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Advanced Yoga Practices Note: For the Original Internet Lessons with additions, see the AYP Easy Lessons Books. For the Expanded and Interactive Internet Lessons, AYP Online Books, Audiobooks and more, see AYP Plus. Lesson 230 - Crown and Third Eye (Audio)
AYP Plus Additions:
From: Yogani New Visitors: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the web archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"
My question is that I am getting a lot of activity at the crown though I am not focusing at all there but following your suggestions on focusing from the root to third eye with the spinal breathing. I am wondering if I should be 'taming' this in some way or as it is happening spontaneously, just leave it along and continue to focus on the root to third eye direction. I have practiced meditation for 20+ years - on and off - under my own guidance and have enjoyed it immensely. My concern is that when I first tried meditation, I feel into the silence very, very quickly but after only a few meditations I had a spontaneous kundalini awakening which shot up through the root area quite strongly. It was at a difficult emotional time for me then and led to more difficulties in my life (at least I determined that was the cause of a pathway I followed) for a couple of years. This was all quite bewildering to me, as I did not have any teacher at the time to advise or explain what was happening. Later, I took some yoga classes and understood a bit more though I never discussed the situation with the teacher as I just didn't feel comfortable to do so. Anyway, here I am, years later, so excited to have found your website and your lessons, eager but definitely not anxious, due to past experience, to push forward but rather would like to move forward easily and naturally. This is a long story to get to the point but wanted to give you the background. The activity at the crown is strong but not unpleasant but as I want to go about this as naturally as possible, do you think I should back off a bit or just let it take the natural course. I do not feel afraid or over-cautious but would love to have your take on this as I am enjoying all of it. Thank you for the blessings you have bestowed in offering these lessons. A: Thank you for writing and sharing. Yes, you did right in taking on mulabandha and sambhavi one after the other, adjusting to the first before taking on the second. It is like that with all the practices. Stability is the first priority. Otherwise the whole thing can become too unwieldy, and then we lose our ability to sustain long-term practice, which is the key to our enlightenment. Speaking of stability, your previous experience with practices in this life (and probably before that) indicates a sensitivity that is manifesting as lots of energy flowing, including the crown experiences you mentioned. It is good stuff. At the same time, the experiences you are having emphasize the importance of sticking with third eye to root spinal breathing. Actually, all of the practices in the lessons (including meditation) are geared toward third eye to root purification. It is suggested you stay with this approach in your practices. In doing so, you will continue to open the crown also, with the elements of safety and control built in. Ajna (third eye) means "command." There are several lessons on crown versus third eye oriented practices later on. Given the nature of your experiences, you may wish to review them now. You can find them listed with links in the topic index on the web site under "Crown Opening (avoiding premature)." Along the way you will come across lots of lessons discussing something I call "self-pacing," which is a skill we must develop having so many powerful spiritual techniques available. As a matter of fact, self-pacing is fundamental to any spiritual path, no matter what level we are at. Everyone responds to practices a little differently, and prudent application of self-pacing is how we customize our routine and expansion of practices to achieve maximum progress with minimum difficulties along the way. It is an ongoing interaction we have involving the relationship between the application of our practices and our resulting experiences, much like driving a car through a constantly changing landscape. You are wise to take it easy and go step-by-step according to your capacity. You know what can be accomplished, and what the risks are. You are into some of the best tools available, and are applying them with skill. The possibilities are very exciting. Drive safely, and enjoy the ride! The guru is in you.
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, and AYP Plus.
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