These sessions aim to introduce students to various pranayama practices. It provides students with the time and space to deepen their practice. The addition of sound healing meditation with Himalayan singing bowls supports students in deepening their capacity to enter meditative states via the gateway of the breath.

These sessions include:

• One form of pranayama practice;

• Worksheet on the practice for home practice;

• Sound healing meditation (including relaxation); and

• One-to-one tutorial (optional). 

Pranayama is a form of breathwork. It can be practised either as a standalone practice or before, during or most commonly after practising asana (poses) or bodywork. It is one of the eight limbs of Raja Yoga outlined in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a collection of 196 aphorisms on the path towards samadhi (enlightenment). Pranayama loosely translates as 'restriction of vital energy', since yama loosely translates as 'restraint' and prana is often translated, not as breath, but as vital energy or life force. However, the practice of pranayama is much closer to 'expansion of vital energy' since, through the practice, one learns to increase awareness of the breath while also expanding lung capacity and the duration of the in-breath and the out-breath. The breath, in turn, further acts as a gateway to the mind because this practice requires one to be anchored in the body in the present moment. One has no choice but to be fully concentrated on the various elements of in-breath (puraka), inner retention (antar kumbhaka), out-breath (rechaka) and outer retention (bahir kumbhaka) of the particular pranayama practice.

The experience of sound with Himalayan singing bowls is not simply auditory; it can feel as intense as receiving a full-body massage. It is experienced deeply in the body. This practice has been used for meditation and rituals in China, Tibet, Nepal and Northern India since around 1200CE. Sound healing therapies, sound baths and sound meditations use Himalayan singing bowls, which create both sound and vibration. The sound created releases tension to generate relaxation for the mind and body, while the vibration created facilitates opening, unblocking, soothing and healing deep within the mind and body.

Some studied benefits of sound healing with Himalayan singing bowls, sound baths or gong baths and sound meditations include:

• An enhanced sense of wellbeing;

• Relief from anxiety, depression, and so on;

• Feeling more balanced and centred within;

• Deep relaxation;

• Heightened sensations and perceptions in the body;

• A deepening of the meditation experience;

• A release of blocked emotions;

• Improved sleep;

• A quieting of mind chatter;

• Feeling physically and mentally balanced, refreshed and rejuvenated.

Handmade singing bowls, as opposed to machine-made, produce a far cleaner and longer-lasting sound and vibration. Only carefully selected handmade singing bowls and tingsha sourced from Nepal, Tibet and the Himalayan region of India are used during these sessions. Sound Healing Meditations involve a more therapeutic sound compared with the higher intensity sacred sound baths.

Everything in existence is energy. Himalayan singing bowls create a high vibrational energy, which facilitates healing by penetrating deep inside a person's body and cutting through physical, energetic and mental blocks.