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Dear Friends,
Greetings and welcome to the August 2016 of the Mastery of Meditation and Yoga newsletter.
Quote of the Month:
Here is a wonderful Ramana Maharishi quote to inspire you to stay aware and realize your True Divine Nature.
Ramana Maharishi
“Become conscious of being conscious. Say or think “I am”, and add nothing to it. Be aware of the stillness that follows the “I am”. Sense your presence, the naked unveiled, unclothed beingness. It is untouched by young or old, rich or poor, good or bad, or any other attributes. It is the spacious womb of all creation, all
form.” ~ Ramana Maharishi
This Edition Features :-
- Yogic Breathing for Energy and Purification
- Top 5 Articles on Willpower & Discipline
- Don't miss the latest articles on top right.
Much Love,
Anmol
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Yogic Set for Energy and Purification
The 3 pranayamas (yoga breathing techniques) that make up this wonderful set are in and of themselves very effective exercises. Each of them can be used independently to provide the many benefits they bestow and are a key part of many of the free online yoga classes offered on the web site.
In today’s set though I will combine these 3 pranayamas to provide a particularly powerful effect, which will help purify and cleanse your systems as well as infuse you with tremendous energy.
This set is called, Yoga Breathing for Purification and the 3 techniques that make it up are…
This combination is quite unusual and as you will experience it will create a great deal of energy within you and then allow the energy to propel itself internally.
Benefits:
- Increase lung capacity and improve the respiratory system
- Bestow peace and tranquility
- Energize the body and revitalize the organs
- Improve circulation
- Purify the subtle energy channels
- Increase mind power and inner strength
Cautions:
- As this set involves breath retention you should only do as much as comfortable and not push too hard. Especially you will notice that after the vigorous exercises, when you do Anuloma Viloma you can have a lot of inner pathways bursting with energy and prana, so please be sensible in your approach.
- If you feel dizzy or nauseous when doing Bhastrika Pranayama or Staccato breathing, back off and either take a break or if its mild substitute with long deep breathing.
- Start off slowly with regard to the timings and build up as you get stronger and your capacity increases.
How to do the 3 Breathing Exercises:
Bhastika Pranayama has been explained in detail in the following article, so please study that for details: Yoga Breathing Exercise to Burn Fat.
Staccato Breathing: Staccato breathing is segmented breathing done in the following way. You will break up the inhalation into 5 parts. Which means that you will take 5 small sniffs through the nose, one after the other, to complete 1 inhalation. Make sure by the 5th sniff you have filled your lungs to capacity. Then you will breathe out forcefully through the mouth in one explosive exhalation to empty the
lungs of air.
So these 5 sniffs will make 1 inhalation and then 1 exhalation through the mouth makes up 1 round. The number of rounds you will do is explained below.
Anuloma Viloma has been explained in detail in the following article, so please study that for details: Chakra Balancing Yoga Pranayama. For the purpose of this set we are using a slight variation of this technique and that is explained below in the instructions. Also, here is the You Tube link to Anuloma
Viloma Pranayama:-
https://youtu.be/QHSQNJHsdtY
Purification Set Instructions:
Beginner’s Version:
Do 10 rounds of Bhastrika Pranayama at a normal pace.
Do 10 rounds of Staccato Breathing.
Do Anuloma Viloma (Alternate Nostril Breathing) in the following sequence.
Breath in through left nostril, breathe out through right nostril, breathe in through right nostril, breathe out through left nostril.
Each segment should take 5 seconds, so count slowly from 1 to 5 as you do each part (20 seconds to complete 1 round). Do 3 rounds in this manner.
Once you are comfortable with doing the above sequence, move on to the next stage.
Intermediate Version:
Build up Bhaktrika Pranayama to 1 minute at a fast pace.
Build up Staccato Breathing to 1 minute.
Build up Anuloma Viloma to 3 minutes.
Advanced Version:
Build up Bhaktrika Pranayama to 3 minutes at a fast pace.
