I drive 30 min to work and another 30 minutes from work back to home. It is not easy for me to manage time in such a busy life with work and family. I do manage to do asanas, meditation and pranayamas on regular basis. I somehow manage it. But I was wondering if I could make some use of the 1 hour I spend driving to and from work.
Any specific pranayams or asanas? I was thinking of bhastrika or kapalbhati. Any suggestions?
Namaste Yalgaar,
I will not recommend that you start doing those pranayamas while driving, you might just cause a huge accident. The one pranayama you can do while driving and when you are extremely stressed due to the traffic is the yogic breath or abdominal breathing.
I also use my driving time to rather listen to cd’s in my car which is of a bhakti nature, thereby practicing bhakti yoga while driving and repeating those beautiful mantras and the Lord’s Name, I love doing the Om Namo Shivaya while driving. This is mantra or japa yoga again.
I also try to apply the yamas and niyamas while driving as the poor standard of some drivers really test many of my resolves in terms of the yamas and niyamas.
These are all part of “yoga” in the end of the day and that is why many of us here on the Forum says that yoga starts to transpire in every aspect of your life, your life becomes yoga and it is not just restricted to asanas during the odd 45 minutes or 60 minutes a day sessions.
Yoga is absolutely not about multitasking. It is about being in the present moment. That would mean that you are totally engaged in driving. That is the real yoga practice. Being okay right where you are. Doing pranayama while driving means that you are not fully concentrating on either task which is dangerous and counterproductive.
u may do ur pranayama when stop to wait for the green light , other time is too dangerous for not concentrate on ur driving
I agree with Shanna. The yoga of driving is about staying focused on the task of driving. Awareness of breath is ok as long as its purpose is to keep you alert and focused on the here and now. I often turn the radio off so that the sounds I’m hearing, the engine, the wind, other vehicles, aren’t a distraction but an aid to staying focused.
Hi Folks,
Is it not at least part of the objective of yoga to incorporate practice with mundane, everyday tasks. If I practice yogic breathing while I walk or rake leaves, fold laundry, unload groceries, etc., how am I not in the moment? Also, how am I not doing yoga?
It’s the same with driving. When sitting in a car, plane or train, I focus not only on the the adominal breath (Pandara, very good), but also bandas. Because it’s usually quite prolonged, it’s a great opportunity to get get into it very deeply.
We should always be looking for opportunities to incorporate yoga with everything we do. This is not a lack of focus, but in fact just the opposite.
peace,
siva
Driving is one of, if not the most dangerous, unnatural tasks we do on a regular basis. Whether we are conscious of this during our driving doesn’t really matter as our bodies (physical, emotional, energetic) DO know. We are being bombarded by countless stimuli while driving and sitting (usually) in a very poor posture. If you ever want to drive yourself borderline crazy, say out loud everything you read while driving for two minutes. “Toyota, stop ahead, GM, Toyota, Honda, Lose Weight Fast Call Now, Honda, Yield”.
My point here is driving wreaks havoc on us in so many ways, especially our nervous system. Play a game: observe your body while driving and try and find all the areas you’re unconsciously tensing up. Welcome to fight or flight.
What aspects of yoga you utilize to help you reduce the issues associated with driving are up to you, but in my opinion, it’s extremely important that we do something.
Siva, yoga is not just doing it is being. If you stay in the present moment while driving and just be, then you are doing yoga. Yoga is union. There is no separation between being on or off the mat.
It is one thing to take deep breaths while you drive. That is fine. But to do an all out full pranayama practice is something else.
Lots of replies to my question. Thanks you very much guys. Some of them are conflicting. This makes me even more confused. I have a lot of respect for all you great yogis. But at this point I still am on same step as I was.
I agree and understand that there is a lot going on in the mind and nervous system while you are driving but I also believe that after driving for 17 years you becomes pretty good with it and eveyrthing becomes quite natural. The way I see things at this point is that I am wasting my valuable time while I am driving and since I love all about yoga so much, I only wish I could use this time to do something then just be driving.
That’s the the thing, Yalgaar. You are not wasting time. Everything in life has equal importance because every experience makes you who you are. Have you ever read “A New Earth” or “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle? I highly recommend these. They do a better job at explaining what I am trying to convey.
Good luck
[QUOTE=lashannasmall;20413]That’s the the thing, Yalgaar. You are not wasting time. Everything in life has equal importance because every experience makes you who you are. Have you ever read “A New Earth” or “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle? I highly recommend these. They do a better job at explaining what I am trying to convey.
Good luck[/QUOTE]
I see what you are saying but at the same time I also believe that all we are at this point of time is becuase of all the efforts we did. You seem to have so much knowledge and experience about yoga. This is becuase you put in efforts, you planned time, you made time to practice and learn yoga. i.e. all aspects including asanas, meditation, pranayam, yamas, niyamas, etc etc.
