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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 03:13:03 AM
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Have any of you noticed a sensation of inflation of the body with air whiel practicing kechari?
I have observed the sensation but it was made very visible to me today when a friend took some pictures of me with my webcam in meditation posture. I noticed that in some photos my belly and chest looked inflated as if i had taken a deep breath while others didn't. I wasn't doing anything with the breath except sometimes doing kechari at some moments but not others. we did an experiment where I sat in the exact same position with no changes at all except for kechari and when I toggled from one pic to the other it appears that i am taking a deep breath in during kechari. the cam was in the same spot and i didn't move. The other observation is that the breeze of the breath can barely if at all be felt in front of my nose with a hand during kechari. Anyone else observe this? It is as if the breath is naturally inhaled and then suspended without effort during this practice. I haven't heard much personal experience of this sort in this forum so thought I would ask. |
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yogani
USA
5201 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 10:07:10 AM
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Hi Victor:
Yes, it is a kind of internal kumbhaka which can happen naturally in the GI tract as part of the "alchemy" going on there -- food, air and sexual essences blending to produce "soma," a biological component of rising ecstatic conductivity. From there, soma can expand air-like throughout the body and out through the pores of the skin, contributing to ecstatic radiance extending beyond the body. The sweet aromas sometimes noticed around yogis and yoginis have been attributed to this.
Muktananda's guru, Nityananda, was known for swallowing large amounts air to accentuate this phenomenon, leading to a large air-filled belly. Not recommended in AYP. It can compromise health.
With kechari and other mudras and bandhas, combined with moderate breath retention during chin pump and yoni mudra, and the slowdown of breathing during spinal breathing pranayama, the retention of air and combined essences in the body will occur naturally. Of course, deep meditation has an underlying role to play in all of this, as in all yogic phenomena we encounter. Inner silence is the foundation of all spiritual progress.
Over time, the internal processing of air becomes more or less a "pass-through," meaning it is not necessary to have a Nityananda (or Buddha) belly to progress with ecstatic conductivity. In fact, an excessively swelling belly or undue pressure anywhere inside is usually a signal to, you guessed it, self-pace our practices. 
The guru is in you.
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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 11:36:04 AM
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| Thank you Yogani but your answer seems vague to me. What I am experiencing is not so much a filling of the GI tract but more of a filling of the lungs with air causing my diaphragm to drop and therefore fill my body with air. It is more of a spontaneous kumbhaka and is not done on purpose but is a result of kechari. Is this unusual? has anyone else experienced it? I have read in places that kechari was used to "play dead" sometimes as it was said to stop the breath so this doesn't seem so off the track. I think what I am trying to express here is to demystify the process and just describe the phenomena as it is experienced by practitioners since we have the only opportunity that I know of to do that in this forum. It IS interesting that you mentioned Nityananda because when I saw the cam pics I jokingly said that I was starting to look like Nityananda though am certain that I was not swallowing any air into my physical stomach! |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 12:00:45 PM
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"pass-through" is a great phrase and image. Anything grabbing, shaking, holding, impinging, expanding, or otherwise impacting on us from one of the practices (including meditation), whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or energetically, is a result of 1. impurities being dissolved or 2. a desire (conscious or subconscious) for "something to happen" being played out (we don't brush our teeth with a goal in mind. We just do it. That's the way).
You know you've worked through those things with a given practice when there's a steady shimmering transparency. It recalls the Buddhist notion of emptiness. It's an emptiness full of love (sorry for the contradiction), but everything passes through freely. Everything.
Don't just DO something; stand there!
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Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Sep 26 2006 12:02:13 PM |
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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 12:04:47 PM
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| So Jim. Is that your experience when practicing kechari? |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 12:08:14 PM
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I don't practice kechari (can't get my tongue that far back!). It is, however, my experience with every other practice I do.
Transparency takes a lot of time to achieve. If you get there, and lay off practice for even a day or two, you really see how far and how quickly one backslides. |
Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Sep 26 2006 12:08:55 PM |
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yogani
USA
5201 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 12:16:30 PM
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Hi Victor:
Yes, kumbhaka can certainly be natural in kechari -- but it is part of a broad process of neurobiological transformation occurring in the nervous system, so it is hard to segregate it. That is why I answered the way I did. Sometimes we may get the same (or similar) kumbhaka effect from deep meditation alone, or any other practice, or group of practices. The cause and effect of it will change as things evolve.
