A proper start

[Guest guest]

Hi Jesa, and all,

 

I'm glad you like the feeling of this list and plan to stay around. I

really enjoy your contributions and your wisdom!

 

I think Kundalini Yoga certainly includes Hatha Yoga, meditation, and

pranayama, Karma yoga and Bhakti Yoga. All the Yoga practices work together

to purify the ego and to raise the kundalini.

 

We've got a good group here -- thanks, everyone, for all your thoughts. I

hope more people write.

 

Does anyone here have an experience of burning in the Third Eye area? It

happens to me on occasion -- like right now. It happens during formal Yoga

practice and also at random times.

 

Also, has anyone worked with colors and chakras during meditation? Once, I

was on a retreat for four days and I distincly felt the need to spend each

day meditating on one chakra, beginning with the heart. Each day I focussed

on one chakra by using the bija mantra for that chakra and imagining the

color of the chakra.

 

At the next retreat, I had the distinct feeling that I needed to work on

the lower chakras, also using color and sound. I had the sense that the

lower chakras were safe to open because the upper ones were already cleared

and the energy had a place to rise.

 

Then, I had the experience of the third chakra "helping" the throat chakra

with its powerful color, yellow.

 

I'm chuckling as I write this all because it really sounds nuts if you're

not into Yoga -- it's so personal, also. Anyway, the experience was very

powerful. For instance, I had the inner sound experience while meditating

on the throat chakra.

 

Thanks for letting me share this with you.

K. Saraswati

 

 

 

----------

> Jesa Macbeth <jesamac

> Kundaliniyoga

> A proper start

> Friday, March 05, 1999 10:49 PM

>

> Jesa Macbeth <jesamac

>

> Hi, All!

>

> Just wanted to say 'thank you' for the friendly welcomes and kind

comments

> on my web pages. And to start at the beginning, which I didn't before.

>

> I know nothing about kundalini yoga. I've done some hatha yoga. I've done

a

> fair bit of meditation. I've experienced kundalini rising and worked with

> others going through the process. I have the sense that these things

somehow

> come together in kundalini yoga. Is that right? I don't have sensible

access

> to the web at present and can't look up the URL Gordon posted, so I

wonder

> if someone could give me a brief idea of what kundalini yoga is, how it

> differs from hatha, maybe even something about how this all fits

together.

> I'd appreciate it.

>

> I'm not sure why I'm here, but like the feel of the list and plan to stay

> awhile and learn what I can. I look forward to getting to know you all

better.

>

>

> Jesa

>

>

> ------

> To from this mailing list, or to change your subscription

> to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at and

> select the Member Center link from the menu bar on the left.

> ------

> Sat Nam!

[Guest guest]

> "Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

 

> Does anyone here have an experience of burning in the Third Eye area? It

> happens to me on occasion -- like right now. It happens during formal

Yoga

> practice and also at random times.

 

It happens to me a lot. I have narrowed it down to when I am reading

something that I need to take good note of......or some lesson is about to

be learned. When it first started years ago, I asked my teacher about it.

She offered that it was my third eye becoming more aware and opening.

Simple explanation....and to my mind at the time, too simple :/ It could

be that we are becoming more aware of "seeing

beyond", the main function of that area.

>

> Also, has anyone worked with colors and chakras during meditation? Once,

I

> was on a retreat for four days and I distincly felt the need to spend

each

> day meditating on one chakra, beginning with the heart. Each day I

focussed

> on one chakra by using the bija mantra for that chakra and imagining the

> color of the chakra.

 

I am a student and teacher of chakras. In meditation, especially for

beginners, I use the running order of colour to get people to be more

easily aware of their chakras. Depending on the focus of the meditation, I

will start at the crown and work down or at the root and work up. It is

great to be able to run both at the same time in the manner of the energy

flow around the spine....the Ida and Pingali currents. Interestingly, if

you try to visualize a colour and can't quite see it well, it can mean that

the related chakra is imbalanced.

 

When I first started taking Kundalini yoga, I have a very hard time even

getting on the floor. I had broken my back at work. Doing anything was

extremely painful. My teacher was so great......allowing me to adapt

positions I couldn't get into or found hard to maintain. After a few

months, and other alternative healing methods aiding, I was able to move

with much greater mobility, feel the energy move up my spine. The fire

breath....actually just learning to breathe properly...helped me a lot.

Now, if you look at my back, you will not find the break. I went from

being wheelchair dependent, according to allopathics, to being able to do

anything I want ))

 

 

> At the next retreat, I had the distinct feeling that I needed to work on

> the lower chakras, also using color and sound. I had the sense that the

> lower chakras were safe to open because the upper ones were already

cleared

> and the energy had a place to rise.

 

Interesting words you use there....safe to open )) I can relate to that.

 

 

>

> Then, I had the experience of the third chakra "helping" the throat

chakra

> with its powerful color, yellow.

 

The third chakra is the fire that fuels us.... being able to use that fire

to warm and move the rest of your body is wonderful...the "power to"

transform.

>

> I'm chuckling as I write this all because it really sounds nuts if you're

> not into Yoga -- it's so personal, also. Anyway, the experience was very

> powerful. For instance, I had the inner sound experience while meditating

> on the throat chakra.

 

I am hugging this to me as well. You have reminded me of all the

feelings/healing that happened five years ago. I need to honour that more

as I move into more lessons....that if I can heal myself, I can stimulate

that kundalini and not fear it (the first time it happened I was

unprepared, and it scared me)...but glory in it.

