The Body

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You will be seated. Although one can essentially do this practice sitting on their couch, or even lying down, we recommend this position for the most effective approach to reprogramming and developing the hypothalumus and thalumus. The preferred method is on the floor seated on a cushion where your legs can cross with knees touching the ground firmly, and with the lower back arched naturally from the height of the cushion. The arch is important as it provides support for rest of the spine to balance erect with little effort and allows the lower abdomen to expand comfortably with the deep breathing.

With legs crossed in lotus, half lotus or even with legs folded underneath on a cushion (or in a chair with lower lumbar support if unable to sit on a cushion or seiza bench) you will be able to allow the spine to stretch upwards naturally. Being seated without folding forwards with the upper body is important. With the hips tilted forward the lower back will arch and allow the spine to basically hover during this exercise. The head is straight with ears over the shoulders. Chin tucked slightly in as if you were stretching the top of the head up at the crown. Hands will rest on a cushion or your lap so they are about 1-3inches below your navel as seen in the corresponding images.

The Brain

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The posture aspect of practice is relatively straightforward. Sitting with legs crossed can be tiresome, but whether sitting on the ground with knees firm, or on your couch at home the focus of the mind is critical and imperative for developing midbrain health. Ideally you will focus on this aspect of practice as much as possible throughout the day, as without this direction of attention no change will occur.

Before I begin describing what to do with the “mind” or brain let’s start by redefining some perimeters of what good midbrain health is. What is a healthy hypothalamus and thalamus? We rely on this part of our brain to control basically all aspects of stasis and neurophysiological response. It is also responsible for memory categorization and accesibility. Unfortunately, our midbrain is most active when in deep sleep. This is when it can effectively be activated and better assist with analyzing, adapting, and regenerating. Without deep sleep we essentially lose our “minds” as they say and this is why. All systems go haywire.

With modern research we have been able to understand more clearly at what measurable range the midbrain becomes active and can be developed. For those who understand the basics of brain waves know that delta waves are the range of oscillation that the hypothalamus and thalamus are connected with. Delta to Theta corelate to our deep unconscious and subconscious mind. Beta waves govern our conscious waking state precipitating higher and higher into chronic stress, anxiety, and overall mental fatigue. The fact is deep sleep is not enough to develop the midbrain, or at the very least maintain good health in those regions with the pace of our lives.

There is a “trick” though, a shortcut if you will, that allows you to engage the midbrain, hypothalamus, thalamus and hippocampus region and develop it at will. Think of it a little like discovering a new feature on a game, your phone, or in your car that allowed you to bypass unimaginable efforts to achieve something that makes your life exponentially easier. This is like that. A little more effort than pushing a button, but sometimes almost that easy.

With your body stable on a cushion and knees firmly on the ground or sitting upright with lower lumbar support in your chair you will now focus your thinking attention to your breathing. You will focus primarily on long slow deep exhalations. Inhalations should be natural and full if emptying the lungs, however you will focus on elongating the exhalation out as far as possible. It might be necessary to count the seconds of your exhalations when you start until you develop familiarity with your rates of exhale extending out 15-20 seconds and longer.

As you focus your attention on the exhalation you will also focus on the area just below your navel where your hands are in specific form. You will maintain a slight sensation of pressure pushing outward from the lower abdomen as you feel it relax with the deep breathing. This will seem quite difficult at first as the muscles around the diaphragm and lungs are used to being over tense and contracting in short pulses to maintain fight or flight breathing patterns, which have less than 2-3 second exhalations. It is very important to focus on the long deep exhalations from the bodies center, not from the chest. Focusing the thinking brain on the diaphragmic breathing coupled with the long exhalations is critical for strengthening the hypothalamus and thalamus. Here is why.

By focusing the frontal lobe and conscious thinking part of the brain on this involuntary function, and then controlling it by setting the pattern as if it were in deep deep sleep we are in fact synching the 2 areas of our minds and allowing the midbrain to now become active in a waking state. Focusing the conscious mind on this autonomous, involuntary unconscious body function and controlling it is the key. Thoughts are fluid in the cerebral cortex. Let them pass always focusing on elongating the exhalation i.e the hypothalumus and thalumus. By slowing the exhalation at 15 seconds plus up to 45 or more, we are reprogramming our waking rest state to be in delta wave state where the hypothalamus and thalamus are most active and able to do their jobs effectively. The more we practice this the stronger our midbrain becomes.

The Benefits

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As you develop and strengthen your breathing and you are able to relax more and more into the exhalations, the midbrain, hypothalamus and thalamus, unconscious and subconscious, will become conscious. People go to psychotherapy for years to do this. Developing our unconscious mind is essentially what we are doing though this practice. All the benefits of such are just side-effects. As you strengthen the midbrain maintaining stasis from a delta oscillation point you will naturally develop the ability to engage in, and maintain greater healthy beta and gamma wave function within the brain as well. Developing delta-gamma wave coupling is being able to maintain and modulate from a solid delta wave stasis, but with full gamma wave capacity, higher or hyper conscious thinking, and greater fluid and emotional intelligence.

The biggest problem that most people face is their intrinsic breathing day to day is literally generating an overdose of high beta waves in terms of brain function. Short 2-3 second exhalations. That’s producing high cortisol and adrenaline leading to mental fatigue, and the vast chronic symptom complexes that arise from this. Some theories and data suggest that our brains, minds, are designed to function within the delta-gamma coupling, but it’s not really possible to maintain without a strong delta base. Its unstable. This might sound a bit complicated but in order to experience a higher level of functional consciousness we must do it from a solid delta wave base line. A solid functioning and awake hypothalamus and thalamus.

Delta-gamma coupling is currently under wide study and being linked with disorders from Alzheimer’s and dementia, to capacity for intelligence. Another unique side effect from the long deep slow exhalations is the natural decompression of the spine. This is why it is preferable to be in a posture that allows the lower lumber to relax and stretch the spine upwards with each exhalation. This happens automatically taking pressure off the discs and nerves. As mentioned there are numerous benefits to practice. From balancing hormones to heart rate to blood oxygenation and sex drive, the health of our hypothalamus and thalamus should be our #1 concern for living our best life. No doctors or medications necessary. No religious conversions or any other act of faith other than typical self-preservation to get you started.

Although completely unnecessary to engage in and benefit from, we do recommend the use of neurofeedback devices with practice. These EEG headbands are great for instant affirmation of where exactly your brain is on a frequency scale as well as several other factors that provide real data for constructive reference in developing your practice. They are becoming increasingly popular for those who are motivated to be more productive during work or athletics helping reconcile the subjective experience with measurable feedback.

It is easy to view this practice as another meditation and catalog this like other meditations as to their goals and capacities. This is not meditation. Although very similar being in the sitting position and focused on the breathing, this practice is exact in its effort, and in its effects. There is no desire to detach, disconnect, or create spiritual connotation to, or with yourself or anything else. Relaxation is not the objective here.

This exercise will be challenging. You will not believe it’s possible to exhale like that, and for that long in a gentle and controlled way. You will not understand the effects until you have practiced for a month or so. Maybe longer. Once the frontal lobe and conscious mind connect to the hypothalamus in such a way in the waking state, synching up the conscious and unconscious regions of the brain, this will all make sense subjectively. You will not only feel more relaxed, but also more awake and sensory aware. Hyperaware with a stasis of deep delta wave baseline. Mental disorders of every kind will fall away and greater cognitive and emotional intelligence will be available naturally, automatically. This is the practice of Advaya.