Advanced Yoga Practices
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Lesson 210 -
Handling Automatic Yoga and Siddhis (Audio)
AYP Plus Additions:
210.1 - Rapid Breathing and Vibrations during Deep
Meditation (Audio)
210.2 -
Automatic Chanting of OM during Samyama (Audio)
From: Yogani
Date: Wed Jun 16, 2004 4:18pm
New Visitors: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the archive, as previous
lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first lesson is, "Why
This Discussion?"
Q: I need a small clarification. While doing deep meditation I automatically
go into Jalandhara (chin lock). If I try correcting the posture the feeling
of "being-in" which gets built since I start meditation goes away. If I
don't come out of Jalandhara I don't get distracted but I am concerned that
I will not stick to the "just meditation" routine while meditating. Please
advise.
A: Automatic yoga of the physical variety is common during meditation, and
also in samyama. The reason is because we are deep into our pure bliss
consciousness and then the nervous system gets urges to facilitate the
purification process. You have the right approach favoring your meditation
practice with your attention. If our body is going in a certain direction,
we don't fight against it, nor do we cling to it. It is the same way that we
treat thoughts or anything thing else that comes up in our meditation. So,
we don't have to be concerned about the jalandhara (chin lock) being there
or not. It will take care of itself as we take care of our meditation.
I can tell you with certainty
that the automatic yoga will change as we continue our practices day in and
day out. We just are easy with whatever is happening. It is purification.
The jalandhara will give way to some other energy event. Others have written
in about the head going back, the torso going forward, shakes, fast
breathing (automatic bastrika), sobbing, and you name it.
With samyama it can get even more dramatic -- like hopping around on the
bed, or roaring like a lion. We always treat it the same, just easily
favoring the practice we are doing. Early stage siddhis (powers), which are
inevitable with samyama practice, should be handled in the same way -- when
they come up we just easily go back to the practice we are doing. It's
purification happening in the nervous system.
Automatic yoga is a symptom of practice, not the practice itself. We will do
best to stick with the primary causes, which are our meditation, pranayama,
samyama, and other practices. Automatic yoga is an indicator of progress on
the road to enlightenment, and will ease up as our nervous system becomes
increasingly purified. The less friction (obstruction) there is in the
nervous system, the fewer the physical movements will be, and the more
pleasurable it will be inside.
Eventually we will be sitting there looking pretty ordinary, filled with
oceanic waves of ecstatic bliss. Only the glow of divine love will give us
away.
The guru is in you.
Related Lessons Topic Path
Discuss this Lesson in the AYP Plus Support Forum
Note:
For detailed instructions on building a
balanced daily practice routine with self-pacing, see the
Eight Limbs of Yoga Book.
For detailed
instructions on samyama practice and the implications of siddhis, see the
AYP Samyama book.
Also see AYP Plus.
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