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Jim Tchaiko
Poland
2 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 30 2012 : 11:21:50 AM
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Hello!
I wonder if there is advantage to practising yoga regarding dark night of the soul experience and generally "bad stuff" coming up after loosening of the nervous system.
Let's say for example there is a person whose only practice is deep meditation or giving attention to the sense of "I am" (just as an example). And it's somewhat working for that person BUT - bad stuff arises, there is a long heavy depression.
Empirically speaking - are yogis also in the same extent prone to the dark night (meaning periods of heavy depression)? Or maybe everything is more smooth, more mild since yogis nervous system is more adapted (?) - than of the one who is on the path not requiring more bodily exercise (including pranayama, tantra or hatha yoga).
I would really appreciate clear answer regarding that.
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Edited by - Jim Tchaiko on Aug 31 2012 3:23:35 PM |
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Anduril
Belgium
6 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2012 : 11:53:40 AM
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Hi Jim,
Disclaimer: I can only speak for myself based on my direct experience 
One of the consequences of practising AYP regularly had been cycles of heavy releases of emotional events/tensions which were buried so deeply that I was thinking at the time I was experiencing all possible human emotions to the extreme to know what it meant to be a human being. I went through complete identification with despair, violence, sadness, solitude, etc. The positive point is that all that occurred during the night. Even though my pillowcase was wet and my body was still crying when waking up, the next minute consciousness was no longer identified with the emotion and back to relative stillness.
So I would say that AYP practices causes the loosening of the nervous system which allows emotional energy to be released which might lead to depression if you get too much identified with them. As long as you stay aware of the process as a witness, then those emotions don't have anything to attach to and dissolve quickly. |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2012 : 12:30:10 PM
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Here, without Pranayama and Asanas and physical activity the depression phases were always much more present and longer lasting. With those additions it is much more smooth and only rarely if too much awareness and silence increasement happens some short lived depression follows.
Ths body has found great stability with muscle toning and kechari mudra which seem to balance the cleaning and loosening of much more stuff very niecly the last months since their addition.
So most probably your intuition is correct in this matter, at least for this body here it applies fully. |
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SparklingDiamond
Australia
227 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2012 : 01:30:56 AM
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Hi Holy
thank you for mentioning exercise.
I have felt the same way you have Jim. I am not a novice to meditation, but noticed that when I started incorporating SB, that things took a dramatic, intense turn. Normally, the meditation I use to practise, it was not so dramatic in dredging up what was there, but much more gentle.
Holy I will remember to keep up my exercise more regularly. Exercise can be a form of therapy, in and of itself
Blessings,
Maria |
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Jim Tchaiko
Poland
2 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2012 : 3:20:16 PM
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Thanks for answers.
I'll abbreviate the question, maybe some other people will also share their experiences:
Are yogis less prone to "The Dark Night" than other seekers? |
Edited by - Jim Tchaiko on Aug 31 2012 3:46:59 PM |
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mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2012 : 7:04:41 PM
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| It's a careful balance. Pranayama cultivates ecstatic energy in the nervous system, which tends dissolve negative emotional energy, therefore, yes, yogis should be less prone. A carefully self-paced routine of practices should yield a gradual and progressive awakening, without too many emotional extremes. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2012 : 8:46:54 PM
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I have my "Dark Night" every Thursday, shortly after I watch Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. It's a lovely ritual in which I undergo a night of torment, anguish, and a kind of suffering that could only be compared to what Hell-beings might experience in the most depraved levels of Satan's personal torture chambers.
Kidding. Sorry--morbid humor.  |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2012 : 9:25:29 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Bodhi Tree
I have my "Dark Night" every Thursday, shortly after I watch Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.
Blanket party for you, fatty  |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2012 : 11:03:17 PM
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OK, if you insist, but during the blanket party, we shall commence with the viewing of the Coen brothers' "The Big Lebowski" to lighten the mood of the Dark Night, lest we plummet into eternal despair.
The Dude abides.
"If you will it, Dude, it is no dream." --Walter Sobchak |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Sep 02 2012 : 12:09:54 AM
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| ve ah nihilists. ve believe in nussing |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Sep 02 2012 : 12:11:04 AM
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| says Flea of RHCP |
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sivasambho
USA
136 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2012 : 5:28:59 PM
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I dont think anyone is an exception to this issue, unless ofcourse if a person got enlightened before he was 16. There is plenty of evidences of saints and yogis both from the past and from the living masters who have gotten enlightened at this age and have remained stable throughout their lives. These are called the real jeevan muktas. For everyone else, it seems like a play of balance. Without karma, it is very hard to cling to the body unless it was strengthened and matured at the appropriate time.
Even Jesus was said to go onto the top of the hill for his penances for 40 days. Even he got worked up when he saw what was happening inside the temple in the name of spirituality or religion. |
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Yoga and The Dark Night experience
