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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 19 2009 : 10:56:42 PM
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Ok, this is crazy. I've been self-pacing since the day I started AYP (and my kundalini launched like an uncoiled spring). I've done all the AYP suggestions, and came up with solutions of my own to handle an underlying grounding issue that I realized had actually been plaguing me for many years http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=3296.
Years and years later, here I am. Lots more silence, lots of connectivity, openness down the front and through the center/core. Kundalini comes out immediately in every meditation session (never in pranayama, strangely), and pranayama feels increasingly "wide" and easy. I don't get headaches or any other "head" symptoms; the energy seems to pass easily everywhere and I almost never get that "toasted" feeling.
But still, though all of this: kundalini rash (like for many others, it's next to my coccyx, on the left side). And I'm down to 4 mins pranayama and 9 mins meditation. And it's red and driving me nuts with the itching.
Will it ever go away? Is there anyone for whom it's gone away, in spite of experiencing daily kundalini openness? (note: it's extremely easy/common to think kundalini's up when it's actually gone dormant. If you've been at this for some time, you've surely had the experience of saying to yourself, upon a re-opening, "Whoa....I guess it wasn't awake all this time after all!" So I'm looking for response from people who've passed through that lesson, and really know when K is active, or if they're just in the after-tremors, increased regular prana, etc.).
Most of all, has anyone figured out a cure? I've read all the usual suggestions. And lord knows I don't need grounding suggestions, as I'm sort of the Grounding King (after suffering the King of All Grounding Blocks). I'm wondering if there's anything new out there.
Also, what to tell new romantic partners? I've long ago given up talking about yoga, generally, to "civilians". I can't help but sound like a whack job. So how do I explain the rash? "When, in yoga, your energy raises to a certain level.....bla bla bla....not contagious....bla bla bla....except the energy itself, which IS contagious, so you might get a rash from THAT....bla bla bla....hey, come back, I'm not nuts, really!).
Yogani, are you out there? Can you remember the hallmarks of the period when your rash finally went away in spite of very active kundalini? Or do you, too, still ride that edge? |
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emc
2072 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 03:23:55 AM
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Sounds to me like a classical: What you resist persists. How about accepting, giving it away to silence and never think about it again?  Is it so bad to live with an itching rash? I have come to accept my rashes more and more.
And you say you are an expert on self-pacing and grounding. I don't know if I get you wrong but you also say:
"And I'm down to 4 mins pranayama and 9 mins meditation."
Is that the minimum you have tried? I would guess not, since you are the expert, but when you put it that way it sounds like it's the lowest you have gone to. What about going to zero or just follow breath instead for 1-2 min for a while, a couple of years perhaps?
(Yogani threw that option in my face and I swallowed twice - the ego and its inherent striving towards enlightenment getting a hard blow, but realized it may be so - I may need a couple of years of self-pacing going towards zero spiritual practices!!) |
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manig
India
88 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 03:42:57 AM
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I remember I used to put Chandan Tilak (Sandalwood paste) on my third eye to cool it off.
But now I have a visible dent/depression on my third eye (forehead) but no rash or burn.
I also have a very deep dent/depression on the back (behind navel/bellybutton). My wife was so surprised to see it as there is no hair growth in that area. Its like a circle shape was carved there by shaving the hair off. Or a sunken / depressed geological formation made by a meteor with its impact.
My coccyx/tailbone sometimes physically pulsates/beats like heart when I lie down after meditation.
There are two hip chakras supporting the tailbone chakra (just below it like an inverted V). It seems you have got a rash on one of these?
