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cpagal
United Arab Emirates
8 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 01 2023 : 8:24:10 PM
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Hello all, I am new to the site. It used to come up in my searches all the time. I did not realize the wealth of information that is available here.
A bit about myself: I was raised in a household where I was exposed to advaita vedanta and bhakti through my father. Over the years, I have been listening to talks about the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. I have engaged in different styles of meditation but it made me too passive so I had to let the practice go. I am already of a sluggish constitution.
The one thing that has stuck on over the years is yoga practice. I have done some form of yoga most of my life and most recently, I have found iyengar yoga to be of great help. I feel like i am aging prematurely and iyengar yoga helps me a lot in controlling my pain. I recently went to a class in India which has helped me manage my pain from my eye problems, hormonal problems, cervical spondylosis as well as lumbar disc bulges.
I am soon to be initiated into Kriya yoga by Sri M. I have a lot of apprehension about this. I already struggle to do my yoga practice. Sometimes it's hard to get motivated after a long bout of illness. It also takes a long time each day and lots of props. Now how am I to add Kriya to this state of affairs. I long to be initiated and sincerely want to speed up my spiritual journey, yet I am also tired and wonder how it will all work out.
Am I just overthinking it? Should I just go ahead and do it? I appreciate that I have access to this site and access to the wealth of information contributed by all you glorious members!
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cpagal
United Arab Emirates
8 Posts |
Posted - Jan 03 2023 : 07:09:31 AM
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Blanche
USA
859 Posts |
Posted - Jan 03 2023 : 2:19:47 PM
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Hi cpagal,
What works is what we practice. Often, we do not see results because we do not practice regularly for enough time. If we do not practice, we cannot expect any stable results. Regular practice gives regular results, random practice - random results, no practice - no results. That being said, what should you practice?
Start somewhere, and fine tune your practice from there. You know that asanas work, so practice that, maybe 10-20 minutes every day. Iyengar style could be quite challenging if you are not adept to it, but if you feel motivated to do that, just do it. Or look at the AYP asana program and hold each asana for a couple of minutes. During the pandemics, some people practiced asanas following a yoga teacher on youtube. As you hold the poses, pay attention to your breath, to how your body feels, to the subtle body with currents of energy in nadis and chakras, to the gentle shifts in your emotions and mind. This should take care of any boredom, opening the doors to the vast inner spaces.
After asanas, pick up a meditation style and practice it. AYP mantra meditation works. If you already have a meditation practice, just do it regularly, at the same time, at the same place if you can, twice a day. You are right that meditation is passive at the level of the mind. But we are so much more than the mind. It is ok to let the mind rest in meditation. Then we see that meditation is not passive. It is effortless. Practice and find what this is for yourself.
I have heard good things about Sri M, but I have not been initiated in Kriya yoga in this lifetime. If I were you, I would explore to find out more about the fear of initiation. Until that is resolved, it would be good to refrain from the initiation. Discover that this fear is about, then decide if you want the initiation. Initiation makes a connection and point to the path. It is up to you to practice it and follow the path and transformed. Nobody else can do it for you.
Life is so short, there is no time to waste. You are lucky to have yoga knowledge and skills. You have to put them in practice for your good and for everybody else. For the entire world. This is serious, every one of us matters, everyone who awakens impacts the world. Start your new life now.  |
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cpagal
United Arab Emirates
8 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2023 : 06:20:40 AM
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Thank you for your message Blanche. It was very motivating.
I kept listening to M's talks on Youtube.There were a couple of videos where I realized that there was no way M could be a fraud. He was talking about his direct experience and exploration of the nature of suffering in one video and in the other he spoke about working to make the mind single-pointed in attention. These are all telling me that he is genuine. Also the internet is peppered with testimonials of people's success after his initiation. Although there are a few accusations, those people have nothing to back it up and they seem to be associated with some type of propaganda. M has recently brokered a peace deal between two political parties in Kerala which averted riots and hundreds of lives being lost. If by these actions, one can't decide about a guru, then I don't know if any confirmation can be had at all.
I tried to compare him with Ramana. My mind was telling me that if were real, the whole world would go to him and not the other way around. But then I realized that I was contradicting myself by wanting the guru to come to me, knowing the fact that I would not be able to travel to find one, unless I were to renounce everything. |
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Dogboy
USA
2193 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2023 : 12:52:44 AM
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| I would recommend walking at a steady, sustainable pace, without earbuds. Traveling through time and space, your footfalls and breath synchronize naturally, you are quiet and taking inventory of weight distribution in the body, where thoughts and feelings arise. You are raising your heart rate and softening your focus. Whatever arises, you acknowledge and dissolve out the third eye. A lot of yoga of choice can happen in this body framework. You can consider it self initiation. |
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How do I incorporate kriya into my existing routin
