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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 11:36:30 AM
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I have been following a technique similar to what Andrew has described here and here, and thought I'd share it.
It is something that Nithyananda talks about :
Contemplate Beyond Perception
As you go about your day.. and you realize you are caught up in thoughts.. drop the thought.. meaning stop thinking the thought. Like Nithyanada says don't give a logical end to the thought.. just drop the thought.. then the next thought comes up.. drop, then next.. drop, and so on.. then your mind will fix on the dropping.. then drop the dropping. It's like the technique of "neti neti".. "not this not that".. It is really amazing. 
The sutra is (I enjoyed both Nithyanada's way of explaing it in the video above and Osho's way [you can read it if you click on the sutra below]):
86. SUPPOSE YOU CONTEMPLATE SOMETHING, BEYOND PERCEPTION, BEYOND GRASPING, BEYOND NOT BEING - YOU.
Now this was hard for me to get at first. Like Osho says:
quote:
It is impossible (to contemplate beyond perception), but that's why it is worth doing, because in the very effort something will happen to you. Not that you will become capable of perceiving - if you try to perceive something that cannot be perceived, all perceptions will be lost.
But my mind could not think of what to perceive.. what was beyond the perception... so I started off with Nithyananda's technique of dropping everyday thoughts. And some more.. and some more.. Always doubting if that was the right way to do it.
Yesterday tho.. I had the most awesome experience. During our (AYP Long Distance) group meditation.. and thanks to whoever participated... and also to all the people around the world who were praying, chanting, meditating yesterday.. because it was Lord Krishna's birthday.. there was love energy going into meditation itself.. but then when I started off.. I felt myself expand.. it grew and grew.. it engulfed people around me.. my family, friends.. then the world.. then the masters.. then Ma herself.. but it went beyond.. it grew far beyond.. the universe.. and more.. till I could not go any further.. but it kept expanding.. thought I'd reach Paramashiva.. but it kept going.. and Shiva was always way beyond that.
A few times I found myself back in thoughts.. "what's for lunch?", "when should I take the kids swimming?", "need to get the fertilizer in and add the weed block and water the plants".. the min I realized I was in thoughts.. I dropped the thoughts and was again transported beyond thoughts. I experienced, "Thoughts are so limiting".. it keeps us bound to what we know. We find the need to think our solutions here in these thoughts.. but just a little beyond it is a world where we are not limited.. where the limiting thoughts have no power.. where all problems seem like the head of a pin.. and the grip the things have on you are lost.. how can something that seems so big when we are in it have any hold on us when we look at it from outside the universe.
The best part was samyama.. I took CLKs name and let go.. and then my family and let go... the names travelled far into the universe and beyond.. till I lost it... and yet it seemed to travel on. The mind dropped in to try and control the outcome.. as to make sure this and that are taken care of in the prayers toward my family.. but for the first time the mind was humbled by the beauty and vastness of letting go because it saw how small and limited it was.. and there was so much more beyond the mind... for the first time it saw the pleasure in "not knowing but just trusting". It still attached a few clause to the samyama.. like.. "OK I give you a week to make this work"  .. but for the most part. my mind for the first time experienced "resistance is futile"... and felt defeated.. but like Yogani had once told me.. feeling defeated is not bad.. because after defeat comes surrender. And tho the mind surrendered to this vastness.. there was no sense of loss.. it was more a feeling of "ahhhh... now I can relax and let the universe take care of Shanti". |
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Eitherway
USA
100 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 1:02:52 PM
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Shanti,
A awesome and inspiring post!!! Thanks for all the sharing you do on this forum. You have been an integral part of the wisdom emanating from the site. |
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Steve
277 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 1:15:18 PM
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Hi Shanti,
ahhhhhh...some 
Thanks so much for sharing ... very instructive, inspiring and beautiful.
Love and Light,
Steve |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 09:21:07 AM
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| Thank you Eitherway and Steve for you kind words. |
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Ananda
3115 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 12:01:01 PM
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hi Shanti,
sweet and beautiful God bless you.
namaste,
Ananda |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 1:10:19 PM
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Hi Shweta,
Sounds wonderful. |
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Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 3:43:25 PM
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That was a lovely sharing, Shanti thanks for that!
