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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 11:54:36 AM
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Hi All:
Here is an interesting one from my email. Comments welcome.
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Q1: I have been reading your website for about six months and have been actively meditating for over a year now.
In the last few weeks, things have intensified and strange things have been happening. The pleasure that starts in my root has become very intense, as soon as I get into siddhasana... it fires right up and begins to move upward.
Lately though after only a few minutes I feel my head and neck straighten on their own, and then my head snaps down to my chest. I feel a vibration coming up, and my head begins to shake forward and backward. My mulabhanda gets tighter on it’s own, and then I start to bounce. Literally bounce. Weird. I thought it was just a subjective feeling, but when my knee ran into the coffee table, about a foot and a half from the blanket I was sitting on, I knew it was real.
I tried to concentrate on the bouncing, but it didn’t stop. When I went back to my mantra, the bouncing got stronger and stronger. This has only happened twice in the past couple of weeks. I thought about what you said in several postings about backing off, but my body didn’t want to. I rode it out, and afterwards was totally worn out but elated. What is that?
A1: It is energy moving, yielding purification and opening. In this case you are finding some lurching that comes with energy passing through remaining inner obstructions. You also have some "automatic yoga" going on, which are yogic maneuvers like mudras, bandhas and asanas occurring automatically due to energy flow in the body.
The guideline on experiences like this is to favor the practice we are doing over the experience. If the experience becomes too intense for that, then we just let our attention relax with what is happening, not concentrating or focusing intently on it. Just easily being with whatever is happening. That will usually draw our attention to a physical location and aid in dissolving the obstruction, wherever it may be. Then, when things settle down, we can return to our practice. We count all the time spent as practice time, not starting over after an intense energy/automatic yoga episode. Make sure to take some extra rest before getting up after sessions with that much energy movement going on.
By the way, the energy surges, automatic yogas and hopping, similar to what you describe, are symptoms that more commonly occur during samyama practice, especially when doing the "akasha - lightness of air" sutra. It is all purification and opening stimulated by the outward movement of our inner stillness -- what I call "stillness in action." So, even though you are apparently not doing samyama yet, you are having some similar effects in your meditations. It can happen...
Later on, this phenomenon of the outflow of stillness into energy manifestion becomes much smoother and more organized, leading to a multitude of positive expressions in our daily life. It is an outpouring of divine love from us. It may not seem like it now, but that is where it is heading. It becomes much less physically dramatic, even as it becomes far more influential as invisible positive energy radiating out from us into the surrounding environment. Our actions are colored by the endless outflow of divine love as well, which changes our relationships for the better in a thousand subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
On the purification and opening energy management side, check these lessons:
On automatic yoga and siddhis: http://www.aypsite.org/210.html
On energy surges and hopping in samyama: http://www.aypsite.org/155.html
Also see the topic index for more lessons on "automatic yoga" and "samyama."
Q2: I appreciate your timeliness and your wisdom. In your opinion should I start to take a look at starting a samyama practice in my daily routine? It is interesting to note that this did not start to happen until I made a concerted effort to increase my bhakti, my desire to get closer to God, to allow God to get closer to me…when my desire grew, the intensity of meditation grew, the inner space in my head has grown bigger, and the there is more of a feeling of “becoming” the mantra.
A2: Obviously, you have enough inner silence for samyama practice. You can take it up at any time. It is a matter of preference and self-pacing, meaning, keeping your practice stable while being progressive at the same time. There are a lot of ways covered in the lessons to stabilize excess energy movements. My last note only touched the subject. A lot of the discussions in the forums are on this too.
Yes, bhakti will do that. It does everything, really. 
Sometimes we end up having to "self-pace" our bhakti to keep things from flying too fast.
All the best on your path. Enjoy!
The guru is in you.
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 2:33:57 PM
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Maybe s/he should wait a while before samyama, if things are getting so tumultuous. To me, tumult is a prime warning sign for self-pacing.
Also, "becoming the mantra" troubles me. All becoming happens in ego...yoga's about revealing what is, not changing/moving/becoming. |
Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Apr 11 2006 2:34:11 PM |
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 5:30:40 PM
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Hi Jim:
Physical movements within safe limits (with adequate padding underneath) do not necessarily imply instability. In fact, they can be common and occur off and on for years, especially in samyama where inner silence is being stirred from many angles. If we rest adequately at the end of a session with physical movements in it, get up feeling refreshed, and go out into our day feeling clear with good energy, then it is good practice. We do not normally favor movements with attention, favoring the procedure of our practice instead, which may bring more movments or not. The movements are not a prerequisite for progress, and neither do they have to hold us back from advancing in our practices and on our path. They are a symptom of purification and can be a normal part of the scenery.