Also found this link (maybe not related but interesting to read) 
http://joanharvest.wordpress.com/20...still-hurts/ |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 07:24:36 AM
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| When it itches try putting all of your awareness on it but don't touch it. Involve all your senses and receive all sensations. That will stop the itch, and who knows what else it will lead to. |
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 09:34:01 AM
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Hi Jim and All:
My peak rash period was around 1990, after more than 15 years of relatively smooth meditation, followed by a dramatic kundalini awakening in the mid-80s. The normal methods of self-pacing and grounding worked for me until the peak (rash) occurred around 1990. Getting past that was more about psychology. It was about tempering bhakti that had been "do or die." It was also about self-inquiry, but not the ultimate "drop everything" kind. It was about accepting things as they are, taking it easy, not taking my attitudes so seriously, "loving what is," living life away from the edge of the do or die psychology. That's when things calmed down and the fire became a flowing radiance. That's when the rash thing ended, and I have not seen it since.
A rash experience is included in the Secrets of Wilder novel, not very different from what I went through. Quite severe, but no longer necessary for anyone to that extent with the knowledge accumulated since then.
That was then, and this in now. Things have changed a lot with global energy. It is much easier to overdo now, but we have more means for dealing with it. It seems more people are sensitive to meditation now, though it is hard to tell, because we are sitting in the middle of a cluster of die-hard bhaktas here. We seem to attract them from all over. Many have their fuse lit before they get here (including you, Jim). It's not a bad thing.
On the meditation sensitivity, no one likes to self-pace down to near zero. Especially not raving bhaktas. Our means for dealing with energy overloads are still limited. Certainly better than the traditions, but still limited. We have been working on it ever since AYP started, with mixed results. It is a slippery one, because everyone reacts to practices a bit differently, even when the symptoms are the same. There have been a few revelations with sensitive meditators lately, and I hope to write them up in a lesson soon. It is a tricky area. We are still on the learning curve, and I expect we will continue to be as the energy continues to expand worldwide. Smoothing the ride for large numbers of people may be the biggest challenge we face going forward.
One thing I can tell you for sure: Once you get past it, you won't have to go back and live through it again. These days, folks are doing spiritually in a few years what used to take decades. It stands to reason that some aspects of it may take a while to catch up. The catching up may seem never-ending, but it isn't.
It is not necessary to stay on the edge forever. Infinity has no edge. It is here and now. Once we accept that we do not have to live on the edge, the edge dissolves, and everything is okay. The turning point in our attitude is the end of the rash. At least that has been the experience here.
The guru is in you.
PS: The "rash" can also be taken as a metaphor for whatever is ailing us in life. It is the same contraction expressing in many ways. Increasing energy brings this to light. It is a birthing process.
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 10:02:03 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by yogani
It is not necessary to stay on the edge forever. Infinity has no edge. It is here and now. Once we accept that we do not have to live on the edge, the edge dissolves, and everything is okay. The turning point in our attitude is the end of the rash. At least that has been the experience here.
The guru is in you.
PS: The "rash" can also be taken as a metaphor for whatever is ailing us in life. It is the same contraction expressing in many ways. Increasing energy brings this to light. It is a birthing process.
Thank You. |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 10:15:43 AM
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quote:
Sounds to me like a classical: What you resist persists.
Too true! lol. I find this an easy one to miss at times.
quote:
My peak rash period was around 1990, after more than 15 years of relatively smooth meditation, followed by a dramatic kundalini awakening in the mid-80s. The normal methods of self-pacing and grounding worked for me until the peak (rash) occurred around 1990. Getting past that was more about psychology. It was about tempering bhakti that had been "do or die." It was also about self-inquiry, but not the ultimate "drop everything" kind. It was about accepting things as they are, taking it easy, not taking my attitudes so seriously, "loving what is," living life away from the edge of the do or die psychology. That's when things calmed down and the fire became a flowing radiance. That's when the rash thing ended, and I have not seen it since.