Yes.....so it was Lord Krishnas birthday? I didn't know that......
I must tell you......that it was a very special day for me.....
It's been quite a while since I have been able to join in the Sunday meditations at the appointed time......but Sunday morning I knew I would make it. I forgot about it until exactly 5 min before the set time - and then I sat down and did 5 min of Pranayama and then meditated. I litarally felt the presence of many from our group. And - there seems to be many more joining in that we don't know of. I meditated for a lot longer than I normally do......somehow the energy of the group that day made it possible without risking overload (I can pretty much feel my way around this now....I know when it is ok to proceed). I came out of it......rested......and then - still not thinking - I went straight to the bathroom........it was the strangest thing.......but I took out a clipper (cuticle cutter)......boiled it in water.....went back in to the bathroom.......came out again......the Shine was thick with sacredness......and I just had to light a candle......and sound my bowl....anything to respond to that love with devotion......and then I confronted the mirror and snipped my frenum for the first time.
Just a little bit. No blood....just a nice tiny cut.
You know....it is just amazing, because I have never comtemplated doing Kechari. I just have not thought about it for a second. But now.......I simply cannot understand why I have not done it sooner.....it is as if I have just unconsciously ignored that part of the practise. Very strange.....yet very familiar.....the workings of that which is
I laughed and laughed at myself......
So. Thank you for spreading yourself all the way over here and enhancing the meditation.
Krishnas birthday....it coincided with someone elses birthday too.....so I guess I won't forget that day ever again |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 7:03:33 PM
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quote:
You know....it is just amazing, because I have never comtemplated doing Kechari
Not suggesting the timing for snippng and Kechari wasn't perfectly right for you Katrine, but it raises an interesting point. Do we add practices if the existing practices we already do can easily take us to our limits for change and put us over by adding a little extra time? Or do we add practices for our natural expansion to continue optimally and fit it into our current routine? For those who can discern the voice of thought from the inner knowing, it may be obvious, but for everyone else?
What would be the guiding principal for adding practices, maybe Yogani can comment?
Having said all that, though I do not snip (maybe I should say yet), I couldn't imagine practices (and outside of practices) without Kechari (stage 1) which naturally occured back when the inner energies woke up. |
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 10:09:42 PM
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This technique is really helpful.  |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Aug 27 2008 : 08:45:03 AM
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Yep, the technique is helpful!!!
Sounds like an awesome experience Katrine. Thank you for sharing it. Well, Lord Krishna's birthday is not on the same day every year.. it follows the lunar calendar. But it is around this time of the year. Wish you all the best with kechari.
quote:
Andrew said: Do we add practices if the existing practices we already do can easily take us to our limits for change and put us over by adding a little extra time? Or do we add practices for our natural expansion to continue optimally and fit it into our current routine?
I think it will come from within Andrew. If you need to add or remove something from your practice.. you will kinda know. In the beginning being in a routine is required and is good for you.. till you have access to some inner silence.. then let the practice/your inner guru guide you. The way to know is to drop the fear of overload due to adding/increasing practice or delaying enlightenment by cutting down on practice. (And yes, cutting down happens too.) Don't doubt yourself (trust).. then you will know. And although it may lead to a bit of uneasiness for a bit.. the adjustment phase gets shorter and shorter.. as long as you don't let your mind get involved. I think you had pointed out once (or maybe it was someone else).. that after a certain amount of inner silence is cultivated, the discomforts of purification are as strong as your mind decides it wants to make it. If you don't attach stories to them they pass much faster. |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Aug 27 2008 : 7:17:09 PM
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Thanks for the reply Shweta, lot's of valuable points.
I like what you wrote here about going over, I've been noticing this too lately:
quote:
The way to know is to drop the fear of overload due to adding/increasing practice or delaying enlightenment by cutting down on practice. (And yes, cutting down happens too.) Don't doubt yourself (trust).. then you will know. And although it may lead to a bit of uneasiness for a bit.. the adjustment phase gets shorter and shorter.. as long as you don't let your mind get involved.
quote:
I think you had pointed out once (or maybe it was someone else).. that after a certain amount of inner silence is cultivated, the discomforts of purification are as strong as your mind decides it wants to make it. If you don't attach stories to them they pass much faster.
