward, open and in a listening and very much being with the body aches. Relaxation poses like shavasana or legs up resting on a wall will calm down the nervous system. Allow the breath to slow down and widen. Listening to the ache, you might feel an invitation to move in a certain posture or asana. A simpler , slower version is much helpful. Always listening and moving only to what comes up from that particular ache. Wait and patiently respond.

Again, like the the facilitator said - pulling the golden thread from behind. Following and going to new information that shows up. Its really a very humbling and grounding experience to see the message, the intelligence that our body shows through the aches and pains. Enjoy this too!

in- Habit the body

What is spirituality?? All of our parts, some visible, some invisible but sensed? what about those parts we recognise in nature, in others??

I find that in the depth and spaciousness in the body this question dissolves. No answer is needed as the question doesn't exist anymore. The minds function is to look at everything- explore. This exploration takes us to what we sense. In the body it returns to dissolution. Absorbed by the peace that is the body.

The point that remains is the body is a true refuge to our wandering mind, our sense of being lost finds home in the body. Of course, in the superficial way the body appears dense and static. On being in the body we find sensation and impulses of movement, agitation, pulsing. Still being here - very patiently if we stay here with these sensations , it becomes clear that all this is superficial. The real body- what is underneath is this steadiness, this flow. And this is peaceful no matter what we notice is happening in the surface. Like underwater it is dense, moving and peaceful. This is the spaciousness which is the mind- as thoughts, feeling in my own body. And my mind rests here.  In the deep, moving, silent, space .

The part of our mind we call the body

beginning with “the part of our minds we call the body,” we find easier access to stabilizing our awareness. As Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche points out, if we work with the body, we can avoid forcing the mind to be quiet. The mind will quiet naturally, because body and mind profoundly affect one another. Focused on the body, our mind is less likely to wander off into our own story lines.

The mind can rest in the body

Our entire being is one and yet we seem to be have often a friction within ourself between our thoughts and the way we feel within the body. I am in the  midst of a seemingly major upheaval , lots of confusion , grief, feeling sorry for myself, anger at myself...  the full works of misery.
However, as days go by this is turning out to be an opportunity to really be within myself, close to me. I see that in this very challenging situation, my mind is doing its job of trying to figure out the best ways to keep me safe. All energies are looking for solutions.
 And it's very very frustrating,  tiring. However, in the body there continues to be a certain rhythm,  a flow of okay ness.  Things upset yet things go on. I find that there is tremendous sadness , i cry for no apparent reason , yet I laugh, I can see beauty around me. I can also sense others suffering and empathy flows. My current despair makes me very vulnerable and also open, softening of ego.
Its easier to be myself.

When I notice all this , the mind rests jn the body. It seems to me that that's what the mind needs most-a place to rest. And it happens in the body. I am not meditating or doing asanas but in the true sense yoga-the union of my entire being- is happening. Life caring for itself through the body and as seen, sensed in the body. Its the untrue thought that I am alone, that all is lost,  these thoughts are creating misery. But the true emotions and feelings in the body always have an okay ness to them. Even sadness is rich and very comforting when sensed in the body.

I can trust the body to take care of my mind, so I listen to all my senses and let things pass through me as they are. 

Finding love - ways shared by Rumi and Pema

Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek  and

find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.”

~ Rumi

“The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes. ”

And…

“When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You’re able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently.”

Pema Chodron

 

 

Office Yoga - Pranayama

Pranayama

Keep your eyes closed, focusing on the breath

1. Abdominal breathing
Place right palm on navel. Become aware of the way the abdomen rises on inhalation & falls on exhalation.
Start counting. Equalise your breath. Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds
Do 10 rounds.

2. Anuloma Viloma
1. Ready fingers for closing nostrils, thumb for right, forefinger or last finger for left.
2. Close left nostril, inhale from right for 3 seconds.
3. Close right nostril, exhale from left for 3 seconds.
4. Inhale from left for 3 seconds.
5. Close left, exhale from right for 3 seconds.
This is 1 round. Do 10 rounds.

