Yoga Postures, Meditation and Yoga DVDs

A news report in The Times of India reports that yoga reduces fear of falling in older practitioners. The study was only 12 weeks, and only produced a small percentage of perceived feelings of safety. That is, they asked them how they felt about their likely hood of falling which decreased by 6 percent.

I had one older student, about 74 when she started, who had a very obvious increase in her ability to balance. She had a big balance problem when doing a pose like tree pose she would use a wall or ledge to keep her balance. I told her to take her hand off as much as she could even if it was for a second or two.

And, that’s what she did. At first she could only balance for a second at a time. She would hold on to get into the pose and then let go keeping her hand near the support, then grab it again after a second or two. She was very patient with the process of learning to balance.

After less than a year she told me that she was walking down a steep driveway the night before and realized that she had no fear of falling at all when she would have been very fearful just a few months before.

Amazingly, she had only gotten a little better at letting go of the support. At that point she could balance for three to five seconds, maybe a little longer now and then.

After less than another year she could balance completely. She would use the support to get into the pose, but then she would just stand there and stare at the trees outside the window. She would have such a serene look on her face, it was beautiful.

It only took another few months until she didn’t need support to get into the pose. She would stand near the support anyway. I think it was so she could look out the window. All from learning to balance with support.

Keep practicing, yoga can have amazing affects. A couple of years isn’t that long really, especially when it’s something you enjoy anyway. And, when it brings such an amazing result.

This is the continuation of the article The Basic Energy Circulation Technique Used In Chi Gung And Energy Flow Asana Practice, Part 1. This very powerful meditation can be life changing, I know from personal experience.

The Basic Energy Circulation Technique

The basic technique is done by using your will power to draw the energy up the spine and down the front. It may take time to feel the energy, but continue to practice even if you don’t experience the energy at first. It will grow stronger with use, like exercising a muscle.

You can use the breath to help the energy move. Start with a long, slow inhale as you bring the energy up the back and into the head. You can take a normalizing breath or two while you bring your attention to the point of contact between the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Feel the contact point and the energy.

Some people feel the energy while others may visualize it’s movement. Still others may hear the energy’s passage or even taste or smell it. It depends on the individual.

Take a deep breath, and with the exhale bring the energy down the front of the body and back to the perineum. Bring the energy right back up again with your next inhale.

Making the Energy Stronger
There is another practice that is used by many cultures for getting the energy to move strongly up the back. It is a simple exercise wherein the genital/anal area is draw up by squeezing the muscles in the pelvic floor.

Start by squeezing this area three to five times as you inhale the energy up the back, especially at the beginning of the breath. Holding the contraction is also possible. Relax that area as you bring the energy back down the front. Repeat when starting a new cycle.

To Complete
It is important to take time at the end of your practice to bring the energy to a holding place. It can even be harmful if this is not done.

At the end of your last cycle, as the energy moves down the front, take a minute to focus the energy in your belly for storage. The main point is called the chi point which is located one forefinger width below the belly button. This is the root and center of the third chakra, which extends up from here to the solar plexus.

This is the best area to store the energy. Allow your belly to relax out as the energy fills it up. Eventually it will start to feel like a tire around the body.

Benefits
As you use your will to move and control the energy in your body, your ability will increase. This ability to use your will translates into life as the ability to use your will to get what you want from life.

Note: Unethical behavior causes your divine Self to withhold fulfillment of desires in life. This is the essence of the law of karma (literally: action). Each action you do brings an appropriate reaction from the Universe of which you, as divine, are part and whole.

Health, vitality and longevity are also possible with the Basic Energy Circulation Technique. I once heard about a healing clinic with a high success rate in treating the very ill using only this technique plus wholesome food, water and air.

Coupled with other practices, the Basic Energy Circulation Technique can even bring seemingly miraculous powers such as being able to absorb powerful blows without injury. It all has to do with chi or life energy, prana in Sanskrit. It is possible to store chi in the body so that it will absorb the blow and protect the physical body.

How Long to Practice build a grill out of a 55 gallon drum
Start your practice with something you will actually do. Less is better than more if you find yourself not practicing. Even a minute or two a day can bring benefits.