Wish I could be more specific. The vagueness comes along with spiritual progress coloring practices as much as the other way around. Also, the practices color each other, so what might seem to be a kechari effect may actually be other practices coloring kechari, vise versa, and so on. It will shift around according to the unique course of purification in each of us. So, the further along we are, the harder it becomes to nail down one particular cause (practice) relating to one particular effect (experience). A broader view involving multiple practices and experiences then may offer a clearer picture of what is happening.
The guru is in you.
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Neesha
215 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 12:28:53 PM
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[quote]Originally posted by Victor
Thank you Yogani but your answer seems vague to me. What I am experiencing is not so much a filling of the GI tract but more of a filling of the lungs with air causing my diaphragm to drop and therefore fill my body with air.
Hi Victor,
Gosh thank you for this I noticed this also and as usual I got scared cause I remember my stomach being flat and actually see it extended...I used a mirror
My stomach was literally bloated out(filled with something must be air).......something to do with mediation especially when I am trying to do my jaap.
thanks alot though |
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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 1:03:28 PM
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| Ah! So it is not just me. The reason that I was being so specific is that the difference was very visible in the cam pictures which we repeated several times to be sure. Its just an interesting phenomena and i was curious about it. |
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Balance
USA
967 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 1:32:49 PM
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What I think I notice when entering kechari is a direct nerve relaxation response that extends at least to the diaphragm.
alan |
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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 2:55:13 PM
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| I get that as well, Balance. There has been alot of emphasis on the tongue and how to get into kechari and now I find it interesting to see what other experiences people have with it in terms of breath and body energies and sensations |
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Neesha
215 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2006 : 4:50:24 PM
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| oops sorry those two lines I didn't delete |
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VIL
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - Oct 07 2006 : 3:57:39 PM
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I was reading up on Kechari and would like to know if everyone has experienced bliss when they reach stage two? Or is it dependent on the person?
Thank you,
VIL |
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Balance
USA
967 Posts |
Posted - Oct 07 2006 : 4:36:48 PM
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Hi VIL
I was able to do all stages of kechari within a few weeks. That was over a year ago and I still don't experience "Bliss". I'm still working on purifying my nervous system and reaching toward silence in my practice. After those things are clear for me I assume I'll experience bliss with kechari. I do experience with kechari some conductivity, nerve relaxation through my body and i reach a more interior space which facilitates silence and depth.
Peace, Alan |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Oct 07 2006 : 5:42:28 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by VIL
I was reading up on Kechari and would like to know if everyone has experienced bliss when they reach stage two? Or is it dependent on the person?
Thank you,
VIL
Hi VIL,
Well, there was this one time, when I first got into stage 2 kechari.. I was so happy I could do it.. I stayed in kechari for a real long time.. that time yes.. I did feel "'bliss".. but not recommended.. I felt really disconnected from the world.
With Kechari however, the practice itself is very different... I cannot put it in words.. but I feel more involved in all of the practices.. more a part of them.. even the thoughts that come up during meditation seem very focused.. not jumping around randomly.. the pranayam and meditation seem more focused and intense.. I can tell this difference when my tongue slips out of kechari during spinal breathing or meditation and I don't go back into kechari immediately or if for some reason I don't do kechari for a session... which has never really lasted.. because even if I do start it off without kechari.. I feel somethings missing and get back into it.. |
Edited by - Shanti on Oct 07 2006 5:53:33 PM |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Oct 07 2006 : 5:56:44 PM
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VIL,
Shanti said: "Well, there was this one time, when I first got into stage 2 kechari.. I was so happy I could do it.. I stayed in kechari for a real long time.. that time yes.. I did feel "'bliss".. but not recommended.. I felt really disconnected from the world."
Same exact experience for me. |
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VIL
USA
586 Posts |
Posted - Oct 07 2006 : 6:06:28 PM
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Thanks, Balance, Scott and Shanti.
And thanks for the welcome, Shanti [from another thread]:
I'm practicing moving my tongue, with the help of my finger, as far back toward the uvula as possible. As a kid, I bit my tongue clear through, severed the frenum, I think it's called, [still have the scar] so there's not a whole lot to snip, although I may have to snip some.
Anyway, I've searched everywhere for snippers, but can't find them and I'm a little nervous about using a razor blade:  So, I may just have to go to a pharmacy and buy a pair.
I read the other kechari mudra thread, where you stated that you were really out of it at your family gathering, Scott. Thanks for sharing that and I'll definitely keep that in mind.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences,
VIL |
Edited by - VIL on Oct 07 2006 6:09:17 PM |
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kechari and "prana belly"