Now, let's not all go out and be deliberately jumping all over the meditation room. It's not necessary. Just be easy and natural about practice and the resulting symptoms of purification, whatever they may be. And self-pace as necessary, being sure to maintain an even temperment about all of this -- that preserves our bhakti and our motivation to carry on.
The main source of instability in practices is usually psychological rather than physical. If we become irritable or upset due to too much purification going on, and movements are there also, then this is a clear signal for self-pacing. In fact, if there are no movements and we find ourselves drifting emotionally off center, then this alone is a signal for self-pacing. On the other hand, if we feel steady inside and are having some movements, then this can be good practice, as mentioned above.
This is why I said that the questioner may consider taking on samyama if he wishes. His movements have been occasional so far, and for the most part emotionally uplifting. If he starts samayama, the movements may or may not increase. Either way, the purification will continue. In the end, the movements will subside as the nervous system becomes pure and offers less resistance to the flow of inner energy. As mentioned, this over all process could take a long time. So, in the meantime, we just go with it, following the procedures of practice and the principles of self-pacing -- optimizing always for speed and comfort. And maybe that means hopping around a bit. It would not be the first time, and it is certainly not the end of the world. Actually, it can be a beginning. A step along the way from duckling to swan. 
On "becoming the mantra," while we'd all like to "Be here now," the becoming-ness of it is impossible to avoid. It is a matter of point of view. If I am out here in ego and go in on the mantra, I may appear to become the mantra as it and my egoic sense dissolve into stillness, which is my self. If I am in there already (as inner silence - witness), looking from the inside out, then there is no self-becoming as the mantra makes the same journey. The process is the same. Only the point of view is different. In the case of our questioner, he saw his ego self dissolve to become the mantra refining into expanding stillness. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it is only an observation of scenery and not an imposition on the procedure of deep meditation itself.
Of course, we cannot intellectually locate ourselves in one point of view or the other -- not organically anyway. Our point of view from ego or stillness is where it is depending on the condition of our neurobiology, and we will describe the experience from that angle accordingly. Over time, the point of view gradually shifts as our sense of self changes from external to internal. Then we can say, "Hey everyone, I'm really here now!"
In truth, we probably won't say much, and just go do the dishes and take out the trash. Nothing changes, even as everything does. We are becoming "That" even though we already are "That." I guess that is why they call it "realization." Realizing something that is already. It is a becoming ... a journey from here to here...
The guru is in you.
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 5:44:12 PM
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quote:
On "becoming the mantra," while we'd all like to "Be here now," the becoming-ness of it is impossible to avoid. It is a matter of point of view. If I am out here in ego and go in on the mantra, I may appear to become the mantra as it and my egoic sense dissolve into stillness, which is my self. If I am in there already (as inner silence - witness), looking from the inside out, then there is no self-becoming as the mantra makes the same journey. The process is the same. Only the point of view is different. In the case of our questioner, he saw his ego self dissolve to become the mantra refining into expanding stillness. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it is only an observation of scenery and not an imposition on the procedure of deep meditation itself.
Of course, we cannot intellectually locate ourselves in one point of view or the other -- not organically anyway. Our point of view from ego or stillness is where it is depending on the condition of our neurobiology, and we will describe the experience from that angle accordingly. Over time, the point of view gradually shifts as our sense of self changes from external to internal. Then we can say, "Hey everyone, I'm really here now!"
In truth, we probably won't say much, and just go do the dishes and take out the trash. Nothing changes, even as everything does. We are becoming "That" even though we already are "That." I guess that is why they call it "realization." Realizing something that is already. It is a becoming ... a journey from here to here...
Wow... Thank you.
Yogani, do you ever surprise yourself with your own writing? |
Edited by - Shanti on Apr 11 2006 7:19:55 PM |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 10:52:18 PM
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Truly a highly informative and insightful post. Worthy of the main lessons I think, so it doesn't get lost here in the forums...
What do you think?
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 11:19:45 PM
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Hi Shanti:
What surprises me is that anyone wants to read it.
It is amazing that we can have so many subjective discussions going on here and find so much common ground. Surely the end result is an objective exploration of practices and experiences.
That is a statistical statement, of course. If we toss a coin 100 times and it comes up heads 75 times, it is a significant outcome that says something about the coin. If it happens with 1000 throws (750 heads), it becomes down right scientific.