I recommend starting with three minutes a day and increasing by one minute every ten days. At the end of a year that would be 40 minutes counting one minute for completion. An excellent practice.

It can take up to a year and a quarter for you to accurately evaluate the effects of this practice. However, it is likely that you would experience benefits long before that.

This technique is an important part of many Chi Gung techniques as well as Energy Circulation Posture Practice.

There are many possibilities with the Basic Energy Circulation Technique, and many benefits as well. It can be done as a stand alone meditation, or done with other practices such as chi gung exercises and yoga postures. And, it can bring life changes and abilities to those who practice regularly. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the technique.

Energy circulation has been taught for thousands of years and throughout many cultures. The latest stops on this route were with yoga in ancient India and Taoism in China. Both cultures practice energy circulating techniques that most likely came from the same source.

Both teach how to move energy in the body, but in different ways. For this article we will look at the Chinese/Taoist technique. This is the Basic Energy Circulation Technique that is used in Energy Flow In Asana Practice.

Breathing Technique Used

While there are many different breathing techniques that can be used while doing the Basic Energy Circulation Technique, three part breath is one of the best.

It is best to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. And, it is good to develop this practice from the beginning as most people tend to breathe only through the nose. It is easier to develop this early than to change the habit later.

Two Energy Channels
This technique relies on two of the main energy channels in the body. They both start at the perineum, the area between the gentiles and the anus. The first moves from the perineum, up the spine, to the crown of the head, and then down to the hard pallet at the roof of the mouth. The second energy channel runs between the perineum and the tip of the tongue.

Closing the Gate
Connecting these two energy channels by lightly touching the tip of the tongue to the hard pallet is called “closing the gate.” Keep your attention firmly on the point of contact between the tongue and roof of the mouth.

The hard pallet extends from just behind the front teeth to near the center of the pallet. Most people can reach their tongue back far enough to feel where the hard pallet ends and the soft pallet begins. The strongest place to put the tongue is at the furthest point back in the mouth on the hard pallet just before the soft pallet. This can be hard to do because of the limited range of motion of the tongue. Anywhere on the hard pallet will work.

Keep the tongue touching the hard pallet throughout the time you practice this technique.

Three Part Breath
Part one of three part breath is a diaphragmatic breath. As you inhale, your belly will extend out while your chest does not fill or expand at all. Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest to see how you do when you practice this breathing technique.

Diaphragmatic breathing is relaxing to the body because it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of the central nervous system that relaxes the body. Consequently, it can be difficult for people who are under a lot of stress to do, that is most people in the modern world. The benefit of mastering this technique can be enormous for those who live with stress.

Practicing while lying down on your back is the easiest way to learn this technique. If just doing diaphragmatic breathing, try holding the breath for a short time after filling the belly then releasing. This breathing technique needs to be accomplished before moving on to three part breath.

After doing a diaphragmatic breath, continue to inhale into the lower chest then on up into the upper chest. Once the lungs are completely full, hold the breath. The hold time depends on which technique you are doing as well as what is comfortable for you.

Exhale with control and in opposite order from the inhale. Adjust your hold time so that you can control the exhale.

This is enough to digest for now, I’ll put up part two soon.

I wanted to let you know that there are yoga videos in the works. There will be videos for all levels as well as some fun stuff. And, I’m not the only one teaching the classes, one goal I have is to incorporate different instructors with their individual styles.

I am currently in Bali where I have been shooting various people. One class I did recently is with some Balinese girls ages 16 and 17. That one was really fun since they speak no English and my Indonesian is very limited. And, they had never done yoga before! But, it looks really great with the most sacred mountain in Bali in the back ground.

There is a great series for beginners based on seven years experience teaching a beginners class for Kaiser hospital. A friend I met here has a very different style to me, which is rare after 30 years being involved with yoga, that I think you’ll like. And much more.

This week I’ll continue the beginners series, and maybe shoot the girls again. I found an instructor who does a very slow style with lots of energy work that I hope video this week too.

These videos will all be available for a very reasonable price as a download, or for a nominal production and shipping fee a physical DVD can be sent to you. Everything will be previewed on some of the video sites like YouTube, so you’ll know what you’re getting.

