Vata-Pitta, Insomnia and Breath of Fire

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam

I'm a KY teacher and have been practicing since 2002

and I have a question. I had an ayurvedic

practitioner tell me that I should limit breath of

fire, as it's aggravating to Vata and Pitta, which is

my constitution. I've also had the experience of

feeling really ungrounded when doing ky with a lot of

breath of fire. Lately I've had insomnia (another

vata-pitta issue), and I would like to try the kriya

for conquering sleep, although there's so much breath

of fire in it. Wouldn't that aggravate the problem by

overstimulating me? Yogi Bhajan taught so much breath

of fire - which makes sense, as his body type is so

kapha. Why does KY not take dosha into consideration?

I'm especially interested to hear from long-term Ky

practitioners who are either vata or pitta or both.

Thanks

Ardas Singh

 

 

______________________________\

____

Never miss a thing. Make your home page.

http://www./r/hs

[Guest guest]

Greetings everyone, The elements that possess me are Vata Pitta, and I definitely must "dumb down" my KY practice to stay in balance, taking my stage of life into consideration as well. Yogi Bhajan seems to have presented KY in a stimulating and balancing way for Kapha, and this is super super super stimulating and unbalancing for Vata.

 

I agree with Ardas. It would indeed be helpful if experienced teachers and practitioners could give examples of how Yoga Bhajan applied ayurvedic principles to his teachings. Thanks.

 

Heather Greaves (Kartar)Body Therapies Yoga Training 905-628-6463 www.yogatogo.cominfo@...

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

Yogi Bhajan was in no way so

limited as to teach according to his dosha,

neglecting the others. If you intuit

breath of fire is not right for you there are so many other techniques YB gave

for getting a good sleep. Here are

a few possibilities. Kirtan sohila and one minute

breath, washing the feet with cold water, sleeping with the head right side

down and left nostril open and up, to receive the cooling energy instead of the

energizing heat. You could also

read prayers until you just fall over! YB told someone to read from the Siri

Guru Granth Sahib until they fall asleep. Just a few other things, besides breath

of fire, that may be worth trying. He also said that trouble sleeping at

night can be related to wrong thinking during the day. That can be helped with consistant sadhana and

meditations of ones choice for that purpose… Dhan

Dhan Ram Das Guru makes

miracles happen, when all else fails.

I sleep with Crimson volume 6 & 7, ardas bhaee, playing on repeat, which helps me a lot.

 

Hoping your sleep situation

improves

 

Sincerely

 

Gurunam Singh

 

 

Sat Nam

I'm a KY teacher and have been practicing since 2002

and I have a question. I had an ayurvedic

practitioner tell me that I should limit breath of

fire, as it's aggravating to Vata

and Pitta, which is

my constitution. I've also had the experience of

feeling really ungrounded when doing ky with a lot of

breath of fire. Lately I've had insomnia (another

vata-pitta issue), and I would like to try the kriya

for conquering sleep, although there's so much breath

of fire in it. Wouldn't that aggravate the problem by

overstimulating me? Yogi

Bhajan taught so much breath

of fire - which makes sense, as his body type is so

kapha. Why does KY not take dosha into consideration?

I'm especially interested to hear from long-term Ky

practitioners who are either vata

or pitta or both.

Thanks

Ardas Singh

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Heather and Ardas Singh,These are great questions and they come up often for people who are familiar with Ayurveda. I am an Ayurvedic practitioner and teacher of Kundalini Yoga and have worked extensively integrating the two. Kundalini Yoga, as it is, is perfect. Obviously, kriyas should never be altered based on an 'Ayurvedic' interpretation. In fact Kundalini Yoga is very much steeped and influenced by Ayurveda in many ways (too many to go into here).It is more of a question of what you choose to practice within the realm of Kundalini Yoga. For one who is in a healing process, or even just familiar with their tendencies based on their constitution, Ayurveda can be one very good way of determining an appropriate practice. However, Ayurvedic practitioners who are only vaguely familiar with Kundalini Yoga shouldn't try to do this. I often see practitioners of Ayurveda steer patients away from one type of yoga or another with limited understanding of that particular system. I don't agree with that strategy in most cases. There are plenty of ways to fine-tune the practice, especially in Kundalini Yoga. If you love Kundalini Yoga, you can certainly use it to support you, regardless of a Vata or Pitta imbalance. The better question is: What is the state of Ojas? In other words how vitiated are the doshas, and to what degree has your core vitality left you?. If ojas is good, the yogi can engage in good sadhana without having to worry about Vata or Pitta too much. This is the value of Ayurveda to the yogi, and this is why, in my opinion, all yogis should know Ayurveda--it is an integral part of yoga, and our long-term vitality and ability to keep a strong sadhana is dependant on our Ojas. It could be said that Ayurveda is the science of cultivating Ojas. The yogi uses Ayurveda so that WE CAN do a strong sadhana without taking ourselves out of balance. Practicing Ayurveda for the sake of general health is one thing, but practicing Ayurveda to support the path of awakening is Dynamic. So its a process. Kundalini Yoga is for generally healthy people. It can be used for healing if one is very sick, but it is a much more delicate thing, and very specific per individual. Although in general, Kundalini Yoga is very good for Kapha body types, it is good for all body types if practiced properly. Understanding Kundalini Yoga simply from the context of the 3 doshas by themselves is quite limiting. I hope this helps some. I teach a course based on all of this (Ayurveda and Kundalini Yoga together). It takes me about 2.5 days to explain it there! Visit www.pranayogacamp.wordpress.com if you want more info. The next one will most likely be in the late spring and summer in northern and southern California. If you'd like to be updated as dates are confirmed I can do that. I also send out weekly tips and videos based on this science.

