Yoga for Vertigo

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It's important to understand that Vertigo isn't a disease a but symptom of certain imbalances in our Central Nervous System. This imbalance can happen due to any factor;
Problems with inner ear
Problem in visual focus
Poor blood circulation
Injury
Neurological disease

When we are looking at healing, we simply need to focus on balancing central nervous system.

As always, we will approach this using Panchkosa model:

1. At the level of Annamayakosa

Asanas:

Eye rotation
Neck rotation
Tadasana
Vrikshasana
Padangustan asana
Garudasana
Ardhmatsyendra Asana
Paschimottanasana
Supta Badhkonasana
Sarvangasana
Halsana
Shavasana
Jyoti Tratak (Preferably at rising sun otherwise ghee lamp or candle flame)

Diet:
Restrict salt to lunch time
High protein and Vitamin foods
No tea, coffee or chocolate
No alcohol
No tobbacco
Allow body to soak in morning sun

2. At the level of Pranamayakosa

Nadishodhan Pranayam - 4 times a day; before breakfast, lunch, dinner & bedtime

Shankhmukha Mudra

3. At the level of Manomayakosa

According to Atharva Veda, following adhis (negative emotions) arise the vyadhi of vertigo in our body:

a. Fickle mind, scattered thoughts

b. Inner turmoil, anger, refusal to listen to certain viewpoints

c. Not 'looking' at one self

It is important that we transform the above mentioned negative emotions. The easiest solution is to repeat following affirmations with feeling and meaning at bed-time and the minute one wakes up:

a. I am peacefully and joyfully centered in life.

b. I am safe.

c. Whatever I hear, I listen with love.

d. When I look at mirror, I rejoice in my magnificence.

e. I love and approve myself.

f. I know that universe brings only good in my life. 

Happy Healing :)

For online Yoga Therapy sessions, write to us at homeyogishome@gmail.com

Suggested Reading

1. Panchkosa & Karmic Cycle

2. How Yoga can break the cage of negative karma?

Yogic Antidote to Anger & Other Afflictions

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Yesterday, in our Online Meditation Session, a student asked me, "If we suppress our anger, will that count as negative karma too?"

It has become very common these days. Most  of us feel that when it comes to anger, or any other negative emotion, there are only two ways out: Expression or Suppression.

If we express we hurt others and if we suppress we hurt ourselves. This is such an unnecessary 'Avoidance-Avoidance' conflict. Unnecessary, because yoga has a third solution to this conflict. The right solution- Transform our negative emotion into positive one. Aha! Simple.

In yogic darshan (philosophy), negative emotions are considered as adhis (afflictions) of our manomaya kosa  (seat of our mind), if they go untreated, they penetrate our pranic body (seat of our life force) and create vyadhis (diseases) in our physical body.

Therefore, for the well-being of our physical organism it is important that we don't suppress our negative emotions but transform them into a positive one.

For this purpose, Yogis Wisdom gives a list of opposites, a list of positive emotions that act as antidote to our afflictions.  Here's the list :)

Antidote to Anger

Patience.

Yoga recommends that we look at our trigger for anger as our trigger for practicing patience. In spirituality, there's lot of merit/ good karma attached to the practice of patience. So, next time when you notice anger rising in you:

1. Smile, because you have noticed it. It's step one in breaking the cycle.

2. Look at your trigger for anger with gratitude because it is giving you a chance to accumulate good karma by practicing patience.

3. Remind yourself of kshan bhangurata, every moment is here to pass away. So, keeping your energies directed towards patience. Watch the moment pass by.

Antidote to Attachment

Anitya- Impermanence

First of all, let's not mistake attachment for love. Love is good, attachment is the root of our miseries. Attachment is sticky. It's tamasic. An easy example to understand this is:

One of my cousins loves, tamarind chutney. We were little kids, I was perhaps seven & she was two years of age and we were sharing a bowl of tamarind chutney. As a natural course of action, we polished it off. The minute that happened, she started to cry. Oh my god, she was howling so loudly that we had to shut doors and windows of the house, so that are neighbors don't get worked up.

Moral of the story is: Loving tamarind chutney is okay. There's nothing wrong in enjoying it. However, feeling miserable when it is taken away, that's an affliction, an attachment. It needs to because it clearly causes suffering.  

Therefore, yogic texts prescribe the wisdom of Anitya, impermanence as antidote to attachment. One must acknowledge that everything that comes into existence will go out of existence one day. So relish it immensely, but not to fall in the trap that this particular thing is source of all my joys. It's not. My mind is the source of all my joys & miseries.

In Vedic culture we have two very interesting practices to learn the art of detachment.

1. Rangoli: We wake up early morning. Take a cold shower. Wash the floor and then spend hours creating beautiful designs on floor using color powder. Then, next day, we take a broom and sweep that work of art off the floor. Once again, sitting down to create a new design. This engraves in our minds that all creation is will be swept off but it will be replaced by something new.

2. Ganpati: Every year, we take clay from our gardens and make beautiful Ganesha idol with our hands. For eleven days we celebrate it, rejoice it, and treat that idol with all the comforts & luxuries we can offer. On the eleventh day, we take out a procession and with same joy & festivity we submerge that idol ourselves. Smiling, singing & dancing all the while, because we know next year this cycle is going to be repeated.