So, look for the future of yoga videos. Sign on to the mailing list and you will be notified whenever a new video is available as well as free yoga books that I have for the members of Yoga With Kalidasa. And, did I mention? I’m going to put up an entire beginners class that you can view for free.

Peace,
Kalidasa

Energy circulation techniques have been taught for thousands of years. Taoist techniques of energy circulation and chi gung are taught world wide now. Yoga techniques also include energy circulation and meditation. Unfortunately, very little is known about energy circulation and yoga poses today.

In yoga five energies are acknowledged. These are: the inward flowing energy, outward flowing energy, upward flowing energy, downward flowing energy and circulating energy.

Inward Flowing Energy
In yoga poses, energy flows inward from the breath and the earth. As the practitioner breathes in a pose they are bringing in prana or life energy. Holding the breath either in or out allows more prana to be drawn inward. However, when doing strong poses it is usually best to breathe throughout. In this case the activation of the pose is what allows the prana to be drawn in from the breath.

Outward Flowing Energy
Outward flowing energy can be considered a loss. This loss can have an altruistic/giving component such as in giving energy work. The outward flowing energy can also be a waste of energy. The ancients knew this, and developed yogic techniques for closing those doors.

Upward Flowing Energy
The upward flowing energy is the most important one for the deepest seeker of Truth. It is the upward flowing energy that connects self with the divine. The technique of yoga is designed to purify the energy channels so that this energy can flow upward unimpeded.

Downward Flowing Energy
The downward flowing energy is associated with elimination. In the ordinary sense this is through the feces and urine. Another common direction is for it to flow out of the body through the soles of the feet. During asana practice an undesirable energy can release. This negative energy needs to flow out of the body. This is usually accomplished through the feet, hands or the entire body, whatever is connected with earth. Earth can absorb and neutralize negative energy.

Circulating Energy
The circulating energy flows around in the body allowing movement and purification. When there is movement there is circulation of energy. Sometimes an asana can appear static while there is actually movement within. With yogic techniques the energy circulates around the body purifying and cleaning the 880,000 energy channels that are said to be contained within it.

Working With Energy Flow in Asana Practice
Just as each asana has a final form, the energy circulation of the pose has a final form. In the descriptions of the yoga poses the final form of the energy circulation will be revealed. However, this can and will often vary depending on what is going on with the practitioner.

Start by intending for the energy to flow in the desired direction. If it won’t cooperate then simply allow it and notice what it is doing without trying to change it. Gradually start directing the energy. The ability to direct energy in your body can be easily developed.

What Happens in the Purification Process
As the energy flows, it collides with toxins in the energy channels and breaks them lose. This is the purification process.

The toxins are often emotional energies that are stored in the nadis (energy channels). Eventually, as you continue to focus your attention on the energy flow and the barriers to it, you will become conscious of the cause or causes.

These barriers can show up as a thought, an emotion, a physical activity or as sensation in the body. Yoga poses done with attention to energy and the blockages often allows for a release of whatever is blocking. On a physical level the body can go into a reaction by shaking, losing energy, sweating and sometimes even pain. Emotional releases can happen

As you practice continue direct the energy flow in the direction indicated in the descriptions. Eventually things will shift and your pose will become deeper and more open.
More Energy Work Information to Come
There is much more to working with energy and energy flow in asana practice. There are many meditation techniques for directing the energy. An excellent start in asana practice is to have consciousness of energy and the direction of flow. Add breathing techniques to that and you really have something.

This is part two of a two part article. You can find part one here.

The ancient yogis experimented with various techniques to achieve spiritual union or samadhi. They kept meticulous notes on what worked and what did not work to complete the path. We are graced with the scripture these scientist left behind to help guide us.

Hatha yoga is composed of five steps that were outlined in part one. The purpose of hatha yoga is to take the seeker to raja yoga also called royal yoga, the second main stage of yoga. Raja yoga has to do with Enlightenment and complete realization of Truth.

Everything in yoga can be understood at different levels. In our regular lives, raja yoga can be  looked at as gaining understanding of the world, learning, focusing attention, understanding self, concentration, develop single-mindedness and so on.

Raja yoga has three steps, concentration, meditation and absorption. Learning a difficult subject but enjoyed is an excellent example of the stages of raja yoga.