 

>

> Thanks for letting me share this with you.

> K. Saraswati

 

meee tooooo

Susan

[Guest guest]

>"Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

>

>I think Kundalini Yoga certainly includes Hatha Yoga, meditation, and

>pranayama, Karma yoga and Bhakti Yoga. All the Yoga practices work together

>to purify the ego and to raise the kundalini.

 

Ooops. I got distracted by other things in the preceeding note.

 

Ok, pranayama is the breath work, the various breathing exercises?

 

I think that Bhakti Yoga is the devotional aspect - is that right? Perhaps

the development of unconditional love and compassion as well?

 

And Karma Yoga? My guess would be that has to do with understanding natural

and spiritual law - ethics and balance and the spiritual learning process.

Is that on track or off?

 

I know these are terribly basic questions, but then I'm terribly ignorant

about some things. My only comfort is that there may be others on the list

equally uninformed and too shy to ask. Or I may be the "lowest common

denominator" who gives everyone else a chance to feel better about

themselves - also a useful function. :\

 

Jesa, having one of *those* mornings

[Guest guest]

> "Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

>

> Hi Susan and Jesa,

>

> Thank you for your incredibly generous responses to my questions about

the

> Third Eye burning and the color/chakra meditations. You both have much

> experience and much wisdom. I'm struck by the fact that Susan went

through

> a terrible injury five years ago and Jesa is recovering frmo an illness

> that was near fatal. Do you think that kundalini is activated when a

person

> experiences trauma or illness or loss?

>

> Om Shanthi,

> Kathy Saraswati

 

I honestly don't know the answer to that. I have read in " The Feminine

Face of God" (excellent book, btw) about spontaneous kundalini

rising.....and how through yoga and meditation, it was brought under some

understanding. For me, the yoga practice brought "me" more into line as to

what I visualized I wanted myself to be. My injury brought me firmly on my

spiritual path. I was under so much stress, I literally broke. It was

also noted in an astrology chart I had done a year after the injury, that

if I wasn't on my path at a certain time, forces would get me on it!!

Would I had gotten that chart done sooner......but maybe I wasn't ready to

listen either, hmmm???

 

Kundalini yoga got me in touch with the inner core. It taught me to

breathe.....it taught me to meditate.....and it helped me heal. If you

could have seen me struggling up the three flights of stairs to get to the

class......and bounding downstairs afterwards, full of life and energy, you

would see what the practice can do ))

 

Jesa talks about buzzing in her first and second chakra as she heals. I

could feel burning in my first and second....I broke the L4 flange. At

first this burning un-nerved me as I wondered what else was going

wrong....I seemed to be on the right healing track. But through

visualization and going within, I could see this fence around the second

chakra area. Kundalini yoga practice was the only method of clearing the

burning and blockages enough to allow proper flow of energy....as Jesa

says....proper earthing/grounding...to link up the energy pathways again

that had been severed. And as we know, once we feel what it is supposed to

be like, we can go back easier each time. Then, through therapy, I

understood why I injured myself. From then on, the healing escalated.

 

Having said that, I must confess that I was never taught the language that

I read on this list. Some of the words you use....I need a kundalini yoga

dictionary!!! Teach me, please??????

 

I like to count myself among the weird ones.....celebrate it, in fact. I

think it shows we are coming into our own.

 

Susan

I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except

yourself.

Rita Mae Brown

[Guest guest]

>"Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

>

>...I'm struck by the fact that Susan went through

>a terrible injury five years ago and Jesa is recovering from an illness

>that was near fatal. Do you think that kundalini is activated when a person

>experiences trauma or illness or loss?

 

My experience with kundalini rising is fairly limited - and in a way,

self-selecting in that most of the people who have come to me for help have

already been on a spiritual path for some time and are inclined to turn to a

healer first when weird stuff starts happening, rather than going to an

allopathic doctor. The people I've seen, with only one exception, were

either meditators, healers, psychics, or practitioners of yoga or the

martial arts. In other words, they had been doing something that "ran

energy" and most of them had also been working on their personal

development, releasing emotional blocks. Even the exception had been to a

lecture where the speaker gave an exercise aimed at raising kundalini and

told people that, if they practiced the exercise, interestings would happen

with their energy. !!! (How is that for irresponsible?!?) Being a fairly

obsessive person, he practiced the exercise an hour or two everyday. Up went

the kundalini and into the mental hospital he went for two years - which of

course need not have happened, if he had understood anything about the process.

 

I think often in the case where truama, illness, and loss are triggers, I

suspect that something else has been happening beforehand. For example, in

the letter vkcrin posted (Hi, vkcrin, and welcome to the

list!) she had been practicing yoga and meditation, but the birth acted as

the trigger. But I definitely am not an authority on this subject.

 

There was a wonderful book. I know it was edited by John White, and I think

it was simply called _Kundalini_. Last I heard, it was out of print, but

some secondhand book dealers will do a search for it. It is simply a series

of articles, mostly written by the people themselves, of their kundalini

rising experiences. They ranged from an experienced yogi to people who'd

never heard of it and hadn't a clue.