I can't take credit for this one, but see the truth in the mind not attaching and the symptoms passing more quickly, I have noticed that going over can be like any other thought at times. I have also observed that physically relaxing the body consciously when over symptoms show up, can also help them pass quickly or unnoticed.
Recently there seems to be a little head room in practices these days and Katrine's post got me wondering what to prioritize. Would increasing time spent in pranayama and meditation be a better idea than adding in a new practice if we are under the recommended 10 minutes and 20 minutes? Is it a better idea to increase deep meditation to the full 20 minutes before adding in more time in pranayama or another round of samyama or a missing essential practice etc. Just wondering if there is an underlying principal I have forgotten or am over looking with increasing practices and maximizing our inner openings, probably because I have been going in the other way for so long!
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Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2008 : 02:00:25 AM
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Hi Andrew
Just thought I'd mention that up until ca March/April I did 2 min of Pranayama and 5-10 min of meditation. But then something changed.....I worked through the last grief after leaving my ex husband (it was initiated by a pivotal meeting) and all of a sudden I was able to meditate 20 min. So I did that - and 5 min of Pranayama - for 1 1/2 month without trouble. Then I added Samyama. Instead of being overloaded by it, everything just smoothed out......and all kinds of circumstances in my daily life just streamed in one direction. Then I went to the retreat in Ireland....and the rest you know .
I agree with Shanti. You will know when it is time.
I live with ecstacy 24/7 - but staying put in the eye makes everything stable
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2008 : 08:23:22 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Anthem11
Would increasing time spent in pranayama and meditation be a better idea than adding in a new practice if we are under the recommended 10 minutes and 20 minutes? Is it a better idea to increase deep meditation to the full 20 minutes before adding in more time in pranayama or another round of samyama or a missing essential practice etc. Just wondering if there is an underlying principal I have forgotten or am over looking with increasing practices and maximizing our inner openings, probably because I have been going in the other way for so long!
Well if you ask me.. from your other posts I'd say you have enough energy increasing practices in place. So I would personally increase meditation time. But really, if you drop the wondering of what needs to get added/increased and go with what feels right (trust ) you will know. When you sit for your practice.. just drop the clock crutch for a day and see what feels right. I mean don't go overboard with 30 min med and 15 min SPB etc.. and yet relax on the clock watching slightly. |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2008 : 1:44:06 PM
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Thanks Katrine for your post and update, your reasoning seems to make sense.
quote:
Well if you ask me.. from your other posts I'd say you have enough energy increasing practices in place. So I would personally increase meditation time. But really, if you drop the wondering of what needs to get added/increased and go with what feels right (trust ) you will know. When you sit for your practice.. just drop the clock crutch for a day and see what feels right. I mean don't go overboard with 30 min med and 15 min SPB etc.. and yet relax on the clock watching slightly.
Hi Shweta,
I was certainly keeping the time tightly monitored that is for sure! I set the timer this morning further away, so as not to increase by too much and went more with the flow.
At some point it occurred to me, "who is it that will go over?" and realizing there is no "I" to go over (source of previous worries), a nice inner expanse opened up and there was energy but it was just there, the sound of silence seemed like a roar and the mantra seemed tiny somewhere in the center. None of it mattered, so I didn't react to it.
Getting a little accustomed to some new feelings but so far so good. I realized at some point that I have created some self-imposed limits (by believing certain thoughts) that may not actually be there, so will explore. Looking forward to it, will likely increase the meditation time but I have been feeling the inner urge to add dynamic jalandra back in for a while, will see.
Thanks for your suggestions Shweta, they helped me find some more clarity, very appreciated.
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Edited by - Anthem on Aug 28 2008 2:17:44 PM |
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Katrine
Norway
1813 Posts |
Posted - Aug 28 2008 : 3:16:55 PM
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Hi Shweta
Thank you!
quote:
Hi Katrine,
When you say you live in "the eye".. do you mean third eye or your physical eyes?
