Category: Life Source

Branches of Yoga

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There are a good handful of individual Yoga practices all with the common goal to unify both body and mind. They are as follows:

Hatha Yoga ~ otherwise known as the ‘forceful path’ which relates to the yoga of physical well-being. In our Western society it is used primarily as a physical therapy and consists of asanas (postures), pranayamas (breathing exercises) and meditation. The word Hatha comes from 2 parts Ha (The Sun) and Tha (The Moon) ….

Raja Yoga ~ considered the highest form of Yoga for Raja means ‘royal’ and within this practice meditation is the focal point. Approaching Raja Yoga consists of great adherence to the 8 limbs of Yoga (see The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali).  This branch of yoga is also known as ‘classical’. Raja yoga typically starts with practicing hatha yoga which prepares the body in health and strength so as to proceed forward into more advanced stages of training ….

Karma Yoga ~ is the path of service with the principle that what one experiences today is created by one’s actions of the past. With that in mind all present efforts become a conscious way to create a future that gives freedom from negativity, narrow-mindedness and selfishness. Karma Yoga is practiced within everyday work and play in a selfless manner and with intention to serve others ….

Bhakti Yoga ~ is the yoga of the heart, the path of devotion to the Devine. This type of yoga builds a positive way to channel all emotions and provides opportunity to cultivate an acceptance and tolerance of everyone you come into contact with …..

Jnana Yoga ~ is the yoga of the mind, it is the way of the wise, the path of the sage or scholar and requires development through many levels of study of the ancient scripts and texts of yogic tradition ….

Tantra Yoga ~ is a pathway of ritual and brings experience of the Divine in everything undertaken. It is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted path of yoga. It is about cultivating the mind with reverence and encouraging a ritualistic and positive approach to life in all manner ….

All above branches/paths of Yoga can be integrated with each other and one can practice and combine any number of expressions to unlock and release one’s full potential as a human being.

Final Examination

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the Sanskrit for Prana is ‘moving force’ or ‘life force’ … this force is the fundamental energy and source of all knowledge, it is an upward moving breath which causes spiritual evolution.. it is all-pervading and self auto-energizing… prana is a vital energy .. it permeates the Universe and all individuals at all levels and it’s aim is to both maintain and destroy further creation …… it is both ‘being’ and ‘non-being’, a physical energy, a mental energy (where the mind gathers information) and an intellectual energy (where information is examined and filtered).  Sexual, spiritual and cosmic energy are also activities of Prana.  It is the creator of all things; life is moving because of it … when there is death, individual breath then dissolves into the cosmos.  Without Prana there is no life. Pranayama is the ‘science of Prana’ .. it is first and foremost awareness of the breath. It is the ‘focusing of attention’ to and the ‘observation of’ the breath…. breathing is a dynamic process and there are practical ways to keep attention to it; by focusing on its entrance and exit to the body via the nostrils… by listening to the breath by gently contracting the vocal chords… by following the breath through all areas it passes… through Pranayama one can prepare for the stillness of meditation… the ‘out’ breath is a most important aspect of the body’s elimination processes for one can utilise it as a mechanism to free the mind of any blockages and thus lead to the manifestation of greater clarity…. Pranayama aims to achieve this ‘following of breath’ through the offering of many and various breathing techniques and breath ratios… Pranayama is also the movement of Prana toward Apana (an eliminative derivative of Pranic energy) and Apana toward Prana…..

an excellent way of re-connecting either during or after an argument is to move into the ‘spooning’ position and to lie front to back with the person at the back resting a hand on the front person’s anahata chakra (heart centre)…. both can then lay relaxed and non-goal orientated simply breathing into the abdomens … for greater benefit it is recommended that the faster breather follow the slower breather… this is most often seen as man following woman, but of course, there are exceptions

kundalini is the feminine (shakti, dynamic, creative and energetic) aspect of potential energy which rests at the base of the spinal cord and when awakened, will rise it’s ascension through the psychic centres, the seven chakras (wheels) which lie along the axis of the spine (all of which are consciousness potential) .. this risen kundalini energy will then unite above the crown of the head with its polarity Shiva (the masculine, static quality identified with unmanifest consciousness) and thus pure consciousness unity fuses with the absolute…. the potential of kundalini energy is far-reaching and thus its release must not be forced … it is an awakening and occurrence must happen naturally and with consideration and care …….

familiarity with tantra can help a person to enjoy life to the fullest for tantra is a ‘positive attitude’ toward life… ultimately taking a generally positive attitude toward life will evoke great discovery, adventure and peak experiences … the enjoyment of ‘all and everything’ will be a direct result of this … the same familiarity with tantra will lead to a greater connection to this planet, to nature and to the universal cosmos, it will allow for a higher sense of self which will promote greater values for the self and the universe as a whole… once fundamental good changes become channelled (through processes of tantra) then higher growth ensues …. longevity is a product of all of the above ……….

