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| I have recently recommited to a regular pranayama practice and I feel very excited about it. Unfortuneately I live in a part of town that is very noisy. The noise has always bothered me but now that I am becoming even more sensitive through my yoga practice, the noise is really bothering me. I go to lay down in the morning for my pranayama practice and hear screaming children walking to school, cars honking on their way to work and worst of all...sirens. Tons and tons of sirens. Not only is all of this noise distracting but sometimes I literally cannot hear my breath. The way I see it, I have several choices....1) get up very early before the world wakes up 2) convince my girlfiend it's time to move, which we can't afford right now 3) find some way to deal with it.....What do you all think? Have any advice?
-Aaron |
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| Foam ear plugs--available nearly anywhere like drugstores, KMart, Wallmart, etc. THey're cheap & disposable...check 'em out: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/unfoamtrialp.html 
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| I do not recommend Big Brother Bruce's ear plugs. They look too hot and spicy!!!
The problem is simple and so is the solution. But, you are the one making it complex.
1. Do not think of the neighbours including children.
2. Do not think and talk with the girl friend.
3. Do not think about the unaffordable move.
4. Now, think of yourself.
5. Next find the place where there is peace you need at the time you need. For example, nearby school ground after 4 p.m. or at 6 p.m. Nearby University class room after the classes. Due to the Spring/Summer season, a nearby temple or a public garden/park. ETC ETC.
6. And, go and do the Pranayama there, do not tell others including your girlfriend. Otherwise, they shall come there and make the new place equal to the old one.
In other words, if the mountain does not come to you, you go to the mountain.
Best Luck
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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| Ah c'mon Beloved Brother Neel--let us use modern technology to help us on the road to peaceful meditation. |
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| I think I will try all of the above...even the hot & spicy ear plugs! The underlying theme here is that I am being demanding. I am demanding that the world be the way I want it instead of me adapting to situations. This is definitely information for me to remember the next time I am looking for a place to live. I will not be living here forever. I suspect we will be moving in a year or two. so, I can make do until then.
Another friend of mine suggested that I learn to be with the noise...I may try that as well. Some mornings it bothers me more than others.
-Aaron |
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| I'm with you Arron--I want to conform things to how I want them--hard sometimes and that's where I have to accept or move on. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
  
Location: A Blue State | Iyengar specifically talks about noise being annoying in Light on Pranayama.
If Guruji finds noise annoying, you should not feel that you are lacking when you also
find it annoying!
You might try doing your pranayama late at night, when things calm down, or
very very early in the am. I do nights myself.
Brother Neel's advice about finding a quiet place is very good advice. I have a hard
time with my asana practice at home sometimes if my family is being restless or
bickering about something. If I could make good arrangements to do asana privately
somewhere else, I certainly would, just to get away from the distractions. However, I
have not yet worked this out. There are two evangelical churches near me, both
of which appear to be quite unused during my practice times, so their meeting rooms
(or whatever) are inviting. Unfortunately, as I am learning in another forum,
my Om nama Sivaya's would make me quite unwelcome!  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
 
| BKS used to - and probably still does - get up at 4:30 am to practice pranayama. Most of the world s pretty quiet then  But here's the thing. I live in a very quiet neighbourhood up here inthe Great White North (ya know Canada - where we all live in the wilderness   ) and in fact the quiet of the house seems to simply intensify the noise inside my HEAD!  I have done amazing pranayama in classes right downtown with cars, sirens, people, church bells etc. Its all in the preparation and quieting the brain and mind. And that's where a good, regular asana practice helps.  |
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| That's good to hear (no pun intended!) that it's quiet where you live and you still find distractions.
A friend of mine suggested that these noises are the vrrti (sp?) that I am holding on to. I agree with my friend. I also think that one day I would like to live in a place where I can hear the crickets chirp and the see the stars twinkle. For now, I live where I live and I can work to find peace where ever I am.
I have been practicing every morning and there are still sirens and children but they are not bothering me as much. I think I will work to get up a little bit earlier. That may help me as well. On top of feeling frustrated and distracted by the noises I also feel rushed in the mornings because I inevitably never give myself enough time. Perhaps if I didn't feel rushed I would be less inclined toward frustration and annoyance. .....
