Through daily Shambhavi practice and almost daily Isha Kriya practice, I am beginning to experience my
body and mind are not me. How do I distance myself from my body and mind all the time?

Sadhguru: When you say, “I am not the body; I am not the mind” during Isha Kriya, it is not a philosophy
or an ideology. It is not a slogan that you keep shouting within yourself and one day become converted.
This is a subtle reminder that you add to your breath. Do not use “I am not the body; I am not the mind” to
try and psych yourself. You are just adding a certain element to your breath. Otherwise, you are not able to
notice your breath. Right now, you are only able to watch the sensations caused by the movement of the
air, not the breath itself.

 
When you are inhaling, not necessarily is only inhalation happening – exhalation could be partly
happening as well. Similarly, when you are exhaling, not necessarily is only exhalation happening –
inhalation could be partly happening too. But you will not figure this until you notice the way of the
breath. Though in many ways, physiologically, the breath is the basis of your life, most human beings have
never really experienced their breath. Those who become conscious of just the sensations of the air passage
claim all kinds of transformations, and that is true. Your sensations are the outermost layer of who you
are. Knowing the sensations is most fundamental. Whatever you touch, whether you sit or stand, there are
sensations. The breath is a more profound and subtle dimension which will not come into your experience
easily.

Taking the Breath Away

When we say breath in the sense of koorma nadi, we are not talking about
the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. That is happening as a consequence
of what we refer to as shvasa. Along with the transaction of air that is
coming in and going out, there is another level of transaction required for
the physiological process to happen. Even after a person is medically dead
– the movement of air, the heartbeat, and the brain activity have stopped –
he is still breathing for some time, in the sense that the koorma nadi is still
on. That process is still going on, but it is not able to pull in air and push
out carbon dioxide. It is like an old siphon that is still pumping, but the
liquid does not flow, because there is a little leak. Similarly, the koorma
nadi process is still on, but the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange has closed
down. Suppose the stock exchange closes down - in most people’s
understanding, the entire economy is finished, but you can still buy bread
locally. Maybe you do not pay in cash but in kind, but the economy is still
going on, though not at a level that could be measured. Similarly, the
koorma nadi can still be on while the exchange of air has already stopped.

We are talking about becoming aware of the breath, which means you

become aware of the link between you and your body. If you take away
your breath, obviously you and your body will fall apart. Travelling along
the breath will give you access to that dimension. If you learn to hold your
body a little away from yourself, you will know you are not the body. If
you are wearing loose-fitting clothes, you know these clothes are not you.
If you are wearing really tight-fitting clothes, after some time, you do not
know whether they are you or not. You experience your skin as “yourself.”
Some part of your skin will disappear in no time, but still you are yourself.
Even if you go into little deeper layers of the body, still you are yourself.

Adding a Fragrance to the Breath

Do not use “I am not the body, I am not the mind” as a slogan – it will not
work like that. This was given to you as an aid to bring awareness to the
koorma nadi, or the breath. Shouting slogans is a way of manipulating
crowds on the street. You cannot do anything inside with that. When I go
to new places in northern India, it is very common that people want to
shout, “Sadhguru maharaj ki jai!” I immediately stop them and say, “First,
a slogan will come, then a flag, then an emblem, then you will become a
nation of your own. And then you will have a national bird!”

“I am not the body, I am not the mind” should happen in a very subtle way
to bring the breath into your awareness. With that thought, you are simply
adding a little fragrance to your breath so that you can notice it. It is like
lighting incense to see where the air is moving. If it is moving gently, you
would not know otherwise. Just like that.