I just posted an answer to your question here:
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=4369
I must tell you......this book of Osho...."The book of secrets"......it came into my hands back in 2004.....I took it with me to a 5 days holiday up at the cabin I used to have in the mountains. I was alone - my daughters were away on a tour playing handball and my ex husband was working. So it was just the mountains, the dog and myself. I went for long walks, bathed naked in the rivers and lakes and meditated morning and evening on the terrace. The whether was beautiful the whole time......before the hikings I read Oshos book....I had a flower in front of me, and I read and read......early mornings and all evening. This was summer......so the sun didn't set until 11 p.m......I could sit outside all night. I became more and more quiet inside......the awe I felt was shutting me up......and one evening I noticed the sound of F inside.....and listening to it I had my first experience of a valley orgasm. It just happened by itself and I guess this was the very start of the proper Kundalini awakening. I reread the book a couple of times that year.....it always had the same effect on me......i became very, very quiet inside.
Anyway - I haven't read it since then.......but your link reminded me of what I usually do when I come out of meditation. I spontaneously started doing it about a year ago: I will place the ball of my hands lightly on my eyelids When I do this....there are visions in a black space. Usually a beautiful blue living colour...like a pulsing, throbbing circle. Sometimes there is a violet swirl.
But the most attractive....is the lucid blackness that holds the colours. |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2008 : 12:02:42 PM
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Keeping the philosophy of applied spiritual science in mind, it would be irresponsible not to report back after my experimentations with increasing time in the practice routine.
It seems that there wasn't as much head room as I had thought (hoped) and now isn't apparently the time to increase. It is actually quite amazing to me how just a couple of extra minutes could have such a powerful increase of inner energy and impact on the body. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, emotional turbulence wasn't the issue, I was able to let go of that, but the body experienced an ache and overall felt terrible. It was simply too much release too quickly, there was cloudiness and I couldn't sense other people or myself with any clarity and the capacity and effectiveness to be of any service to others was diminished.
I have always been a very sensitive meditator and I have come to realize that change is occurring quickly here, near my physical limits already and in my daily activity there are big increases in time spent present in the here and now which is like adding time to meditation already in itself.
This experiment was a big success from a couple of angles, one realizing why my meditation time has decreased in sitting practices over the last couple of years is related to changes in daily time spent in the here and now. Once this begins to maximize, I will then likely be able to add time in sitting practices. More importantly, I realized that being of service to others is far more important than increasing the rate of clearing. There is no point making efforts in clearing out the emotional debris more quickly if others or myself get splattered by it. 
The more you find inner silence the more effective your service is to others. I'm not certain if being of service to others is more important to being of service to yourself (meaning efforts in the direction of sitting practices self inquiry etc.), but they are clearly related and there must be in balance in both directions.
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2008 : 12:18:09 PM
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Hi Andrew,
Are you sure the hit by a truck feeling was not after the 4 days of bliss you talked about here. I was actually writing to this morning after I read that post... watch out for the "low" after that high. I have experienced that "high bliss" feeling for a few days.. and got hit be an equally strong low after that. But that "high" was a huge opening.. and I went through the low without attaching stories.. and it passed.. like all lows pass.. and I could go back to what I was doing before.
Not telling you what to do.. just sharing my experience of exactly what you experienced.. and just asking you to keep an open mind and not attach stories of .. "increase in practice has got me to this low". Self pace as needed.. but don't be scared to trying once this low is gone. This "high" was a huge opening.. which resulted in a huge round of purification.. but it has increased your capacity. |
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2008 : 1:13:12 PM
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Hi Shweta,
They actually occurred in the reverse order, I increased practice time, got slammed and then a few days later had a change from periods throughout the day with no center to that extended period of 4 days described above. The four days with no center seemed to extend the time it took to rebalance my sitting practices and at the end of that there was the experience of connectedness but also a need to self-pace significantly.
There wasn't a marked emotional difference during the 4 days without a center, perhaps a little more peace but it wasn't a big digression from my usual emotional state. On the other hand, the effects from meditation were immediate, beginning the same day and continuing until I took the foot off the accelerator, maybe a 48 hour experiment in all.
In any event, I will keep an open mind and not attach stories to the experience to the best of my ability. Thank you for the reminder.