Concentration must be developed when a challenging subject is studied. At first, it is necessary to continually pull the attention back to the subject. It’s like strengtening a muscle, the more it’s done, the more concentration ability is developed. 

Eventually, distractions are not only ignored, but concentration is so strong that it is almost impossible to break in on one so engaged. Meditation is a focus that is so strong that virtually nothing can break it. 

When meditating on the truth of some subject in this way, a shift can happen. It is as though a light is turned on, something is known that was previously unknown. It could be understanding a poem, solving an intricate math problem, or understanding a process such as writing. If unbroken attention is focused long enough, the hidden becomes obvious. 

The same is used when seeking spiritual Truth. In enlightenment meditation the primary concentration walker mowers for sale of attention is on self. As practice begins the attention wonders often. Eventually, as meditation sets in, there is nothing but being with oneself. Finally the viewer absorbs into the viewed, a merging occurs in a timeless moment where there is nothing but Union with Self. 

Enlightenment is actually an after experience. The sanskrit word for enlightenment, anubhava, means after experience. The first experience after the moment of union is the knowledge brought back. Whatever it is, it will be wrapped up in true knowledge of Self. 

This process takes considerably longer than scholastic learning, but the steps are the same. And, a deep level of Self enlightenment can easily be achieved within a lifetime if the seeker is sincere. 

By comparison, the deepest path of yoga takes lifetimes. The Union sought by this type of yogi is permanent union with all that is, the point where Self and the Absolute are the same. This is the end of the path of yoga, but all stages are necessary. 

The royal path of yoga, concentration, meditation and absorption takes the seeker from knowledge to enlightenment, and finally to full union with the Divine. The path is long but wide as the many travelers carve their own particular way. But, the basics haven’t changed in many thousands of years.

A yoga has become very popular these days. It first came to America in the late 1800s when Swami Vivekananda, an Indian teacher and Yogi, gave a lecture on meditation in Chicago. Interest in yoga flourished in the 1960s when there was a surge of interest in Eastern philosophy. Today it has grown to more than 11 million practitioners in America with more joining and every day.

The yoga that people practice today tends to stress fitness and strength. These are fine goals for any practitioner of yoga, however it is only a part of what yoga is really about.

The path of yoga that has been followed for thousands of years is more about letting go of the external world in favor of the internal. Fitness and strength of body are encouraged because it is necessary for the path of union that yoga really is.

A primary emphasis of yoga is right livelihood, which is based on treating others well. The first precept of the first precept of yoga is non-injury. From non-injury all other codes of behavior are formed. A serious seeker of Truth restrains themselves from injuring another so that they can progress on their path. 

In fact, how you treat others is the only real way to gauge  spiritual growth. If you treat people better today than you did in the past, then you have grown spiritually. 

This can only be measured by your personal standard. As we grow in our ability to treat others better our standard grows as well.

Other than restraining from injuring another, a true spiritual seeker will refrain from telling lies, taking anything that does not belong to them, covetousness, possessiveness, and squandering the sexual energy.

Observations are what a spiritual seeker does that will help them towards union with the divine. Purity of both body and mind, contentment, self-study, austerity, study of Truth, and giving of one’s Self to God are the five observances.

Another step on the path to yoga is restraint of the life energy. This is usually translated as breathing practices. The Sanskrit word prana is one of the most misunderstood words in the Sanskrit language. Prana is life energy. In Chinese is called Chi. 

The air has molecules in it that are essential to life. Prana is the energy of the life force that can be found in the air and the molecules that make up. It is the energy potential that is found in all living things and as such, can be brought into the body. 

Modern science says that it’s the molecules and atoms found in the air and the food that sustains life. The ancient yogis say that it is the life energy within the molecules and atoms that sustains life.

Yoga encourages the practice of collecting prana so that the energy can be used to reach for the Absolute. One of the ways to do this is with breathing practices. Another way to do that is to hold the energy in the body by restraining sexual activity, overeating, excess talking and any other activity that needlessly waists it.

One of the things that can be done with the life energy is asana practice. The word asana means  to sit, to place, to remain, to abide. Asana is usually translated as postures which is an accurate description of the activity of the practice of asana. As with all things yogic, there is deep meaning behind this simple practice. Much more than just a great exercise with many benefits. 