Benefits:
1. Clears the nasal passages
2. Harmonises both the brain hemispheres
3. Creates mental equlibrium, calming the mind & induces tranquility

Yoga asana for sciatica

This seems to be such a common urban condition, so here is the link to my article

http://completewellbeing.com/article/yogasanas-to-soothe-sciatica/

Konasana, trikonasana - is such a wonderful pose. It doesnt have to be done strenuously, just a basic side bend with feet wider than the hip. Make sure your not leaning forward or back. The way to know when your doing it correctly is that you feel a stretch from the hip along the side of your body all the way to the armpit. Another thing to ensure is your breath. It has to be normal, we tend to hold it in this pose. Try staying here for atleast 5 normal breaths. Relax after you do both sides, see where the rush of blood is. Enjoy.

I am more than my thoughts and emotions

I recently paid a visit to one of my favorite places in mumbai - The Yoga Institute, Santacruz E. This where i started my journey of understanding yoga and the process to a saner me.
Well, this was a long overdue visit, went after my 3 years stint in Pondy. So naturally things change, growth and offer a fresh perspective on our perspective. I joined in a group who was discussing Kleshas -  The basic 5 problem roots. The group was comfortable enough to discuss and address our most common but revealing behavior patterns. The talk was about how we want things to be done in a particular way - say our maid had prepared lunch and its not quite good, so we have a negative word for her and a certain negative thought towards her. This is just our ego acting up, refusing to be in the moment but identifying us with the role of employee, desire of particular taste. what really got me was the statement by the mediator - all actions or thoughts that create pain have a klesha active.

There is too much of I in our thoughts. It feeds the ego, creating just so much of pain, irritation and rift in relations. I want people to behave in one way, they behave in whats seems fine with them. even within our loved ones, major conflicts rise from strong opinion on how things are to be done. If we just let it be, relax and realise that trusting the person to do the best will make all our lives so much easier.

However, its so difficult to be this calm when we start getting angry and irritated. One way is to reduce all we are doing. As Jackie Chan says " Daily reduce rather than increase what we do", we can actually be present in whats going on in my mind and see how anger rises. Just this awareness will create distance and we can choose how to respond. Let anger reign, then feel guilty or see how anger begins but just breathe, acknowledge it and know that I am more than this emotion. Lets not even judge it as postitve , negative emotion, just another emotion. And then see what needs to be done.

Long standing habits and perceptions are strongly embedded in our mind. Only being detached w,hen emotions rise can we begin to see whats really happening, cause, and then letting the entire drama play out in our head so we can figure out why so in the first place. Our learning emerges and that is the real story. This the main act of our lives rather than all the other bussiness we indulge in.

Our creativity - Being aware of it

We are all creative - why do i say so - because at every moment we are making choices, thereby creating our lives. Its just so natural, maybe thats why we tend to take our creativity for granted. We choose to express this through every thought, action, facial and body language. Lets remind ourselves this often.  Seeing ourselves as creative beings will allow us to take life less seriously. Things , events and our environment that are so natural and supportive to us, like nature and gifts send to us daily,  how can we overlook and ignore it all??

life supports us in everything, at all times, lets be more aware of it

The Way

The Way is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things.
Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.

-An excerpt from Hsin Hsin Ming on Believing in Mind

Be fearless - Turn fear into a Superpower

 Fantastic article

A Letter From Your Over-Worked Super Power.

Dear Beloved, 

I wish to speak on behalf of my brothers and sisters: Anxiety, Terror, Panic, Nervous, Apprehensive, Worry and Chicken Shit. I’m writing to tell you that I Love You and I am in full support of your life, your dreams and your happiness. I know it may seem difficult to believe but if you hear me out, it may transform your life forever.

You have been told to conquer me, overcome me and avoid me at all costs.

It seems that somewhere along the way you were told that I am your enemy. This is not true. Truth is Fear, yes I, am your ally and one of your most essential superpowers. It seems society has told you that I am what prevents you from moving towards your dreams. In fact, the opposite is true. The times that you are unable to fully appreciate the moment and you are unable to move forward towards your dreams is because you have been unwilling to welcome me, to breathe into me, to feel me fully, to embrace me and to hear the message that I bring.
By trying to rid yourself of me, numb me, medicate me, suppress me and resist me, you have tried to rid yourself of the joy of the moment and the joy of being alive. Silly isn’t it? So let’s learn to be buddies again, shall we? Because you deserve to live life fully!

