MONTH 2

ASGARD: BALANCING BREATH

The conventional runestave that represents the mouth is called Ansuz:

If there’s anything I’ve noticed about runic studies, it’s that people get very excited about
their own personal gnosis based on their research of the various rune poems, cross-
cultural connections, inferences, and “secrets” they like to tease out of linear graphs that
resemble intersecting tree branches. They publish their “research” in oracular
manuscripts that prescribe your runic journey based on their thoughts of the meanings
of the runes.
You’ll notice that the first journal in this series, “The Rune Journal” by Tora
Oslunde, does no such thing. Thorsdottir encourages you to form your own conclusions
through meditation on the runes. Of course, reading the old poems and knowing about
the tale of Odin seeking the wisdom of the runes will greatly benefit your journey with
this ancient writing system. Seeking the answers in your own meditations will encourage
you to compare several different sources, as this is often the behaviour of those who
have a deep connection with the runes.
Quick note on the runes, although this is not a book of runecraft: It would appear
that these glyphs were more than just a typographic method of communicating
information. Archaeological remains display numerous runes on gravestones, weapons,
and even ships. Though many of the markings may have been used for communication,
often they were also used for ceremony. Examples of known ancestral Scandinavian
ceremonies include milestones such as birth, death and achievement. The ritual
ceremony of blot is still practiced to this day in Iceland, and in many other parts of the
world. The dates for annual blot often coincide with seasonal fluctuation, and contain
general practices to bring awareness to the necessity of the spirit of the occasion. For
instance, Disting (council of the Disir - feminine spirits) is also known as the “charming
of the plough” or the time during which we start thinking about projects we would like to
take fruit in the coming year. The time for this is the end of January, when the snows will
begin receding and we will need to think of which seeds we must plant in which places
for a bountiful harvest. This practice need not be overly esoteric. We’re channeling the
wisdom of a people whose daily vernacular is one of practicality, whose rituals are
developed over thousands of years of working with the land and relying upon it for
sustenance and survival. When January’s over, you’d better be thinking about which
seeds to plant!
Invoke Ansuz for this breath, and see what effects it has on your practice. As the
rune for “mouth”, it also invokes the notion of portals, of openings, of beginnings. It also
reminds us of something quite specific to breathing practice: breathing through the
mouth does not bring nearly as much benefit as breathing through the nostrils.
In extreme conditions such as excessive heat or cold, when the nose is stuffed
due to sickness, or when something smells quite awful, we are forced by necessity to
use our mouth for breathing. Otherwise, clearing the nostrils with a bit of lightly salted
water, the temperature of teardrops, is a great way to unblock your channels. This habit
alone with produce noticeable changes in your practice, and most likely benefit your
energetic output. Before we begin with the balancing breath, a quick word on imitative
magic:
The mythographer James Frazer once wrote about “imitative magic” in his
seminal work, The Golden Bough. He had many things to say about Scandinavian ritual
and ceremonies, and though he may not be the foremost scholar on topics of
Scandinavia, he certainly gives an important, if somewhat dated, account of rituals in a
global context. I would read him the way a psychiatrist might read Freud: foundational,
but not irrefutable. Imitative magic is the process of imitating a process in sympathy with
the activity it represents, for instance, dancing a victory of battle before entering the
fight. In the Western World, we have become accustomed to a way of living that is not
conducive to practicing breathing techniques that connect us with celestial realms, so
an imitative approach to dwelling within the context that forged the notions of these
realms may be used as a method of discovering them.
Archaeological remains and etymological interpretations of place names have
demonstrated that certain towns, rivers, and temple sites were named after certain
Norse deities. Such findings might suggest that ancient Scandinavians worshipped a
pantheon, much like we find in contemporary accounts of the pantheons of Rome or
Greece. Though we may read of gods and goddesses interacting with each other in the
compositions of skaldic poets, the idea that a systematized pantheon with complex
family dynamics and codified stories is not necessarily false, but it requires a great deal
of conjecture to reach the sorts of conclusions we read in modern treatments of the
material. It is just as likely that some gods and goddesses were worshipped in isolation,
or divided by means of classes and tribes, mirroring interactions between human social
groups. For this reason, a “balancing breath” might be useful for drawing in the energy
of a particular deity with which you feel an affinity, in the context of a hypothetical
pantheon such as the deities of Asgard. The purpose of a balancing breath is both
physical and essential. Its physical benefit is honoured throughout many traditions of
breathing practice as a way to re-balance your breathing habits and thereby, your
body’s internal health. The essential benefit arises from the physical benefit. When your
inner health is cultivated through breath-balancing techniques, your decision-making
processes, your response to outer stimuli, your tempered reactivity resonance, and your
harmony with others all provide greater strength and charisma in your daily interactions,
allowing for you to be more effective while farming, caring for livestock, and pillaging
neighbouring villages with your preferred group of bloodthirsty and treacherous vikings.
The balanced pillager is the most effective pillager.
Another reason a balancing breath is reminiscent of the concept of Asgard is the
notion of order, law, and cultivation that Asgard often indicates. Asgard, like the utopia
of Camelot in later works in the English language, is a place to which the deities return
after adventures, a fortified settlement, a place where order and cultivation are held in
high regard. The lore most often associated with Scandinavian tradition comes from the
Christian Icelandic lawspeaker and would-be mythographer, Snorri Sturlusson. In the
culture of Medieval Iceland, as it’s expressed in numerous sagas, arguably the most
important concept to the homesteads that promulgated the old tales was restorative
justice. Many stories are told of the Althingi, a gathering of citizens who decided upon
important issues of maintaining order and settling disputes. The notion of the Althingi
presents a sharp contrast to our conceptions of Medieval law, where on one hand, the
divine right of Christian kings is ordained by God and indisputable, and on the other, the
people of the North are often represented as uncivilized, lawless brutes. Should one
wish to emulate the customs of the Ancient North, resembling an intimidating and
aggressive malcontent would be far less authentic than being a fair-minded, community-
fostering advocate for justice. Learning and practicing the balancing breath is a great
way to bring this energy of harmony, cohesion, and just-mindedness into your daily life.
To begin with the Asgard balancing breath, choose a piece of poetry or old
saying that reminds you of the Aesir. My mind goes to a stanza I repeat quite often to
bring to consciousness the presence of the gods in my daily activities. It goes like this:
 Asliðar Alle, Valhalla Visir;
Mani rotum vinda scal
Mani rotum vefa scal

