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!

Five Tantric Ways of Success

-Kirti Tarang Pande

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

In my last Tantra article, I promised that I will be sharing practices of Safe Tantra- ones that don’t require a Guru’s supervision.

How it works:

To understand & be able to use the power of Tantra in our day-to-day world, it is essential that we first know what this day-to-day world is and who we are.

Sankhya Darshan says that this seen world is created with Panchamahabhoota (Five basic elements)-

1. Kshiti (Earth)

2. Jal (Water)

3. Pavak (Fire)

4. Akaash (Space)

5. Sameera (Air)

According to Taittiriya Upnishad, our Annamayakosa (our gross physical body) is an amalgamation of these Panchmahabhoota.

At initiation level, we use Tantra as a technique of shuddhi (purification) of these Panchmahabhoota. This prepares not only our physical body to receive, accept & assimilate the explosion of our Shakti but in the realm of realism, it imparts success to us.

Now the question is-

How to purify Panchamahabhoota through Tantra:

Simply follow these five easy steps, one for each mahabhoota in your daily life;

1. Kshiti (Earth)

Earth gives us stability. The stability is essential to us but it comes with Tamas (inertia). This inertia prevents us from taking necessary actions in the direction of success. Therefore, in order to bring any kind of desirable change in our lives it’s crucial that we minimize (if not eliminate) the Tamas within us.

This can be done by understanding how Tamas functions. In my personal practice, I follow a simple thumb rule- anything that gives pleasure now but pain later is Tamasic & should be minimized if not eliminated.

However, the thing with Tamas is, it’s addictive. So, here’s a cheat trick to overcome Tamas addiction:

Cheat Trick:

Shitali, Shitkari & Sadanta are three pranayams that help in getting rid of any kind of cravings. Practicing each one of these three pranayams 9 times daily help in quenching the Tamasic yearnings.

2. Jal (Water)

Majority of tantrics concentrate mostly upon water element, because when it comes to physical body it’s the most important element. In fact, there’s an entire field of Tantric Alchemy dedicated to it, it’s called- Rasa Vidya- the knowledge of Rasa. It’s such an esoteric practice that there’s a test that one needs to pass before getting initiation into it. The test is called-

Gagan gamana, swarna karna (One should be able to levitate & turn base metal into gold).

This external alchemy is taken as a proof of internal alchemy that comes after an internal transformation. This transformation is a product of purification of water element inside our body.

This purification, according to Taittriya Upnishad, must begin at mental level. Water is Rasa in Sanskrit, so are our emotions. In order to purify water element at physical level, it is essential that we purify our emotions first.

In my daily practice, I find Mindfulness & a Tibetan meditation technique called Tong Len the most effective way of purifying emotions.

3. Pavak (Fire)

Placed in the middle of the five elements, fire acts as a bridge between the dense elements (earth & water) and subtle elements (air & ether). Therefore, to create balance in physical body purification of fire is indispensable. As a result, we find fire as a foundation of both the paths of Yoga- the known Vedic path & the secret Tantric path. In fact, the first word, of the first shloka, of the first mandala, of the first Veda is Agni- fire.

Since the fire exists in physical body in the form of acids, enzymes & melanin, the simplest way to purify it is through food.

This means, fixing number of meals, fixing meal time & eating only that food which doesn’t aggravate our dosha (Vata, Pitta, Kapha).

4. Sameera (Air)

The job of air is to move. If it’s not in continuously moving at right time & right rate, then it produces undesirable effects, especially in tubular organs.

The easiest way to purify air is to purify the channels through which it moves. In Patanjali Yogsutram, rishi suggested working on purification of three major channels called sushmna, ida and pingala; before dawn and right after dusk. He suggests so because while Ida & Pingala function the whole day but these are the time when it is easiest to get Sushumna to work.

The best way to do this is by practicing nadi shodhan pranayam for beginners & anulom-vilom (in the authentic way as mentioned in Patanjali yogsutram) by advanced practitioners. In my personal practice, I do so every morning at 5am, before stepping down from bed.

I can’t control how my day is going to be, but I can control how it begins- by balancing my body, speech & mind through Pranayams.

5. Akaash (Gagan)

If we go by the definitions used in Riga Veda, Akaash in its most complex sense is what we today call the quantum mechanical field, the vacuum energy. In its simplest form, Akaash’s that from which the particles that make this multiverse spontaneously emerge, some of them manifest themselves and create the seen reality. 

Therefore, the Riga Veda says that this multiverse is in a continuing process of externally manifested space & time.

This makes Akaash the trickiest of all the five elements- it’s not only the subtlest one but has the most complex function! So, the purification it has to be difficult.

No! Akaash maybe the most subtle thing around, it’s still a matter. (According to me, this is the fundamental difference between modern physics & Sankhya philosophy).    

The easiest way to purify any element is to figure out what creates the element & then removing the external particles. In Sankhya Darshan, it is believed that the Tanmatras create Akaash.

What are Tanmatras? Let’s leave that for another day, for now, let’s stick to the purification of Aakash. Patanjali Yogsutram talks of Pratyahara for this.