In our modern lifestyles, we can practice detachment daily at small levels. So that when that big testing moment arrives, we are ready.  For instance, yesterday, a friend of mine was asking, "How do you fall asleep just like that, I need my side of the bed, always." For her, a good place to start will be 'her side of bed'. 

Antidote to being Arrogance

Positive Potential of others.

Many of us think we are not arrogant and yet we are motivated by the desire to be praised by other. Whenever we notice this happening, a craving to be praised by others. That's when we should stop for a moment and reflect:

1. Of course my talented is unique and that's the most common thing about it. Nature has given everyone a unique talent.

2. I am grateful though that I could identify my talent and had the will & situations to nurture it.

3. My talent has lot of positive potential to bring well-being to others & I must look at creative ways in which I can use my talent to benefit others.

Antidote to need for Approval

Love and compassion for our-self.

Antidote to jealousy

Empathetic joy.

I was a jealous person. It once costed me a friendship with a dear friend of mine. That's when I realized what an idiot I was. I lost a friend and in the process didn't gain the quality I was jealous of it still rests with that person. Who's the loser here. So, I started practicing empathetic joy. Whenever I would find myself getting jealous. I would:

1. Tell myself- this is stupid. Me getting jealous will not change the reality.

2. Then I would try to rejoice in the other person having my object of desire.

Earlier, this rejoicing meant me faking a smile to myself & then telling myself, "I am so happy this person has xyz, may this object brings lot of joy and happiness to this person." Slowly, my fake smile became genuine and instead of saying above words, I actually started feeling them. The situations that made me jealous earlier, now started making me joyful.

Isn't it wonderful? That's what transformation of negative emotions do, it sows seeds for positive emotions in future. The same trigger of anger becomes a trigger for patience & kindness.

You must have noticed, that application of these antidotes require practice of watching one's mind & thoughts. Therefore in our Online Meditation Course , we not only conduct sessions on the 'art of watching our mind', but we also conduct sessions on training our minds to apply the antidote of transformation, each time an affliction arises. Yes, we do take all the above mentioned afflictions individually :)

To register for our coming batch of online meditation course, please write to us at homeyogishome@gmail.com 

Easy 5 Step Yoga Routine for better sleep

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Easy Bedtime Routine For Insomniacs

Step 1: 

Wash your hands and legs nicely. Rinse your eyes (preferably using an eye-cup).

Step 2:

Put ghee in your nostrils and inhale deeply. In winters, replace ghee with almond oil. Rub ghee/ almond oil on backbone, head & soles of the feet.

Step 3:

Practice Sarvangasana. Start with holding the final pose for 2 minutes & slowly build it to 8 minutes. If you find Sarvangasana challenging you can do Viprit Karni- legs up the wall pose.

Step 4:

Bhramari 5 rounds

Step 5:

Lie on your bed in Shavasana, fingers in Pran Mudra, take 16 deep and slow inhales & relaxing exhales. Then turn to your right side 32 deep inhales & relaxing exhales. Turn to your left side 64 deep inhales & exhales.

For online Yoga and Meditation Sessions, write to us at homeyogishome@gmail.com

Suggested Reading:

Easy yoga trick to wake up fresh & energized

Yoga for Migraine

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Therapeutic branch of Yoga comes from the Panchkosa concept of Taittiriya Upnishad. The most important take away from there is:
Healing happens at four levels:
1. At the level of our body: Annamayakosa
2. At the level of our life force: Pranamayakosa
3. At the level of our mind: Manomayakosa
4. At the level of wisdom & clarity: Vijanamayakosa

At the level of our body: Annamayakosa

This again is sub categorized into three levels-

The 'anna':

1. Have hot ginger water at the onset of pain 

Ginger blocks prostaglandins, which stimulate muscle contractions, control inflammation in the blood vessels, and impact some hormones. Drinking ginger water stifles prostaglandins to block the unbearable pain, and stop the associated nausea and dizziness.

2. At bedtime use your little finger to put some ghee (in summer) or badam oil (in winters) in your nostrils.

3. Eat light and easy to digest food.Avoid milk products & gluten for three days when headache strikes.

The asanas:

Morning Practice

1. Suryanamaskar

2. Shashankasana

3. Pachimottanasana

4. Matsyasana

5. Bhujangasana

6. Pawanmuktasana

7. Sarwangasana

8. Halasana

Bedtime Practice

Sarwangasana

Halasana

At the level of Life Force: Pranamayakosa

In the morning:

Kapalbhati Kriya: 5 breathes

Nadishodhan Pranayam: 10 minutes

Apan Vayu Mudra: 20 minutes

At bedtime:

Chandra Anolum Vilom: 27 breathes

Apanvayu Mudra: 20 minutes

At the level of mind: Manomayakosa

In the morning:

A-U-M chant: 5 rounds

At bedtime:

Yognidra

At the level of Wisdom & Clarity: Vijanamayakosa

Panchkosa model says that every vyadhi (disease) in this body is a creation of a mental adhi (affliction) that remained untreated.

The adhis that leads to migraine are:

1. Sexual fears

2. Fear of intimacy

3. Feeling of being pressurized by someone or something.

Working on these feelings through relaxation and trusting the process of life helps.