It means something like, “To all the gods, and the wise of Valhalla, may your
roots be strongly wound, may your roots be strongly woven.”
It’s simple, I suppose, but sometimes the simplest phrases are the most
memorable.
For the breath, begin with Natural Breath and Imaginary Breath. As you do
Imaginary Breath (which you ought to be a professional at by now), truly feel the heat of
the sun above you, and the coolness of the well of Urd below you. The sun is fire, heat,
light, power, energy, will and strength. The well is water, depth, coolness, solitude, rest,
healing, authenticity and self-nurture. You are grounded in the underworld, guided and
protected by your ancestors and allies. Now you are ready to bring your consciousness
upward, up to the overworld and the abode of the gods and goddesses.
First, I am going to recommend an ancient cultural practice, that dates back to
the 1960s. Make the hand gesture commonly associated with Leonard Nimoy’s
character of Spock from the hit American TV show, “Star Trek”. In case you are not
familiar with this hand gesture, I will describe it. Your index and middle finger on your
left hand are together, and your ring and little finger on your left hand are together. The
pairs of fingers spread apart so that a “V” (most likely intended to represent “Vulcan”:
the class of alien being from which Spock hails) appears. If you do not feel like singing
the above stanza, the accompanying phrase of this hand gesture (Live Long and
Prosper) is also highly appropriate. That said, when I make a V shape with my fingers,
it’s hard for me not to mouth the word “Valhalla”. It could also be a triangle representing
the A in Asgard. (A)sgard, (A)esir, and (V)alhalla. Look at that. Three triangles. The
subconscious is a powerful tool.
You will be using the ring/little finger pair to press one nostril while you inhale
through the other, and your thumb for the reverse. Though I guarantee nothing, I would
like to suggest that Asgard Balancing Breath will indeed help you to live long and
prosper.