Pratyahara is simply cutting the food of the five senses. It is only when we withdraw from our sense, we get the window to experience the reality beyond the external manifestation of it.

At Home Yogis’ Home, we get a taste of that experience through ‘Naad’ meditation, in which through ‘Shanmukhi mudra’, we connect with the impulse that create the sound of our breath.  

By doing so, we don’t simply see things but we become a person of ‘vision’. To be a successful leader in modern economy it’s essential to be a visionary. We are going to discuss this in details next week. 

THIS NAVRATRI CHANNELIZE THE INNER ‘SHAKTI’ IN THREE BREATHES

-Kirti Tarang Pande

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Originally Published in Daily Bhaskar

Yesterday, we discussed Tantra, what it is and what it is not. Today, let’s kick-in Navratri by preparing our bodies for Tantra. Just to refresh, yesterday we talked about how Tantra is a technique of goal achievement by harnessing & focusing our inner power.

This is where Navratri comes in. Tenth Mandal of Riga Veda considers Navratris to be the auspicious time to invoke, channelize and harness the Shakti within.

Yogic concept of ‘Shakti’

This Shakti is ‘Mooladhar Nivasini’, that is, she resides in Mooladhar Chakra- the root chakra. Mooladhar Chakra is responsible for grounding us with this material plane- Khshiti, meaning the earth element.

Kshiti is considered to Tamasic in nature in the practice of Tantra. Tamas brings inertia. Therefore, Shakti by virtue of residing here becomes inert in nature.

In other words, we have an innate power but it is sleep mode. The only time we unconsciously turn it on, is during sex. That’s why it’s common mistake to equate Tantric practice with sex.

We are not aware that we doing it or how we are doing it, so we can’t harness it at our own will. However, the worst part here is that we dispel & just disintegrating the ‘Shakti’ outside our body. This implies that we are not even using it!

How to awaken this ‘Shakti’

Yogataravali Sutra in its 5,6 and 8 sholkas  mentions Bandha as the method to do this. It says:

By the practice of the bandha the dormant Shakti awakens and enters into sushumna nadi. The breath becomes kumbhaka (still), the rechaka (exhalation) and pooraka (inhalation) cease to function. Senses are purified and kevala (enlightenment) takes place.

In fact, Acaranga Sutra of Jainisim cites Mahavir Jain attaining enlightenment through Mula Bandha.

How to practice Mool Bandha?

Basic underlying principle of bandhas is that by locking certain physical muscles, we initiate an unlocking at mental & pranic levels.

Following this principle, we lock the physical muscles around Mooldhar Chakra, to unlock our Mooladhar Nivasini, our Shakti. There are two techniques to do this:

1. Antar & Bahir Kumbhak

2. Maha Mudra Khumbhak

At beginners’ level, one should practice Antar & Bahir Kumbhak.

Step 1 Finding the right muscles:

Now, to find these muscles, in my personal practice it follow a simple method. I imagine that I am stuck in crazy Mumbai traffic & my bladder is bursting. I really have to pee; instinctively my body contracts certain muscles. That’s it; those are the muscles (perineal muscles) we are working upon here.

There’s another way to understand this, where I put out pictures of our anatomy & mention different sets of muscles for men & women. As an instructor, I’ve learnt it the harder way that it just confuses the students.

Step 2 Preparing for the locking

Before locking, we must check if we are in sync with the first Niyam (Dos) of Yoga- Sauch (Inner & outer cleanliness). Our bladder must be empty for this practice.

You can start with sitting in Padmasana. Take a Pooraka (inhale), observe Kumbhak (hold the breathe in), let out Rechaka (exhale) observe Kumbhak. Do this three times to ease your body into Kumbhak.

Step 3 The lock

·         Sit comfortably in Padmasana and bring all your awareness to mooladhar chakra.

·         Breathe in deeply & hold your breathe.

·         Mentally contract the mooladhar chakra by contracting your perineal muscles. Visualize that mooladar chakra is being massaged with your thumb.

·         Chant the beej mantra- lam mentally & visualize the Shakti awakening at the Mooldhar Chakra

·         When it’s no longer comfortable to hold the breathe. Exhale.

·         Before you inhale again, hold the breathe.

·         Mentally contract the mooladhar chakra by contracting your perineal muscles. Visualize that mooladar chakra is being massaged with your thumb.

·         Chant the beej mantra- lam mentally & visualize the Shakti awakening at the Mooldhar Chakra

This is one round. You can start with three rounds & as your practice improves, you can take it up to 12 rounds.

Bonus: A cheat trick

To increase the time of breathe retention you can hold your fingers in Shakti Dharana Mundra- press the breathe base of the thumb with index finger. By doing so you will observe that your capacity of comfortably retaining breathe has doubled.

Caution:

1. It’s not advisable to practice this if one is suffering from irregular periods.

2. Shiv Samhita in Chapter 4 insists that this bandha should only be practiced in isolation.

3. In Vedic Yoga, bandhas are esoteric practices and should only be practiced under the guidance of a Guru. You can use this write up increase to discuss your initiation into Bandhas with your Yoga teacher; but don’t use this write up for practice (especially as a beginner).

