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Cato
Germany
239 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 08:13:31 AM
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Hi everybody,
I (still think but I am not quite sure) had my kundalini awakening recently. I started doing pranayama (with mulabandha and sambhavi) and meditation daily.
I also recognized that - when I let go - start doing a lot of automatic yoga. It does not start during meditation (as some of you report) but I can let it start and stop whenever I want. I lay down on the floor then and just start. In the beginning, it was a lot of asanas, now it has shifted more towards traveling the nadis with my palms and fingertips. The movements often stop at a chakra for a little while (doing some mudra) and then continue. It generally feels really good. I am doing 15 minutes of automatic yoga, then 10 minutes of pranayama and end with 20 minutes of meditation and rest.
It leads me to three questions:
- Is it okay to increase the time doing automatic yoga? It seems to me there is a lot of energy work going on, so I don't want to overload. On the other side, I'd like to help the purification process.
- Should I favor regular asanas over automatic yoga? Since it feels so well, I am now doing automatic yoga instead of regular asana practice. Again, since there is nadi- and chakra-work involved, I feel there is some process going on I would like to maintain.
- How can I be sure kundalini has really awakened? After some irritations in the beginning, things are going quite smoothly right now, so I start to wonder if it really happened at all.
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 09:55:04 AM
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Hi Cato,
Yes, automatic yoga and ecstatic conductivity are signs of awakening.
Your daily program sounds good, but it depends on how you feel during the day. Let that be your guide and not how the practice feels.This because automatic yoga could be quite addictive. If you increase the automatic yoga, more energy work is happening. The goal is now to keep yourself in balance with meditation. Your last posts with some imbalance are from not so long ago. Keep this daily routine for say four to six weeks, before changing time or practice. Everything is going smoothly now, keep it that way. (not always easy  )
I would favor the automatic yoga over the regular asana routine or make a mix, what I did myself for some time, was starting with regular asana and let automatic yoga take over.
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Cato
Germany
239 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 11:24:27 AM
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Hi Charliedog,
thank you, that helps!
In the lessons, I keep reading about "ecstatic conductivity" and you mention it as well. I guess you mean what I labelled "feels really well".
I am wondering if I lose some progress in regular asana practice as I shift towards (currently less strenuous and less time-consuming) automatic yoga. I guess it's just the way it is. It can be regained at the given time.
Glad you have an overview over people's posts, so you can support even better.  |
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Charliedog
1625 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 11:55:48 AM
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Hi Cato,
With 'Ecstatic Conductivity' we mean the pleasurable feelings of the connection between the root and the head.
quote:
I am wondering if I lose some progress in regular asana practice as I shift towards (currently less strenuous and less time-consuming) automatic yoga. I guess it's just the way it is. It can be regained at the given time.
It depends on your understanding and personal goal in yoga...If you see a perfect sequence as yoga then yes maybe. If your goal is towards union, liberation, freedom, enlightenment (Yoga) then no.
There is a saying,
"do not practice yoga to become better at yoga,
practice yoga to become better at living".
As you read through the lessons, the meaning becomes clear to you
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Edited by - Charliedog on Aug 09 2018 12:07:32 PM |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 12:53:49 PM
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Hi Cato
quote:
Originally posted by Cato
After some irritations in the beginning, things are going quite smoothly right now
Good to hear the imbalance has smoothed out. You have worked though some blockages, now they have cleared and you're feeling balanced. That is what we want. Feeling grumpy during the day, though it may be unavoidable at times, is not what we are after. If you get your self-pacing right, you should be feeling pretty smooth in general. "Grumpy" happens when you are releasing more than you can process.
I would be cautions about increasing the length of your yoga sessions at this point. You have already added deep meditation, pranayama and mulabandha & sambhavi, all within just a couple of weeks. The advice is to add only one practice at a time, leaving weeks or months before you add a new technique. The effects are cumulative. It's best to err on the side of caution, as Yogani says. "Rome was not built in one day."
Are you reading through the lessons on this website? You are obviously reading about new practices, but don't skip the ones about self-pacing. |
Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Aug 09 2018 1:05:12 PM |
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Cato
Germany
239 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 3:13:52 PM
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quote:
With 'Ecstatic Conductivity' we mean the pleasurable feelings of the connection between the root and the head.
I would not describe as being a connection between the root of the spine and the head. The feeling is more like the first stretch in the morning, done contiuously. It feels really well in the whole body.
quote:
It depends on your understanding and personal goal in yoga...If you see a perfect sequence as yoga then yes maybe. If your goal is towards union, liberation, freedom, enlightenment (Yoga) then no.
I guess in the past I really enjoyed my ashtanga practice for being a practice that helped me mentally, emotionally and physically (the latter one especially as I have an office job). Switching now to the advanced yoga practices, I feel the last part is somewhat missing and the 10 minutes that Yogani recommends as physical exercise don't make up for 45 minutes of ashtanga daily. However, in the long run, I definitely prefer to "practice yoga to become better at living."
quote:
Are you reading through the lessons on this website? You are obviously reading about new practices, but don't skip the ones about self-pacing.
You're right, I bought the whole set of e-books and am reading through them right now. I often come across self-pacing, which mostly is mentioned in connection with daily life activities. So I thought I might be fine by adding practices as long as I feel okay in daily life activities, waiting somewhat each time. It seems it is recommended to wait considerably longer, several weeks. I guess it has to do with delayed reactions, which I did not yet fully understand. Are delayed reactions the rule or a possibility amongst others?
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Dogboy
USA
2294 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 5:11:08 PM
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quote:
It seems it is recommended to wait considerably longer, several weeks. I guess it has to do with delayed reactions, which I did not yet fully understand. Are delayed reactions the rule or a possibility amongst others?