For Online Sessions on Yoga Therapy, write to us at homeyogishome@gmail.com

Suggested Reading:

Panchkosa & Karmic Cycle

This Easy Yoga Trick Is Better Than Coffee When It Comes To Kick-starting Mornings

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Is getting up in the morning a pain for you?
Do feel sleepy despite having a good night's sleep?
Do you feel drowsy in the morning?
Are you not a morning person & feel fatigue when you wake up?

If your answer is 'yes' to any or many then this post is for you.

What to do to Kick-Start in your mornings?

Stay in bed don't move!

It's not a joke, I mean it. The mistake that we make is, we try to move our body before waking up our brain. Trying to stimulate the body before stimulating the brain is something against common sense. Isn't it? Yet, we do it. Don't we?

So, here's what we need to do before we leave bed, to wake up our brain before body. It's a two-step yogic technique called Palming

Step 1: Rub your palms vigorously.

According to Samkhya Darshan ( Philosophy that gave birth to Yoga & Ayurveda), there is a heavy concentration of nerve endings in our palms. When we rub our palms together, the nerve endings are activated, there's an immediate awakening of our brain which in turn leads to waking up our system.

Step 2: Cup your face with your palms

When we do this, in that instance, a whole range of nerves connected with our eyes and other senses are awakened. Before you even move your body, the body & brain both are ready, energized and active.

So, instead of getting up absent minded and groggy, you wake up to a mindful awakening.

Benefits of Palming:

1. Releases mental strain.

2. Wakes up our body and mind in calm abiding fashion.

3. Promotes extreme relaxation of body & mind

4. Removes fatique

5. According to Dr. Bates, MD, Palming is a powerful and simple method for relaxing the eyes and the vision system.

Why it's better way to wake up than drinking coffee (or tea or even green tea)?

Coffee, tea, green tea, chocolate has caffeine in it. Caffeine doesn't wake us up by energizing but according to researches, it does so by making us restless, anxious and increasing our heart beats. Again, any person with common sense knows that this promotes negative health of body & mind.

So far, we discussed Palming with respect to body and mind. For most us, two- step palming method   as shown above is good enough. However, if a practitioner wants to go deeper into practice, here are Mantras of Palming.

Mantras:

In tantric cult, we called human body 'Mantra Purush', made of mantras. Therefore, it is known to add mantra recitation to yoga practices to increase the effect.

The above mentioned palming is effective on its own, however, my father taught this to me along with mantras. So, it is my responsibility that in order to continue the lineage & preserve knowledge I must share the mantras too. Please note, I am just sharing the mantras here and this is not a transmission of them.

Mantra when you look at your palms:

कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मिः करमध्ये सरस्वति ।
करमूले तु गोविन्दः प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ॥Karaagre Vasate Lakssmih Karamadhye Sarasvati |
Karamuule Tu Govindah Prabhaate Karadarshanam ||

Literally it means, Laxmi dwells at the top of my palm, in the middle there's Saraswati, at the base there's Govinda, therefore, I look at my hands and contemplate on them every morning.

This doesn't mean that the two Goddess and Govinda are literally sitting on your hands. The Gods & Goddesses of Hindu mythology are mere metaphors. Vedic wisdom tells as that there is one Supreme Consciousness- the Brahman, and it dwells in all sentient beings (plants included) as Atman. The multitude of the gods, goddesses and everything divine in Vedic Wisdom is just an outer manifestation of certain inner qualities.

Laxmi represents divine beauty, grace, health and prosperity. Saraswati manifests gyan- wisdom of combining knowledge with compassion and clarity. Givinda is a Paran Yogi who excelled the art of applying yogic wisdom in relishing the comforts of material world without hurting spiritual growth and bringing greater good to society.

When we reciete this mantra in the morning that's what we remind ourselves. That's the first thought that we have- This is my true potential and it's in my hands. Everything that I desire is in ,y hands- beauty, grace, health, prosperity, wisdom, knowledge, compassion and clarity. I have it in me to have the joyful life that I deserve and transform this world into a joyful place.

Mantra to recite while rubbing your palms:

मङ्गलम् भगवान विष्णुः, मङ्गलम् गरुणध्वजः। 

मङ्गलम् पुण्डरी काक्षः, मङ्गलाय तनो हरिः॥

Mangalam Bhagwan Vishnuh, Mangalam Garunadhwajah। 

Mangalam Pundari Kakshah, Mangalaya Tano Harih॥

This mantra translates as, all auspiciousness to Lord Vishnu, all auspiciousness to one who has Garuda as His flag. All auspiciousness to One who has eyes like the lotus flowers, and auspiciousness to Hari.

In essence, after reminding ourselves of our true nature, we offer ourselves to Vishnu- manifestation of the Brahman as the caretaker of this multiverse. This way, all our actions become his actions and we can involve our daily activities as Karma Yoga (detachment with the fruits of our work). Hence, breaking through the Karmic Cycle.