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Christi
United Kingdom
4379 Posts |
Posted - Sep 09 2008 : 11:45:14 AM
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Hi Anthem
My experiences would tie in pretty well with your own on this matter. If you are already on the edge in terms of energy overload, then increasing practice times, or adding new practices could result in physical and emotional problems. I believe there is some truth in the idea that if there is less resistance to difficulties then you will suffer less, but there is a limit to this. There is a limit to the extent to which an unenlightened person can simply have no resistence to physical and mental pain. And if we are enlightened already, then the purification process would be much more advanced, and we wouldn’t be experiencing those symptoms in the first place.
As for when to add practices, I think personally if you are sel-pacing your practices below the 10 mins spinal breathing and 20 mins deep meditation in order to avoid overload, then I would not add any new practices. I would wait until you can do the 10 and 20 mins before adding anything else on. It’s always your call of course.
Christi
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Anthem
1608 Posts |
Posted - Sep 09 2008 : 9:34:02 PM
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Hi Christi,
Thanks for your reply. That's the way I see it too after reflecting on it the last while, will try again in 6 months or so to increase and when I do it will be on the two fronts you mention until I reach the suggested maximums.
All the best!
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vijikr
United Arab Emirates
413 Posts |
Posted - Mar 03 2009 : 04:08:09 AM
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Hi Shanti and all,
quote:
It is something that Nithyananda talks about :
Contemplate Beyond Perception
I saw this beautiful you-tube video its explained well. He was talking about grasping..while hearing that I remembered I too went through such an phase in my life but that was one would least expect it.
When my brother passed away first my mind was full of questions and it then dropped and there were other esotoric questions which I couldnt answer much my mind finally got to a point that I went to stage where I couldn't think anything it got zeroed-in. Most people wouldn't beleive but at that time after this fight with my mind with questioning and reasonings I became quiet and it was like i was in meditative stage. All I could hear was sound of silence ie oooom/goooosh in ear And I felt at peace(I felt death is nothing its just physical body is gone but the soul remains same etc)
Thanks for the links!
Lots of Love and Light
Viji |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 03 2009 : 08:35:22 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by vijikr
When my brother passed away first my mind was full of questions and it then dropped and there were other esotoric questions which I couldnt answer much my mind finally got to a point that I went to stage where I couldn't think anything it got zeroed-in. Most people wouldn't beleive but at that time after this fight with my mind with questioning and reasonings I became quiet and it was like i was in meditative stage. All I could hear was sound of silence ie oooom/goooosh in ear And I felt at peace(I felt death is nothing its just physical body is gone but the soul remains same etc)
Thanks for the links!
Lots of Love and Light
Viji
Awesome experience Viji.
What you experienced was the gap, the gap between thoughts. Many people experience this, but don't realize what they experienced is their true nature. The silence is us.
Adyashanti talks about a similar experience. Loss of the Buddha DOG
It's been a pleasure reading your posts. Thank you for sharing. |
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vijikr
United Arab Emirates
413 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 05:52:20 AM
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Thanks shanti and most of your posts are well explained I love to read them apart from Carzon,TMS and Kathrine and few others.
This forum and this site is really wonderful and helping me a lot.
Loads and loads of thanks to Yogani provide this info on internet free of charge and that too without taking in a position of Guru...I really love you Yogani for what you have been doing. thanks!
Lots of Love and Light
Viji |
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vijikr
United Arab Emirates
413 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 06:58:12 AM
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Hi shanthi that was awesome video I too felt like him to some extent but what I did other than that is I piled up the pain and didn't let go so what it did to me was/is Iam having high blood pressure.
I guess here yogis and yogani any help on that will be great. I guess my heart chakra is blocked and that wh I am having blood pressure.
Love and Light
Viji |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 04 2009 : 08:12:51 AM
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Hi Viji,
I am sure you already know this, but please do not stop your medication for your high blood pressure. Many tend to think Yoga will take care of it all and stop medications and get into trouble.
Yogani says: quote:
http://www.aypsite.org/29.html
Prescription drugs are a different story. Stay with your doctor's instructions on those. If you think a prescription drug you are taking is interfering with meditation, talk to your doctor. See if there is some way to accommodate both your medical need and your meditation need.
If you feel your heart is blocked, then heart breathing may help. It is a powerful technique, so if you do add it in, go slow with it.
There are some techniques suggested by Jim here that may help you. |
Edited by - Shanti on Mar 04 2009 10:22:22 AM |
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Drop till "You" Drop.