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| aaron - the frickin' frackin' crickets can drive you even a little more insane than the sirens. And don't even get me started on the birds... |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
If you are rushed in the morning, put it off til evening.
Actually, I have to go do my pranayama now. |
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| I often feel rushed in the morning but if I get up just a little bit earlier I can have the time I need. I got up only 15 minutes earlier this morning and my practice was much more calm. All the noises were there but I didn't notice them as much. Right now, if I don't do pranayama first thing in the morning, I don't trust that I will do it at all. I am just starting on this pranayama journey and it doesn't feel "right" yet. It's not like my asana practice - if I don't practice in the morning it's pretty safe to say I'll be on my mat that night. There's too much temptation to blow the pranayama off.
It's true that birds and crickets chirping can also be distracting. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. I am going camping in a couple of weeks and look forward to being outside without all the city noise. I'll see how different my breath is there.
Aaron |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
Getting the mental space for pranayama is always a bit of a challenge.
I did mine mid-morning today, while the kids were still sleeping.
If you do daily pranayama, say 6 days a week for 20 minutes at a stretch,
and keep at it for about 4 months, you will own you pranayama practice.
It gets easily to maintain once you understand how to time the breath
and how it feels to have your intercostal muscles completely open.
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| Four months is not that long. That makes me feel hopeful. Luckily I am taking a pranayama class right now so that helps me to keep at it. If I were doing this on my own...
Yesterday, Saturday, was a perfect example of not practicing if I skip pranayama in the morning. I practiced asana with a friend in the morning - a pretty rigorous arm balance practice. I had big plans to lay down for pranayama in the afternoon...but everything else seemed to get in the way. "Seemed to" anyway. Today is my class so I doubt that I will practice pranayama before hand. This is more of a struggle than I thought it would be. It's pretty typical of my personality. I tend to want to put up a good fight before I will surrender. I am really trying to resist the fight this time though. Interestingly I am not that frustrated...just making observations. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Afternoons seem to slip away from me.... Anything I put off until then often just does not get done - especially on weekends. OTOH, 4 - 5 pm is my peak time of day and often the time I do asana. Another good reason to do pranayama first thing in the morning is that you haven't eaten. The Iyengars are really big on no food before pranayama. If you don't eat anything after lunch you might be ok to do pranayama in the late afternoon. I am such a nibbler, it is difficult to find a time when I have an empty stomach except for first thing in the morning. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
So here I am: choosing between going to do my pranayama and
posting more stuff on this forum. I think that pranayama will win....shortly.
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| Keep it up Brother Bay Guy. That is the way to go.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | Thanks Brother Neel. And I'm at the same point tonight. I need to get to bed, so I
can work in the am, the kids are asleep now, and I have a choice between posting
here and getting ready for pranayam. I don't sleep as well if I don't do pranayam before
bed, either. It somehow clears away the stresses ( that is @#$%^STRESSES!!!!#$%#$%@)
of the day, so that I can go into that subtle union with whatever it is we reach while sleeping.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | tourist - 2005-04-24 10:27 AM
Afternoons seem to slip away from me.... Anything I put off until then often just does not get done - especially on weekends. OTOH, 4 - 5 pm is my peak time of day and often the time I do asana. Another good reason to do pranayama first thing in the morning is that you haven't eaten. The Iyengars are really big on no food before pranayama. If you don't eat anything after lunch you might be ok to do pranayama in the late afternoon. I am such a nibbler, it is difficult to find a time when I have an empty stomach except for first thing in the morning.
How does anyone manage to do Pranayama first thing in the morning? I'd either fall back
asleep or sit there thinking about the work I have to go do. Even late at night, it
takes me 10 minutes to slow myself down enough for breathing. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Bay Guy - it is not easy! I have both fallen asleep and spent the whole time thinking about my day. I think you just get up in the morning and do it and if it happens, it happens. BKS talks about trying for 10 years to get his practice going properly but he just kept showing up on the mat until it finally sorted itself out. Which reminds me - I should go do mine now... |
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| "Is the noise in my head bothering you?"
- The Gods Must Be Crazy |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
Actually, the noise in my head is brahmari pranayama. Do a bit of that and you
can go right to sleep.... |
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Too noisy for pranayama