Mantra to recite while cupping the face:

ब्रह्मा मुरारी त्रिपुरांतकारी भानु: शशि भूमि सुतो बुधश्च।
 गुरुश्च शुक्र शनि राहु केतव सर्वे ग्रहा शांति करा भवंतु।

Brahmaa Muraaris-Tripuraantakaarii

Bhaanuh Shashii Bhuumisuto Budhash-Ca |

Gurush-Ca Shukrah Shani-Raahu-Ketavah

Kurvantu Sarve Mama Suprabhaatam ||

(In the early morning I remember) The Devas Brahma, Murari (The enemy of demon Mura, refers to Sri Krishna or Vishnu) and Tripurantakari (The One Who has brought an end to Tripurasuras, refers to Sri Shiva), The Planets Bhanu (The Sun), Shashi (The Moon), Bumisuta (Mars) and Budha (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu and Ketu, May all of them make my Morning Auspicious.

Basically, you cover your body and mind with a good luck charm.

Do you know this Tantra Yoga Janamashtami ritual can bring you closer to your true love?

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

Janamashtmi’s relevance in Tantra Yoga:

My Tantra Yoga mentor, the Aghori Naga, was a fire-worshipper. He would spend his days in Homa (offering oblations to fire) and nights in Dhuni (transformation by being consumed by fire).

While he dedicated his entire sadhana to Homa & Dhuni, he would tell me that there are four nights in a year when the practices Homa and Dhuni are particularly worthwhile.

One of these four nights is- Moha Ratri, the eighth tithi (day) of the krishna paksha (days of receding moon) in the month of Shravana. In Dwapar Yuga, Krishna was on born Moha Ratri and since then this day is celebrated as Janamastami in popular culture. (It’s not a coincidence that Krishna was a Param Yogi. He was born in the planetary alignment to be one).

Moha Ratri, the night of love in Tantra Yoga:

There’s a story in Tantra Yoga lore-

Once upon a time, there was a star. The star was in love with a blue lotus, which grew in the Mansarovar pond of Kailash Parvat. Every night, the star would touch this lotus with its celestial light. The touch of love would make the blue-lotus bloom and they would spend the night in the luminous embrace of love.

One night, the star fell sick; the gravitational forces at its core became stronger than the momentum of fire burning inside it, thus restricting the flow of its light.

When the blue lotus heard of it from the moon, it offered itself as oblation to the internal fire of the star. That night, the star finally shone, it shone like a blue lotus. That night was Moha Ratri and since that day, on every Moha Ratri the star shines like a blue lotus.

This is the reason why in tantra yoga tradition, Moha Ratri is considered as phase of love. My tantra mentor would say that on this night, through simple rituals and oblations, a human body can be converted into a receptor of celestial light, which in turns transforms our being into living embodiment of love.

Therefore, born on this night Krishna is such an irresistible lover. Whether it was milkmaids or Vrindavan or Radha or Meera or the timeless poets and artistes they have fallen inexorably in love with Krishna.

So, on Moha Ratri tantrics observe homas and dhuni to become Krishnamaya, in order to become the irresistible lover like him.

However, before we can discuss the DIY Homa and Dhuni, it is essential to understand what it means to be a lover like Krishna.

Krishna’s love:

Krishna embodies love for all- Gopis or Gopalas, Devas or Asurs. He accepts all.

When hunched-back and hated by all Kubja came to him with a wish of turning into a beautiful maiden, Krishna didn’t give a lecture on body-image issues, but he granted that wish. When he rescued 16,100 maidens from Narakasur and married them to restore their honor, he made each of them feel like chosen one, like he loved them more than anyone else. When he stole the clothes of Gopis, he robbed them of their egos, enabling them to meet Krishna in their purest form. When he loved Radha, it was beyond social bonds, time and space.

Krishna’s love incorporates all the 12 Rasas (spiritual tastes) - passion, wonder, conjugal love, fun, chivalry, kindness, servitude, friendship, horror, shock, saintly and parent like.

This is what makes Krishna the Supreme Lover and this is wish of tantrics on the night of Moha Ratri, for which they practice Homa and Dhuni

.

Easy DIY Tantra Yoga ritual for Moharati:

If you want to experience love in its purest form- an immersion in spiritual, mental and physical union. Here’s a  simple ritual to follow. You don’t have to be a Yogi or a tantric follow this, it just requires pure heart. If you have a partner, you can practice with the partner or you can practice alone, either way, it potent enough to sort out your love life-

Step 1:

On Moharatri/Janamashtami sit in any meditative posture, close your eyes and visual Krishna as Supreme lover- a physical manifestation of the 12 Rasas- dearest friend, kind father, and passionate consort. Visualize him as an embodiment of all accepting physical, mental and spiritual love. Meditate upon this visualization.

If you find this visualization difficult, you can focus on a picture or idol of Krishna.

Step 2:

Light a ghee lamp. Place it at eye level. Stare at its flame, no blinking. If tears roll down your cheeks, it’s okay. They are soul cleansers. As you stare at the flame, perform a mental Homa. Offer all your mental afflictions to the flame- anger, rage, jealousy, hatred, ego, greed, desires. One by one disrobe yourself of all the afflictions you have accumulated. Finally, oblate all your karmas to the flame- negative and positive and transcend beyond all the karmas.

Step 3:

Close your eyes and rest in this state of purity, with your eyes closed, visualize the scared fire touching you with cosmic love, transforming you into an irresistible cosmic lover.