In case, you’re a beginner and don’t have a good teacher, keep watching this space; soon I will be sharing how to prepare our bodies for Tantra without a Guru.

How Yoga Can Break The Cage Of Negative Karma

- Kirti Tarang

I found the most credible (if not the easiest) solution in Patanjali Yogsutra:

Let go of Ignorance (Avidya)  

You’re not ignorant if can’t quote Bernoulli’s Theorem or name the current President of Tanzania. Sage Patanjali says that you’re ignorant if you form a connection with the seen world. (Remember, it’s okay to experience & celebrate the seen world as long as we aren’t forming an alliance with it). 

He says that the essence of existence of the seen world is only to serve as the objective field for pure consciousness. So these knowable objects cease to exist in relation to one who has experienced their fundamental, formless true nature. (However, the appearance of the knowable objects is not destroyed, for their existence continues to be shared by others who are still observing them in their grosser forms)

How does it sound to you?

Honestly, when I first read it, it sounded like a mathematical theorem, which leaves me all confused when the teacher is explaining it to the class, but I nod along (since I don’t want to come across as daft). Hence, when in exam, I have to apply it to solve a problem, I fail.

Do you feel this way too? 

Then let's look at the picture from a different angle, this time through the lenses of:
1. Pratyahar Click Here To Read About Pratyahar
2. PanchKosa Click Here To Read About PanchKosa

If this doesn't interest you then skip the logic & directly follow the SEVEN-FOLD PROGRAMM

Your daily Yoga practice to break from the cage of Karma in 7 (easy?) steps:

1. Pranayams:

Technically, Pranayam isn’t a method of practicing Pratyahar. And yet, I mention it as the first step because, Pranayam is preparatory stage of Pratyahar. The pran that is gathered in pranayam is withdrawn in Pratyahar. Confused much? You will get a clearer picture in next step.

2. Yoni Mudra:

It is a method of sensory withdrawal, by using the fingers to block the sensory openings in face- the eyes, ears, nostrils, & mouth. Yes, both nose & mouth! This allows the attention & energy to flow within. But do it for a brief interval (you don’t want to starve your body of oxygen). Therefore, it is done immediately after practicing Pranayams because the Pran is already energized & our body can relax despite being deprived of oxygen (Ah! Now Step 1 makes sense, doesn’t it)

3. Shambhavi Mudra:

It is another method of sensory withdrawal. In Shambhavi Mudra, our eyes are open while the attention is directed within, by redirecting the sense of sight & hearing inwards. This methods prepares us to maintain our focus inwards even as we carry on with our daily life.

4. Visualization:

It is a method of creating positive inner impressions. Simplest way is Yogic meditation, involving ‘seeing’ a deity, a guru, or any beautiful creation of divine. This helps in clearing the mental field of external impressions & creating positive inner impressions. It’s like both Spring Cleaning & redecorating of your mind in one go!

5. Laya Yoga:

It is the yoga of inner sound & light current.

6. Vajrasana/ Padmasana/ Badhkonasana/ Supt Vajrasana/ Supt Badhkonasana

To control our motor organs in order to lay foundation Karma Pratyahar, above mentioned asanas can be used to sit quietly for extended periods of time. One can use any asana for this purpose as long as one is able to hold that pose with stability, relaxation & inner focus for at least 10 minutes. The legend has it that Rishi Matsyendra attained Samadhi by meditating in Matsyendra Asana!

7. Shavasana:

BKS Iyengar once said that it’s most difficult of all asanas; while, Ramana Maharshi achieved Self-realization by practicing Shavasana. He was just 17!

Shavasana is a method of Prana Pratyahar. One lies in corpse pose & visualize the death process, in which the prana, or the life fore, withdraws from body, shutting off all the senses from feet to head.

Pratyahar as a lifestyle:

If you want to accelerate the process of breaking the alliance with Karma (especially the negative ones), then it’s important that you adopt Pratyahar as a lifestyle by:

1. Stop treating your mind as dustbin.

 Watch what sensory inputs you’re taking it & what impressions you’re making. Caution: In this process you’re practicing control & not suppression (Suppression is dangerous, it causes revolt. Remember ‘Me, Myself & Irene’?) I know this is the tight-rope to walk on, but you can do it with proper coordination & right motivation.

2. Focusing on uniform impressions.

Like idly gazing at sky or an ocean or an expansive desert. This process is like a mental fast. It has the same effect on our minds as a physical detox has on body.

3. Karma Yoga

It means making our life a scared ritual by dedicating every thought, desire and action to service of all sentient beings. This means go to Himalayas & become an ascetic. It means, practicing the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Tein tyaktein bhunjitha’ – rejoice every gift of this life with a sense of detachment & offering.

4. Mano Patryahar

Training our mind in a way that it withdraws from unwholesome experiences.

This last & most difficult stage, it’s okay you’re not there yet. I am not there yet. But we will be- you and I.

And once we are there, we will be in a state of AnandmayKosa. This state grants us the wisdom to break our alliance with the seen world. As this ignorance (avidya) is destroyed, one attains liberation from the Karmic cycle.

Suggested Reading: Is Karma Really A Bitch?