बाह्याभ्यन्तरविषयाक्षेपी चतुर्थः I
bāhya-ābhyantara-viṣaya-ākṣepī caturthaḥ
The fourth (caturthaḥ) state transcends (ākṣepī) the field (viṣaya) of exhalation (bāhya) and inhalation (ābhyantara).
PRACTICAL LIVING Even the person observing and lengthening their breath for the first time experiences the calmness that it brings. There are numerous techniques teaching us how to lengthen the breath and add pauses in between the breaths, guiding us to direct energy into our bodies. A simple yet very powerful meditation is simply to observe the breath in and out through the nose.
There are three parts to the breath: (i) inhalation; (ii) exhalation; and (iii) the pauses in between the inhalation and exhalation. Here Patanjali tells us that there is a fourth state to the breath, which takes us beyond the mind. In this place, the mind is so calm that it is no longer thinking about what it’s doing with the breath. It feels magical. It is invigorating yet very relaxing.
IN THE YOGA WORLD This fourth state, beyond the mind, beyond words, occurs effortlessly and non-deliberately. One cannot “train” to reach this state. It happens without our will. There is no methodology to reach this state. When it happens, we’re not doing the breath anymore, it is doing us. Then, we become the breath. Consciousness is then transcended.
INSPIRATIONAL PERSON Sandi, oh Sandi. What a light this woman is. I have known her for just under a year and she has chosen to dive deeply into a path of transformation that makes my heart sing and my eyes tear-up. The layers of stuff are coming off and the light of profound love is shining brightly. You teach me so much Sandi! You are a mixture of butterfly, tree, sunshine and moon. You radiate. Thank you for being part of my life and showing me the profound transformative abilities of the human being. Love you Sandi!
Do you have any experiences you would like to share? Please interact as much as you like – everyone will learn from your personal experiences!
Thanks and next week we will discuss the veil surrounding the light!
weeklysutra 
Last week, I lost myself in breath. What happened to me was so profound. Enlightenment is the perfect word. My focus was on the space before and after my breath. I transcended to a Universal consciousness. The space between breaths became space between Shiva(male energy) and Shakti(female energy) of which I witnessed the union in myself. I recognized that bringing these two parts together into form was no different than formlessness. I felt as if I had merged from form into formlessness and back again. I became in essence the space in-between and in an atom. I was aware that all physical things are made of atoms, which are mostly empty space and in that empty space is universal intelligence and frequency. So it was shown to me the balance of form and spirit. Even more difficult to describe was the cellular and molecular pattern of which I understood to be God within me. This knowledge so overwhelming in itself, it enlightened me to this sense of universal light and love. I can not properly put this experience into words…but, Knowing that I was God and God was me it led me to a place of such profound self love. I completely understood creation and spirit and matter…Later that night I went to bed. I was awoke in the middle of the night by a snake hissing in my ear. Profoundly, I knew that I had awakened my kundalini. The next morning, I was cleaning up my book shelves. I had come across my childhood bible. I hadn’t seen it in years and opened it to a random page. “Make love your greatest quest; then desire spiritual gifts,” jumped off the page. So many things shifted in the 24 hours after that. Such self love, such Universal knowledge. Even weirder, I now can feel the vibration or frequency of the food that I eat and have been enlightened by the sacred consciousness of food. Me a vegetarian? That’s the craziest thing that could ever happen…yet it did…and here I am universally in love with myself and yourself, God and my carrot stick.
Wow, wow, wow. You made it.
This is so amazing Melissa! Thank you for sharing your beautiful experience. I love listening to you describe your experiences and feelings – you have a gift girl!
I will continue to work toward this magical place of transcending and cannot wait to get there, in time. I have so fallen in love with the breath that I cannot wait to experience it. And, Sandi you are an inspiration to me as well! Even though I did not know you months ago, I have watched you break through right before my eyes and it has been so beautiful. And yes, I have a Kleenex next to me as I type this. Love you Sandi! I know our journeys will continue to cross paths forever and am so grateful that yoga brought us together.
WOW! Breath is certainly amazing! I’ll be the first to admit, I have a long way to go! But I have seen glimpses of the peace that can be achieved! In class in November, Lucia commented that I been still through our entire meditation! I have never been still! Wow! What a wonderful experience! Thank you all for being such a wonderful addition to my life through this experience! Love you all!