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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 05:54:22 AM
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| I find after about 5 mins of Pranayama that I am able to trace my spinal nerve very slowly. Infact I can virtually halt my breath and make the sensation within that part of the spine pretty exquisite, it's almost erotic. I am aware that the instruction is to just keep running up and down the spine with awareness, but my question is can I take an infinite time for the in and out breaths......of course not really infinite, but far more than 30 seconds or so. |
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Richard
United Kingdom
857 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 07:47:18 AM
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Hi Karl
I think the answer is not to try and control the breath TOO much.
Just go easily up and down the spine and if the breath slows down to almost a stop great, just continue when it feels natural to do so.
Soo to sum up its what comes easiest and most natural to you don't force anything just be with the breath as it travels up and down the spine. |
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 08:29:28 AM
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Thanks Richard.
Its not so much about controlling the breath, it's more a case that my spinal nerve/awareness controls the breath and not the way it used to be when I first started. It used to be I was taking a breath and trying to follow the spine, now the spine seems to have more control. Its weird to explain it. I can get absorbed in a tiny few millimetres of the nerve although I am still moving my awareness very slowly up or down. A bit like going downhill in a car and just letting the engine be the brake, so in effect the hill drives the car and the car just delivers the braking that is needed. |
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lucidinterval1
USA
193 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 08:52:21 AM
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Hi Karl,
I would go with what feels correct. I find that the breath does start slowing down and the more it does the deeper I go into silence. It is not uncommon for me to go 1 to 2 breaths per minute.
Paul |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 09:05:27 AM
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Karl,
The idea is to follow your breath up and down the spine for 10 min. In deep meditation, when you realize you are off the mantra you gently go back to the mantra, exactly the same way.. when you realize you are caught up in the "pretty exquisite" experience in your spine, go back to breathing and tracing your spine. This way, even tho your breathing maybe taking over the practice, when you realize your breathing has taken over, gently go back to the practice. Remember, you will have many more experiences, and if you let yourself get caught up in them, you will lose out on the benefits of this practice. Now, every now and then, you can stop and enjoy the feelings.. but overall.. favour the practice.. that is what will help your nervous system open up.. not the experiences ya know?
Enjoy! 
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 11:05:40 AM
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Thanks again,
I think I will follow Shanti's advice. I am definitely getting caught up, I think the novelty of finding that the spinal nerve can seem so real compared to the slightly wooly and indistinct sensations created a dozen weeks ago has made me want to examine things more closely.
Its a bit like finding I can play the guitar riff of a favourite song and knowing that I should be trying to learn the whole song but just enjoying the moment of joy on realising the essence of the song has been captured and I can now play it  |
Edited by - karl on Dec 13 2008 1:03:40 PM |
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anthony574
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 11:27:39 AM
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| karl, how long have you been doing any practices of this kind? |
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 1:02:47 PM
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| A few months, not very long at all. Why do you ask? |
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anthony574
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2008 : 9:50:35 PM
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| You seem to be experiencing a lot of activity for such a short term of practice. I have been practicing almost two years and never experienced anything even short of that. |
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2008 : 04:24:47 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by anthony574
You seem to be experiencing a lot of activity for such a short term of practice. I have been practicing almost two years and never experienced anything even short of that.
Its probably because the principles are not new to me. Even as a kid I used to mess around with meditation and trance (of course I didn't call it that at the time, one time I concentrated on a word and tried to lose its meaning. After a while it do lose its meaning, trouble was that once that word lost its meaning so did my whole vocabulary and for a few seconds (although it seemed like a life time) I was totally unable to speak and it really scared me. Also some of the breath control/tension and awareness were known to me.
Two years ago I became an NLP therapist which included Hypnotherapy and Timeline therapy. As an engineer this was very weird stuff to dabble in. However I have taken to it like a duck to water. It's really the case that properly practised Yoga techniques are a natural progression for me.
It's a bit like any learning, if you have been messing about with the general techniques then you have learned over a lifetime, it only takes some coaching to turn those lifetime experiences into a more powerful structure.
Also, some learn faster than others, thats just the way it is. Everyone gets where they want to be at their own natural pace and if we have an infinity of lifetimes then it really does not matter.
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how slowly
