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Dogboy
USA
2242 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 25 2013 : 3:12:08 PM
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Hail All!
As mentioned in other posts, I have only been meditating a few month with generally gentle, pleasant results: soft 'wafting' prana rising in my body from the nether regions and trickling prana down from the skull; after meditation my head feels slightly numb which always passes after my resting session. A few weeks ago, an unexpected rush of prana from the muladhara seized me momentarily: my heart thumped wildly in my chest and the silence 'thickened'. I was able to stay to mantra and observe the strong energy until it subsided a few minutes later. It was not unpleasant but I was definitely caught off guard by its power. It has not happened since, though I feel better prepared if it does.
I have occasionally employed jalandhara (resting my chin on my collarbone) in meditation sessions when it would be 'inconvenient' for me to deal with strong symptoms post-meditation, for instance, having to collect my child from the bus. I also wanted to experiment whether gentle prana movement would intensify in the lower chakras if jalandhara was engaged; Thus far, I haven't noticed a difference either way.
My questions: should jalandhara be able to amplify energy in the lower chakras? Would Jalandhara even prevent stronger prana from rising to the head (I get the sense it wouldn't if the kundalini was motivated!) ? Is their any benefit or harm from performing jalandhara in deep meditation?
I thank all responders in advance for your guidance! |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4430 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2013 : 6:00:38 PM
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Hi Dogboy,
The advice given in the main lessons is to leave out all mudras and bandhas during Deep Meditation unless the are occurring naturally. Sometimes the head will naturally drop down to the chest (jalandhara bandha), or be brought backwards. That's O.K. if it happens as long as we don't deliberately overindulge in it, which can be tempting due to the ecstatic experiences which often accompany the spontaneous movements.
Jalandhara bandha helps to activate the throat chakra. It also traps prana in the torso, which causes a build up of prana in that area. That doesn't mean that prana will not also rise up to the higher centres when jalandhara bandha is applied, so it is not a preventative practice but one which accentuates kundalini.
In AYP jalandhara banda is given a practice of it's own in a dynamic form:
Dynamic jalandhara, the chin pump
Christi |
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Dogboy
USA
2242 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2013 : 8:49:38 PM
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| Thank you, Christi, for your explanation. I have recently added the chin pump and enjoy the rotation and stretch. Jalandhara in comparison seems to be a much simpler movement, but from your explanation, a thornier path. Under what circumstances would one employ jalandhara? |
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Dogboy
USA
2242 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2013 : 07:36:16 AM
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Excuse me for answering my own question: intellectually I know 'meditation practice' is actually three practices (asanas, pranayama, and DM) but mentally categorize it as one. Jalandhara and the 'chin pump' are pranayama which should not be incorporated into DM.
Namaste! |
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Jalandhara in meditation