 

In my own case, I'd been healing professionally and meditating for about 10

years when the kundalini blossomed suddenly one day. That was about 18 years

ago. The illness I mentioned earlier was much more recent, the acute part

just a couple of years ago. What was curious was that as I recovered, I

experienced, in addition to the occasional buzz in first and second chakra,

some other fairly light symptoms of kundalini. I think it was just

're-establishing' itself somehow. Still get them once in a while, but very

mild in comparison with the stuff that went on originally. So I think it is

just part of the healing process, but I'm curious whether anyone else has

experienced something like that.

 

I do like this list, but Kathy, you mustn't count on me being wise

(though thank you for saying so). I can be daft with the best of them.

 

Jesa

[Guest guest]

> Ok, pranayama is the breath work, the various breathing exercises?

Yes

 

> I think that Bhakti Yoga is the devotional aspect - is that right?

Perhaps

> the development of unconditional love and compassion as well?

Yes! A Bhakti Yogi is devoted to whatever aspect of God/Higher Power is

meaningful to that person. Gradually, the heart is opened to unconditional

love and compassion. That's the theory, anyway

 

> And Karma Yoga? My guess would be that has to do with understanding

natural

> and spiritual law - ethics and balance and the spiritual learning

process.

> Is that on track or off?

Yes -- my Yoga teacher says it's the path of selfless service -- doing

one's work with the thought of serving people and without thought to ego

satisfaction.

 

> I know these are terribly basic questions, but then I'm terribly ignorant

> about some things.

 

Says who?? <smile>

 

> Or I may be the "lowest common

> denominator" who gives everyone else a chance to feel better about

> themselves - also a useful function. :\

I love the way you put this -- I've found myself playing this role a lot in

life -- not quite in a Karma Yoga fashion, either!

 

> Jesa, having one of *those* mornings

 

Kathy Saraswati, hoping your evening is better!

[Guest guest]

Hi Susan and Jesa,

 

Thank you for your incredibly generous responses to my questions about the

Third Eye burning and the color/chakra meditations. You both have much

experience and much wisdom. I'm struck by the fact that Susan went through

a terrible injury five years ago and Jesa is recovering frmo an illness

that was near fatal. Do you think that kundalini is activated when a person

experiences trauma or illness or loss?

 

Om Shanthi,

Kathy Saraswati

 

----------

> Susan <sboles

> Kundaliniyoga

> Re: A proper start

> Saturday, March 06, 1999 12:21 PM

>

> "Susan" <sboles

>

> > "Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

>

> > Does anyone here have an experience of burning in the Third Eye area?

It

> > happens to me on occasion -- like right now. It happens during formal

> Yoga

> > practice and also at random times.

>

> It happens to me a lot. I have narrowed it down to when I am reading

> something that I need to take good note of......or some lesson is about

to

> be learned. When it first started years ago, I asked my teacher about

it.

> She offered that it was my third eye becoming more aware and opening.

> Simple explanation....and to my mind at the time, too simple :/ It could

> be that we are becoming more aware of "seeing

> beyond", the main function of that area.

> >

> > Also, has anyone worked with colors and chakras during meditation?

Once,

> I

> > was on a retreat for four days and I distincly felt the need to spend

> each

> > day meditating on one chakra, beginning with the heart. Each day I

> focussed

> > on one chakra by using the bija mantra for that chakra and imagining

the

> > color of the chakra.

>

> I am a student and teacher of chakras. In meditation, especially for

> beginners, I use the running order of colour to get people to be more

> easily aware of their chakras. Depending on the focus of the meditation,

I

> will start at the crown and work down or at the root and work up. It is

> great to be able to run both at the same time in the manner of the energy

> flow around the spine....the Ida and Pingali currents. Interestingly, if

> you try to visualize a colour and can't quite see it well, it can mean

that

> the related chakra is imbalanced.

>

> When I first started taking Kundalini yoga, I have a very hard time even

> getting on the floor. I had broken my back at work. Doing anything was

> extremely painful. My teacher was so great......allowing me to adapt

> positions I couldn't get into or found hard to maintain. After a few

> months, and other alternative healing methods aiding, I was able to move

> with much greater mobility, feel the energy move up my spine. The fire

> breath....actually just learning to breathe properly...helped me a lot.

> Now, if you look at my back, you will not find the break. I went from

> being wheelchair dependent, according to allopathics, to being able to do

> anything I want ))

>

>

> > At the next retreat, I had the distinct feeling that I needed to work

on

> > the lower chakras, also using color and sound. I had the sense that the

> > lower chakras were safe to open because the upper ones were already

> cleared

> > and the energy had a place to rise.

>

> Interesting words you use there....safe to open )) I can relate to

that.

>

>

> >

> > Then, I had the experience of the third chakra "helping" the throat

> chakra

> > with its powerful color, yellow.

>

> The third chakra is the fire that fuels us.... being able to use that

fire

> to warm and move the rest of your body is wonderful...the "power to"

> transform.

> >

> > I'm chuckling as I write this all because it really sounds nuts if

you're

> > not into Yoga -- it's so personal, also. Anyway, the experience was

very

> > powerful. For instance, I had the inner sound experience while

meditating

> > on the throat chakra.

>

> I am hugging this to me as well. You have reminded me of all the

> feelings/healing that happened five years ago. I need to honour that

more

> as I move into more lessons....that if I can heal myself, I can stimulate

> that kundalini and not fear it (the first time it happened I was

> unprepared, and it scared me)...but glory in it.

>

> >

> > Thanks for letting me share this with you.

> > K. Saraswati

>

> meee tooooo

> Susan

>

> ------

> We have a new web site!