Step 4:

Gently open your eyes, come out of meditation, cup your palms, fill them with cold water, blink your eyes in the water.  

    

 Suggested Reading:

1. This Diwali Woo Laxmi Through Sound Yoga
2. This Navratri channelize the inter 'Shakti' in three breaths
3. Meeting Durga through path of Rumi

General Guidelines For Practicing Yog Nidra

1 - Kirti Tarang Pande

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Mandala Courtesy: Bhavana Agarawal, Instructor, Home Yogis' Home

1. Yog Nidra is usually practiced for 1 or 2 ghatika, i.e. 20 or 40 minutes.
2. Light and loose clothes should be worn for the practice.
3. There are separate Yog Nidra practices for – therapy, learning and for spiritual progress.
4. The practice rooms should be quiet, well ventilated, the temperature should be neither hot nor cold, and semi dark.
5. Television, music, mobile and other forms of distractions should be turned off before starting this practice.
6. Shavasana is the recommended posture for Yog Nidra. This minimizes touch sensations by eliminating contact between the limbs of the body. Fingertips are extremely sensitive organs of tactile sensations, therefore palms are turned upwards. In order to, eliminate the sight stimuli, eyes are kept shut.
7. During the meditation, the instructions should be followed with gentle awareness. Please do not concentrate or hold your breathe.
8. Staying awake is the most important aspect of Yog Nidra.
9. While focusing of sound, no sensory impressions are to be forcibly excluded. Thoughts should not be forcibly excluded. On application of force, just like a wild horse, mind too gets disturbed and restless. The best way out is- not to accept or reject any sensory impression or thought. If sensory impressions are coming, allow them to come, if thoughts are coming let them come, just don’t pay any attention to them. After sometime, mind loses interests in external world and automatically becomes quiet. This methid of calming the mind is called Antar Mouna. It prepares the consciousness to practice Yog Nidra.


Want to know more? Read...

1. Nyasa Tantra and Yog Nidra
2. What is Yog Nidra
3. How to stay awake during Yog Nidra?

On unrelated note, suggested reading:

1. Orgasm and Yoga



2. Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

How to stay awake during Yog Nidra?

- Kirti Tarang Pande
Official Website, Instagram, Twitter

Mandala Courtesy: Bhavana Agarawal, Instructor, Home Yogis' Home

At beginner’s level, it’s very common to fall asleep. That’s why at Home Yogis’ Home before initiating a practitioner into Yog Nidra, we start with ‘Antar Maun’ meditation. This prepares the mind of the practitioner how to rest in a relaxed awareness without falling asleep.

However, if you’re practicing ‘Antar Maun’ sincerely and regularly for some time and still struggling with staying awake, then I suggest that you try the following steps:

1. Take a cold shower before practice.

2. Instead of Shavasana, practice in a sitting posture with support to keep the spine straight.

3. Take a resolve before entering the practice- I will stay awake.

How to deal with falling asleep at beginner’s level?

With love, patience and acceptance.

Initially, while practicing Yog Nidra you will fall asleep. So don’t stress too much about. Just maintain this awareness that full benefits of Yog Nidra can only be experienced by staying awake. It is more powerful that way.

So, always enter the Yog Nidra with a resolve- “I will stay awake throughout the process”, eventually, this resolve with turn into reality.

However, till that happens, treat your mind and practice with love and patience. We are not training our mind, we are transforming it by becoming its friend and just hanging out with it.

If you are practicing it with a trained teacher, who have nothing to worry because a trained teacher knows- when you’re falling asleep and how to bring you back without pulling you out of deep relaxation.

If you’re practicing it with a recording, like the one on Home Yogis’ Home’s youtube channel, then a little effort is required from your side.

When you fall asleep while listening to it; let the recording play anyway. This will work at unconscious level. Then, replay the recording first thing in the morning after waking up, with direct attention. This will create a bridge between your unconscious and conscious mind.

In fact, Swami Satayananda Saraswati propounded this as a very effective learning method.

Want to know more? Read... 1. General guidelines for practicing Yog Nidra
2. What is Yog Nidra
3. Nyasa Tantra and Yog Nidra

On unrelated note, suggested reading:

1. Orgasm and Yoga

2. Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

Nyasa Tantra and Yog Nidra

- Kirti Tarang Pande
Official Website, Instagram, Twitter

Mandala Courtesy: Bhavana Agarawal, Home Yogis' Home

What is Nyasa Tantra?

Nyasa means to place and Tantra means technique, this makes Nyasa Tantra a technique of physically and/or mentally placing matrikas on the body parts of the sadhak.

Some tantrics view Nyasa Tantra as a practice of ‘divinizing the body’.

Yog Nidra and Nyasa Tantra

Until Swami Satyananada Saraswati popularized it, Yog Nidra remained as a lesser known practice of this tantric sect.

It used the powerful technique of Yog Nidra to rotate the consciousness in the body. Through this rotation, physical body is consecrated by higher awareness/divine consciousness. In short, this technique is used by tantrics to dissolve negative karmas and hence become ‘devata-maya’.

Swami Satyananda was the first yogi of modern times to pull Yog Nidra out of tantric rituals which were difficult to incorporate in the daily practice of a common man. Thus, making it relevant to our times.