As one progresses on the path of yoga, deep states of meditation can occur. The door to the deepest meditation is withdraw of the sense organs which leads to introversion. This is a state in which the sense organs disconnect from the sense faculty. 

This disconnection doesn’t mean that sensory input is not experienced, in fact there is a heightening of the sensory experience. But, there is a lack of involvement with that input that allows the seeker to begin to transcend the external as the attention goes inward.

The path of yoga has two distinct stages. The first is outlined in the five steps above. On the mundane (everyday world) level this stage mainly has to do with extending life and developing character. At the deepest level this stage takes the seeker to the brink of deathlessness. Scripture says that after completing this stage the seeker’s body ceases to age.

This first stage is called hatha yoga. Ha (pronounced like ho in hot) means sun. Tha (ta as in tub with a breath between the t and the short a sound) means moon. 

The sun energy channel runs just to the right of the spine while the Moon energy channel travels along the left side. It is the merging of these two energy channels at the Sun Moon chakra (energy circle) at the third eye between the eyes, that signals the completion of hatha yoga. At this point all the energy channels up to the third eye are purified.

It is impossible to get across the whole of the path of yoga in such a short outline. Part two will complete the outline. Further exploration will follow in the future.

There is so much that can be said about yoga that I don’t know what to say. I could talk about what it is, its origin, the meaning etc. And at the same time, there’s so much that has already been said it seems useless to say it again. I think of all the thing that I know about yoga, all that I’ve experienced with a life filled with yoga, that I really don’t know where to begin. 

For me, yoga is everything. But then, I’ve been on a yogic path my whole life. 

I would say that I started on the path of yoga when I was just a child. As an introverted and rather lonely child I spend a considerable amount of time contemplating and meditating on, well, nothing. 

I would spend time in my favorite climbing tree just sitting and thinking. I would stare up into the night sky and try to grasp the infinite like the nuns at school said was impossible to do. At night I would lie there and see if I could stop my thoughts like the same nuns said was impossible. 

As a young man I found the more formal path with a teacher, a man who took me under his wing as it were and taught me about enlightenment. 

I had been seeking the Truth with books and various religious paths, but nothing satisfied. Among other things I was reading the bible and going to church to see what the self proclaimed experts said the words meant. The problem was that I read one thing that they said meant another. 

Then one day in the health food store I saw a flyer about a talk that someone was giving about enlightenment and the bible. He was also talking about the Gnostic Gospels that had been recently released. The christians only shurgged their shoulders whenever I asked about the new scripture that had been recently discovered. 

Being a sincere seeker I went to the talk to see what someone with a different point of view has to say about these mysterious things. 

It turned out to be a preview for an Enlightenment Intensive that the speaker was giving in a few weeks. I liked what he was saying as it was more in line with what I was seeing in the bible than what the preachers were saying. 

I was very naive and had no idea what I was getting into. Good thing too or I might not have gone. I fell in love with the meditation that was taught, a zen type of meditation.

The retreat was three days long, and very intense as the name intimates. And, I loved it. It really fed my soul. While I didn’t have a ‘direct experience’ during this first EI, I could tell that I had progressed towards something that I had been looking since I was just an eight year old boy. 

And that was the start of my path with yoga. The man who gave that first EI I took became a most important teacher for me, guiding me for several years towards deeper and deeper experiences of the Truth. He influenced me so much that I gave my son the same middle name, Daniel. 

Daniel led me to two other very important teachers. One was Swami Kripalu, an Indian saint who initiated me into the depth sadhana (spiritual practice) that I now practice. The other was Yogeshware, an American who was a disciple of Kripalu’s. 

I didn’t have much time with either of these teachers, but their influence was and is extremely deep. Suffice to say I fell in love with the path of yoga. 

Perhaps I’ll continue to write about my story, and by that you might understand the depth of yoga and what it really means. Maybe the story of a yogi who has been on the path for over 40 years, formally for 30 might give some insight to a few. While I have studied dozens of subjects during my life, it has all been yoga, I owe it all to yoga. There is lots to return. 

Peace, 

Kalidasa