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Curious1991
USA
10 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 15 2015 : 7:38:39 PM
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Hello,
I purchased the Deep Meditation book almost two weeks ago and since then have been doing deep meditations twice, daily. The symptoms of a pre-mature kundalini awakening terrify me so I am planning on self-pacing myself on the safe side but want to know how will I know when I am ready for the second book, Spinal Breathing Pranayama?
I'm guessing it is when I am able to completely forgive those who have caused me suffering in my past and forgive myself for causing suffering to others? I know at this moment I am not capable of that yet so I'm assuming if I was to still hold on to these negative feelings of anger, anxiety, humiliation, etc while progressing onto to pranayama....the kundalini awakening will most likely be a traumatic one?
Thanks everyone
EDIT: Also, what other AYP books can I read/practice safely with Deep Meditation? Self-Inquiry looks to not have any physical exercises but more so mental exercises to get me thinking? Or is it preferred that AYP Books be read and practiced in order? THanks again
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Edited by - Curious1991 on Jan 15 2015 7:54:33 PM |
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jusmail
India
491 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2015 : 9:12:29 PM
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| Usually 4 weeks or there abouts after starting deep meditation, you can start pranayama. Again there is no hard and fast rule. Whenever you feel comfortable you can start a new practice with the proviso to start with 5 minutes of the new practice and then to ramp up with increased comfort level. Don't beat yourself up about negative emotions and such. All of us are working on overcoming our negative emotions. Kundalini awakening is many years down the line, so do not worry about that right now. The samyama book might be another interesting book you may want to buy. Good luck on your journey. |
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NoDogma
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2015 : 10:36:19 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jusmail
Kundalini awakening is many years down the line, so do not worry about that right now.
that is wrong information. Kundalini can be awakened within a much shorter period (how about 2 months ? and how about minutes during a Shaktipat) of practices like SBP, Shambhavi and combinations.
Although there is no real need to worry if you observe day-to-day changes (outside meditation time) and keep that part uniform. That means changing your practice according to excesses observed outside of it.
You're doing well in self pacing. There is no fixed time after which one should move to next thing. If you don't feel ready, then go slow.
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Edited by - NoDogma on Jan 16 2015 12:57:51 AM |
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adishivayogi
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2015 : 10:58:52 PM
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| it may not be years. just depends where you left off. if you're into these things it's likely you were prior. in my case i began everything together. (going to crown as well) things were rough for a time. however i dont regret it. there were many times i came close to just quitting yoga all together over it though( thats the real danger in moving so fast, not the overloads..practise will take care of that on it's own). yoga will make things surface, you will not be able to ignore anything. it's akin to driving a car. if you're going 30 mph it's easy. you can look sight see, look at the radio, etc. but when you're going 100 miles an hour there is danger of flying off the street. you feel every bump n there is chance you will wreck into a ditch. i'd study pranayama and meditation right now. that is the core to any higher practise. mudras will come next. especially kehcari mudra. even starting out keep the tongue up. and work on pushing it behind the palate. it is important. back in the day you were not initated into higher kriyas without having completed it. the tongue is like the extension cord. i wont say it doesnt work without it being plugged in. but imho if you want to acheieve the goal you need it. but ive been wrongplenty of times |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2015 : 04:52:45 AM
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Dear Curious
There is indeed no hard and fast rule about the interval at which to add new practices. However Yogani talks about decades to complete the process he describes in the AYP books. Considering there are roughly ten practices in the whole book, then the intervals for consolidating each practice should be of the order of months or years.
Meditation is the cornerstone of your yoga practice. I would advise you to take plenty of time to explore it - find out how sensitive you are to it and what your daily amount of practice should be. I don't think waiting for a year before taking on pranayama is too long, especially if you want to be on the safe side.
This is what Yogani says about adding pranayama to meditation (Lesson 38 - What is your time line?):
quote:
Originally posted by yogani
The more we evolve in our practice to a comfortable routine, the easier will we be able to take on something new. It takes time.
We have already added cross-legged sitting to our meditation routine. Have you been making good progress with that?
If you have a foreboding about your kundalini experience being traumatic, that is an extra reason to stay with just meditation for even longer, to develop that inner silence that will make K awakening a smooth process.
I wish you a smooth journey.  |
Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Jan 16 2015 04:57:49 AM |
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Ecdyonurus
Switzerland
479 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2015 : 05:29:22 AM
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Well, I agree with the post of BlueRaincoat, but kundalini/energy surges can happen even with a gentle approach.
