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firststep
USA
23 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 05 2020 : 9:08:59 PM
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First off, my Sincere thanks to Yogani for codifying the yoga and meditation practices in simple and clear lessons and laying them down in a systematic progression. And many thanks for all the members on the AYP forums for contributing their insights and support. Yes “Jim and His Karma”, I am one among many regular lurkers on this forum.
I would like to share my experience so far in my practice.
I was always fascinated with the idea of “Stillness” which seemed always close by but out of reach for me. One day in the fall of 2018, I googled “Stillness in action” and aypsite.org links for samyama popped up. I had never heard of AYP up until that point and to be honest I was bummed a bit. Well, after going thru the lessons available online for a few hours I could tell I have struck gold. Immediately, I purchased the Kindle version of Advanced Yoga Practices – Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living Volumes 1 and 2. And pretty much devoured them almost overnight. I guess that’s the Bakthi in me showing up.
Still after going thru the lessons, I never acted upon them except for a few handful of meditation sessions.... until March 2019.
Then by coincidence, I ran into a teacher from “Simplified Kundalini Yoga -SKY” practice taught by Vethathiri Maharishi, South India in March 2019. Again I never had heard about it even though the main teacher was originally from my town. Again I was little bummed. However without hesitation I jumped into the SKY program. The practice consists of simple physical exercises, some pranayama and regular kundalini meditation for beginners and some introspection and silence practise in the later stages. The teacher suggested meditating for 20 minutes x 2 per day similar to Yogani’s suggestion for DM. I was initiated at the Agna Chakra (third eye), Moolaadhara Chakra (Root), and the Sahasrara Chakra (crown) in that order over a four week period in March 2019 by the teacher.
I started practicing regularly this time albeit only once per day since then. Most of the days, my practice consisted of 5-10 mins of SBP, 20 mins of meditation, once a week the physical exercises prescribed by SKY. The meditation from SKY is Chakra meditation where I focus on the Chakra point of interest and simply observe (no mantra).
I started feeling the Agna and Crown chakra in a few weeks. Then the headaches started and lasted for a few weeks. Lots of discussions in the AYP forum helped. Also the root chakra meditation helped balance the higher energies.
After about three months of the above practise, I started feeling the energy rising up and down during SBP. (However to this day, I cannot sense the energy near the root chakra). Also during this time, I experimented with Mantra + Chakra meditation whereby I will focus on a chakra point and repeat my mantra (started with om nama shivaya). I added Aswini mudra, Sambavi mudra, Dynamic Jalandhara, Siddhasana, and a baby Kechari Mudra in that order very quickly. I have also practiced occasionally Yoga Nidra, Samyama, Amaroli, and Cosmic Samyama. What I have not tried is the Tantric side of things.
The practice seemed very powerful in that I could feel the energy swirling in the crown and agna chakra points. For a guy, that does not usually feel a thing, it was a very different experience. Even though I had strong mostly pleasurable experiences I did have many uncomfortable symptoms: irritability, head pressure and head ache (the pain would be concentrated on the crown chakra and agna chakra points). I fell ill three times in early fall 2019. Twice it was like flu with fever, cold, shivers, and the third time it was a feeling of general malaise that ended when I threw up in a gut-wretching fashion. Interestingly all three times, I fell sick only on Saturdays or Sundays. By Monday I felt fine enough to go to work.
This is where Yogani’s true gift came in. The art of self-pacing. By this time, my initial excitement was tamed down enough so that I understood the value of self pacing. I went back to the basics: only SBP and chakra meditation with once or twice a week mantra meditation instead of chakra meditation. I usually stick with the 20 minutes guideline (only once a day) and rest for a few minutes after meditation. Occasionally I will do some physical exercise – like walking with my family.
Since last fall, this has been my practice. I never missed a day of practise over the last year. To maintain continuity, I have sat in meditation for 2 mins for a few days over this time.
I understand I have ways to go; I sincerely hope that I have started my thousand mile journey with this first step. |
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Dogboy
USA
2294 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2020 : 9:57:24 PM
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Welcome firststep 
quote:
This is where Yogani’s true gift came in. The art of self-pacing. By this time, my initial excitement was tamed down enough so that I understood the value of self pacing. I went back to the basics: only SBP and chakra meditation with once or twice a week mantra meditation instead of chakra meditation. I usually stick with the 20 minutes guideline (only once a day) and rest for a few minutes after meditation. Occasionally I will do some physical exercise – like walking with my family.
To recognize symptoms of practice/over practice, what is normal, what is not, really is a gift. For me, once the sense of inside energy was known, my whole in-look/outlook was adjusted, there is yoga in every moment before me, and I get to feel it. Now that feel it, explore it, return to inciting it, again and again, I learned I must take inventory and govern it, and respect my limits. The knowledge, experience, and information here on AYP has been a godsend.
Here’s a couple things I do that feel grounding:
Third eye to the floor in rest (child’s pose)
To combat minor head pressure: “cooling breath”: curl your tongue into a tube and inhale, filling your skull with it, then flare your nostrils on the exhale, taking/imagining the pressure leaving with it.
Amaroli never fails to provide me with a boost of wellbeing (might not be for everyone, trial and error)
Your practice seems very stable. Have fun with it! I’ve always thought asanas (yoga in general) should be playful. Do you do siddhassena? (helps activate the root). I use perineum balls regularly, have one in my car, helps me remember those potential yoga moments.
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Edited by - Dogboy on Jul 05 2020 10:23:16 PM |
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Kundalini Practise - my first year experience
