If a person adopts a regimen of breathing for one to three hours a day and tries to silence all free-flowing thoughts, directing their thinking towards the breath, they can remain consistent with this practice. It’s just a matter of time before they enter into a meditative state.
There’s no real description that we can lay on this meditative state because as soon as we start describing it, it starts to lose its true essence. It is beyond thought and explanation, so we should abandon the philosophy of what it is and stop trying to put some type of math behind it. All the words we use to describe different states of meditation and mental relaxation are valuable as a ruse to lower practitioners into ending their own suffering. However, they are all paradoxes and they all end up at a dead end.
Breathe. Keep learning techniques. Breathe through the nostrils sometimes, and practice the mouth breathing techniques that we know from various art forms like Yoga. Do alternate side breathing, do box breaths, and practice longer periods of retention to meditate on the flow of oxygen through the brain. Connect the mind and its activity to the breath. Work on sharp, short breaths through the nose.
Throughout the day, change your body position while doing these breathing exercises if you get distracted easily. Go for a walk and practice breathing. Practice yoga, weightlifting, and jogging while focusing on the breath and trying to dissolve all external distractions—but don’t get hit by a bus while you’re running. You must preserve the body and stay present in the moment. This is the test that leads to true mind control. Mind control does not necessarily lead to any monetary success; promising that is against the concept of self-realization.
Every time a negative thought enters your mind, increase your short, sharp breaths. If you see yourself getting into an argument or if you’re triggered, start breathing short, sharp breaths immediately. The mind will resist bringing you back into a relaxed state because it wants to stay in command. That is its function and job, but it needs a captain, a pilot, and that is your superconscious. Superconsciousness can only be reached by opening the portals through breathing.
Control is perhaps the most important lesson we learn later in life. When we’re young, we practice diligently—we practice yoga, our craft, we build our body and feel energized. But we prioritize building the body over waking up the mind and entering into deeper consciousness. Bring yourself back to the breath. Take long, slow, full deep inhalations, and exhale. Melt away all images of what philosophy is supposed to look like. It is not owned by any culture, and it does not have a religious face. Pure consciousness is timeless and universal. It moves freely throughout the entire cosmos and even beyond.
It doesn’t matter whether or not you understand all the physical principles that guide the universe. What is necessary is that you return to the breath if you want to experience every moment to its fullest and be present without fear. This is yoga mastery. Anyone can master the breath while standing on a yoga mat in a classroom. It doesn’t take much to show up, be honest, work with conviction, and give it your all. You will break through on the yoga mat for sure. But now, take it to the next level and master the breath throughout the day in all of the things that you have to do.
The yoga mat is like a flight simulator. It is only practice, getting you ready for the real world and all the situations that matter. The breath can help you heal all your childhood wounds. You’ll never need anything more if you can return to the breath with no expectation. Practice.