ASGARD BALANCING BREATH (to be used with the fourth song)

You have found a sitting position you enjoy and can hold for a long period of time.
You have taken precautions to ensure you are warm, safe, comfortable and
secure. You have called upon your friends and guides from their underground abodes to
sit with you, but not distract you.
You have something pleasant and non-distracting in the background, such as
silence, atmospheric noise, ambient music, Scandinavian folk music, or if you go with
my personal favourite, metal. (I find metal non-distracting. If I really want to concentrate,
it’s good for drowning out everything else. Some metal is just loud pop music, though,
which doesn’t work for me.) This is also a great time to have your song sung to you
through an audio recording or by a faithful chorus.
You form a V with your fingers as described above. You may rest your V on your
knee for the moment. You go through your unforced natural breathing, your imaginary
breathing, or your full breathing to anchor and center your body (or as we might call it,
corpse, or “lik”).

1. Draw in/Let out

You have prepared yourself fully, and you are ready to bring your right hand to
your nasal region. You have two options for where to rest your index and middle fingers.
Most practitioners rest them in the center of their hand to draw the energy into their
hand-eye. Another option is to rest the fingers between the eyebrows. This is not often
used, however, for reasons I personally am unaware of and do not feel qualified to
suggest.
You begin by closing your right nostril with your thumb and drawing breath into
the left nostril. The breath comes from the left of your lik, and it is sometimes resonant
to be aware of the cardinal direction you are inhaling from. In Scandinavian lore, our
cardinals are represented by the four dwarves, Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri. We will
speak of them more when we discover the breath of Svartalfheim.
You continue by letting breath go from the right nostril while closing your left
nostril with your ring finger. For pacing, try to exhale in equal measure to the amount of
time it took to draw the breath in from the left nostril. Now you have completed a half-
cycle.
You complete the full cycle by doing the reverse. You close your left nostril by
pushing against it with your ring finger. You inhale into your right nostril for an equal
measure you used to exhale, close your right nostril with your thumb, and exhale for an
equal measure as the first three breaths. Now you have completed a full cycle.
You may rest your eyes if they are not already closed and reflect on the
experience, using natural breath or imaginary breath to ground and center yourself. If
you wish to continue in order to feel a full effect, you may continue as many cycles as
you like. Try timing 5 or 10 minutes of these full cycles, or count the cycles. I find
counting to be unnecessarily distracting, but some find it comforting. I’ve met people
who like the number 108 for the completion of cycles, and some who like the number
111. It really is up to you.

N.B.: If you are not familiar with these practices, I assure you that the way I have
written this contains all the information you need, though you may have to read it a few
times to understand the documentation fully. Don’t give up! These breathing practices
are as old as time, and can be found in numerous cultures. You are likely to find many
videos in your local library or from an online source detailing how to do the balancing
breath according to a particular tradition.
If you ARE familiar with this practice, paradoxically, you might be at a
disadvantage. The point is not so much knowing HOW to do it, as it is to structure a
regular routine of doing it. One who balances every day, even if they start with the
rudiments and improve slowly and steadily, will have a greater practice than one who
knows how to do it perfectly and only indulges sporadically.
There are two variants to the “Draw in/Let out” practice that bring you closer to
the practices of those most experienced with balancing breath. They are “Deep
metering” and “Fourfold balancing.” These are not necessary for a rudimentary
practice, so do not worry or stress yourself about them. As mentioned, practicing
rudimentary balancing breath regularly is more valuable than practicing advanced
balancing breath sporadically. Just for your information and expansion, if you find
yourself wanting to reach beyond “Draw in/Let out”, here are the practices:

II. Deep metering

You have prepared yourself fully, and you are ready to bring your right hand to
your nasal region. You are in a comfortable seated position you can hold for awhile. You
may begin with Natural Breath, Imaginary breath or Full breath to root yourself. You
initiate “Draw in/Let out” breath, with one added difference.
This time, you will choose a stanza of poetry you can recite in your mind. The
poetry can be as simple as a traditional poem in the English language referred to as
“counting”. The poem goes like this:

One, two, three, four;

Five, six, seven, eight.
Nine, ten, eleven, twelve;
Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen!