>

> Onelist: The leading provider of free email community services

> ------

> Sat Nam!

[Guest guest]

Kathleen Saraswati Powers wrote:

 

> "Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

>

> > Ok, pranayama is the breath work, the various breathing exercises?

> Yes

>

> > I think that Bhakti Yoga is the devotional aspect - is that right?

> Perhaps

> > the development of unconditional love and compassion as well?

> Yes! A Bhakti Yogi is devoted to whatever aspect of God/Higher Power is

> meaningful to that person. Gradually, the heart is opened to unconditional

> love and compassion. That's the theory, anyway

>

> > And Karma Yoga? My guess would be that has to do with understanding

> natural

> > and spiritual law - ethics and balance and the spiritual learning

> process.

> > Is that on track or off?

> Yes -- my Yoga teacher says it's the path of selfless service -- doing

> one's work with the thought of serving people and without thought to ego

> satisfaction.

>

> > I know these are terribly basic questions, but then I'm terribly ignorant

> > about some things.

>

> Says who?? <smile>

> It is wonderful seeing dialagoue - there are situations - even on the

> internet- where kindness

 

and compassion are given light in the arena of risk. Ignorance is most often

blissful -but without the attempt to raise ourselves above our "monkey-minded"

insistance to maintain

our ignorance is ego.

I remember morning sadhana using a large gong for meditation -

sound paths to enter into the vastness of the great silence .Many "chat "sites

are now very much voice/sound activated.... Also the chant Ek Ong Kar

Sat Nam Siri Wha Guru rotating vibration in cycle of eight chakras

corresponding to

each in correlation as mentioned in colours very good.

I loved teaching yoga to a group of women at the University of Texas Austin

women's

dormatory lawn. (71) We baked bread and sold wonderful avacado sandwiches on

Guadalupe strip to help maintain our ashram in Austin. I truly miss the days

of communal living. (journaling NOW is so important to healing )Who would know

today it would be on a screen such as

this!!! amazed - amused - and writing memoires. One of my favorite yogic

techniques

which has reemerged is the practice of "organized" laughter - the good old

belly laugh...

Very good for opening the Heart Chakra. " Be Great - You are Great!"

(Yogiji)Sat NamThe name Saraswati is sweet to see - are you familiar with

writings of Sri Ramakrishan and his wife Ananda Devi The Holy Mother?

 

> > Or I may be the "lowest common

> > denominator" who gives everyone else a chance to feel better about

> > themselves - also a useful function. :\

> I love the way you put this -- I've found myself playing this role a lot in

> life -- not quite in a Karma Yoga fashion, either!

>

> > Jesa, having one of *those* mornings

>

> Kathy Saraswati, hoping your evening is better!

>

> ------

> Have you visited our new web site?

>

> Onelist: Helping to create Internet communities

> ------

> Sat Nam!

[Guest guest]

Hello Jesa,

Pranayama is not just the breathing but rather the breathing exercises

is one of the fist steps agains controlling the internal Prana, and in the

end controlling both the internal and external Prana.

 

Best Regards

Robert

 

-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----

Från: Jesa Macbeth <jesamac

Till: Kundaliniyoga <Kundaliniyoga >

Datum: den 6 mars 1999 20:06

Ämne: Re: A proper start

 

 

>Jesa Macbeth <jesamac

>

>>"Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

>>

>>I think Kundalini Yoga certainly includes Hatha Yoga, meditation, and

>>pranayama, Karma yoga and Bhakti Yoga. All the Yoga practices work together

>>to purify the ego and to raise the kundalini.

>

>Ooops. I got distracted by other things in the preceeding note.

>

>Ok, pranayama is the breath work, the various breathing exercises?

>

>I think that Bhakti Yoga is the devotional aspect - is that right? Perhaps

>the development of unconditional love and compassion as well?

>

>And Karma Yoga? My guess would be that has to do with understanding natural

>and spiritual law - ethics and balance and the spiritual learning process.

>Is that on track or off?

>

>I know these are terribly basic questions, but then I'm terribly ignorant

>about some things. My only comfort is that there may be others on the list

>equally uninformed and too shy to ask. Or I may be the "lowest common

>denominator" who gives everyone else a chance to feel better about

>themselves - also a useful function. :\

>

> Jesa, having one of *those* mornings

>

>

>------

>Ideas on how we can improve ONElist?

>

>Check out the Suggestion Box feature on our new web site

>------

>Sat Nam!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Corinne,

> (journaling NOW is so important to healing )Who would >know today it

would be on a screen such as

> this!!! amazed - amused - and writing memoires.

 

Yes! This is kinda like a journal with feedback, don't you think?

 

> One of my favorite yogic techniques which has reemerged is the

practice of "organized" laughter - the good old

> belly laugh... Very good for opening the Heart Chakra. " Be Great - You

are Great!"

 

Yes! The last time I visited the ashram, I attended a "Laughing

Meditation". I loved it. It got all the giggles and the guffaws out of me,

and like you say, opened the heart chakra and widened that pool of

stillness within. I think it would be a good practice for teenagers. We

were on the floor in a circle with our heads away from each other to

protect privacy. We were told to keep our attention within the center of

ourselves, and while we triggered each others' laughter with our own, I

felt the deeper silence grow within me. (Again, feeling a little silly

writing this in public -- it's not an experience I readily share, but I

seem to do this a lot on this list! I like what Jesa said about being weird

in a good way)

 

> The name Saraswati is sweet to see - are you familiar with

> writings of Sri Ramakrishan and his wife Ananda Devi The Holy Mother?

