Building a Daily Practice with Self-Pacing

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Building a Daily Practice with Self-Pacing

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yogani

USA
5189 Posts

Posted - Jul 12 2005 : 09:14:12 AM

In the old days, aspiring seekers were lucky if they could find someone who would teach them one, two or maybe three advanced yoga practices. And that was only if both the teacher and the student lived long enough for the several transfers of knowledge to happen. According to tradition, the transmission of spiritual practices could only occur over many years, and only to those who had "qualified" themselves through rigorous devotion and austerities. No wonder the world has seen so few enlightened people!

Now we find ourselves in the twenty-first century, catapulting headlong into this still-young information age. The knowledge of humanity in all fields is expanding at a mind-boggling rate. And, as the knowledge expands, the world is shrinking. Thanks to the Internet, the distance between opposite sides of the globe has been reduced to nothing. We are all close neighbors living on the same street in this medium.

It was inevitable that the free flow of information around the planet would wear away the boundaries that have kept the knowledge of advanced spiritual practices divided and unavailable to most of the people in the world. AYP is one example of how ancient spiritual knowledge can be integrated and opened up to all using modern technology. It's a good thing, and the time is right...

Along with the free flow of powerful knowledge comes responsibility -- an obligation we all have to put safetly first, taking things in a logical sequence and not overdoing. We have a long list of practices here in AYP which we are free to undertake at our own discretion. Can we take them all on in a year? Five years? Ten years? It will depend on each person. Everyone has a unique capacity for spiritual practices, and we find out what ours is when we commit ourselves and begin the journey. This is the building of our daily spiritual practice routine.

We all have a present limit on how much we can undertake in practices. It is determined by the remaining obstructions in our nervous system. If we are doing too much, we will know soon enough, and then it is time for us to act according to the principles of "self-pacing."

Most of the questions that come to me are related to balancing practices with each other and daily activity. Overdoing or having an imbalance between practices and activity can yield a wide range of symptoms -- some extremely pleasurable (at least for a while), and some not so pleasurable. Yoga practices affect us in every way -- mentally, emotionally, physically and sensually, and the symptoms of imbalance can show up in any or all of these areas.

When there is an excess in our experience, the advice is to "self-pace," meaning ease back a bit on the practice that is causing the excessive purification. Bring it back to a comfortable level of inner purification. Then we can continue our practice at that level for a while, and consider creeping back up when the symptoms have stabilized. The same applies to taking on new practices. We only do what we can assimilate, taking it step-by-step, always. It is a never-ending balancing act -- a vitally important balancing act on the path of yoga. Without a good awareness and application self-pacing, it will not be possible to progress steadily on this path, or on any path for that matter.

So, in AYP, with so many powerful practices available, everyone is in the position to move forward at their own pace, and that is what this forum is about. Do share your experiences with overdoing, and how you have self-paced your practice to correct any excesses. If you are having symptoms of excess now and do not know what to do, you should be able to find help here.

Practice wisely, and enjoy!

The guru is in you.

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