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KellyN
75 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 01 2012 : 4:42:36 PM
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Hello,
I have been engaging the AYP practices since last November and I feel pretty secure and stable in what I have been doing so far. I am now reading the Asanas, Mudras & Bandhas book . First, let me start with the fact that I am still trying to get the Sanskrit terminology straight, Oy! Anyway, my practice follows this path so far: ??? mins recommended asanas, 5mins Pranayama, 20 mins DM, 5 mins Samyama, 5 mins Cosmic Samyama.
1. I want to know when Am I supposed to include the chin pumps or Dynamic Jalandhara? or just the Jalanhara?
2. Also, I am already doing the 3rd eye seal (sanskrit term??) and the root lock (again, sanskrit?). I will have to read this book again, that is clear! I think I am doing the practices accurately but then again, I also can not be sure of that. How is the abdominal lock done and when??
Thank you for your help :)
K~ |
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AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2012 : 10:37:57 AM
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Hi Kelly,
You are doing Sambhavi (3rd eye seal) and Mulabandha (root lock) additions with your Spinal Breathing.
Next up to your Spinal Breathing could be Ujjayi (restricting out breath), or even full yogic breathing, and you'd already be looking at the next great thing, Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka (breath suspension) to which Jalandhara (chin pump, both static and dynamic) is an addition.
Dynamic Jalandhara (dynamic chin pump) goes together with the advanced form of Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka YMK (breath retention), so that one comes later on after the addition of Uddiyana to YMK.
From what I can tell, you're doing the practices in the exact order they are introduced, though I'm going by the Easy Lessons primarily. If you find more specific instructions or variations in the Enlightenment Series, please do mention them as I'd like to cross-check those too at some point.
Uddiyana is also part of YMK, added shortly after Jalandhara (chin lock). We can look at the specifics of it once we get to it.
I started with AYP about a year and 3 months ago, adding YMK 8 months ago just short of static chin lock, and since then haven't changed a thing. Everything's been stable here no matter how far I push the routine up to and maybe a bit over the recommended times, maybe because of grounding practices I've done in the past. Either way, Jalandhara bandha is also next up over here. |
Edited by - AumNaturel on Jul 02 2012 10:39:33 AM |
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KellyN
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2012 : 2:49:13 PM
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Thanks AumNatural!! One more question, I just wanted to know, what do "blockages" feel like? I don't feel anything, except tingling at 3rd eye, crown, and vibrations all through my body when I meditate. Nothing is uncomfortable at all, so I keep going. I can breath pranayama and follow the spinal nerve up and down root to Ajna with no issue. Does that mean I don't have blocks or that they haven't been any issue YET??
Many thanks! |
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AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2012 : 4:13:31 PM
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My pleasure, and do ask away. Good learning opportunity for all involved, and in an effortless fun way.
Also get the occasional tingling at those same spots, but for me tactile feedback towards the bottom half of the spine is numb. Maybe that's one example of a blockage, though I wouldn't know. A friend of mine once said it that has to do with mingmen cavity (back end at level of belly button) not being open enough, though don't want to get into micromanagement to verify that.
Another guess is that there would still be obstructions at more subtle levels than the pranamayakosha, at the mental level. I notice that whenever getting lost with the mantra, it isn't into samadhi (except for split second transitions) but into daydreams or even coherent thought streams. I figure shatkarmas or inner obstructions act like hooks on consciousness, preventing it from sliding deeper. Samadhi and the inward movement has direct impact on the physical and its subtle counterparts, first to help the mind to gradually see the true source of all experience (beauty, harmony, etc.), and at the same time open to primordial energy that can be handled with more purified nadis.
I always found it so interesting when vibrations are mentioned coming from ordinary DM. The only ones I know of happen deep into theta with mind in trance, or real sleep deprivation. |
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KellyN
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 03 2012 : 11:28:16 AM
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yes, thoughts still intrude my practice during pranayama, DM, and samayamas . I never thought these were considered blocks. I just return my attention and focus to the practice, as recommended here. i usually feel vibrations or at least they are more noticeable during the samyama practices. I vibrate for some time after that too. it feel good actually, sureal. the tingling occurs thought the practice and the day, especially when I read, think, or talk about anything spiritual or take a deep breath. I have started to have some remarkeable dreams of kind authority figures, people in bright red noticing me, the roof of my house being blown off by severe wind, etc. The dreams feel significant, spiritual in nature. could they be symbolic hints of K activating???
thanks again!
K~ |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Jul 03 2012 : 6:54:50 PM
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As long as you don't see the beloved,
as long as you exist and the beloved exists,
as long as you are unsure,
as long as questions remain,
know there to be blocks...
but does it really matter,
if the practice continues anyway,
no matter what,
again and again,
be sure the blocks to dissolve..
..sooner or later..
all love |
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KellyN
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 04 2012 : 09:48:24 AM
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Thank you, I am working through my blocks, I suppose. I am also intrigued by these monochromatic dreams with the splashes of bright color on a particular object. It really stands out in my memory. For instance, my supervisor ( a maternal figure whom I respect and admire in life) dressed in an elegant bright red pant suit. She sees me hiding, turns to look at me remains a kind observer without judgement. Or a doctor, whose emerald green eyes stand out when she speaks to me in a gentle and inviting tone (all else was in unremarkable, typical dreamscape colors of black/white/and grey). Dreams as such began some time ago, they never feel like "just" dreams...maybe there is no such thing as "just" dreams and I juts only started to pay attention to their importance. In any case, Pre-K or K activating, or whatever...I am happy and I am (we are) on the road less traveled by.
Many thanks!