The practice of Yog Nidra in Nyasa Tantra

In Nyasa Tantra a session of yoga sadhana is closed with Yog Nidra.

Yog Nidra is practiced in sitting posture. First the name of a body part is recited and then corresponding matrika is placed/touched/experienced upon that part.

Angushtadi-Shadanga-nyasa and Hridayi-Shadanga-nyasa is two common Yog Nidra practices amongst modern tantrics of Nyasa sect.

Want to know more? Read...1. General guidelines for practicing Yog Nidra
2. What is Yog Nidra
3. How to stay awake during Yog Nidra?

On unrelated note, suggested reading:

1. Orgasm and Yoga


2. Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

What is Yog Nidra?

- Kirti Tarang Pande
Official Website, Instagram, Twitter

Mandala Courtesy: Bhavana Agarawal, Instructor, Home Yogis' Home

Yog Nidra (yogic sleep) is a state between sleeping, dreaming and wakefulness.

 At the beginner’s level, Yog Nidra is a state of dynamic sleep. As we go deeper into practice we realize that it’s an experience far beyond all this.

It is a psychic sleep, a state of deep relaxation with inner awareness. It is a spontaneous point of contact with the subconscious and unconscious dimensions.

Where it came from?

The first available reference to Yog Nidra is found in ancient Hindu text- Mandukya Upnishad, written in late 5^th century BCE.
While discussing the four stages of consciousness with respect to the scared utterance of Om (AUM), Mandukya Upnishad talks about Yog Nidra as-

An awareness of consciousness in a deep-sleep state leading to the unraveling of Prajna(highest and purest form of wisdom).

In Raja Yoga, rishi Patanjali refers to Yog Nidra as an aspect of Pratyahar, which leads to higher states of dharna (concentration) and Samadhi. He calls it a state where the mind and mental awareness are dissociated from the sensory channels.

The method:

Yog Nidra, the practitioner is guided by the Guru to turn inwards, away from the outer experiences. The entire process is an attempt to separate the consciousness from external awareness and from sleep. This sieved consciousness is used as a mind transformation tool.

Practice of Yog Nidra

These days Yog Nidra is most commonly used as guided relaxation technique, as a learning tool and as a therapy for insomnia, post traumatic stress disorder and other psychosomatic conditions.

However, traditionally, Yog Nidra is a practice of Mantra Yoga and Nyasa Yoga wings of Yoga.

In Mantra Yoga, Yog Nidra is practiced with the chant of AUM or SOHAM, to invoke the presence of a deity, in the body of a practitioner. This visualization meditation is performed before pooja.

While in Nyasa Tantra, Yog Nidra is performed at the end of the practice as a meditative technique to harmonize the deeper unconscious and awaken the inner potential.

Home Yogis’ Home and Yog Nidra

We infuse the essence of both Nyasa Tantra and Mantra Yoga in the practice of Yog Nidra. For the ease of practice, we have extracted the ritualistic practices of Nyasa Tantra from Yog Nidra. In all this, our attempt is to keep the practice as close to its original source Mandukya Upnishad as possible, while making it adaptable for our modern minds.

Therefore, we teach this powerful technique as a bedtime practice.

Caution:

While we always underline that learning to relax consciously is the step 1 in the practice of Yog Nidra, sleep isn’t regarded as relaxation. In fact, from a yogic point of view, sleep is nothing more than a sensory diversion. Therefore, the biggest challenge of our modern minds in the practice of Yoga Nidra is- to maintain a relaxed awareness and not fall asleep.

What’s the solution?  

            

Go step by step. At Home Yogis’ Home, we approach Yog Nidra through following stages and until a practitioner is comfortable with a stage we do not jump to the next one:

Stage 1:

Initiation into ‘Antar Maun’ meditation, to familiarize the practitioners with the process of resting in a relaxed awareness.

Stage 2:

Preparing the mind through a special ‘preparatory meditation’.

Stage 3:

We touch the surface of Yoga Nidra through four-point Pratyahar.

Stage 4:

Initiation into Yog Nidra.

Want to know more? Read...

1. General guidelines for practicing Yog Nidra
2. How to stay awake during Yog Nidra
3. Nyasa Tantra and Yog Nidra

On unrelated note, suggested reading:

1. Orgasm and Yoga
2. Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

Orgasm and Yoga

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

First things first, yogis are not bores. I know ‘Brahmacharya’ is an important Niyam of Yoga, but it doesn’t mean celibacy. Celibacy is a one of the methods of Brahmacharya, and so is orgasm! I know it sounds confusing, to dispel it, we must understand what ‘Brahmacharya’ really means.

Meaning of Brahmacharya:

The word Bharmacharya is made of two Sanskrit dhatus- Brahman meaning the higher/universal consciousness and charya meaning conduct/behavior/practice.

Therefore, in its unadulterated and Vedantic sense, Brahmacharya means- To behave/act like higher consciousness. Like Rumi says, “Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”

That’s the reason why “Aham Brahmasmi” (I am that universal consciousness) is one the primary Mantras given to students of Mantra Yoga.

Now the question arises- how do celibacy and orgasm fit into this picture? To answer this, we need to know- how to act like Brahman?

How to act like Brahman?