In my case, I experienced huge and scary energy surges after only a couple of weeks of just deep meditation, 20' twice a day, sitting on a chair. Looking for good advice from this great forum and self-pacing allowed me to find a solution whithin few days, and things have been mostly pleasant and smooth since.
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2015 : 07:42:26 AM
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quote (I'm guessing it is when I am able to completely forgive those who have caused me suffering in my past and forgive myself for causing suffering to others? I know at this moment I am not capable of that yet so I'm assuming if I was to still hold on to these negative feelings of anger, anxiety, humiliation, etc while progressing onto to pranayama....the kundalini awakening will most likely be a traumatic one?)
Hi Curious,
Don't be afraid...surrender to the kundalini, it will help you to bring more freedom into your life. As long as you are afraid, stay with the deep-meditation and I advice do not progress to pranayama.
In my case, the kundalini started before I was practicing yoga or meditation. Probably because I worked alone as a soft sculpture artist, I was meditating without knowing.....It starts when it is your time. It shows you the personal problems, but you don't really have to do anything, just meditate and surrender. Be were you are, don't force it, if you feel completely comfortable with DM than you can take the next step. Kundalini will show you the way if you listen. |
Edited by - Charliedog on Jan 16 2015 07:47:21 AM |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2015 : 07:45:28 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Ecdyonurus
kundalini/energy surges can happen even with a gentle approach.
Very true. You can never be completely certain if/when you're going to have a K surge.
It is also true that rushing through practices greatly increases the chances of having a K awakening before you are ready for it.
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2015 : 07:36:02 AM
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Hi Curious,
You have been given some good advice by others already.
If you were to wait until you are able to completely forgive those who have caused you suffering in your past and forgive yourself for causing suffering to others, before taking on pranayama practice you could be waiting a very long time!
The general advice is to leave at least a few weeks between taking on one advanced level practice and the next in order to become established in a practice and to have a chance to see how it effects you before moving on to the next stage. The other important factor is that you feel ready in yourself to expand your practice. There is no hard and fast rule as everyone is different depending on the existing state of purity and stability of their nervous system. At each stage make sure you feel stable and comfortable in your practice before adding something new. And always be ready to take a step back if necessary before moving ahead again (self-pacing).
Spinal Breathing Pranayama is a very safe practice in terms of purification. It works along a very safe route in the body and will allow prana to expand in a safe way through the body and into the higher centres. The scare stories that you hear about kundalini awakenings usually either involve people who are using more aggressive spiritual practices or are coming from people who awakened spontaneously and did not know what was happening to them.
As for books, in the enlightenment series, the best books to follow Deep Meditation would be "Spinal Breathing Pranayama", "Asanas, Mudras and Bhandas" and "Samyama". Personally I would really recommend the big book "Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living" as it gives step by step guidance on which practice to take on in which sequence, which is sometimes not clear in the Enlightenment Series. "Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living" is simply a published version of the first few hundred lessons on this website with some additions added.
Christi |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2015 : 09:06:45 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Christi
The general advice is to leave at least a few weeks between taking on one advanced level practice and the next in order to become established in a practice and to have a chance to see how it effects you before moving on to the next stage. The other important factor is that you feel ready in yourself to expand your practice.
Yes, these two rules should make it very obvious when one is ready to take on a new practice. I think there may be one exception however. I'm speaking purely from my own experience, so let me just submit this idea for consideration:
When I first started yoga (and that was many years ago, before AYP) I had many months when 'feeling ready in yourself to expand your practice' would have meant nothing to me. I remember how my practice was simply going through the motions. I didn't feel anything, didn't know why I was doing it, other than giving the teacher the benefit of the doubt, in an attempt to hopefully get some idea of what yoga was. I remember at some point resolving to withhold judgement for some time, just to see if I could get in a position where I may understand what on earth that teacher was talking about.
I'm saying all this because I'm trying to explain how I lacked the self awareness that would have made it possible for me to know what level of practice was enough or whether I was ready to take on more.
In view of my own experience, I think it makes sense to treat complete beginners (those who come into AYP with no previous yoga experience) differently from those who have had some kind of practice before. For complete beginners it might be wise to have some sort of break mechanism in place, something like 'in the very first year of your practice do not take on any more than meditation, or meditation and SPB at most'.
I appreciate that you don't want to slow down the progress of those who can take on more practices. On the other hand, this might be a risk worth taking, as there are still a few people coming to this forum saying they have gone though all the techniques in AYP Vol. 1 in 18 months.
