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Yoga
ThailandTom
Veteran
I tried making a thread about this a while back, but not much response. I am interetsed to know of how people here treat yoga if at all. What type of yoga, exercises and experiences. Something which made me laugh to myself today is that I was having a shower and for some reason decided to attempt the tree pose. Of course the floor is slippery due to soap etc, I attempted it on both legs and in fact could remain in it for the longest I have ever remained in it, that is mindfulness!
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I find around here, there are tons of yoga studios since it's the new trendy thing to do. Some charge and arm and a leg for what is basically doing normal hatha yoga in a heated room.
And although I can sort of see the benefits to doing yoga for mindfulness and connecting mindfulness to movement, I tend to not get along with that New Age-y crowd that meditates on mantras like "I am" and "Success" and ego-stroking crap like that.
This yoga deals with chakras and channels (subtle) body and purification.
But usually I do simple hatha yoga, which is the stereotypical yoga that everyone else does.
In my honest opinion all the other yogas work up the body so that it can meditate and work with the subtle body.
Kundalini yoga is the best form of yoga I've ever experienced and practiced. But its very intense. Hence my movement towards Tibetan Yoga, which also supplements my Dzogchen practice.
Yoga in the hindu tradition is all about attaining the light body using the chakras. This isn't said upfront because it isn't that known. Most yoga that we see is for health and physical benefits. True yoga starts when we acknowledge how thoughts, emotions, habitual patterns, physical body, what we eat, breathing, and energetic systems interact with each other to create this experience of reality.
Meh, maybe do yoga tomorrow. Or the next day.
@Thailand Tom, @Lady_Alison - tree pose is great! Very simple to do, but pretty effective in getting your balance and everything co-ordinated. It's my favorite after the downward dog (I just love how it stretches my legs in that painful-yet-relaxing way... I swear I'm not a masochist lol)
With a healthy mindset one can heal old undigested emotions and thoughts.
In my honest opinion one needs a good amount of mindfulness and non judgement.
So yes messing with the energies can cause problems, thus it requires good conditions.
But from another point of view, it is directly touching upon the things we avoid which brings about the most progress in accepting ourselves.
So it all depends.
This is something I was told.
I remember that at one place of work (a factory), where I worked twelve-hour shifts, I used to go into the changing room (which, at that time of day, was always empty) and do some asanas there, during my half-hour break. Once, after completing an asana, I looked across the room. In the corner of this room was a dust-bin (or, as people in the USA say, a trash-can). During a split second, "I" perceived that the dust-bin was NOT a dust-bin (I can't explain what this means; this was a split-second of prajna, or something). This, I am sure, was a direct result of the yoga posture that I had been engaged in. It was a moment of "seeing". (What the dust-bin was, if it was not a dust-bin, I could not and cannot say — the thing was something beyond intellect.) Anyway, because of what happened that day, I am convinced that to do hatha yoga assists in the development of higher faculties.
Shortly after this happened, I stopped doing yoga, and left it alone for many, many years (for the reason already stated). A year ago, in retirement I had became so very unfit, because of greatly reduced activity, that I feared that I would end up using a walking frame. It was difficult for me to walk fifty yards without feeling that I needed to hold on to some support or other. In desperation, I went to my doctor. He made an appointment for me to go to a physiotherapy clinic, saying that they would provide me with some exercises, to help my back. However, the date of the clinic was about four weeks away, and, as I have stated, I was desperate for help. I remembered that on my bookshelf were one or two books on yoga, from my younger days. I thought "If it is exercise and not medicines that I need, then why wait?" So, with great caution, I practiced just two simple asanas. This took only about fifteen minutes, if that. These were the Alternate Leg-stretch and the Locust. The sense of healing that flowed through my body and legs, when relaxing after each asana, was astonishing. Later that evening, my wife was completely staggered when I asked if she would like to go for a short walk, as I was feeling much better. I wanted to test the effectiveness of the yoga, even after only one attempt. The walk was a complete success. I was upright all the way, not feeling the need for any support at all. The next few days were even more surprising, and, on going to keep my clinic appointment, I asked to be discharged (which they did).
I keep up with the same two exercises every evening if I am able to, and my walking and standing is now much better (though not as dramatically improved as during the first ten days or so — I don't know why this is). At night, my sleep is greatly improved since taking up yoga again. If, for any reason (like my having a cold or something), these exercises are missed, my sleep is never as sound until the exercises are resumed.
All of the above is quite long-winded, I know, and I apologise for this. However, I feel that if the benefits of yoga were more widely published, there would not be as much physical (and possibly mental) suffering as there is. I also believe that yoga provides a good basis for mental development through meditation.
If anyone feels like having a go at yoga, do make sure to learn what to do and not to do, and always use a pad, a mat, or something, lest injuries occur. It ought not to be rushed into, or done without knowing the risks of ignorance.
As well as good things.
Bad things occur because one may not have the knowledge of what kundalini is and may project all sorts of negativity on the phenomena.
Good things occur because one may have knowledge of what kundalini is and may project all sorts of positive on the phenomena.
Some say that yoga is not about flexibility, it is about coming to know your true human nature and heightening our ability to love and cooperate wtih others.
Yoga practice focuses our attention inward to see and develop harmony and balance.
all these are based on my theoretical reading about Kundalini awakening and i have not experienced anything in Kundalini awakening till now.
@taiyaki - if any of the above things is incorrect, then please rectify it.
I think it lends itself readily to Buddhist practice and meditation, too, and I find that both enhance the other.