Like that, the discussions here keep touching on the same themes of purification, inner openings, witnessing, ecstasy, self-pacing, etc. With enough of that it moves from subjective (internally observed) to objective (externally observed). That is very significant, assuming we are not engaged in "group think" here, and relate our experiences as honestly and subjectively as we can. Oddly enough, the more subjective we each are in sharing, the more objective the long term outcome will be, because there will be a high degree of independence in the information inputs.
The emails received here, like the one above, are especially revealing in that way, because they often come from people I have had little or no prior contact with. Many times the experiences are significantly outside what is in the AYP lessons. Yet, they usually have some sort of overlap with the lessons or with previous discussions here and can be incorporated into the over all picture, enriching the entire body of knowledge. In that way we find both confirmations of experience and expansions of knowledge occurring at the same time. It is a remarkable process.
So, I think these forums are much more than a bunch of discussions. They are shaping up to be a pretty accurate picture of the process of human spiritual transformation. Just think what that picture will look like in a few years with thousands more discussions added.
That isn't about my writing. It is about all of yours. And it does not surprise me.
You see, I knew it all along ... the guru is in you.
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yogani
USA
5241 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2006 : 11:45:16 PM
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Hi Anthem:
Which one are you referring to? I'll see what can be done.
In the old days, I would have posted both the Q&A and follow-ups in the lessons. Of course, there would not be the follow-ups like we have here. That is the beauty of the forums. They stimulate more discussion. The disadvantage is that things gradually fade into the woodwork in the forums. Maybe I'll make a big book of goodies from the forums a few years from now. Now there's a project!
Posting website lessons is not as easy as it used to be. Updating four web locations is a chore, especially with so much else on the plate these days. Nevertheless, for certain things it is well worth the effort, especially for new practices.
The guru is in you.
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 07:54:14 AM
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I would definitely not want to lose the answer you gave Jim. esp. the part on "becoming the mantra". Somehow it has a different angle to it.. something that just clicked in me I think Anthem was talking about the same thing...
quote:
You see, I knew it all along ... the guru is in you.
Yes Yogani, you did know it all along.. it I who gets surprised by things that are happening.. like each day a new door opens and something new is revealed to me. You and the others could be beating a topic to death.. and I would be huh??? then suddenly one morning.. That's it.. that is what they have been trying to tell me all along... and as you said.. all along it was always in me.. I just "realized" it.. nothing has really changed.. and yet everything has..  |
Edited by - Shanti on Apr 12 2006 08:08:28 AM |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 09:19:42 AM
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Another weird thing I have been noticing..
In the morning.. if I think or realize something.. there is a post on it that day or very soon after that. If there is something bothering me.. a solution is put up by somebody that just happens to fit my situation. Its almost like everybody here is connected.. without even realizing it. So no matter how insignificant something may seem.. if you think somebody could benefit from it.. I think you should post it.. you may not get a response.. but it may be that one little missing link that somebody really needed. You never Know... 
Yogani, you have this covered too..
quote:
Like that, the discussions here keep touching on the same themes of purification, inner openings, witnessing, ecstasy, self-pacing, etc. With enough of that it moves from subjective (internally observed) to objective (externally observed). That is very significant, assuming we are not engaged in "group think" here, and relate our experiences as honestly and subjectively as we can. Oddly enough, the more subjective we each are in sharing, the more objective the long term outcome will be, because there will be a high degree of independence in the information inputs.
So, I think these forums are much more than a bunch of discussions. They are shaping up to be a pretty accurate picture of the process of human spiritual transformation.
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 10:41:19 AM
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Hi Yogani,
I guess the first post addresses some issues you have discussed in the past. I thought your second post in reply to Jim, was an angle on a lot of issues like self-pacing, distinguishing over-doing emotionally from physically, becoming one with the mantra etc. that I found really beneficial and informative. The two kind of go together however, but I think that information could be really beneficial for the masses, it was for me!
Hi Shanti, I have also found the same thing about the issues in my mind or questions on practices coming to light or being addressed at perfect times here in the forum or elsewhere. Serendipity I guess!
thanks
A |
Edited by - Anthem on Apr 12 2006 9:50:24 PM |
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david752
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2006 : 7:22:53 PM
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When I attended my TM-Sidhi instruction for the flying technique (one of the samyamas that Yogani also teaches), I saw something interesting. A few of the people who were there for instruction started bouncing up and down, somewhat as this post described. Although this was prior to instruction, this was on a course where people had been practicing a program including meditation for extended lengths of time in preparation for the instruction in samyama.
A few minutes later, after we had been given the flying technique instruction, everyone was hopping in bliss.
This memory makes me feel that the bouncing described may very well indicate readiness for the flying technique, rather than a symptom of stress release.
David Spector
Natural Stress Relief/USA
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Weird Bouncing