in the context of tantra the ‘guru’ is one who removes the darkness of ignorance and replaces it with the light of intelligence .. the guru is an essential part of life, his ‘role’ being the essence of all mystical systems …. the guru can be found within all but sometimes this inner relationship is difficult to connect, follow and understand … an external guru can assist with this first linking with the inner ‘self’ guru and thus enlightenment can then continue … the guru aids inner discipline, spiritual energy and primary intention ……..

visualisation is used alongside kegel exercises to increase effectiveness .. the power of the mind is infinite and far-reaching optimum results can be achieved by the strengthening capacity of envisioning images of controlled development … ‘seeing’ the outcome before it occurs is the ultimate path to success ….

the law of karma state is very deep and profound, hence few human beings attain full awareness and understanding of its intricacies … it is generally found through enlightenment, along a spiritual pathway, still unmanifest in much of humankind… it requires continued discipline to perceive the significance, the explanation, the cause…..  continued self-control and order for the human being is not easy when travelling through this modern age of ignorance … (however this modern age is now pivotal to a new time of greater consciousness thus new positive humanitarian karmic light is on the horizon)

a knowledge and arrest of ‘will’ and ‘intent’ is required if one is to foresee, accept and agree with eventuality… for the successful conduct and execution of life and death, great strength and selflessness is paramount… there are many weights to first pull in efforts to become light and lifted in line with the laws of cause and effect …. even when one is unloaded and free in the lightness of intelligence of karma, there is further mass consciousness of dark, unintelligent to contend with, its negative power sometimes draining ….

the greatest thing about karma is that joy will overcome all …. this will be achieved by making no distinction between self and other and having belief that all persons are empty, individually then each will receive karma ….

the true power of karma lies in its latency and infinity for here, time, space and existence have no bounds … karma will return and return again, whenever, wherever, howsoever, simply in relevance to the primary action that occurred …

my experience informs me that every act must have great intent, will and skilfulness, for every act will re-appear with its regenerative force whether that force be negative or positive … reactions have far-reaching effect … if primary action is relative to joy, all will be good …

Swadhaya through Pranayama

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Our breathing not only connects us with the outer world, but it also connects our body, mind, emotions and spirit. Sit quietly with eyes closed and spine erect but supple.  Begin to relax more and more into this very simple posture. Simply follow the breath going in and out of one’s nose. Then follow the actual movement of the air into and out of the lungs. Observe the body and sense where the breath is taking place. Does it take place in the shoulders, the chest or the lower abdomen? Do your shoulders go up when you inhale? does your belly go out or in? Do you feel your breathing in your ribs, your back and your pelvis? As you sense your breathing, are your inhalations and exhalations taking place evenly and harmoniously or do they seem to pull in one direction or another? What tensions do you feel? What does your breathing ‘sound’ like? As you sense the location of your breath, do you feel peaceful, agitated, angry, joyful, sad, bored or wilful? Are you being stubborn or rigid in your thinking? What are you thinking and feeling?

In addition, at the more advanced levels of this work with breathing, one can even sense a certain quality of energy that seems to enter with each breath, and one can follow the movement of this energy in one’s body. The purpose here is simply to observe – not to analyze, judge or manipulate.

Do self-study at least 20 minutes at the beginning of each day.

Breathing Meditation

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Generally, the purpose of breathing meditation is to calm the mind and develop inner peace.  We can use breathing meditations alone or as a preliminary practice to reduce our distractions.

Simple Breathing Meditation

The first stage of meditation is to stop distractions and make our mind clearer and more lucid. This can be accomplished by practicing a simple breathing meditation. We choose a quiet place to meditate and sit in a comfortable position. We can sit in the traditional cross-legged posture or in any other position that is comfortable. The most important thing is to keep our back straight to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.

We sit with our eyes partially closed and turn our attention to our breathing. We breathe naturally, preferably through the nostrils, without attempting to control our breath, and we try to become aware of the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. This sensation is our object of meditation. We should try to concentrate on it to the exclusion of everything else.

At first, our mind will be very busy, and we might even feel that the meditation is making our mind busier; but in reality we are just becoming more aware of how busy our mind actually is. There will be a great temptation to follow the different thoughts as they arise, but we should resist this and remain focused single-pointedly on the sensation of the breath. If we discover that our mind has wandered and is following our thoughts, we should immediately return it to the breath. We should repeat this as many times as necessary until the mind settles on the breath.