In simplest terms, to act like higher consciousness means, having no interest in the pleasures of the materialistic world for personal good.

Hence, celibacy, which means, restraining from sensual pleasures, by definition, is the easiest, simplest and safest way to do it. Moreover, one needs no partner or instructor for this practice.

Unlike sex, in order to use sex as an instrument of spirituality, one requires a lover and a teacher with right motivation. This is rare and even after having the right teacher; it’s a risqué and slippery road.

It’s time we discuss this in details:

Orgasm and Yoga:

Yoga is defined as ‘yujyate anena iti yogah’, one that unites is yoga. The union that we are talking about is of Atman- the inner self & the Brahman. (Now you can gauge the importance of the role Brahmacharya plays in Yoga).

Moving on, the Sanskrit word for orgasm is Brahmanadasahodra (as mentioned in Rasavada, propounded by Bharat Muni, 3^rd century BCE). Brahmandasahodra literally means, twin brother of the bliss of knowing Brahman.

This implies, through orgasm one can understand the bliss of knowing the Brahman. Once we have understood Brahman in a blissful fashion, it’s easy to act like it. Given that bliss is a powerful motivation, contrasting it with celibacy (only practitioners of higher yoga find bliss in celibacy).

When we start acting like Brahman, it’s easy to unite with it, which is the goal of Yoga (as discussed above).

When we look at things this way, the orgasmic path of yoga seems pretty alluring and simple. Then why did I caution you earlier, calling it risqué?

Why is orgasmic path of yoga risky?

Orgasm is the twin brother of the bliss of knowing Brahman. This implies that it’s the closest thing that we have got, but it’s not the real thing.

However, the pleasure of this bliss of yogic method of orgasm is so immense that it becomes hard for us to even imagine that something could be more pleasurable & blissful than this.

How can we desire something that we can’t even imagine? If we don’t desire something, we won’t act to get it. If we won’t act like Brahman, we won’t be united with Brahman (as per Patanjali Yogsutram).

In short, upon experiencing the orgasm through yogic method, it’s rare that a practitioner can remember that this experience is an instrument to achieve the real thing. It’s not the real thing.

Thus, the growth of the practitioner in yogic path stops. The practitioner comes close to realizing the goal of Yoga but fails to realize it. Tragic isn’t it?

Then what to do?

Find out what’s your goal. Not everyone desires to unite with Brahman, for some the twin brother is good enough. If you’re one of the latter, then go ahead with it- find a genuine teacher, with right motivation and practice with caution, questions and love.

By the way:

Key features of orgasm attained through yogic method:

(According to Rasvada of Bharat Muni)

1. Everything dissolves in immensely blissful state of rasa- anandaikaghana (union with bliss).

2. The experience is ‘aloukika’ (transcendental).

3. The subject-object duality ceases to exist (advaita).

4. One stops identifying with the Atman (individual self).

5. A special preparation of body and mind is required to practice this.

6. It is not the ultimate goal, but a powerful instrument to attain the ultimate goal.

Yoga Kit for Surviving Heartbreak

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

Heartbreak can happen for many reasons- cheating, lying, moving away- physically or emotionally, break up, divorce, death, unrequited love or if you’re an Indian, perhaps it’s the parents/caste card that could lead to a heartbreak. Irrespective of the cause, heartbreaks leave victims helpless.

Why does one feel so helpless?

Speaking from a yogic point of view, this feeling of helplessness stems from following three aspects:

1. Pain: Modern psychology believes that memory constitutes a significant part of human mind. However, according to yogic philosophy, every cell of the body has memory. Both yogic & psychological viewpoints agree that we create memories through the perceptions that we allocate to the inputs of our sensory organs.

When we fall in love, we love through all the five senses, sight, smell, sound, taste and most importantly touch. Imagine the quality and quantity of memories love creates in our being, that too at cellular level!

Your heart might be broken but the memories are still very much a part of every cell of your system. Moving away from those memories is like ripping a part of every cell of your being. Of course, it’ll hurt.

2. Fear: As a defense mechanism, we try to divert our attention from past. The path that we choose here is towards future. This dwelling into future gives rise to a fear- what if I will never find love again, what if the next is worse, what if I will never be happy, what if I am forever alone. This fear is paralyzing. Our defense screams-‘abort mission future’ and we lapse once again into the memories. It’s a vicious circle.

3. Our mind, our biggest friend, our biggest foe:

We know that we must control our thoughts, move away from pain, and not succumb to fear. We aren’t masochists, at least majority of us are not. We understand this at an intellectual level, and yet we are unable to follow this on experiential level.

This is because; we can’t sit on top of our mind and control it.

Even Arjun, whose focus and concentration was so advanced that he would only see one eye of the bird while shooting, he was known to conquer sleep; and yet, he ended up saying:

“Chanchalam hi manah Krishna

Pramathi balavad drdham

Tasyaham nigraham manye

Vayor ivs su-duskaram”

- Geeta, Chapter 6, Shloka 34

Meaning: But Krishna! Mind is restless and headstrong. Controlling it is harder than controlling wind.

The emotional turmoil of battle of Kurukshetra made even Arjuna realize that the mind is much more powerful that we can ever be.