Just email and let me know and I'll add you to that email list. jaidev_pkBest to you,Jai Dev SinghKundalini-Yoga , "Heather Greaves" <HGREAVES wrote:>> Greetings everyone, The elements that possess me are Vata Pitta, and I definitely must "dumb down" my KY practice to stay in balance, taking my stage of life into consideration as well. Yogi Bhajan seems to have presented KY in a stimulating and balancing way for Kapha, and this is super super super stimulating and unbalancing for Vata.> > I agree with Ardas. It would indeed be helpful if experienced teachers and practitioners could give examples of how Yoga Bhajan applied ayurvedic principles to his teachings. Thanks.> > Heather Greaves (Kartar)> Body Therapies Yoga Training > 905-628-6463 > www.yogatogo.com> info

[Guest guest]

These are very good observations and interesting questions.

Like any other technique, breath of fire only creates

imbalance if it is done to excess or out of context.

BOF is a balanced breath. Stimulates ida and pingala.

Needs to be done correctly- equal inhale and exhale.

In the context of complete kundalini yoga practice, it is

balanced with other pranayam techniques.

Kundalini yoga develops energy through vigorous techniques

and transforms that energy into tapas.

It is this transformation into spiritual energy that is the

key.

If you warm up the furnace in your house, you need to

circulate the hot air throughout the house, or the furnace will become too hot

(aggravated).

 

 

Yogi Bhajan was very definitely pitta (fire) prakruti

(constitution). See photographs from early life and early adulthood. As he

aged, he developed kapha (water) vikruti (current energy balance). See

photographs from middle adulthood.

 

Kundalini yoga, like all yogas and Vedic sciences,

absolutely does take dosha into consideration. I spent 32 years exhaustively going

through all this in great detail with Yogi Bhajan. And he spent endless

lectures speaking about the tattvas. Every kriya and technique he ever taught was

about balancing the tattvas (in the long run). Of course, any given technique

may emphasize a specific tattva, so your practice must be individualized and

you need to experience a spectrum of practices to affect all the nadis and

tattvas and maintain balance.

 

This is reviewed in my soon forthcoming book, The Way of

Ayurvedic Herbs, from Lotus Press, the leading publisher of Ayurvedic books, and

the first Ayurveda book to get the KRI seal of approval.

 

I have a comprehensive paper that deals with insomnia from

the dosha perspective. It would be my pleasure to send it to anyone on the list

who connects with me off the list.

 

Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa

Eugene, Oregon

 

 

Sat Nam

I'm a KY teacher and have been practicing since 2002

and I have a question. I had an ayurvedic

practitioner tell me that I should limit breath of

fire, as it's aggravating to Vata and Pitta, which is

my constitution. I've also had the experience of

feeling really ungrounded when doing ky with a lot of

breath of fire. Lately I've had insomnia (another

vata-pitta issue), and I would like to try the kriya

for conquering sleep, although there's so much breath

of fire in it. Wouldn't that aggravate the problem by

overstimulating me? Yogi Bhajan taught so much breath

of fire - which makes sense, as his body type is so

kapha. Why does KY not take dosha into consideration?

I'm especially interested to hear from long-term Ky

practitioners who are either vata or pitta or both.

Thanks

Ardas Singh

 

E-MAIL CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this e-mail message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply e-mail and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use, dissemination, distribution, copying, or storage of this message or any attachment is strictly prohibited.

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

I am Pitta with Vata coming into it, and also have had life-long

insomnia. I was also told the same thing about Breath of Fire. I've

ignored that advice, even though I get hot flashes from BoF. What

about the advice we give menstruating women: to do Long Deep Breathing

instead? Not sure if it would help to just do BoF slower (optimal is

120/minute these days).

 

For insomnia, I did Kriya for Nerve, Navel, and Lower Spine Strength,

page 61 of Sadana Guidelines, for a couple of years, whereupon I

didn't have to do it for several years. (I'm now treating insomnia

with Classical Homeopathy, BTW.)