Thanks for sharing your experience Yogani, great post. |
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atena
113 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 10:44:04 AM
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I guess I'm quite sensitive.... Stopped yoga practices almost 5 months ago and purification is still going. Redirecting most of my energies to a music hobby. That stuff keeps me pretty well grounded. Funny, I'm doing nothing and getting 99,9% better results when I was intense about yoga
The only spiritual practice I do sometimes is chi kung but even that rarely if I want to experiment something or hasten the purification process a bit to have a nice big boost of energy 
If you're willing, it might be an ok idea to stop yoga practices for a while to see what kind of long term effects you have created so far. You could have hidden stocks of 'freebie purification' you are unaware of
For me the most intense overloads appeared after 3 months of stopping the practices ... then I started focusing more on music than yoga to keep myself sane, etc. I know, I'm a very special boy with my experiences 
Gotta go, all the best. |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 10:49:28 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by emc
Sounds to me like a classical: What you resist persists. How about accepting, giving it away to silence and never think about it again? Is it so bad to live with an itching rash?
Oh, sure, that's an option. Why fight what you can't change? I just haven't yet concluded that I can't change this.
It's a common mistake to conclude that yoga (and other forms of spirituality) mean donning a completely passive sort of fatalism. If I see a small toddler walking across a busy street, I can either go rescue him, or I can accept the universe (aka "God's Plan", aka "What Is") as-is. Same with a hole in my roof. I could probably accept the resultant flooding with a lot greater equanimity than most of my neighbors. OR....I can fix the hole.
This is something I'm trying to fix. And if it can't be fixed, that's cool. But my powers of attention, analysis, and action are all part of "God's Plan", as well. So there's no reason to be passive. That's not the more "spiritual" way, I don't think! Of course, the trick is to accept even as you try to effect change. Fortunately, an itchy backside isn't a major league test of that. And I'm ok venting my consternation here for entertainment purposes. No need to pretend I don't have emotions. Hey, I'm not trying to prove anything! |
Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Oct 20 2009 11:25:04 AM |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 10:54:09 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Etherfish
When it itches try putting all of your awareness on it but don't touch it. Involve all your senses and receive all sensations. That will stop the itch, and who knows what else it will lead to.
Ether, that, I'd think, would just heat the area further, so I've avoided it. |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 11:21:30 AM
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Hi, Yogani,
Thanks very much for your response. I hope you don't mind if I bounce off a couple of your points. I'm not sure enough about any of the following to "argue", but I've got some differing perspectives...which, at some point, may well resolve to be more like yours!
First, I'm not totally comfortable labeling this an "overload". My energy flow is SO much smoother, broader, and easier all around. I don't feel toasty when kundalini hits, it no longer disrupts my meditation or my life. Much more "normal". And all my overload symptoms are gone....BUT the rash! It's not better and it's not worse. It's just there....whenever kundalini ignites. And it's in near-constant ignition these days.
Second, in talking with Chinese healers, this is a simple (ha!) matter of lots of heat. The location of this rash indicates this. And, also, eating spicy food has exactly the same effect on this rash as kundalini does. Of course, the kundalini is the foundation of the problem, in that it's elevated my heat/conductivity all around. But there is virtually no difference in onset and elimination of the rash in "pacing" spicy food or in "pacing" AYP. For this reason, fwiw, I've been less inclined to view this particular symptom as a deeper issue...involving attitude, etc. If the rash reacts exactly the same to either the sanctified movement of the Divine Mother or a plate of beef vindaloo, my conclusion is that this particular problem is more of a mechanical aftereffect issue than anything else.
The headache I got upon first kundalini experience was indeed, I think, the result of a mental need to "contain" the energy within this body, which I was overly identifying with. And the front body block had built as a result of my feeling of slight preference, over many years, for energy "not going there" (if that makes any sense). But this one thing which remains.... strikes me as really physical.
So my thought had been that it's just a matter of the body getting used to the heat. Unfortunately, it's not happening, though my body is getting accustomed to flow in all sorts of other ways.
As for using this to learn to accept, it's quite clear to me, after years of practice, that energy rises (including kundalini) in extremely close lockstep with surrender. The more I let go and accept, the greater the flow of energy immediately becomes. Since the rash is also proportional to the degree of energy, I'd think greater surrender would bring greater energy and, therefore, as a mechanical body truism, greater rash...?