Now let’s get clear on who I am, just to make sure you see me in my truest light.

I am the primal response that you feel in your body when you believe that you or some-one you love are in danger or are unsafe. I am the hormonal and neuro-chemical response initiated in the brain that allows you to act quickly and respond efficiently to danger, to run like a cheetah or fight like a lion for your survival. I am a powerful force that will keep you alive in a life threatening situation. See how essential I am. Who told you that I was your enemy? What hog hoosie whollup! The problem is not me (fear itself), it is Your perception of danger, safety and threat.

In these current times, it is very rare for your life and your safety to be immediately threatened.

There are very few ferocious animals, murderers or terrorists roaming the streets, (although if you watch the news and read the papers you may have been fooled to think they are in plague proportions). They do exist but your other valuable friend and superpower, instinct will let you know when a real danger is present. If there is no danger present, instinct will tell you that everything is ok.
However, if you are listening only to your thoughts that have been fed with all sorts of beliefs from society and mainstream media, you may choose to believe you are in danger, even though reality and your instincts have told you that you are safe and everything is ok.

When you believe that everyday experiences are a threat, you will experience me on a regular basis.

I guess this could get a bit annoying and tiring for you. For that I am sorry. But I am programmed to respond according to your beliefs, so You are my master and I am your beloved servant.
It is not my fault that you have over used me, I was just doing what I was told. It seems that some of the things that you fear (call me for often) is change, the unknown, making a ‘mistake’, and your own brilliance, all of the things that need to be embraced for you to reach your dreams and awaken. Strange how you humans fear these great things. When I worked for animals they only used me for their survival.

I suggest that you read the tips below that Courtney has put together for you.

She is very clever but she forgets to embrace me sometimes too. Over time you will awaken to the truth that I, Fear am your beloved servant: Joy, love, peace, bliss and freedom will be eternally yours when you do.
Yours Faithfully,
Fear

Tips on how to be bosom buddies with fear.

Reality Check: When fear arises, quickly assess your circumstances to locate the perceived threat. Undertake a reality check. Dive down deep to your instincts, often felt in your belly (gut feeling) to check if everything is ok. Ninety-nine percent the time you are physically safe. Hundred percent of the time you are spiritually safe (which is why the awakened don’t even fear death of the body).

Breathe: If everything appears to be safe and your instincts tell you everything is okay, take a few deep breaths. Meet the fear with a loving breath. If fear is resisted and not breathed into it becomes immobilizing. Breathe deeply and focus on the words of your instinct, everything is ok.

Be Open: Welcome, embrace, feel and openly experience the response in your body.

Identify the fear trigger: is likely that change, the unknown, a potential mistake (lesson in disguise) or your own massive brilliance, yes You (it is your essence) have triggered fear to rise. These are all necessary things to embrace along your path to growth, awakening and living your dream.

Celebrate: The presence of fear shows that you are growing, changing and moving out of your comfort zone and into the unknown, which is where the true magic happens. Fear is often the messenger that you are moving into growth territory. Yay!

Transform: Continue to breathe into the fear until it transforms into adventure and excitement or simply primal life force. I like to call it the growth buzz.

Move forward: Use this primal life force to move you forward and continue with the task at hand. Go and be your brilliant yet humanly flawed self.

Meditate Daily: Sit down, close your eyes and calm your adrenals and nervous system everyday, by not identifying with untrue fearful thoughts and by breathing into the instinctual truth that you are safe, loved and enough. Om Love Thy Fear Om!

Fear is our loving friend. Without it, we would not survive in danger and we would have no indication that we were growing and moving towards our goals and dreams.
Go give fear a big hug and reclaim your true position as the master of your own life!