 

Nirmal Kaur in Los Angeles

 

>

> 2. Vata-Pitta, Insomnia and Breath of Fire

> Ezekiel Green

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Jai Dev,

I started kundalini yoga at age 21, in very good health. I don't think it's a

question of ojas

for me. My health is still good, but I am worried because I'm not able to

sleep. What sets

would you recommend for a vata-pitta who can't sleep?

Ardas

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

Guru Bandhu, can you talk more about how Tantric had a negative effect

on Yogi Bhajan? This seems very interesting to me, since Tantric is

such a core part of Kundalini. Have other people experienced negative

effects from tantric?

 

In the insomnia vein of this conversation, I too have bouts of

insomnia. I find the Bach Flower Rescue Sleep Remedy is a great sleep

aid. Whole Foods carries it, and I'm sure other natural food stores

would as well. Also, I find doing progressive muscle relaxation while

lying in bed very helpful in falling asleep.

 

Kehar K.

 

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " Guru K " <greatyoga wrote:

>

> Sat Nam Ardas S.

>

> There are lots of sets. Just pick out one or more that seem to help

> you more. You can always do a more relaxing meditation afterwards to

> balance out any effects of the BOF.

>

> As far as Yogi Bhajan goes, I would say he was pitta. I think you may

> think he was kapha because he was overweight. Different doshas can

> cause imbalances that seem to be from another dosha. He often said

> that Tantric caused many or most of his health problems. He tried to

> balance his health through diet and healers, etc. but Tantric took a

> real toll on his body.

>

> GuruBandhu

>

>

> Kundalini-Yoga , Ezekiel Green <spikycork@>

> wrote:

> >

> > Sat Nam

> > I'm a KY teacher and have been practicing since 2002

> > and I have a question. I had an ayurvedic

> > practitioner tell me that I should limit breath of

> > fire, as it's aggravating to Vata and Pitta, which is

> > my constitution. I've also had the experience of

> > feeling really ungrounded when doing ky with a lot of

> > breath of fire. Lately I've had insomnia (another

> > vata-pitta issue), and I would like to try the kriya

> > for conquering sleep, although there's so much breath

> > of fire in it. Wouldn't that aggravate the problem by

> > overstimulating me? Yogi Bhajan taught so much breath

> > of fire - which makes sense, as his body type is so

> > kapha. Why does KY not take dosha into consideration?

> > I'm especially interested to hear from long-term Ky

> > practitioners who are either vata or pitta or both.

> > Thanks

> > Ardas Singh

> >

> >

> >

>

______________________________\

____

> > Never miss a thing. Make your home page.

> > http://www./r/hs

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Everyone has had some wonderful replies on this topic. I have to agree with Nirmal Kaur about doing Long Deep Breathing. It's the same balanced breath, and the navel goes out on the inhale and in towards the spine on the exhale. It's still an active breath. Breath of Fire is faster, but still balanced. When I was in teacher training, because I have high blood pressure, BOF is contraindicated, so I was told to do LDB instead. And I can always do about 3 minutes of BOF without any ill effects to "charge me up" and switch to LDB.

It's all about intent. What are you trying to achieve? Health, balance, peace? There is a kriya out there that will not aggravate your dosha.

 

Blessings,

Guru Jiwan Kaur

"You must not only be intuitive, you must also be conscious. Intuition will tell you panoramically what your tomorrow is, and consciousness will guide you to that tomorrow." ~Yogi Bhajan

[Guest guest]

I suspected the question would come up about tantric and I could see

how it was written that it would be mis-interpreted, Tantric does not

hurt US, it helps US every time but Yogi Bhajan was travelling on

planes and thru time zones to do this every weekend and more

importantly processing all our stuff! I am sure you will get more

helpful explanations on this. I was blessed to attend his last tantric

in NYC and get my spiritual name in person that day. He then stopped

but had been doing it for many years and it had taken its toll.

Airplanes mess with the electro-magnetic field and our immune system.

 

Sat Nam

Amrita/Donna Davidge

www.sewallhouse.com

[Guest guest]

Kehar Kaur

 

When we do Tantric, we benefit. Yogi Bhajan taught Tantric. He

described it something like this. He is a filter for the negative

cleansing we go through. He said that it is similiar to a person

cleaning their own house. The house gets clean. In the process, some

dirt gets on the person doing the cleaning. With Yogi Bhajan, the

effects became cumulative by doing many Tantrics over the years. He

often said that our prayers are what kept him alive over the years.

 

GuruBAndhu

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " Joanna " <jkoslowsky wrote:

>

> Sat Nam,

>

> Guru Bandhu, can you talk more about how Tantric had a negative effect

> on Yogi Bhajan? This seems very interesting to me, since Tantric is

> such a core part of Kundalini. Have other people experienced negative

> effects from tantric?

