Note: For the complete lessons, with additions, see the AYP Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living Books.

Update: For additional assistance with meditation sensitivity issues, see Lessons 365-367.

Lesson 200 - Q&A – Follow-up on a sensitive meditator

From: Yogani
Date: Wed May 26, 2004 3:35pm

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the web archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"


NOTE: This is a follow-up on the same person who was having difficulty in in lesson #160, "Q&A – Extreme sensitivity to meditation – what to do?" This series is a good example of prudent self-pacing in meditation, and then moving on to spinal breathing to stabilize some kundalini symptoms.

Q: My wife had taken up meditation but seemed very sensitive so she does only deep meditation for about 15 minutes twice a day. The dreams and all she used to have after meditation are now gone. A few days back she started to get small peanut size rashes on her stomach, upper arms, back and chest. They are red, don't pain or itch, and go away after few days. Also, since the day before the rashes started she gets very sexually excited during meditation.

She has been doing only I AM meditation for the last 1.5 months and I suggested to do spinal breathing also. I am not sure if the rashes are some blockages coming out. We will be taking medical advice too. But I thought I should ask you just in case you can throw some light if they are in any way related to cleansing process.

A: I'm glad your wife's scary dreams have subsided. That would indicate some purification was happening, and some balance has been reached in the process. Good job on self-pacing!

More purification is probably what is happening now with the rashes - which can happen in the early stages of kundalini awakening. It is amazing she is having all this with only 15 minutes of meditation. She must be a yogini from way back, and now is sorting out some old imbalances deep in her nervous system. These can be latent inside from extreme yoga done in the distant past. If the rash subsides in a few days or a week or so, then you can conclude it is yoga related. Seeking medical attention would be prudent if the rash becomes serious. If medication is given it can complicate the process of yoga, so make sure it is necessary.

On the sexual symptoms, this can happen as part of purification and awakening of the nervous system also. It too will find balance. Rarely will such episodes of extreme arousal during practices last a long time. On the other hand, sexual energy has an important role in the process of human spiritual transformation, so there will always be something going on with sexuality moving upward from the root in the nervous system once ecstatic conductivity (kundalini) is permanently awakened. If you and your wife have not, it might be good to review the tantra group lessons, so sexuality and sexual relations can be viewed in yogic context. You can find it near the top of the list in the links section of the group.

Spinal breathing offers the possibility of balancing all of these things more quickly and progressively. Kundalini symptoms (probably what these things are) usually are caused by shakti energy coming up into the nervous system without enough counter-balancing by shiva energy coming down. Spinal breathing can correct this, and then progress can go very fast with much less chance of uncomfortable kundalini symptoms. Maybe try 5 minutes of spinal breathing before meditation and see how it goes for a few days. If it doesn't help, or if it aggravates the symptoms, then back off. If it helps, then give it a few weeks of stable practice and then consider going to 10 minutes of spinal breathing.

Rashes can be related to pitta (inner fire) imbalance that is aggravated by kundalini awakening. It can also be experienced as excessive heat or acidic sensations in the digestion or anywhere in the body. Ayurveda (the Indian system of medicine) can help with this. A "pitta pacifying diet" with a pitta pacifying routine is one of the first things to look at. If you search the web for that, you will find much information. Here is one on a pitta pacifying diet:

http://www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.com/pitta-diet.html

See also: http://www.aypsite.com/ayurveda.html

Beyond diet and routine, an ayurvedic physician can advise on additional remedies. Anyway, the chances are good that your wife's symptoms will pass naturally as her energies come into balance and move ahead with the process of yoga. Even then it is good to be mindful of bodily constitution and not be aggravating it with inappropriate foods or routine. Maybe hold off on the spicy foods for a while...

With prudent application of practices and good self-pacing, I'm sure that smoothness and steady blissful progress can be achieved. Good things are happening.


Q: My wife has started spinal breathing and the rashes started to subside from day one. Now they have almost faded away. It's amazing how the practices work. Thanks for all your advice.

One more amazing thing was that my wife's sight has improved from using lenses of 2.75 to 2.5 since she has started meditation. She had to change her lenses. I can't stop from thinking that this incident and her practices are related. Does meditation help in correcting physical problems apart from cleansing the nervous system? Curious to know!

A: That's great news on your wife's spinal breathing and disappearing rash. It is a wonderful practice with many long-term benefits, and one of the most effective internal energy balancers there is. It is the perfect companion for deep meditation. And these two practices together make an excellent foundation for enhancing yoga practices further to transport us quickly and comfortably along the road to enlightenment.

It is not common for yoga practices to suddenly reverse external physical dislocations, such as correcting eyesight. For that reason yoga is not presented as an instant cure-all for everything that can be ailing us. We do yoga for enlightenment, and perfect physical health is not always a prerequisite for that, though overall health will certainly tend to improve as the nervous system becomes purified. There is no question that sudden cures do happen sometimes. Is it the yoga? It could be if the ailment is tied to obstructions being dissolved deep in the nervous system where yoga is working.

Whether or not we are being physically cured, we can be sure we are being spiritually cured through yoga, and that cultivates in us a deep sense of wellbeing that is independent of the condition of the body. Inner harmony always becomes outer harmony, but not always in the way we might expect. Over time, we develop an inner perspective on things that enables us to cope with whatever may be going on in the body or around us, often with laughter. That's liberation.

The guru is in you.

Note: For detailed instructions on deep meditation with self-pacing, see the AYP Deep Meditation book.

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