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JDH
USA
331 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 11 2010 : 11:44:22 AM
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I have noticed that the effects of not resting adequately after meditation are very similar to the effects of "overload" and "excess purification"
This makes me wonder, what is the theory/understanding behind this? Samyama is stillness in action. Getting up quickly after meditation is action from stillness. Are the ill effects of quickly getting back into motion after meditation a result of excess purification from a turbo charged samyama? I.e. stillness directly penetrating our daily actions.
And if so, then are highly advanced yogis able to transition seamlessly from meditation to movement?
I know that either way, stillness will slowly diffuse out into our daily actions and living through its source in meditation. But I am wondering if this is an addition avenue of purification worth considering.
I have had at least one profound witnessing experience when moving directly from meditation into a social situation in a matter of about 30 seconds. I've also had experiences of getting up too soon and feeling like I just woke up from a long night of barely getting any sleep.
Resting seems to be key, but there also seems to be potential in how to come out of stillness back into movement.
Right now I just lay there, kind of sleepy for a while, erring on the side of taking extra long. But perhaps I will experiment with some pranayama (re-awakening the breath, not necessarily SBP) to get things moving again, and then intentionally move back into the day from a center of stillness. |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2010 : 2:15:30 PM
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Hi JDH,
My understanding is that in DM/Samyama, you're in such a deep state that going straight into activity is too disrupting. The purpose of the rest period is to transition more smoothly into activity.
Like if you were in deep sleep and someone yanked you out of bed and pushed you onto a treadmill, your rest would be disturbed. You'd probably be cranky and disoriented for a while. To wake up naturally, we don't do it from deep sleep, but transition into "lighter" phases of sleep first.
I believe it's the same type of thing. No mystical theories behind it 
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Love
cosmic |
Edited by - cosmic on Mar 11 2010 2:17:13 PM |
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JDH
USA
331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2010 : 3:28:58 PM
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I agree. Getting up right off the cushion directly into action feels the same as getting woken up unexpectedly, and that probably is the mechanism. But I'm just asking what if?
Instead of going straight into intense cardiovascular exercise, I was thinking more along the lines of systematically and intentionally waking up. Like first doing some slow deep breathing, then small movements, then walking around, etc. And trying to do it all from a center of stillness. Or some way to carry the stillness into activity better. Open to ideas. |
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JDH
USA
331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2010 : 3:42:11 PM
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| We end our practices with samyama, releasing subtle thoughts into stillness. At least when I started samyama, I had the observation that the sutras were being "digested" by the stillness, or the other way around. There was a mixis. Stillness and meaning counteract each other and samyama is the clash. But doesn't samyama also encompass any stillness we have out in daily life, any and all stillness in action? Then practicing on the sutras seems like doing weight lifting with a stick instead of a barbell with weights on it. No doubt that starting out small is appropriate. But I'm wondering if coming out of samyama into daily activity is one of the best opportunities to practice moving stillness in the storm of energy that is our daily life. If we have reached stillness in meditation, and stillness in action is our goal, why not go to stillness and literally start moving. |
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resting and moving from stillness