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Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Oct 20 2009 11:27:26 AM |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 11:34:24 AM
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Hi Jim....
quote:
This is something I'm trying to fix. And if it can't be fixed, that's cool. But my powers of attention, analysis, and action are all part of "God's Plan", as well. So there's no reason to be passive.
My only comment here would be to ask you "How is what you have been doing so far (in regards to this rash) been working?" If it isn't working very well (you said this has been going on for a long time) then perhaps a different approach might be warranted for a time? Perhaps a passive approach?
Just a suggestion.
Love,
Carson |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 11:46:21 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
Hi Jim....
quote:
This is something I'm trying to fix. And if it can't be fixed, that's cool. But my powers of attention, analysis, and action are all part of "God's Plan", as well. So there's no reason to be passive.
My only comment here would be to ask you "How is what you have been doing so far (in regards to this rash) been working?" If it isn't working very well (you said this has been going on for a long time) then perhaps a different approach might be warranted for a time? Perhaps a passive approach?
I've been actively working on lots of overload/grounding problems with results I've found extremely satisfying and which many others also seem to be helped by (see the "grounding" thread linked to in my first posting). I'm continuing to work on this one remaining issue. I'm not sure why you feel the need to inquire as to success, as I think that's pretty clear from this very thread.
Indeed, when a quick fix isn't obtained, one option would be to shrug and give up. I didn't do that with the depression (I came up with some means of relief that have helped many in the forum and I myself no longer suffer from it) or the aforementioned grounding, or a great many other issues I've confronted in my life. How hard do you work to fix the hole in your roof before you lie back in wet, flooded blissful acceptance of What Is? My feeling is that I was put on earth as an intelligent, creative, problem-solving human being to use those capacities. As I go to the hardware store and climb the ladder up the side of my house, I accept the hole, I accept the water damage, I accept the difficulty of the repair, I accept impasses, I accept the accidental hammer strike on my thumb, and I keep on acting on the problems that happen to come my way. And at some point, sure, there might be a scenario where I shrug, come down from the ladder, and drift into blissful floating passivity in my water-filled living room. But to do so quickly/easily would be muddle-headed, not spiritual.
Acceptance and action are not mutually exclusive.
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Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Oct 20 2009 11:53:27 AM |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 11:53:11 AM
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Jim, I know what you are talking about. I think I now got it. 2 years ago I overdid the whole stuff, in Yoganis words "do or die"-style. And that was the best part of my life so far. 4 times a day 1-2 hours of pranayama with kumbhaka till death. Some minutes of everyday was more fulfilling than 2 years since I stopped with that and the whole years before I ever came across these techniques, excluding my earliest childhood days.
"Problems" started with intense kundalini activity, bodily no-blood-in-skin appearances etc. The kundalini phenomena of overenergy, timespace experiences in chakras during nights, loose of control of everything etc. So why I stopped, it was fear. Fear of what other people say about my look, fear of these overintense openings, fear of pain and death etc. Fear that I can't handle this intensity.
That was one of the reasons I stopped intense practices, now after 2 years of trying to avoid little discormforts here nd there I still see, my state now is 100 octaves behind than 2 years ago.
All the life lessons since then show the same. I did lots of phyical exercises, workouts of muscles etc. The analogy is alike, you can push greater amounts of training and will have greater and more intense muscle cramps the 1-3 days after. But if you accept and go through earlessly, with time muscles adjust and you can go higher and higher and the early resistance is gone. After a longer stop I restarted and tried to make it very softly with as little muscle pain etc. And now, after months and months, the progress is so little in comparison to some weeks of high amounts and weights.
So hey. There seem to be some fear barriers on the way, one can perhaps go through them very softly over decades and lifetimes and this is perhaps the most healthiest for muscles, nerves and the body and the utmost stable and perfect, but at what cost. Still no nondual awareness, no divine love and peace.