[Guest guest]

I think the sentence " He often said that Tantric caused many or most of

his health problems " meant to say that teaching Tantric (as the Mahan

Tantric) took a great toll on him physically. Not just the traveling

every weekend, but taking on everyone's energy during Tantric courses.

Before the days of video tantric, he was there physically almost every

weekend. I'm sure that Sat Simran or someone who traveled with him in

those days can elaborate more on this.

 

Sat Nam,

 

Sahib-Amar Kaur

 

Sat Nam,

 

Guru Bandhu, can you talk more about how Tantric had a negative effect

on Yogi Bhajan? This seems very interesting to me, since Tantric is

such a core part of Kundalini. Have other people experienced negative

effects from tantric?

 

In the insomnia vein of this conversation, I too have bouts of

insomnia. I find the Bach Flower Rescue Sleep Remedy is a great sleep

aid. Whole Foods carries it, and I'm sure other natural food stores

would as well. Also, I find doing progressive muscle relaxation while

lying in bed very helpful in falling asleep.

 

Kehar K.

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam all,

 

Great conversation -- I am yet another Kundalini Vata-Pitta. Just a

quick suggestion of a great set that I teach every year for those of

us who struggle with solid sleep -- Kriya for Conquering Sleep. It's

in a couple of manuals, including the beautiful new " sadhana

guidelines. " I just did this set last week and was reminded how

wonderful it is. (suggestion -- stretch your hips out well

afterwards to avoid sore hips!) More tips -- Stress Relief Yogi Tea,

and a simple mental mantra when you turn off the light.

 

sleep well!

Kartar Kaur

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " Guru K " <greatyoga wrote:

>

> Sat Nam Ardas S.

>

> There are lots of sets. Just pick out one or more that seem to help

> you more. You can always do a more relaxing meditation afterwards

to

> balance out any effects of the BOF.

>

> As far as Yogi Bhajan goes, I would say he was pitta. I think you

may

> think he was kapha because he was overweight. Different doshas can

> cause imbalances that seem to be from another dosha. He often said

> that Tantric caused many or most of his health problems. He tried

to

> balance his health through diet and healers, etc. but Tantric took a

> real toll on his body.

>

> GuruBandhu

>

>

> Kundalini-Yoga , Ezekiel Green <spikycork@>

> wrote:

> >

> > Sat Nam

> > I'm a KY teacher and have been practicing since 2002

> > and I have a question. I had an ayurvedic

> > practitioner tell me that I should limit breath of

> > fire, as it's aggravating to Vata and Pitta, which is

> > my constitution. I've also had the experience of

> > feeling really ungrounded when doing ky with a lot of

> > breath of fire. Lately I've had insomnia (another

> > vata-pitta issue), and I would like to try the kriya

> > for conquering sleep, although there's so much breath

> > of fire in it. Wouldn't that aggravate the problem by

> > overstimulating me? Yogi Bhajan taught so much breath

> > of fire - which makes sense, as his body type is so

> > kapha. Why does KY not take dosha into consideration?

> > I'm especially interested to hear from long-term Ky

> > practitioners who are either vata or pitta or both.

> > Thanks

> > Ardas Singh

> >

> >

> >

>

____________________

______________

> > Never miss a thing. Make your home page.

> > http://www./r/hs

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I am the poster-child for Vata. I had been following the principles

of ayurveda before " discovering " kundalini yoga approximately six

months ago. I have not found breath of fire to be aggravating or have

had any negative effects whatsoever from KY. I have only benefited

from it.

 

Oddy,I had tried vinyasa yoga several years ago and found myself to

be extremely agitatated by the movement(vata aggravating). Yet BOF,

frogs, and other " vigorous " kundalini exercises have no such effect.

Go figure.

Fiona

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " Kathryn Hargreaves "

<khargreaves wrote:

>

> Sat Nam,

>

> I am Pitta with Vata coming into it, and also have had life-long

> insomnia. I was also told the same thing about Breath of Fire.

I've

> ignored that advice, even though I get hot flashes from BoF. What

> about the advice we give menstruating women: to do Long Deep

Breathing

> instead? Not sure if it would help to just do BoF slower (optimal

is

> 120/minute these days).

>

> For insomnia, I did Kriya for Nerve, Navel, and Lower Spine

Strength,

> page 61 of Sadana Guidelines, for a couple of years, whereupon I

> didn't have to do it for several years. (I'm now treating insomnia

> with Classical Homeopathy, BTW.)

>

> Nirmal Kaur in Los Angeles

>

> >

> > 2. Vata-Pitta, Insomnia and Breath of Fire

> > Ezekiel Green

> >

>

[Guest guest]

The most clinically effective kriya Ive seen for insomnia is the Pineal Gland Kriya. It activates the Pineal gland, which makes melatonin your sleep hormone. Blessings, Dr Dharma **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)