Courtney Prosser is a nature lover, wellness junkie and lover of all things true, fun and real. She has guided many on their path, working for 15 years as an Meditation Teacher, Counsellor, Wellness Coach and Author. She has travelled the world and studied with indigenous healers and shamans. She has sat at the feet of enlightened masters in India and spent thousands of hours alone in nature listening to the subtle guidance within. Connect with Courtney on her website or on Facebook.

When in need to hurry, try slowing down

Does this make sense? hmm, not really. Thats when we need to scratch the surface to see whats going on. Why this need to hurry? Is this a response to a fear, some deep rooted doubt that this opportunity will pass by? Or any other nagging thoughts?

As a freelancer furnishing consultant for 13 years, i have lived with this urge to hurry. in my case it was the fear of losing an opportunity. But digging deeper I found it was a lack of faith in myself and in the universe that was egging my fears. But understanding this took years of introspection, a lot of it unconsciously on the body level.

Now comes the yoga connection. This rooted fear sprouted several anxiety related bodily pains, a misaligned hip. Several months of physio therapy didn't work. Nor did active, energetic asanas. The more I fought against pain the more miserable i got. What finally got my attention was the healing power of restorative asana practise and spending time in a few poses. I stayed in vipreeta karni or a yoga mudra for 10 minutes. This allowed my para sympathetic response system to move in and slow down. This relaxes all the internal organs, allowing them to function perfectly. Prana flows easy, clearing all channels or nadis. Now healing can happen, restoring balance.  The biggest discovery was the waves of relaxation i experienced in my mind. Like someone had comforted me, assured me of all being very well.

Yoga as defined by Maharishi Patanjali is "yogash chitta vritti nirodhah". Stopping, reducing the mental activity. Thats what slowing down does. Begin with the body, stay in relaxed poses. Practising shavasana couple of times a day and experiencing harmony brought to fore my deep rooted confidence in myself and the universe. All the noise was just stopping me from seeing this faith. So, actually slowing down gets things rather than blustering about hurrying, worrying and raising all cortisol levels.
Now, take it easy does sound like a good idea.
also, I get to do what really fulfills me.
cheers to that!

Calm down a restless mind, be a child

The thing about restlessness is that its such a waste of energy! you think about a thousand things you want to do but unfortunately cant do anything since your energies are all scattered. The kindest thing to do is literaly surrender to the highest good! what that means is forget about everything and take a bow! ok ok, no more teasing, do the childs pose - just get down into varjasana and bend forward. If possible let your forehead touch the ground. Make it more comfortable by spreading your knees apart so you dont get too compressed on the tummy. Stay here for atleast a couple of minutes. Gently lift the head and breath easy.

The blood flows into your brains which are in need of it real bad. So this relaxes the mind and you can now think afresh without too much distraction.

Variations are yoga mudra, where you sit in padmasana or simple cross legged- sukhasana with your head down. If you can reach your head to touch down keep a cushion and rest on it. Paschimottasana also has same results. If at work, then just get your head to rest on your table for a couple of minutes. You will feel suprising refreshed and most certainly more centred, quieter.

Allowing yourself to relax - Meditation practise

Yoga asanas are designed so that we can see how far we can open ourself to the posture. This means how much we can open up or allow our bodies to relax in someway which isnt normal in our daily life. A simple twist can be done with a lot of effort and resistance from the body or it can be done with the breath flow, observing the body and moving when the body relaxes into the posture. The thing is that you have to give it time and patience. Allow the body to respond, listen quietly. You will be amazed how much you can stretch further if you only listen carefully.

For each day just select a few asanas and spend sometime in each one. You will observe that its easier to do other asanas with ease because the body is willing and enjoying rather than pushed to do something. also, this time spend in one pose brings great awareness of your inner silence and stillness. Its so close to the surface, a simple meditative practise.

Try this in the simple lying down spinal twist.

Technique:
1. Lie down on your back, arms stretched out to shoulder level.
2. Bend knees, feet on the floor, knees together.
3. Drop both the knees on to the right side keeping feet together, on each other.
4. Turn the face to left side, twisting the spine. 
5. Allow your self to relax the shoulders to the floor and try to bring the upper back as close to the floor as possible. stay for 2 minutes
6. Bring knees to start position.
7. repeat on left side.

