As years go by our yoga practice tends to get more and more sublte. When we start out, we engage big muscles and move them in large, sometimes, hamhanded ways. Maybe we sweat a lot and shake when we strive for a challenging pose. Over time, our practice becomes refined, more subtle. We start to feel the effects on our nerves as much as we feel them on our muscles. We feel fascia sliding and gliding as we move. We become more aware of breath and our mental states. What comes next though? As we become more sensitive, more quiet, we start to feel into a space that I call the nanocosm.

A microcosm is a small, self-contained system that reflects or represents a larger system. It’s like a miniature version of a bigger world, where the characteristics, behaviors, or dynamics of the whole are mirrored on a smaller scale. For example, a single community can be seen as a microcosm of society as a whole, with its own culture, issues, and interactions reflecting those found in the larger world. This concept helps us understand how small parts of a system can provide insights into the entire system.

If we see ourselves operating in the world as our macrocosmic self, then we can consider all that happens within our skin as the microcosmic version of our self. Diving deeper still, we can see an even finer level of ourselves where the life energy prana flows through the nearly invisible streams of the nadis. At this nano level, the most sublte aspects of our being intertwine with the finer energies of the world around us. This is the space where we expereince wonder when the sky fills with color at sunset. At this level we find a deep sense of peace and connectedness at the sound of a creek running among the rocks.

A practice to tune into the nanocosm

Begin with a whole body yoga practice, perhaps starting with some gentle movements on the floor leading to several rounds of sun salutations. We want to move every part of our body to open all the subtle channels within.

Next, tune into your body on a different level through balance in tree pose. Find your pose and hold for eight breaths. Switch to your other leg and hold tree again for 8 breaths.

Now we’ll begin to turn inward. Stand with your feet wide on your yoga mat, your feet should be parallel to one another or toes turned slightly inward. Place your hands on your hips and stand tall. Fold forward at your hips until you can place your hands on the ground or on a support, such as, blocks or a low table. You may want to bend your knees and straighten them a few times before settling into the pose. Stay in this inversion for 3 minutes. When 3 minutes is up, slowly rise back to standing and stand with eyes closed for 8-12 breaths.

Come down to the floor and lay on your back. Make any movements that feel good to you, such as, hugging your knees to your chest or gently turning your head from left to right relelasing tension in your neck. When you are ready, lay quietly on your back with one or both hands on your belly.

Begin belly breathing. On your inhale, allow your belly to swell and rise. With your exhale, let your belly fall and sink towards your back. Repeat this 12 or so times. No need to force a bigger breath or engineer anything, just breath comfortably. After 12 breaths, release this intentional practice and place your hands alongside your body on the floor (palms up, down, or facing your body, whichever is more natural for you).

As you lie in savasana, let yourself settle downward and release any tension you may be feeling.

Lying here, feel your breath permeate your body. See how subtle you can be with this. On an inhale maybe you feel movement in your forearms or low back. See if you can feel even further, into your fingers or shins. As your body rises and falls with the breath, find minute spaces between your muscles, inside your joints, between your cells. Let your body be a cloudlike suspension of particles hovering in space. Exist here in this nanocosm until you feel ready to return to movement.