What are your thoughts on this? |
Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Jan 17 2015 09:09:24 AM |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2015 : 11:02:24 PM
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Hi Blue,
I understand what you are saying, and I think it depends very much on the individual. Some people come into this life in a very pure state and are able to take on quite advanced yoga practices relatively easily. For others, much more time is needed. I find that if people follow the general guidelines given in the main lessons and self-pace accordingly, things usually work out very well.
Some people are keen to progress as fast as possible and for them, the system is there to do so. If someone does move forward too quickly, they will find out at some point and can take the necessary action, adjusting their practices to a level that works well over the long term.
So what AYP does is set out the guidelines, and then it is really up to each individual practitioner to take responsibility for their own practice and the pace that they progress. My experience is that for the vast majority of people it works very well. There are occasionally cases where people have very high bhakti, and although they know that they are moving forward faster than their nervous system can handle, they do so anyway as their spiritual desire is so strong. Sometimes these people find themselves in difficulty energetically. But that happens on any path and in every system of yoga. So it is not something peculiar to AYP.
So if there was a real problem, with people moving ahead too quickly and being unable to pace their practice effectively, then there could be a need for a caution, but it has not been my experience.
Christi |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2015 : 04:22:25 AM
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To @Blue and @ Christy, I understand you both!
I found AYP in summer 2014. I started reading and found so many answers on my experiences on the Yoga path (the experiences were already there) It helped me a lot to find more confidence in my practices. I was looking for more depth in my meditation. So now I use Samyama and that was what I was looking for! But in some way I am also happy that I not found it when I just began to wake up, long ago. I hope you understand what I mean. I would not have understand what was said, or not as I see the words at this moment
This forum is called Advanced Yoga Practices. In my language you can understand the word advanced as practices not for complete beginners. It is wise as you start with yoga to find a good teacher who can see you as you are. Go to trainings, events etc. My experience is that I also needed many asanas to make the body/mind/breath free, that might be different for everybody but how do you know that as complete beginner?
Just wondering or has this to be a new topic. The understanding of the path of yoga completely changed for me over the years.
From the outside to the inside to the infinite......  |
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riptiz
United Kingdom
741 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2015 : 04:41:43 AM
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Hi,
Yes I agree with Christi, nobody can know what level they are at and some get immediate severe experiences and others take a while. The key is to observe any changes you experience and back off if things seem to be going to fast.Finding balance is the key.Sometimes I can experience sunburn on my whole head or parts. I have just returned from India and while on the ashram I experienced sunburn all the way down my spine on the skin.Shaktipat will awaken Kundalini instantly but care needs to be taken and much depends on the competency of the person giving shaktipat.When we are given shaktipat it is in controlled conditions and we are in a place where we can be observed and discuss experiences.Personally I do not believe it should be given remotely as one can never know the results first hand or give correct instruction, one should not receive shaktipat without adequate preparation.
L&L
Dave |
Edited by - riptiz on Jan 18 2015 08:09:01 AM |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2015 : 04:48:05 AM
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Don't get me wrong, I am very very grateful that I have found this masterpiece of Yoga information, hope we can share experiences and help each other.
But don't hurry, take it step by step. Enjoy the ride.... 
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2015 : 06:30:41 AM
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I think I know exactly what you mean Charliedog.
Also I am sure I would not have appreciated AYP enough, had it been the first yoga method to have come across. As it is, if I were to design my own teacher according to my own inclinations, I could not come closer to my ideal than Yogani is  |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2015 : 07:32:46 AM
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Agree at this moment BlueRainCoat!   |
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Ecdyonurus
Switzerland
479 Posts |
Posted - Jan 18 2015 : 09:06:45 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by BlueRaincoat
I think I know exactly what you mean Charliedog.
Also I am sure I would not have appreciated AYP enough, had it been the first yoga method to have come across. As it is, if I were to design my own teacher according to my own inclinations, I could not come closer to my ideal than Yogani is
I thinks that every beginner is different, having his/her own main interests and needs.
Yoga is a very large system, there are many access doors. Everyboy finds the best access.
In my case, in the beginning I was looking for physical health only, so I have been attracted by hatha yoga. After a while I discovered that yoga provided relaxation, and the next step was towards meditation (and beginning AYP). This happened step by step during a couple of years.
So it took some time in order to prepare myself for AYP, because I had to reestablish health and relaxation first, after many years of health issues and stress.
But another beginner may directly be in search of a meditation practice, and jump start in AYP. |
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How do I know when I'm ready to move on to Prana?