K~ |
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AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - Jul 04 2012 : 12:35:09 PM
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Kelly: Interesting dream symbolism. Monochromatic dreams are said to occur in non-rem sleep, though have never experienced that. My subconscious tends to associate sleep transition vibrations with water, waves, and floods in places where you wouldn't expect. If you pay attention, I don't see why you couldn't also learn the symbolic language of your own subconscious if there is something coming through.
I make the habit of always staying open to dreams and possibilities, and even if most of them are just meaningless associations, it is one way to prevent the mind's obstructions from overshadowing that state's potential like it so easily does with the slightest negative expectation.
Holy: Great way to put it! Thanks. |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Jul 04 2012 : 12:40:42 PM
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Hi Kelly,
even if we have left the topic header of mudras and bandhas a bit ;)
I remember having dreams very vividly when I was a child, later having nor dreams for years, later again having dreams. After having started conscious spiritual practices, dreams increased and decreased. Sometimes they were astrally lucid, sometimes even of a mental-dream quality, sometimes consiously no dream just bliss and soemtimes just no dream no consiousness, and for some years now just a continuity independant of dream and no dream.
Dreams are as iportant as you make them important. The same goes for this dense dream as for the more subtle astral dream or the even more subtle thought dream. There is even a more subtle "idea of having a dream" - dream. They are all made out of the same substance, made out of the same K. K is the dream, she is already awake. When you see more of K, then not because it was not awake already bu you just were not aware of it. Awareness increases with DM, the flow of "personal K" also increases. K increasement within the body - mind will only be for your eternal good if it is directed again and again to the dreamer of the dream :)
As long as you practice, you can enjoy watching the K aswell. She cannot give you satisfying answers, yet may be of help from time to time..
..in pointing to its source ;) |
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KellyN
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2012 : 3:05:34 PM
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Thank you Holly and AumNaturel,
I started adding the Jalandhara at Pranayama. So lower my chin into the crest of my throat, right? I still follow the spinal nerve from root to Ajna with my eyes slightly raised upwards behind closed lids. I hold the breath (Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka- YMK) for a few seconds at 3rd eye and then release it back down to root...to start again. Is this correct?
Also, I am noticing that I am experiencing several thought intrusions again while in DM. Besides what I am already doing with Yoga, is there another method that can quickly dissolve this issue?
Also, about a month ago, I closed my eyes and began pranayama before DM and I immediately saw the room i was in...with eyes closed. As soon as the thought, "I am still able to see!" was manufatured in my brain, I lost it and all went black again. Ideas??
Thanks!! |
Edited by - KellyN on Jul 05 2012 3:17:26 PM |
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SeySorciere
Seychelles
1571 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2012 : 03:49:46 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by KellyN
Also, about a month ago, I closed my eyes and began pranayama before DM and I immediately saw the room i was in...with eyes closed. As soon as the thought, "I am still able to see!" was manufatured in my brain, I lost it and all went black again. Ideas??
Thanks!!
Apparently you can sometimes see from the top of the head if your third-eye is open and active. I once watched a satellite go by in a star-filled night sky before I realised that not only were my eyes closed (it was during DM) but I must have been seeing from the top of my head. I immediately opened my eyes to confirm that it was not in my mind.
Sey |
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AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2012 : 11:50:37 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by KellyN
I started adding the Jalandhara at Pranayama. So lower my chin into the crest of my throat, right? I still follow the spinal nerve from root to Ajna with my eyes slightly raised upwards behind closed lids. I hold the breath (Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka- YMK) for a few seconds at 3rd eye and then release it back down to root...to start again. Is this correct?
It is the nature of self-directed practice to have some flexibility and personal customization, so if you feel your additions are what's needed, then go for it.
You have got me reading the Eight Limbs of Yoga and the Asanas Mudras and Bandhas books as a way to verify the easy lessons from a slightly different angle, and they really are enjoyable and refreshing, often with concepts I've overlooked in the easy lessons.
From a self-pacing perspective, I have not seen jalandhara (static chin lock) being paired with spinal breathing pranayama. One such optional enhancement to SBP is yoni spinal breathing, using modified sambhavi (using fingers to seal nose and eyes), but not jalandhara.
For beginner yoni mudra kumbhaka (breath retention), it is done right after spinal breathing pranayama with just 3 repetitions. Deliberate breath retention is not recommended during SBP because it already has the slow deep breathing (kumbhaka effect).
quote:
Originally posted by KellyN
Also, I am noticing that I am experiencing several thought intrusions again while in DM. Besides what I am already doing with Yoga, is there another method that can quickly dissolve this issue?
I think thought intrusions are perfectly normal and will go on for a long time, and stand as cues to return to the mantra gently once it is possible to do so. Concentration here is with relaxation.
It is possible to stop thoughts for a session with effort and I have experimented with that back with breath meditation. At a certain point, other layers of subconscious noise and mental movement can be noticed which are even harder to stabilize for any length of time. DM has that trance wyrd or effect which stabilizes things much easier and faster, and I found that extra awareness of deeper subtlety as a sort of mind split there just the same. Following DM instructions is the only way to go past that scenery no matter how attractive it can be at times.
The seeing with eyes closed I can also confirm, but only in trance outside of practice. First instinct is thinking my eyes are open a bit so I shut them, never realizing they are sealed in addition to sleep paralysis holding them. During YMK my eyes aren't heavy and sealed so the room becomes visible a bit because of the slightest raise in eyelids (maybe eyes are more dilated helping peripheral vision). Hard to say what's a true aspect of pratyahara and seeing with third eye, and what's ordinary mechanisms of perception whether sensory or dream-based. It probably becomes clearer much later on so long as practice is favored. |
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May I have some clarification please?