Perhaps you don’t think of this as a poem at this point in your life, but it has
everything a poem requires. It has a pattern, a rhythm, it is easily recognizable, and
many of us have this poem already in our minds and ready to recite. It has ancient
origins, and it contains meanings beyond what it represents. In particular, it contains the
standard rhythm of modern Western music, 4/4 timing. It’s interesting to note that not all
music in the world follows this pattern. For a Western audience, this might be the best
possible poem. For someone practicing breathing techniques in India, they might use
the rhythm of Gayatri mantra, as the pacing might be more familiar.
With deep metering, you can choose the pace that works best for you. Perhaps
the inhalation will be represented by:
One, two, three, four;
Five, six, seven, eight.

And the exhalation will be represented by:

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve;
Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen!

If so, take care to honour the balance of the breathing, ensuring that whichever poem
you decide to use, whether it is Asliðar Alle (above), Counting, or Gayatri, the
inhalation and exhalation are of equal lengths.
You practice this deep metering for intervals of possibly 5 or ten minutes regularly,
until you feel you have established a routine. When you feel bored of the routine, you
move on to practicing Fourfold balancing.

III. Fourfold balancing

Instead of initiating “Draw in/Let out” or “Deep metering” breath, you think
beyond the twofold, equal meter of breath. Those breaths were simply meant to prepare
you to practice this fourfold balancing.
 You have prepared yourself fully, and you are ready to bring your right hand to
your nasal region. You are in a comfortable seated position you can hold for awhile. You
may begin with Natural Breath, Imaginary breath or Full breath to root yourself.
You begin by closing your right nostril with your thumb and drawing breath into
the left nostril. Use deep metering to count an appropriate length of inhalation and hold
the breath for the same amount of time that you inhaled.
You continue by letting breath go from the right nostril while closing your left
nostril with your ring finger. Using deep metering, try to exhale in double measure to
the amount of time it took to draw the breath in from the left nostril. Hold your breath
after exhalation for the same time you used to inhale. Now you have completed a half-
cycle.
You complete the full cycle by doing the reverse. You close your left nostril by
pushing against it with your ring finger. You inhale into your right nostril for an equal
measure you used to hold your exhaled breath, close your right nostril with your thumb,
and exhale for an equal measure as the exhaled breath on the other side. Now you
have completed a full cycle.
Note to readers: this book is being done in conjunction with an active online
study group. If the group is wondering how to do these breaths, I consent to any
petitions you might have for an audio or video demonstration. If you are silent, I’ll
assume you are understanding the practice.

For a more symbolic and precise representation of the practice, here it is in

mathematical terms:

(In)hale
(Ex)hale
(L)eft
(R)ight
(H)old
(C)ycle

I: Draw in/Let out

In+Ex / In+Ex=C

II: Deep metering

In1+Ex1 / In1+Ex1=C

III. Fourfold balancing

In1+H1+Ex2+H1 / In1+H1+Ex2+H1=C

Not sure if that makes things easier or more difficult- it really depends upon how
your brain processes information.
Keep in mind that my fourfold balancing is not the same as everyone’s fourfold
balancing. Also note that fourfold balancing can be done with any breath that uses a
repetitive scheme, such as Full breath.
I love making videos. I will never turn down a request for a video. XD
 Journal
Write in your journal details such as how frequently you did the breath (once a week,
twice, every day) and the feelings your practice inspired.
 Week 1
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 Week 3
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 Week 4
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