Upon Awakening: I make my first thought: relax back into the nirvana of sleep via the Ah Breath -- that same relaxed breathing we all do as we fall asleep and the soft palate drops towards the floor of the back of the throat,2 triggering a subvocal 'ah' sound.
If you wish, you can emphasize this by vibrating the back of the throat as if you are clearing your nostrils -- or better yet, the in-and-out purr that I demonstrate on Youtube. An alternate awakening exercise is to copy how a baby sleep-nurses on their uvula -- sucking also is VERY potent!3
2 Ujjayi Pranayama. . . partially close the epiglottis (the windpipe 'door' we hold our breath with) while exhaling. making a subtle hissing sound deep in the throat. Advanced Yoga Practices (highly recommended yoga website).
3 "Suck and become the sucking." The Vigyan Bhairava Tantra, #52. Quoted in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
Upon Arising: This is the time I practice the "Swallow The Sun" exercise. If the sun is visible face the sun, open your mouth and 'swallow the sun' with an Eartha-Kitt-like ‘panther snarl’ on the inhale: “AHRRRRMMM!” (vibrating the nasal septum – HREEEE! -- gargle a french ‘rrrr’)
At the same time reach out, spreading your fingers like claws and swallow the sun.4 Holding your breath, swallow a bunch more times until you are 'all full' -- or the attempt to swallow sticks in your throat and makes you laugh. Lick your lips all the way around. Say "Meeeeyowwwwrrr"to your Beloved in your heart. Do it until you're no longer hungry! YUM YUM YUM! Feel fat and sassy? End with a satisfied leonine ROARRRR!!!! (if you have understanding neighbors.) Or just relax and do some light purring, both in and out.
4 The Lion Pose in hatha yoga is similar to the Swallow-the sun exercise.
Upon Leaving The House: Hello the Sun -- Hello the Day!5 I always repeat the Gayatri Prayer when I start the walk around the block with our terrier Riqui Rikardo. It's one of the most ancient prayers, chanted in India to the sun at various times of day: "Om, Bhur, Bhuvaha, Svar, Tat Savitur Varenyam, Bhargo Deevasya Dheemahee, Dyo Yo Naha Prachodayat, Om Tat Sat." Or if you prefer it in English, here is my personal translation: "Aum, oh earth, oh air, oh golden light, Oh, that brilliance most adored! We drink the splendor of that One who inspires our heartbeats to quicken with love."
5 Suryanamaskar - the ancient Sun greeting of 12 yoga poses can be combined if you have the space -- and privacy!
Other Hello's: If you are an animist as I am (and believe everything is conscious), you may want to greet various other entities such as the wind ("Hi, Wind! Noo-mah!"). I find the wind always responds to even just a thought in its direction. Truly! Try it and you'll see!6 And of course "hello" the trees, the clouds -- you might even indulge in a brief sky-gazing moment if there's a patch of blue available (ancient Tibetan meditation)7. You might also consider sungazing, an ancient practice that will charge up your solar plexus. Click here for safe instructions and precautions. Otherwise you can just greet the clouds, and see if you can dissolve one or two by simply staring at them. I always stop by a yellow rose bush to inhale the aroma of a blossom, and when I pass under a local pepper tree, I allow a few hanging bunches of leaves to caress my face and trigger a brief peppery tingle that awakens my nerve endings.
6See my essay abour talking with the wind.
7 Skygazing Tibetan Style "Gaze evenly into space with a soft focus... into the open sky with the crystal clarity of naked awareness. Breathe the sky in and out." (Lama Surya Das, Natural Radiance: Awakening To Your Great Perfection, p. 59)
The Walk: This is a perfect opportunity to practice a smile on passers-by, and a "good morning" whenever I sense it might be welcome. And when not greeting someone, I place the tip of my tongue between my teeth and continue to smile. Or stick the tip out between my lips -- I don't mind a few stares. Here's a detail from an Akshobhya Buddha in The Rubin Museum of Tibetan and Himalayan Art - http://mandala.rma2.org/five-blue.html:
Evenings: Reading or watching TV give me a change to practice two other bliss-heightening exercises:
The Thwizzler and Beyond: What first began as an exploration of my facial nerves' sensitivity with various tickling devices10 has now evolved to just allowing some strands of my hair to drift across my nose and mouth. Also, just the very lightest touch with your fingertips or nails should trigger a similar tickling rush. Wiggle your toes to keep the dreaded "Shoo-Fly Nose Tweak Reflex" away!
10See my essay: http://www.raysender.com/thwizzler.html
"Turn the tickle into a tingle," I tell everyone. "Your insect Early Warning System can make your heart vibrate like a gong!"
Breathe From Your Other End -- at Least, Sort Of: Your breathing is relaxed if you can feel the, er, center of your bottom moving out"on the inhale and "in and up" on the exhale. A spontaneous version of the Kegel Squeeze or, in yoga, the mulabandha.11 “Mother Nature gently makes love to you on every breath,” I tell everyone,
although in a more descriptive, cruder vernacular. “Flare your nostrils on the inhale to feel where you’re headed, and sigh on the exhale.”
"Darling, I didn’t know you cared!" She responds.
11 Mulabandha described here
The Stare: Better do this in private, because you'll look a little strange), but this is excellent to relieve physical pain. Pick a point several feet in front of your eyes -- it can be even empty space. Raise your eyebrows and upper eyelids way up, smile a slight smile and don't blink. Keeping the eyebrows motionless and high (and upper eyelids also) helps freeze the blink reflex. After a few breaths, you'll feel a sensation that your mind interprets as eyeball discomfort, and tears will well up in your eyes.12 If you widen your smile gradually with an accompanying squint, your lower lids will form pockets that will contain the tears and lessen the eyeball ache. Playing with the smile-widening allows me to ride the 'discomfort' energy longer.
12 Tratak means an unbroken gaze. See Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Chapter 2, verses 31 and 32: “A well composed and completely attentive sadhaka should, with steady gaze, fix his eyes on a target until tears are shed. Yoga teachers call this Trataka. Trataka is the healer of eye diseases and the remover of drowsiness. It should be kept as secret as a golden jewel box. (Ramon: Not!)
Make sure the eyebrows and eyelids stay high up and the eyes very wide or else the blink reflex will sneak in. I started just by holding for three or four breaths. The secret is to increase gradually while you grow accustomed to the feeling. Now after about six breaths I get the overwhelming urge to wiggle my feet and writhe my body. After about ten breaths I usually have to stop unless I stick out my tongue and say "HAHHHHHH!" because it becomes too overwhelming.
The 'afterglow' throughout my body is intense after I stop, lasts many minutes and erases any physical pain I might be suffering. Start with short bursts, perhaps five minutes apart. I now find that I can do a longer run (up to 12 breaths) before those writhing body movements start up. But don't force it because at first it might tend to create a headache. It should feel invigorating and not painful as you habituate to the energy.
A less intense version of The Stare can be done behind closed eyelids. I find that just raising -- and holding up -- the eyebrows, now triggers a similar energy.
Blinking To Swat Thoughts: Some Tibetan lamas blink to break out of looping thoughts, and EEG studies show that our thought stream shuts down for a micro-instant when we blink. Go for it! Think of your blink as a tennis racket, and the thought as an incoming ball. Swat! You never have to obsess over anything again!13
13 See my essay http://www.raysender.com/blink.html
Suffering is an illusion because we can overwhelm the body with bliss.
Attachment is an illusion because we are not imprisoned in our thoughts.
Bliss is the body of the Buddha, and that is who we are when the 'I' dissolves!