I am still curious about Yogani's "backround research for sensitive meditators", but am signing out of the beta test with this post :) |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 12:03:01 PM
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Holy,
One thing all the spiritual teachers (at least the good ones) emphasize is that spiritual experiences and self-realization have nothing to do with each other.
The notion that evoking more and more intense spiritual experiences will bring you to ultimate reality any faster is incorrect. That sort of thing just feeds the addiction for spiritual experiences. And addiction to spiritual experiences isn't more "holy" than any other sort of addiction to experience.
What we're doing here is ripening our silence and opening up our bodies. That's all. Yoga is not a train to Enlightenville. There's no station on this track for that. Adding lots more fuel and more engines to the train won't get you nowhere any faster. |
Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Oct 20 2009 12:03:51 PM |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 12:43:18 PM
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Hi Jim......
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
I've been actively working on lots of overload/grounding problems with results I've found extremely satisfying and which many others also seem to be helped by (see the "grounding" thread linked to in my first posting).
I am very familiar with both your problems in the past as well as the linked thread and the techniques described within....and I'm glad you have found some "extremely satisfying results" and that you have been able to help others. Bravo.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
I'm continuing to work on this one remaining issue. I'm not sure why you feel the need to inquire as to success, as I think that's pretty clear from this very thread.
My reason for inquiring as to how well what you are doing is working for you was because by your own admission, this is and has been an issue for a long time. I was only asking whether or not you have had success because you seem to be asking for advice yet at the same time saying that your approach is working just fine and that you don't need a new approach. It seems contradictory to me. I was merely trying to ask if perhaps the opposite approach might be warranted since the one you have been taking for "years" now, has not helped. If my questioning was out of line then please accept my apologies....only trying to help.....again, perhaps you don't want it, and I am fine with that.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
Indeed, when a quick fix isn't obtained, one option would be to shrug and give up.
Another would be to ACTIVELY surrender....which is what I was suggesting....what you are saying I was suggesting is PASSIVE surrender. I am not suggesting this at all. Are you doing samyama on the rash?
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
I didn't do that with the depression (I came up with some means of relief that have helped many in the forum and I myself no longer suffer from it) or the aforementioned grounding, or a great many other issues I've confronted in my life.
There is no "one size fits all" approach that will work for every issue.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
How hard do you work to fix the hole in your roof before you lie back in wet, flooded blissful acceptance of What Is?
If I were suffering due to the wetness I would fix the hole...if I hadn't had an opportunity to shower in a year I might take the opportunity to bathe....it all depends on the person/day/inclination/perspective....no one way is more right then any other.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
My feeling is that I was put on earth as an intelligent, creative, problem-solving human being to use those capacities.
Labels, labels labels....they all gotta be dropped before you can truly appreciate the Bliss of Pure Consciousness.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
As I go to the hardware store and climb the ladder up the side of my house, I accept the hole, I accept the water damage, I accept the difficulty of the repair, I accept impasses, I accept the accidental hammer strike on my thumb, and I keep on acting on the problems that happen to come my way.
Perfect...but I wasn't suggesting anything otherwise, despite how you took what I said. I'm saying that after years and years of patching your roof-hole over and over again, to no real lasting success, perhaps a DIFFERENT (don't read "more passive") approach is warranted.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
And at some point, sure, there might be a scenario where I shrug, come down from the ladder, and drift into blissful floating passivity in my water-filled living room.
Sure, if you want.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
But to do so quickly/easily would be muddle-headed, not spiritual.
Everything you do is spiritual, whether you choose to label it as such or not. There is nothing you can do that is not "spiritual" in some perspective.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
Acceptance and action are not mutually exclusive.
I agree 100%.
Love,
Carson |
Edited by - CarsonZi on Oct 20 2009 12:45:23 PM |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 12:44:05 PM
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This might be true, but there are also others who say the exact opposite. That in the end, shakti needs to enter the centralchannel and stabilize at the crown. And this can be done slower or faster. Sure, faster can be slower.