That’s exactly I am trying to do. Use the driving time for this, obviostly only if possible without hampering my driving.
Audio books on cd - I have Light on Yoga, and I have countless podcasts on yoga, vedantic philosophy, psychology… You can even download courses from websites like Berkeley University or MIT and listen to the lectures in your car!
I also have a lot of chanting on cds that I like to listen too.
None of this matters, as I don’t even have a tape player in my car.
I’ll live vicariously through you.
I agree with Shanna. Yoga is Union of forces. Yoga is harmony of energies (forces) within us and around us. So whatever we do with utmost concentration becomes yoga.
I personally feel driving is the best to test your concentration. It has so many forces in motion while driving. So understanding these forces and being in harmony with then it self becomes yoga.
[quote=lashannasmall;20410]
Siva, yoga is not just doing it is being. If you stay in the present moment while driving and just be, then you are doing yoga. Yoga is union. There is no separation between being on or off the mat.[/quote]
Hello Again,
I’m sorry. I am guilty of being a doer. Is Being something other?
One of the most most beautiful things about yoga, I find, is that it so clearly differentiates these different aspects we’re speaking of. I took yalgaar’s question to be something quite specific, pertaining to raja yoga, which IS doing, the “yoga of action?”
“Concentration”, or dhyana yoga, is also a part of raja, one of the eight limbs, and so is also “doing.” And I like the zen thing about “being,” but the question was about “doing.” And just for the sake of clarity, yogic breathing, or abdominal breathing is not deep breaths or pranayama.
To Be or to Do? That is the question.
peace and love,
siva
[QUOTE=yalgaar;20412]Lots of replies to my question. Thanks you very much guys. Some of them are conflicting. This makes me even more confused. [/QUOTE]
Once again, you have to decide for yourself.
My question is this: Why is the mind so restless that it doesn’t like to be yoked to a simple task? Why must it always be entertained or engaged in some activity from which it derives pleasure?
[QUOTE=siva;20446]Hello Again,
I’m sorry. I am guilty of being a doer. Is Being something other?
One of the most most beautiful things about yoga, I find, is that it so clearly differentiates these different aspects we’re speaking of. I took yalgaar’s question to be something quite specific, pertaining to raja yoga, which IS doing, the “yoga of action?”
“Concentration”, or dhyana yoga, is also a part of raja, one of the eight limbs, and so is also “doing.” And I like the zen thing about “being,” but the question was about “doing.” And just for the sake of clarity, yogic breathing, or abdominal breathing is not deep breaths or pranayama.
To Be or to Do? That is the question.
peace and love,
siva[/QUOTE]
Thanks Siva, I did mean “To do” In my original question abour “doing yoga” I did mean “to do yoga”
[QUOTE=Asuri;20458]Once again, you have to decide for yourself.
My question is this: Why is the mind so restless that it doesn’t like to be yoked to a simple task? Why must it always be entertained or engaged in some activity from which it derives pleasure?[/QUOTE]
I am not sure if this question for for me or was it just a question that applies to all of us. If it was was specific to me, I will try to answer it the best way I can.
As far as I am concerned, I have been trained with all my life experience that “when you snooze you lose” “Time is Money” Basically “Time” is most important and previous and not to be lost. So my attitude is to make the best use of the time. i.e. to engage myself to doing all that I can do to make the best use of this scarse time. There is so much I want to do in my life but not able to achieve, pursue becuase of not having enough time. So bottomline is that I find myself always inshort of time and having so much to do. So want to engage myself in some activity or pleasure.
I like to use my driving time to sing mantra that I offer up for people in my life who are ill or having difficulties. Sometimes friends or clients will ask me to include them or their loved ones in the mantra too. Of course, sometimes I listen to music on my ipod or curse at the other drivers instead of this, but it hasn’t seemed to serve me, or my brothers and sisters, as well as the mantra and prayers. 
*nichole
Namaste to all
I always practice the Hamsa mantra while driving. It helps me to maintain a certain level of awareness. It does help me to relax a lot.
Om Shanti
When I’m driving, I don’t wonder about yogic progress I could be making (though I’ll definitely try using the time to sing and pray for others). I do wonder about whether my posture is is counteracting some of the heart and hip opening asanas I did earlier that day and so will adjust the seat as best I can. Unfortunately my car’s seat seems to embrace a ‘cradle’ view of what it is to be a chair . . . then again, that’s probably saved someone’s life somewhere.
Neat thing is, yoga has helped me develop a point of view that will help me resolve counter-purposes (or understand multi-purposes), and weigh priorities.