 

No, I'm not, unfortunately I have seen pictures of them both at the

ashram, and have heard wonderful stories about them, but I haven't read

anything either of them wrote. Do they write about Saraswati?

 

Liking this list more and more,

Kathy Saraswati

[Guest guest]

> Jesa Macbeth <jesamac

>

> I do like this list, but Kathy, you mustn't count on me being wise

(though thank you for saying so). I can be daft with the best of them.

>

> Jesa

 

Jesa, I'm laughing out loud -- thanks for your wisdom and your daftness.

Thanks also for sharing about your work. It sounds fascinating.

 

I've learned that it's not wise to set about trying to raise the kundalini,

but to let it arise naturally while practicing the various branches of

Yoga. I've also been taught that it's really important to follow the

ethical precepts of Yoga -- the yamas and niyamas -- so that when the

energy is aroused, it is pure and is used for the good of all.

They are:

Yamas -- non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-hoarding, and

continence.

Niyamas -- purity, contentment, study of spiritual scriptures,

accepting pain for the purification it brings without returning pain to

others, and surrender to God as you personally know God.

 

I was taught that if you follow these precepts, that the world becomes a

safe place for the awakened energy. Does anyone else have a take on this?

 

Kathy Saraswati

[Guest guest]

> "Susan" <sboles

>

> My injury brought me firmly on my

> spiritual path. I was under so much stress, I literally broke.

 

This reminds me of something I heard at a Yoga retreat -- "When God wants

you, first you get a whisper in the ear. If you don't listen, you get a tap

on the shoulder. If you don't heed it, your leg gets broken." (Sounds like

"God as Mafia Don", right?) I relate to this. I've been "broken" myself,

shattered in spirit and in ego, and have crawled back to the spiritual

path, learning to trust that Divine Immanent Love bit by bit again.

 

> Kundalini yoga got me in touch with the inner core. It taught me to

> breathe.....it taught me to meditate.....and it helped me heal. If you >

could have seen me struggling up the three flights of stairs to get to the

> class......and bounding downstairs afterwards, full of life and energy,

you > would see what the practice can do ))

 

Wow! What kinds of thiings did you practice in the kundalini yoga class?

I've never been to one. Was it intense breathing practices (pranayama)

while practicing the poses? Someone (Larry? I forget, I'm sorry, please

remind me, whoever you are!) mentioned the breath of fire. I think this is

the same as the bellows breath, or bhastrika. This is a very powerful

breath, with rapid forced inhalations as well as rapid forced exhalations.

 

 

>...as Jesa says....proper earthing/grounding...to link up the energy

pathways again > that had been severed.

 

The last Yoga retreat I attended was entitled "Being Rooted in the Midst of

Change", and ironically, during the retreat, I felt the need to finally

meditate on the muludara (root) chakra, after many years meditating on the

upper ones.

 

And as we know, once we feel what it is supposed to

> be like, we can go back easier each time. Then, through therapy, I

understood why I injured myself. From then on, the healing escalated.

 

This is great -- I can empathise with this as well. I had my heart and

throat chakras healed by an Reiki healer, and from then on, I knew what

those chakras felt like when open, and, as you say, it is easier to go back

to that state each time. I think the insight gained by therapy is a

powerful boost in healing, too -- it puts the healing into your conscious

control when you find the reasons you felt the need to get broken in the

first place.

..

> Having said that, I must confess that I was never taught the language

that I read on this list. Some of the words you use....I need a kundalini

yoga dictionary!!! Teach me, please??????

 

Sure! I'll try to remember to explain every Sanskrit word I use -- if I

forget, just remind me, and tell me if there's any word I've used so far

that needs clarification. I'm no Sanskrit scholar -- far from it, but I'm

happy to share what I know.

 

> I like to count myself among the weird ones.....celebrate it, in fact. I

think it shows we are coming into our own.

 

I love this -- and agree -- maybe it comes with age, to celebrate and own

our unique gifts, our unique styles of coping with the hurdles of life and

interacting with the Divine as It manifests Itself to us.

 

> I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except

yourself. > Rita Mae Brown>

 

Great Quote!

 

Kathy Saraswati

[Guest guest]

> "Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

Nemaste, Kathleen )

 

> This reminds me of something I heard at a Yoga retreat -- "When God wants

> you, first you get a whisper in the ear. If you don't listen, you get a

tap

> on the shoulder. If you don't heed it, your leg gets broken." (Sounds

like

> "God as Mafia Don", right?) I relate to this. I've been "broken" myself,

> shattered in spirit and in ego, and have crawled back to the spiritual

> path, learning to trust that Divine Immanent Love bit by bit again.

 

Very very true ) I listen now....well, as much as I allow myself to :/

I am one stubborn lady and it seems that's one of my lessons....learning to

let go and trust ))

>

> > Kundalini yoga got me in touch with the inner core. It taught me to

> > breathe.....it taught me to meditate.....and it helped me heal. If you

>

> could have seen me struggling up the three flights of stairs to get to

the

> > class......and bounding downstairs afterwards, full of life and energy,

> you > would see what the practice can do ))

>

> Wow! What kinds of thiings did you practice in the kundalini yoga class?