As a rule, delayed reactions are always a possibility.  We all have unique blockages and karma, so to err on the side of caution, space out practices. After a year or so of AYP you will better know what will work best for you. |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 5:22:44 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Cato
Are delayed reactions the rule or a possibility amongst others?
It takes a while before we are able to assess the effects of a practice. That applies to all of us. Months may go by when people (especially beginners) think nothing is happening, then overload may come suddenly. If you ramp it up slowly, the overload will not be too bad, even if it does occur. But if you've take a lot in one go, the delayed effects added up could be significant.
If you are going to miss your asana sessions, why not continue having them as your base line, plus meditation twice a day for a while? Then you can add spinal breathing and so on. You would get to keep the practices that you like, as there would be no pressure to chop things out to make room for lots of new practices. The only challenge would be the overall length of time the practices takes every day. Yogani had designed AYP for busy people. Spending 45 minutes a day on asana alone, every day, is a luxury most of us can't afford.
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2018 : 5:24:44 PM
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| I see Dogboy has beaten me to it. Hello Dogboy! |
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Dogboy
USA
2294 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2018 : 11:08:40 AM
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 BR |
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Cato
Germany
239 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2018 : 07:57:46 AM
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quote:
If you are going to miss your asana sessions, why not continue having them as your base line, plus meditation twice a day for a while? Then you can add spinal breathing and so on.
This is a good hint since I am just wondering how to set up my future daily routine. As I said, right now it is 15 minutes kriya, 10 minutes pranayama, 20 minutes deep meditation, 5 minutes rest. I'm thinking about changing kriyas with regular asanas. Can be said how these relate to each other in terms of overloading? Intuitively, I would guess kriya is more of an energy work than regular asanas, so doing regular asanas should be less prone to overloading. Is that right? Would it then be safe then to do - if time allows - let's say 40 minutes of regular ashtanga, 10 minutes pranayama, 20 minutes deep meditation and 5 minutes rest? |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1734 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2018 : 09:51:27 AM
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Hi Cato
quote:
Originally posted by Cato
Can be said how these relate to each other in terms of overloading? Intuitively, I would guess kriya is more of an energy work than regular asanas, so doing regular asanas should be less prone to overloading.
I think you are better placed than any of us here to answer this question.
Neither of us here know what your asana routine consists of, how many bandhas and how much panayama is mixed with the asanas. The same applies to the automatic yoga.
We can advise you on the practices in the AYP book and self-pacing on those. Beyond that, the honest answer is that we don't really know.
I would say, take the advice you have received on this forum about self-pacing the AYP practices. As for the rest, you are the most qualified to decide. Go with your gut feeling, do a bit of experimenting, see how you feel.
I personally think you are getting a little too hung up on details. As long as you are meditating twice a day, you are covering the most important ground. The rest will fall into place. |
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kensbikes100
USA
192 Posts |
Posted - Sep 26 2018 : 08:10:58 AM
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| Cato, what is the difference between kriya and asana? I'm pretty familiar with asana, but to me kriya is just a word in a glossary. |
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Cato
Germany
239 Posts |
Posted - Sep 27 2018 : 02:19:17 AM
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Hi,
I don't know if that is perfectly correct, but I understand kriya as a spontaneous, automatic asana. |
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Yogagati
Thailand
1 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2018 : 02:10:41 AM
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Hey Cato!!
Am also try to start the automatic yoga in regularly but am confused how to start and what their benefits. Today I read your post and get the huge knowledge about automatic yoga.
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Nov 05 2018 : 02:53:32 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by kensbikes100
Cato, what is the difference between kriya and asana? I'm pretty familiar with asana, but to me kriya is just a word in a glossary.
Hi Kensbikes,
The word "kriya" means "action", just as the word "karma" does. There are three different aspects of yoga where the word is commonly used.
The first is for specific yogic practices that are often referred to as "kriyas". Navi kriya is an example of this.
Then there are the Shatkarmas, or cleansing techniques which are often referred to as "kriyas".
Lastly, the automatic movements that can happen to people in yoga are often referred to as "automatic kriyas". So, certain asanas could be called kriyas if they are being directed by the flows of prana in the body. Other forms of automatic kriyas are certain head and bodily movements that happen because of the purification of the subtle channels.
Christi |
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Cato
Germany
239 Posts |
Posted - Nov 07 2018 : 07:30:33 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Yogagati
Hey Cato!!
Am also try to start the automatic yoga in regularly but am confused how to start and what their benefits. Today I read your post and get the huge knowledge about automatic yoga.
Hi Yogagati,
I'm not really sure what your question is. Is there any? Concerning my practice, I keep practicing regular ashtanga five times a week and switch to automatic yoga twice a week. So far, it seems quite fine to me. |
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spiderjen29
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2019 : 7:09:47 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Charliedog
Hi Cato,
Yes, automatic yoga and ecstatic conductivity are signs of awakening.
Your daily program sounds good, but it depends on how you feel during the day. Let that be your guide and not how the practice feels.This because automatic yoga could be quite addictive. If you increase the automatic yoga, more energy work is happening. The goal is now to keep yourself in balance with meditation. Your last posts with some imbalance are from not so long ago. Keep this daily routine for say four to six weeks, before changing time or practice. Everything is going smoothly now, keep it that way. (not always easy )
I would favor the automatic yoga over the regular asana routine or make a mix, what I did myself for some time, was starting with regular asana and let automatic yoga take over.
Do people usually do a mix of automatic and asana? I'm thinking I should just stick to automatic yoga. |
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kensbikes100
USA
192 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2019 : 8:41:21 PM
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| Spiderjen, I've done asanas for nearly 9 years now and DM for about 8, and I rarely have any automatic yoga. To me automatic means "involuntary," though it sounds like it's controllable for some people. |
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Automatic yoga