Build up Staccato Breathing to 3 minutes.
Do 8 rounds of Anuloma Viloma with the following variation.
Note each round will take 40 seconds.
- Inhale through left nostril counting slowly from 1 to 5.
- Hold your breath in for count of 5.
- Exhale through right nostril counting slowly from 1 to 5.
- Hold your breath out for count of 5.
- Inhale through right nostril counting slowly from 1 to 5.
- Hold your breath in for count of 5.
- Exhale slowly through left nostril counting slowly from 1 to 5.
- Hold your breath out for count of 5.
After doing the advanced version I suggest resting in corpse pose for 3 minutes to let the body assimilate the benefits of this set.
Conclusion:
The set can be practiced up to 2 times a day, morning or evening. It is also fine to just practice it once if that is what your schedule allows for.
I do want to mention that this set is quite powerful when done correctly using the advanced techniques. Especially doing Anuloma Viloma at the end. You could have some profound experiences during that stage, but as it uses breath retention I want to again mention that you should progress gently. Listen to your body and heart and don’t push too far too fast.
Top 5 Articles on Willpower & Discipline:
Below are five articles which all look at what willpower and discipline really are, whether or not we need them to achieve our goals & dreams, and if we can use yoga practices to build willpower & discipline.
#1: Yoga Technique to Increase Willpower
http://anmolmehta.com/increase-willpower-yoga-exercise/
There are many traditional yoga exercises that are indicated for those interested in improving their willpower and overall mental strength. Many of these techniques work on the navel region, which is the location of the Manipura or Navel Chakra and is responsible for one's willpower and strength of character.
I though have another recommendation for you if you are looking to build your willpower and inner strength, and that exercise is Yoga for Nerve Power.
http://anmolmehta.com/kundalini-yoga-pose-inner-strength/
A core concept in all religions, which is also very much a part of Kundalini Yoga, is the idea other mindedness. This simple, yet invaluable idea, is simply that we ought to not just live for ourselves, but also ought to find ways to have the strength and energy to help others. Well, the following Kundalini Yoga pose makes it possible for you to
integrate this beautiful concept right into your yoga practice.
#3: Effective Visualization Technique to Manifest Your Desires and Dreams
http://anmolmehta.com/visualization-technique-manifest-dreams-desires/
There are many powerful visualization techniques and visualization meditations which you can wield to help you create your reality, and the one I will discuss in this article is one of the simplest, yet most effective techniques out of all these.
http://anmolmehta.com/powerful-yoga-for-bulding-self-confidence-june-exercises/
Self Confidence is a key, not just for success in manifestation, but also a key for making genuine spiritual progress. We all know the important part confidence plays in ordinary life, allowing you to make great strides in your personal development, career, relationships, etc, but in the spiritual realm self confidence is equally important. In the spiritual realm you have to have
confidence in your ability to work your way through the illusion of duality and the ensuing suffering, and the self belief that you will be able to find your way out of the chaos. At the end of day, as I have often said, enlightenment is a path walked alone.
So how can we build our self confidence? What can we do to develop our courage and self belief so we can be fearless in our approach to life? There are many methods and techniques for building this kind of confidence, and in this article I will give you some yoga and meditation approaches to achieve this goal.
http://anmolmehta.com/stop-the-madness-of-self-discipline/
Everywhere you look nowadays the new holy grail of success seems to be self-discipline. From, diet plans, to sports, to the stock market, to the arts and also, most unfortunately, even in the practice of meditation, yoga and the related spiritual sciences. Raw material enters boot camp, is put through the patented regiment, and out comes a finished product. Discipline yourself to eat
right, exercise right so you can get healthy, discipline yourself to sleep less so you have more productive time, discipline yourself to sit endlessly hour after hour watching your breath so you can gain enlightenment.
Is this the way? Is self-discipline necessary? I don't think so. Let me tell you a story...
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