I was visiting my son in Virginia. It was morning. We were having a cup of coffee.
While chatting, his 2 1/2-year-old daughter woke up from her sleep. He picked her up and brought her downstairs where we were sitting. To start her morning, he put on Mozart’s music. As she heard the music, she slithered down to the ground and started to dance. My son began to tap his fingers on the kitchen table in rhythm, whereas I started to clap my hands to be in time with the music. As this scenario was unfolding, I became aware of the fact that my granddaughter was only 2 years old, my son was 49 and I was 80. All of us were responding to the same music created almost 250 years ago during the 18th century. What was it about this music that appealed to all of these age groups irrespective of its ancientness? Why was this classical piece of music appealing to all of us equally?
I started to think about the ingredients that might have gone into making this kind of music as classical.
The music of Mozart was appealing to my intellect as well as my body. So was the case with my son and my granddaughter. That balance of the body and intellect made it special.
Then it dawned on me that the ancient Greeks were enamored by Apollo, the god of intellect and reflection as well as Dionysius, the god of bodily pleasure and dance. Both of them represented contrary urges within each human being leading to a clash between the mind and body. However, when they work in harmony within an individual, that person is said to be a balanced human being. This insight led me to think of classical music in the same genre. Though we belonged to different age groups, all of us were enjoying Mozart’s classical piece because it was a blend of the Apollonian and Dionysian urges.
This insight led me to thinking about yoga, which emphasizes the balance of the right side of the brain, which is linguistic and emotional (Dionysian) with the left side, which is intellectual and reflective (Apollonian). When both the right and the left sides are harmonized in a person, such an individual becomes whole. This synchronization within and without is aspired by all the seekers of spiritual enlightenment. The harmony of the Apollonian and Dionysian urges in the classical music of Mozart was a clue to what made painting, poetry or literature as classical. That was why we three, belonging to three different age groups, were enjoying Mozart’s music.
What classical art accomplishes for people might be similar to what yoga achieves through breathing exercises. According to yoga, breathing from the right nostril affects the left part of the brain which performs the intellectual, conceptual and analytical functions. It is where our thinking, reflection and analysis take place. However, when we breathe from the left nostril, it affects the right side of the brain where all linguistic and artistic functions reside. To balance the brain, yoga offers some simple breathing exercises through the nostrils to fuse the two segments to dish out its maximum potential. Thus when the Apollonian and Dionysian urges are regulated by breathing from the two nostrils, it would lead to the expression of the total self, which is the goal of yoga.
This exercise is a suggestion only. When done correctly it might be useful in easing the problem!
Breathing exercise (8-8-8)
Cross your legs and sit in an easy posture. Your back, neck and head are straight up. Open your left hand and rest it on your left knee. Put your right-hand thumb on little finger. Place the middle three fingers flat on your forehead. Release the little finger and the thumb. Close the nostril with the thumb. Breathe in from the open nostril for a count of eight. Retain the air in the lungs for a count of eight. Close the nostril with the little finger. Open the other nostril by lifting the right thumb. Now breathe out from the open nostril for a count of eight. Repeat this exercise three times and then resume normal breathing. For the beginners, it is suggested that you follow this procedure five times at one sitting. Increase it to 10 times after a few weeks of practice. You can also do this exercise while sitting in a chair at work. Other breathing exercises are variations on this basic exercise.