Appreciation; life supports us

Six months since my last post! should i say that i had nothing worth sharing?? or that there has been such impactful events happening that im still sorting and understanding them?? However, as we all know life has both of these well balanced out. Thats whats keeping me so self absorbed :)

Ive been in pondicherry since february, making pots and developing sculptural work. This time i also started teaching there which had some delightful results. Most students were french and reminded me again how similar we humans are no matter where we come from. Also taking children yoga workshop was tremendous fun, the high energy and playfulness that kids bring :)

However the intensity at which i worked at the pottery caused a disconnect in me. i overworked my body, did not listen to it and landed up in a lot of pain. Infact, instead of relaxing and allowing the distress to ease of I kept complaining and adding more toxic thoughts!! Its a miracle that i continued all that physically intense labours with clay, a sure enough proof of the years of loving yoga practises. Thats what really kept me going. 

The fact was that i had completely stopped listening to what i really needed to do. So often we trick our self into believing something that doesnt really resonate with who we really are.  I lost myself trying to "fit in" please others and keep up my goody good image. All this trying is so pointless coz you can never be truly good and loving if your unkind and false with yourself. And at the root is that doubt, the fear that "i am alone" so i "need" people or some thing or event or circumstance to achieve what i want. All this drama does is further to eat into your faith, that basic knowledge that it is life that supports us.  Not people, circumstances or events. its our thoughts and feelings of love, appreciation and gratitude that really gets things going in the right direction.

and what is the right direction? the path, the activities that bring a sense of wholeness, a quiet joy in our heart. we know we are on the right way when we can stand up to a discomfort, question what is this fear and realise that its not so powerful. Let the worst happen, life always has supported me and will always continue to, as long as I appreciate and trust this wonderful life, God, higher being  or energy. by whichever name you call it, doesnt really matter. Its the feeling that does matter. 

and we can only start feeling all this when we are true to our self.  To see whats really going on we need to quieten down, stop the incessant thoughts- doubts- fears. Yoga is one way. Following the flow of breath, we align to the flow of life. Now, i truly appreciate the beauty of my breath, of my life. Life wants me to breathe, to love, to enjoy it. Thats what i now know.

also, we have to do what the real us says. No matter if nobody agrees with that decision. Else, we live someone else's life not our own. Thats our most important duty, dharma, our path.
 

Yoga is an education

Education is not  the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think- Albert Einstien

Yoga is just this - a discipline to train the mind to think correctly. its about mental, physical, emotional management. And this can happen only when we spend time with the subject - ourself. The more you pay attention, listen to yourself the more you understand and then develop management techniques and skill. So you can acheive what you wish. But it has to begin with listening to yourself, without judging.

Practising asana tells how our body feels now, whats going on. Pranayama shows the mind condition. quiet time meditation can happen only once the body and mind is a bit quiet, settled, comfortable. Then we begin to make progress in seeing ourself for what we are, what our thoughts are about, our responses to thoughts. How to manage is clearly seen. This process allows us to deal with any situation because we are a bit detached, above it so can solve it with calmness. Its just like solving a riddle, doing sudoku!!
attention without tension :) Its a personality development that results from such education. Hows the sadhana going??

Pranayama - Basic breath understanding

Any practise towards pranayama has to begin with awareness of your breath. Deep abdominal breathing is the starting practise. Steps to do the practise
Lie down on your back with the knees bend, feet on the floor, knees together. Make sure your position is comfortable, the feet need not be together.
place your right palm on your belly button. left hand on the floor resting.
Now, pay attention to the way your abdomen is moving up and down with your breath. As you inhale, the abdomen rises, as you exhale if drops in towards the spine. If the reverse is true for you, start trying to follow this pattern. Be gentle, the body will learn soon.
Once you have connected with your breath, start to relax and deepen the breath. Slowly raise the abdomen to inhale and gently allow the abdomen to go towards the spine as you exhale. Do not bloat the stomach during inhaling or push it in while exhaling.
When this gets comfortable start doing equal inhaling and exhaling time. Count 1 to 4 for inhaling and same count for exhaling. Do 10 rounds of this.