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 12:52:11 PM
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Hi Jim:
If rash is the only symptom, it could still be an underlying contraction. Heat is friction, and friction is energy passing through obstructions. Mentally excluding a symptom from the whole can limit its resolution, at least for a while.
Treating the heat with a pitta pacifying diet from ayurveda and natural remedies you have available from Chinese medicine can temper the symptoms for sure. Do it. I stayed on a pitta pacifying diet for years after my peak rash episode in 1990, and continued to self-pace and ground as well. That's also when I was doing Tai Chi daily.
As mentioned, I lightened up on the bhakti attitude, which included going back to full time employment in the corporate world after being in a yoga-soaked self-employment lifestyle for 10 years.
Eventually the underlying contraction went, and eventually I was able to eat spicy food again with no problem. Spicy food is the canary in the kundalini coal mine. This is an indication that the delicacy of the overall situation became much less touchy.
So it isn't only about the heat. It is also about the underlying condition that is causing the heat, which I call "contraction." In my case, attitude (and lifestyle) played a significant role in normalizing things, even as big energy flows continued to occur, becoming much less restricted, with far fewer adverse symptoms. That's also when the energy began flowing out to others, steadily increasing over time. It continues today, except I retired from the corporate job along the way, and here I sit typing.
So we grow into it gradually is my point. Some of these issues just take time to resolve themselves, and taking a longer more relaxed view is a help in that. This doesn't mean taking no remedial measures as needed. It just means broadening our life out in time and space, opening to avenues that we might not have considered to be "yogic" before. Ironically, being intensely focused in the now isn't living in the now.
I can't really tell you specifically what is going on there. I can only share what it has been here, and offer some extrapolations. I'd guess your symptom is more deeply rooted than you can readily access right now. I am also confident you will get to the bottom of it sooner or later.
Couldn't it be possible that your intense focus on this issue is adding energy to it, rather than resolving it? Letting go a bit with the problem solving attitude, combined with other measures you are taking, might offer some relief. Only guessing. You never know until you try, or untry. It's a balancing act. Solving without solving. Doing without doing. Seeking without seeking...
It is taking each step, knowing that it will land in the right place, no matter what it looks like. That kind of letting go is not necessarily kundalini aggravating. It is stillness in motion.
The guru is in you.
PS: Throughout all of this, sitting practices continued here, self-paced as necessary.
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 1:06:06 PM
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Thanks, Yogani, that helped a lot.
One mistake I'm making is that on days when kundalini is raging and the rash seems to be expanding, I've been only sitting once per day. And I agree with you that twice/day seems to be the right number. So I suppose I need to ratchet down to 4-5 mins of meditation twice per day. The thought of going that low (especially after investing so much attention in removing a slew of grounding/overdoing symptoms for so many years), I must confess, does indeed raise some acceptance issues. But I'll do it...
One thing I won't do is stop practice altogether. I've seen, from brief periods of practice cessation in the past, just how quickly all the noise and clingy-ness returns!  |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 1:12:58 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Holy
Sure, faster can be slower.
Well, if you "get" that, then there's no problem I can see! |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 2:47:03 PM
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Yogani, two quick follow-ups:
1. were you able to in any way locate the contraction, even vaguely? When it evaporated, was there an opening sensation in a particular place, or a change in the direction of flow (i.e. an easing of one direction), or other sensation of specific opening? Or was it all just...one of those undefinable things?
2. Am I correct in concluding that once this contraction evaporated, you could have - if it was practical at the time - gone back to your yoga-centric, "bhakti-first" lifestyle without suffering problems? E.g. I'm assuming your current lifestyle (even with all the activity of writing and running AYP) is fairly similar to your self-employed period? |
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emc
2072 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 3:09:31 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
So I suppose I need to ratchet down to 4-5 mins of meditation twice per day. The thought of going that low (especially after investing so much attention in removing a slew of grounding/overdoing symptoms for so many years), I must confess, does indeed raise some acceptance issues. But I'll do it...