That’s why Krishna said,

“Bandhur atmatmanas tasya

Yenatmaivatmana jitah

Anatmanas tu shatrutve

Vartetatmaiva shatruvat”

- Geeta, Chapter 6, Sholka 6

Meaning: For those who have conquered the mind, it is their friend. For those who have failed to do so, the mind works like an enemy.

The explanation is simple: “I will control my mind” is a mental consciousness, and so are our memories, the emotions are mental consciousness too.

In this war amidst mental consciousnesses, how does it matter which one wins, when war itself means loss of peace? War is a problem in itself, then how can it solve a problem? So, if controlling mind through mind isn’t the solution, then what is?

What’s the solution?

The solution lies in three simple words- Working with Pranamayakosa.

Trying to manage one’s mind through mind is an oxymoron. It is futile. Therefore, we take refuge in the wisdom of Taititreya Upnishad. According to the Upnishad, a person lives in five dimensions:

1. Annamayakosa- dimension of matter

2. Pranamayakosa- dimension of energy,

3. Manomayakosa- dimension of mind,

4. Vigyanmayakosa- dimension of consciousness,

5. Anandamayakosa- dimension of bliss.

Since, heartbreak is affecting our Manomayakosa and Annamayakosa, we must work on our Pranamayakosa, and channelize that energy in unlocking the inherent healing wisdom of Vigyanmayakosa to reach the blissed out state of Anandmayakosa.

Why Pranamayakosa?

To answer this, we need to understand, Prana.

Prana is life-force- the vital energy. Yet, it is beyond the laws of energy known to modern science. This is evident in the following verse of Yogic philosophy:

““Svayameve tanavam yati,
Svayameva piñata yati.”

Meaning: Prana is that which can increase or decrease by itself without any external agency.

According to Yajur Veda, Prana manifests in our body in many ways and one of these manifestations is the electrical activity in our brain. Therefore, by controlling the prana we can control our mind.

Sankhya philosophy believes that any adhi (imbalance) of mind or vyadhi (disease) of body can be fixed with working with prana. That’s the reason why Swami Niranjananda calls pranayams the real yoga, and every limb of Ashtanga that comes before that (Yam, Niyam and Asana) is mere preparatory yoga. This is important in the ‘How’ part of healing the heartbreak.

How?

Phase 1: Preparatory Yoga

Step 1: Preparing the body

As discussed above, the memories of love are in every cell of our body. So, for our plan to work, it should not restrict its focus on our mind or heart but incorporate our entire physical system.

Also, as discussed above deleting the memories, is tearing away a bit of every cell of ours, aim here should be transformation of those memories from hurting to healing ones.

This transformation can be achieved by converting the vatta (air) in our body into Prana, through the Pawanmukta-asana Series- I.

In this series, we guide our awareness to the parts of the body where access of Vatta is stored. The Vatta is responsible for movement in our body and access of it leads to mental/emotional turmoils.

Through the 15 sukshma-vyayams (easy exercises) of this series, we can expel the access of Vatta, thus loosening the body, clearing energy and emotional blockages.

Step 2: Bringing our mind to equipoise

Once body is loosened and relaxed by expelling the Vatta. It’s time to do the same with mind. The easiest way to do this is through Vrikshana- the tree pose. This is a balancing asana. It is impossible to relax effortlessly in a balancing posture with a restless mind.

Phase II- The Real Yoga

Step 3: Sensitizing the body with breathe

Once we bring our mind and body to a temporary state of relaxation through asanas, it’s time we take this a deeper and more sustainable level through working on Pranamayakosa.

This can be done through simple Yogic breathing; we are not even required to do complicate Pranayams.  

According to clinical researches, when we breathe in and out in a systematic and coordinated fashion; the electrical coordination of the neurons becomes more systematic. Quantitatively, this can be measured in the effect of one acquiring longer alpha waves and receding beta waves, in the electromagnetic emission of waves in the brain. Unfortunately, the observatory skills of modern science are not developed beyond this point. One needs to inculcate faith or understand the philosophy of the Vedas to venture forward:

As body becomes more sensitive to the flow of breathe, it begins to absorb the pran shakti from the air that we breathe in. The awareness on this pran shakti becomes the bridge of us moving from gross to subtle aspects of our mind

The activities of subtle forces- memories, emotions, knowledge, and archetypes work here and hence can be controlled through this practice.

Step 4: Viyoga

Viyoga is learning how to detach oneself from subjective experience of life.

According to Geeta, Chapter 6, Shloka 23:

“Tam vidyad dukhah-sanyoga-viyogam yogsanjnitam

Sa nishchayena yoktavyo yogo nirvinnachetasa”

Meaning: That state of severance from union with misery is known as Viyoga. This yoga should be resolutely practiced with determination free from pessimism.

In short, practice ‘clean break up’. Just like a no therapy can work on a drug addict if he keeps taking his fix; no amount of healing will work on broken heart if we keep visiting the cause of it. That’s why in Hindu Dharma, when a person dies, all his belongings are offered to fire along with his body.

I am not asking you to set a bon-fire, just for 21 days, happily detach yourself with the stimulus of the memories of the heart-break. Every time a memory or a disturbing emotion arises, joyfully move your focus from that to sensitizing body with the in and out flow of the breath.

Happy Healing!