Benefits of Meditation

If we practice patiently in this way, gradually our distracting thoughts will subside and we will experience a sense of inner peace and relaxation. Our mind will feel lucid and spacious and we will feel refreshed. When the sea is rough, sediment is churned up and the water becomes murky, but when the wind dies down the mud gradually settles and the water becomes clear. In a similar way, when the otherwise incessant flow of our distracting thoughts is calmed through concentrating on the breath, our mind becomes unusually lucid and clear. We should stay with this state of mental calm for a while.

Even though breathing meditation is only a preliminary stage of meditation, it can be quite powerful. We can see from this practice that is is possible to experience inner peace and contentment just by controlling the mind, without having to depend at all upon external conditions.

When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subsides and our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within.  This feeling of contentment and well-being helps us to cope with the busyness and difficulties of daily life. So much of the stress and tension we normally experience comes from our mind, and many of the problems we experience, including ill health, are caused or aggravated by this stress. Just by doing breathing meditation for ten or fifteen minutes each day, we will be able to reduce this stress. We will experience a calm, spacious feeling in the mind, and many of our usual problems will fall away. Difficult situations will become easier to deal with, we will naturally feel warm and well disposed towards other people, and our relationships with others will gradually improve.

TEN RULES FOR LONG LIFE

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1.   Listen to your body and understand its needs – both physical and emotional

2.   Live in the present – do not worry about the future or hold on to the past

3.   Take time to mediate and silence your internal dialogue

4.   Stop looking for approval from other people – you are the only judge that matters

5.   Learn to deal with anger

6.   Accept that you create your own world – the world ‘out there’ is all a projection of your inner world

7.   Do not judge

8.   Do not contaminate your body with toxins – either through food and drink or negative emotions

9.   Forget old hurts – replace fear motivated behaviour with love motivated behaviour

10. Live in balance with the world, accept that you are linked to all creation

PSYCHOLOGY (part 1)

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Psychology is the study of the mind. It is a vast and complex subject.

Here, we deal with the mind in general, in a very straightforward, easy-to-understand study.

THE MiND

Mind is tangible. It consists mainly of thoughts, ideas, reasoning, awareness, perceptions, concepts, memories. It is creative, calculating, scheming, imaginative. Although completely non-material and non-physical, mind is a kind of receptacle for everything one experiences throughout life.

UNCONSCIOUS MIND

In order to give a little substance to mind, let us, in imagination construct a working model – a representation of mind in symbolic form. Firstly, imagine a sphere, the solid interior of which represents the Unconscious Mind: that part of mind which is normally inaccessible: that part of mind which contains a complete record of all past experience.

SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

The surface of the sphere can represent the Subconscious Mind. The subconscious, although accessible, functions in a very special way – secretive and somewhat obscure. It deals with a continuous influx of impressions drawn in from every direction. As long as the impressions continue to strike the surface of the sphere (sub-conscious) in darkness, they occur as subconscious impressions, incapable of entering consciousness.

Using the imagination once again, imagine a dense population of ‘tiny men’ covering the entire surface of the sphere (subconscious). These ‘tiny men’ represent Subconscious Response to the continuous influx of impressions and are of course influenced by all impressions that reach the subconscious.

Each impression acts as a stimulus, and each stimulus demands some kind of response. A response coming from a group of ‘tiny men’ receiving an impression, could be negative or positive. If positive, it could be either Instinctive or Conditioned. The ability to respond instinctively is inherent in humans from before birth, whereas conditioned responses are the outcome of training or learning (conditioning).

The ‘tiny men’ are most obedient; but they lack such faculties as initiative, reason etc. They are only able to respond as they have always responded to stimuli. In fact, it could be said that they represent that motivating force known as Habit.

CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE CONSCIOUS MIND

Now practically all that has so far been mentioned has been to do with the unconscious and the subconscious. What then of the Conscious Mind and Consciousness?

If we use the imagination yet again and imagine a helicopter of convenient size, in flight around the sphere, at a distance from the sphere’s surface (subconscious) and imagine also, a searchlight fixed to the underside of the helicopter, its beam of light scanning the activities of the ‘tiny men’, then we shall have a fair representation of consciousness. As for the conscious mind, of which consciousness is a part, that can be best represented by the helicopter, its equipment and crew members.

the following explains exactly what each symbol represents:

HELICOPTER – several crew members occupy the helicopter. The Pilot represents the Will, whereas other crew members represent various faculties of the conscious mind such as Reason, Logic, Decision etc

SEARCHLIGHT BEAM – the beam of light from the searchlight represents Attention and can be moved by the helicopter to illuminate any part of the surface of the sphere (subconscious) within its focus

ILLUMINATED AREA – the ‘populated’ area of the sphere’s surface illuminated by the beam of light from the searchlight, represents Consciousness.