One thing I won't do is stop practice altogether. I've seen, from brief periods of practice cessation in the past, just how quickly all the noise and clingy-ness returns!
Sounds great! I totally resonate with the resistence of going "that low"! That's was my point in my post! (And I don't know yet if it's really successful, but that's another story I might report on somewhere else.)
I wouldn't stop practices totally either. I'm keeping the twice a day routine, but holding it very short and sometimes without the mantra, just the breath, sometimes lying down instead of sitting straight to prevent the crown to open too much. |
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 3:27:04 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
Yogani, two quick follow-ups:
1. were you able to in any way locate the contraction, even vaguely? When it evaporated, was there an opening sensation in a particular place, or a change in the direction of flow (i.e. an easing of one direction), or other sensation of specific opening? Or was it all just...one of those undefinable things?
2. Am I correct in concluding that once this contraction evaporated, you could have - if it was practical at the time - gone back to your yoga-centric, "bhakti-first" lifestyle without suffering problems? E.g. I'm assuming your current lifestyle (even with all the activity of writing and running AYP) is fairly similar to your self-employed period?
Hi Jim:
1. No, not any one or few things that could be said to be specifically definable as "the thing." Except after so many years the acorn has become an oak tree. So that is something noticeable. If you take the sum total of the Wilder story and the the AYP writings, that defines it more or less. And the writings aren't done yet, so neither is the definition. It probably never will be. Better to just live it.
I should add that kundalini is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The further we go, the clearer it becomes that ecstatic conductivity and radiance (kundalini) are the means by which stillness expresses in the world as divine love, and this is what is stimulating world consciousness. All of the kundalini symptoms, etc., are part of that transformation: a purification and opening, a birthing process. Yoga adds a lot on that side of it. But all too often the cultivation of stillness is left behind for the energy work, the experiences, the tantra, the self-inquiry, or the whatever. Without cultivation of abiding inner silence, none of it is going very far. I love to harp on that, as you know.
2. Yes, but it took a change in attitude and years of doing other things lifestyle-wise to get there. Now I can do pretty much anything practice-wise without getting into trouble. But who has time? Happily, my path has a lot of karma yoga in it now, so my sitting practice is pretty typical AYP. Once in a while I red-line it a bit, but can generally recover in a day or two. A good excuse to lighten up on everything for a few days and take some long walks.
The guru is in you.
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 3:54:09 PM
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Hi Jim,
I have suffered from this rash (mine was in the centre at the coccyx) for about 4 years. It finally went about 6 months ago. As far as I am concerned it is simply a kundalini rash. I found that grounding practices did not help to alleviate it. The only thing that I found helped was keeping my diet very pure. When I only drank fruit juice and ate nothing at all, then the rash would go away after just a few days. Avoid coffee at any cost (even decaffeinated) as this exasperates the symptom.
Christi
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atena
113 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 7:33:54 PM
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Sorry I didn't mean to be pushy with idea of stopping practices... (if it was my writing that was provoking) just to bring a different perspective to the discussion 
Btw, I also have a unresolved case of rash. Did various types of spiritual practices in the past but they didn't heal it. If you find something it would be cool to hear about that. My rash doesn't seem to react to the coffee noticeably. The only thing that seems to really affect it is my overall emotional state. haven't given the juice fast a proper try, maybe someday... |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2009 : 10:33:34 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim and His Karma
quote:
Originally posted by Etherfish
When it itches try putting all of your awareness on it but don't touch it. Involve all your senses and receive all sensations. That will stop the itch, and who knows what else it will lead to.
Ether, that, I'd think, would just heat the area further, so I've avoided it.
Doesn't your body do things like this to call your attention to something? I have a hard time believing that ignoring something your body is doing is the best thing. |
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