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with additions, see the AYP
Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living Books.
Lesson 417 -
Automatic Yoga Revisited
From: Yogani
Date: July 7, 2010
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?"
Q: Several years ago I experienced spontaneous yoga asanas and mudras. I
came to the conclusion it was a partial kundalini awakening. But I had not
learned yoga previously, and had just been doing meditation for a few weeks
when it started. I haven't found a master to guide me with this, so I left
spiritual practices altogether. Any prayers or meditation, or even a
thought, would trigger the asanas. I have just one big question, what are we
suppose to do with it anyway? I read so many unpleasant,
up to horrifying, stories on spontaneous kundalini
awakening, with or without a guru, and I'm too
scared to do anything with it, but also think there has to be a reason or a
purpose.
A: Yes, there was energetic purification and opening going on there, with a
sensitivity to any bit of bhakti (devotion) and quieting of the mind. It is
not a bad thing. It is spiritual sensitivity. It is a matter of regulating
your practice in a way that supports further
growth without energy excess.
Movements are very common among spiritual practitioners at one stage or
another along the path, though perhaps the degree of sensitivity you are
describing is not so common. It can be worked through if you want to
continue your unfoldment.
Gently favoring our structured practice routine over automatic yoga, plus
self-pacing of practices as needed, are the keys in the AYP approach.
This means not giving over to unrestricted automatic yoga, which can
lead to uncomfortable excesses. So your inclination to back off practices
was correct. But practices are not all or nothing, you know. If you resolve
to find a balance, you can. If there is an over-sensitivity to deep
meditation with mantra, a shift to meditation using breath as the object may
be a smoother ride for you until obstructions have been cleared out a bit.
Then the movements will subside and you can decide how to proceed with
practices from that point. See Lesson 367 for more on
measures for sensitivity issues.
Likewise, with kundalini, there is no reason to be fearful about it. It is
evolutionary energy moving within us, and if we are prudent in practices and
lifestyle, not taking anything to excess, the journey of purification and
opening can continue with relative comfort and safety. There are many in the
community of practitioners who are dealing with similar circumstances with
good success.
The view we take in AYP is that automatic yoga is an effect of practices
and/or kundalini awakening, not a primary cause of spiritual advancement.
Such symptoms can be wide-ranging, or none at all. It depends on the inner
process of purification and opening, which will vary from person to person
(and at different times for the same person),
according to the inner matrix of obstructions (karma) gradually being
dissolved through practices.
Automatic yoga, and other "scenery" (visions, sensations, etc.) we may
experience along the way are associated with the "friction" of energy
passing through inner obstructions. As we continue with a self-paced, stable
and comfortable practice routine over time, the friction/symptoms become
less as the obstructions are gradually dissolved. Then our experiences
become much more refined, blissful in stillness, and flowing as ecstatic
outpouring divine love. As this progresses we find an increasing sense of
Oneness inside and outside. This is the rise of the unending experience
of unity and non-duality, which is freedom, even as we remain fully engaged
in ordinary daily living. In this situation, we find we have more to give to
those around us, and far beyond.
So these movements are a stage, one that can be navigated in a way that
leads beyond the purification and opening occurring
in the moment to a more refined stage, and to more quality in everyday
living.
For more on the AYP approach to handling instances of automatic yoga, see
these lessons:
Lesson 104 - Stubborn Energy
Blockages
Lesson 183 - Movements and
Automatic Yoga
Lesson 210 - Handling Automatic
Yoga and Siddhis
For more lessons on automatic yoga, see "Automatic Yoga (and movements)" in
the Topic Index.
The guru is in you.
Note:
For detailed instructions on
building and maintaining a balanced daily practice routine with self-pacing, see the
Eight Limbs of Yoga Book.
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