 

We would sit on the floor...some of us with blankets rolled up to sit on

the edge of them to make the cross-legged position easier. She would have

music playing.....a lot of Kim Robertson ( I LOVE that music). Then she

would demonstrate what positions she wanted us to use. Some were different

each week as she guided us through the energywork....some were constant.

Over the weeks, we worked on learning our bodies.....learning how they

reacted to the yoga. I liked it that she explained as she went

along.....so we were never caught unawares or not understanding fully.

There were two things I remember most. First was learning the

firebreath....and then the alternate nostril breathing....forgive me, I

have forgotten the names for all this. My lungs hurt for a long time

learning to do this. It was like I had never breathed before. Filling up

so much of you with your breath.....measuring it....seeing where it

went....feeling you had taken enough breath and then sipping that little

bit extra. Exhaling, and thinking you had let it all out and huffing to

get that last bit out. A lot of teachers liken this to filling up your

body with water....feeling it flow into parts of you that breath, in the

medical sense, wouldn't go. It was also after learning to do this

properly that I had my first awakening. I didn't know what was

happening.....but my body was buzzing and heating....and then it seemed to

shine and flow. It only lasted for a very short time but the effects

lasted a long long time. Our teacher was so great.....gently helping

us....laughter bubbling on the surface as we struggled with new

postures.....

 

> I've never been to one. Was it intense breathing practices (pranayama)

> while practicing the poses? Someone (Larry? I forget, I'm sorry, please

> remind me, whoever you are!) mentioned the breath of fire. I think this

is

> the same as the bellows breath, or bhastrika. This is a very powerful

> breath, with rapid forced inhalations as well as rapid forced

exhalations.

 

Yup...that's it )) I really need to get that book Gordon suggested and

get up the street to check out that yoga class......the two combined will

work, I think ) I want so badly to get back into this.

>

>

> >...as Jesa says....proper earthing/grounding...to link up the energy

> pathways again > that had been severed.

>

> The last Yoga retreat I attended was entitled "Being Rooted in the Midst

of

> Change", and ironically, during the retreat, I felt the need to finally

> meditate on the muludara (root) chakra, after many years meditating on

the

> upper ones.

 

I will get on a bit of a soapbox here and say that is a real problem with a

lot of meditation techniques and old spiritual thought. The lower chakras

are to be put aside...and you are to only concentrate on the upper ones.

But we have a body for a reason....we incarnated with a body for a purpose.

The first three chakras comprise our egos....and it is the lessons we

learn here that fuel our spirituality. Without it, we are not grounded and

flounder in this existance. So many healers I know have this problem.

They are great at meditation and thought...but their lives are a mess :/

The heart is our balance point. The upper and lower have to coalesce there

to journey together to become whole.

 

> > Having said that, I must confess that I was never taught the language

> that I read on this list. Some of the words you use....I need a

kundalini

> yoga dictionary!!! Teach me, please??????

>

> Sure! I'll try to remember to explain every Sanskrit word I use -- if I

> forget, just remind me, and tell me if there's any word I've used so far

> that needs clarification. I'm no Sanskrit scholar -- far from it, but I'm

> happy to share what I know.

 

Thanks ))) I have the same trouble with names of people I meet. I can

remember them for what we talked about.....and certainly their energy

signatures...but names??? ::sighs:: No wonder I was so poor in history in

school ;/

>

> > I like to count myself among the weird ones.....celebrate it, in fact.

I

> think it shows we are coming into our own.

>

> I love this -- and agree -- maybe it comes with age, to celebrate and own

> our unique gifts, our unique styles of coping with the hurdles of life

and

> interacting with the Divine as It manifests Itself to us.

 

I agree )) In the last two years, I have remade myself from the ground

up, with a lot of help from spirit and teachers in real/Net time. Finally I

can celebrate who I am.....shout it out and be proud of it....told you I

was one of the weird ones )) I am looking forward to my crone years

 

Susan

[Guest guest]

Susan wrote:

 

> "Susan" <sboles

>

> > "Kathleen Saraswati Powers" <kathleenpc

> Nemaste, Kathleen )

>

> > This reminds me of something I heard at a Yoga retreat -- "When God wants

> > you, first you get a whisper in the ear. If you don't listen, you get a

> tap

> > on the shoulder. If you don't heed it, your leg gets broken." (Sounds

> like

> > "God as Mafia Don", right?) I relate to this. I've been "broken" myself,

> > shattered in spirit and in ego, and have crawled back to the spiritual

> > path, learning to trust that Divine Immanent Love bit by bit again.

>

> Very very true ) I listen now....well, as much as I allow myself to :/

> I am one stubborn lady and it seems that's one of my lessons....learning to

> let go and trust ))

> >

> > > Kundalini yoga got me in touch with the inner core. It taught me to

> > > breathe.....it taught me to meditate.....and it helped me heal. If you

> >

> > could have seen me struggling up the three flights of stairs to get to

> the

> > > class......and bounding downstairs afterwards, full of life and energy,

> > you > would see what the practice can do ))

> >

> > Wow! What kinds of thiings did you practice in the kundalini yoga class?

>

> We would sit on the floor...some of us with blankets rolled up to sit on

> the edge of them to make the cross-legged position easier. She would have

> music playing.....a lot of Kim Robertson ( I LOVE that music). Then she

> would demonstrate what positions she wanted us to use. Some were different

> each week as she guided us through the energywork....some were constant.

> Over the weeks, we worked on learning our bodies.....learning how they

> reacted to the yoga. I liked it that she explained as she went

> along.....so we were never caught unawares or not understanding fully.

