Yesterday my yoga practice took me effortlessly into breathlessness, the kind of inner stillness where thoughts dissolve and awareness shines clear. Today, I tried to repeat everything step by step: jal neti for cleansing, gajkarni and throat cleaning, kapalbhati, anulom vilom, neck tilts, shoulder rotations, even extra asanas like snake pose. Yet the result was different. I could only reach a state of sloughed breathing that gave me a witness-like dissolution of thoughts, not the entry into pure awareness I tasted before.
This difference made me reflect. Maybe I did not need all those kriyas today, or maybe a cleansing like dhauti would have been more suitable, though I skipped it for lack of time. It feels that on some days only certain procedures are required, while on other days the body asks for different ones. The variation could be due to the changing needs of our organs and systems. Some mornings the nose demands special attention, on others the throat, and sometimes the stomach, especially if there has been a lot of talking or heavy, spicy, non-satvik food.
Slowly I am learning that yoga is not about mechanically repeating a routine but listening to the day’s condition. A quick body scan is enough to know: if the nose feels heavy, jal neti or kapalbhati clears the way; if the throat feels coated, gajkarni and water do the healing; if the stomach is sluggish, agnisar or a light abdominal pump is more useful; if stiffness sits in the shoulders, a few rolls or a cobra stretch is all it takes.
Alongside the body check, the mind too has its rhythms. On days it races, anulom-vilom or bhramari brings calm. On days it feels dull, kapalbhati or surya bhedi lifts it. Sometimes thought quiets enough for witness-consciousness, sometimes it melts completely into pure awareness. Both states have their value, both are steps on the path.
What I also realized is the importance of how we close practice. After any cleansing or pranayama, the system is charged. If I rise immediately, restlessness lingers. But if I sit quietly for about five minutes and just watch the natural breath without control, everything settles. This simple breath-witnessing grounds the energy, normalizes heart and prana, and seals the benefit of the practice.
The learning is clear: don’t chase the same state every day. Let the body and prana guide you. Sometimes purification itself is the achievement, sometimes breathlessness and silence arrive. Yoga is not a fixed door but many doors, and each morning a different one may open.
Demystifying Kundalini 