> There were two things I remember most. First was learning the

> firebreath....and then the alternate nostril breathing....forgive me, I

> have forgotten the names for all this. My lungs hurt for a long time

> learning to do this. It was like I had never breathed before. Filling up

> so much of you with your breath.....measuring it....seeing where it

> went....feeling you had taken enough breath and then sipping that little

> bit extra. Exhaling, and thinking you had let it all out and huffing to

> get that last bit out. A lot of teachers liken this to filling up your

> body with water....feeling it flow into parts of you that breath, in the

> medical sense, wouldn't go. It was also after learning to do this

> properly that I had my first awakening. I didn't know what was

> happening.....but my body was buzzing and heating....and then it seemed to

> shine and flow. It only lasted for a very short time but the effects

> lasted a long long time. Our teacher was so great.....gently helping

> us....laughter bubbling on the surface as we struggled with new

> postures.....

>

> > I've never been to one. Was it intense breathing practices (pranayama)

> > while practicing the poses? Someone (Larry? I forget, I'm sorry, please

> > remind me, whoever you are!) mentioned the breath of fire. I think this

> is

> > the same as the bellows breath, or bhastrika. This is a very powerful

> > breath, with rapid forced inhalations as well as rapid forced

> exhalations.

>

> Yup...that's it )) I really need to get that book Gordon suggested and

> get up the street to check out that yoga class......the two combined will

> work, I think ) I want so badly to get back into this.

> >

> >

> > >...as Jesa says....proper earthing/grounding...to link up the energy

> > pathways again > that had been severed.

> >

> > The last Yoga retreat I attended was entitled "Being Rooted in the Midst

> of

> > Change", and ironically, during the retreat, I felt the need to finally

> > meditate on the muludara (root) chakra, after many years meditating on

> the

> > upper ones.

>

> I will get on a bit of a soapbox here and say that is a real problem with a

> lot of meditation techniques and old spiritual thought. The lower chakras

> are to be put aside...and you are to only concentrate on the upper ones.

> But we have a body for a reason....we incarnated with a body for a purpose.

> The first three chakras comprise our egos....and it is the lessons we

> learn here that fuel our spirituality. Without it, we are not grounded and

> flounder in this existance. So many healers I know have this problem.

> They are great at meditation and thought...but their lives are a mess :/

> The heart is our balance point. The upper and lower have to coalesce there

> to journey together to become whole.

>

> > > Having said that, I must confess that I was never taught the language

> > that I read on this list. Some of the words you use....I need a

> kundalini

> > yoga dictionary!!! Teach me, please??????

> >

> > Sure! I'll try to remember to explain every Sanskrit word I use -- if I

> > forget, just remind me, and tell me if there's any word I've used so far

> > that needs clarification. I'm no Sanskrit scholar -- far from it, but I'm

> > happy to share what I know.

>

> Thanks ))) I have the same trouble with names of people I meet. I can

> remember them for what we talked about.....and certainly their energy

> signatures...but names??? ::sighs:: No wonder I was so poor in history in

> school ;/

> >

> > > I like to count myself among the weird ones.....celebrate it, in fact.

> I

> > think it shows we are coming into our own.

> >

> > I love this -- and agree -- maybe it comes with age, to celebrate and own

> > our unique gifts, our unique styles of coping with the hurdles of life

> and

> > interacting with the Divine as It manifests Itself to us.

>

> I agree )) In the last two years, I have remade myself from the ground

> up, with a lot of help from spirit and teachers in real/Net time. Finally I

> can celebrate who I am.....shout it out and be proud of it....told you I

> was one of the weird ones )) >>

 

Yeah young people "going to class" how wonderful !! You are in a City! I am in a

smallisolated snowy

town.ommunal life for young teens - that is what we were doing also drug rehab

as well as during VietNam era -

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<

aiding the conscientious objectors-I would love to see yoga as therapy for

developmentally disabled - I've

attended to their physical therapy these past umpteen years after my release

from hospital myself...-

especially water therapy and A.* Nothing Better.*... Music therapy while in the

water weightlessness LEARN

Breath and "channel that wonderful POSITIVE ENERGY!! Grace of God

Movement - Adi Shakti! Dayajyoti

 

> I am looking forward to my crone years

>

> Susan

> Wish i could come to class too......Love you guys Crin

> ------

> We are proud as punch of our new web site!

>

> Onelist: The leading provider of free email community services

> ------

> To from this list, go to ONElist Member Center, or

Kundaliniyoga-

[Guest guest]

>"Susan" <sboles

 

>There were two things I remember most. First was learning the

>firebreath....and then the alternate nostril breathing....forgive me, I

>have forgotten the names for all this. My lungs hurt for a long time

>learning to do this. It was like I had never breathed before. Filling up

>so much of you with your breath.....measuring it....seeing where it

>went....feeling you had taken enough breath and then sipping that little

>bit extra. Exhaling, and thinking you had let it all out and huffing to

>get that last bit out. A lot of teachers liken this to filling up your

>body with water....feeling it flow into parts of you that breath, in the

>medical sense, wouldn't go. It was also after learning to do this

>properly that I had my first awakening. I didn't know what was

>happening.....but my body was buzzing and heating....and then it seemed to

>shine and flow. It only lasted for a very short time but the effects

>lasted a long long time. Our teacher was so great.....gently helping

>us....laughter bubbling on the surface as we struggled with new

>postures.....

 

 

Susan

 

Could you go into more detail here. How exactly were you taught to breathe?

When you talk about filling your lungs so full, and making them so empty - I

take it this was practising the so-called complete breath? How long did you

practise at a time? Also, the breath of fire and alternate nostril

breathing - what exactly were you told to do? These are things that I find

difficult, as there are no classes here. I discuss them with my teacher by

telephone, but I feel I am still missing some things, although I am now

managing to get some results from breath of fire. Can you tell us more?

 

Namaste

Gordon

[Guest guest]

> "gordon lamb" <gordon

> Susan

>

> Could you go into more detail here. How exactly were you taught to

breathe?

> When you talk about filling your lungs so full, and making them so empty

- I

> take it this was practising the so-called complete breath? How long did

you

> practise at a time? Also, the breath of fire and alternate nostril

> breathing - what exactly were you told to do? These are things that I

find

> difficult, as there are no classes here. I discuss them with my teacher

by

> telephone, but I feel I am still missing some things, although I am now

> managing to get some results from breath of fire. Can you tell us more?

 

Okay....we are talking three different things here.....I will try to

explain and if I am wrong or get a step incorrect, I am sure someone on

here will tell me ))

 

Most of us don't know how to breathe properly. We take shallow breaths as

if we are afraid of what breath does. But breath is manna to our

bodies...so we should drink heavily and deeply to energize and feed our

bodies. I was taught by breathing in to the count of four...slow counts.

Feel the breath expand your ribcage.....you are aiming to fill your whole

chest cavity with air. At the end of the fourth, when you think you can't

take any more air in, take a sip more. Hold for a count of four. Exhale

over a count of four....and when you think you have all the air out, huff

more out. You will be amazed how much you can get out after this count of

four. You may experience burning in your lungs doing this. But soon, your

breathing comes deep and sure....and the count of four expands to a count

of five...six. I was told to concentrate on the emptiness between

breathing in and breathing out....that period of stillness. Once your

lungs are used to doing this, I started breathing in from different parts

of my body. No one taught me this...it just started to happen when I

meditated. I would open up my crown chakra and breathe the energy down, on

an inbreath....feeling it flow around my heart....keeping it there....then

on the outbreath, push the breath down the rest of my body to exit out my

feet. Then I would reverse it, breathing in my feet, feel it flowing to my

heart, then on the exhale, pushing it up and out my head. Dizzying at

first....but the energy that fills me when I do that was incredible. I

found out later that I was unconsciously doing something that is taught to

get the energy flowing in the two currents that wind around our spines. We

would practice this for about five minutes.....at the beginning of each

session. It prepared us for the work in the session by calming us and

getting our minds into the proper space for work.

 

The fire breath is very different. Here, you concentrate on the outbreath,

as it is thrown out with such force, the inbreath comes after it

automatically. We were taught to put our hand on our bellies and use those

muscles to force air out of our lungs in a whoosh. Our hands were to remind

us to use those muscles to force it out. Your whole abdomen is used to

empty the lungs very quickly. You should hear your breath coming out

vocally....almost like a cough but not so loud...kinda like a HUH sound.

Here, you are not using so much breath...it is like little sips in and

whooshes out. Like my advanced terminology?? :;grins:: As the fire in

fire breath is related to the power centre or third chakra, this is where

the breath is being localized. You are using your diaphram and stomach

muscles to force the breath out. Dizzying again.....and you feel the heat

in your belly rising up into you.....making your head reel with it. It

took me awhile to get used to doing this....and my stomach muscles hated me

for a while... but it was worth everything to feel what I did when the

rising started. At first, we couldn't do it very much.....it was far too

difficult to keep up....but as the weeks went by, we had longer lessons

using it.

 

The alternate nostril breathing was taught to us after the above two.

After doing the first breathing exercise a few times, raise one of your

hands to your face, palm facing it. Put your thumb by one nostril and your

forefinger by the other. Gently put your thumb over the nostril, blocking

the passage of air through it. Breathe in the other nostril slowly, using

the first technique. Hold the inbreath for a second...concentrating on the

stillness....then exhale. Remove your thumb, and put your forefinger on

it's nostril and breathe in...concentrating on the middle...exhale.

Continue to alternate with one complete inhale/exhale per thumb/finger. Do

this for about eight to ten cycles. You should feel this breathing calming

you yet energizing the chakras.

 

Hope this answers your questions ))

Susan

[Guest guest]

Susan

 

Thank you for a first class post - I hope that others on here found it as

beneficial as I did. Maybe you should start your own KY classes - I'm sure

you would make a great teacher. If it is ok with you, I would like to

convert it into a file and keep it in our shared files area for easy

reference.

 

Namaste

Gordon

 

 

 

 

>

>Hope this answers your questions ))

>Susan

[Guest guest]

> "gordon lamb" <gordon

>

> Susan

>

> Thank you for a first class post - I hope that others on here found it as

> beneficial as I did. Maybe you should start your own KY classes - I'm

sure

> you would make a great teacher. If it is ok with you, I would like to

> convert it into a file and keep it in our shared files area for easy

> reference.

>

> Namaste

> Gordon

>

>

Sure, use it.....I have never written on this subject before. I have

written and re-written my chakra course (ad nauseum), but this!!!

 

I am not qualified to be a KY teacher.....just a student who is willing to

share what she knows. My brain is very pickable )

 

Nemaste,

Susan