Abhyāsa Series - 4: Lethargy/ Sluggish Energy Stages - Skeleton Technique

Abhyasa means Practise in Sanskrit. prounouced as abh-ya-sa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xWL9CVdmkk

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This is the sequel to Abhyāsa Series - 3: Database of the obstacles

All the posts enlisted here are hyperlinked in the above post.

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Sluggish or Lethargy energy is a primordial energy. It is part of Tamo guna (retardive influence).

It attacks us every day, morning, noon, night. 

As I write this, I am attacked by this energy. There are several ways to handle it depending on each psyche and thier exposure to extremities.

I will share some simple techniques, I use to deal with such energy depending on the intensity:

1. Mild Intensity Sluggish Energy:

1. Sit or lie down in the sofa or chair, extend your legs and neck facing up for blood to flow to the head.  (as shown in picture)
2. Standing continuously draws blood to the feet, lying down releases the pressure on limbs and spine and relaxed the head. (keep the feet off the ground)
3. Slowdown the thinking and gather your mind for 10-30 mins and now go to practice

Eg: Mental exhaustion, work overload, minor indigestion, minor travel

2. Medium Intensity Sluggish Energy:

1. Close your eyes and Focus on joints which is storing and radiating the sluggish energy
2. The joints which are stiff are the store house for sluggish energy
   1. Eg: I have sluggish energy stored in lower back or shoulder or knee joint, some stiffness or mild soreness will be there
3. Now, Act like a skeleton and move like Skeleton (not as a muscle or tissue bundle)
4. Beauty of Skeleton is, it is only made up of bones. Muscles are not there. For yogic purposes, big muscles have no use rather than to store apana.
5. Move the skelton body, using joints only, not even bones.
   1. Instruct the each joint to move by sitting at atma location
   2. Don't waste energy by sending signals to muscle or even bones or mid point of long bones
   3. The focus is only on joint
   4. Start the practice of breath infusion by hitting at every joint
   5. Do it for 20-30 minutes, the sluggish energy will vanish (I have done this several, several times)
   6.  And you thought of bunking the session, by now your are half way thru the session

After the practice, it will strike you again with same or less intensity sluggish but by now your practice is done, so who cares how it strike you now.

Eg: Food indigestion or heavy food, labor work, long distance travel

3. High Intensity Sluggish Energy:

1. Use the same Skeleton technique as mentioned above with few more additions. Skeleton technique is the base technique.
2. Crawl your skeleton to the place where your do yoga or yoga mat. (Because there is no enough strength to even stand)
3. Crawl there and lie there for sometime and relax the tiredness caused by crawling
4. Lie there looking at the mat, mentally prepare the practice going to happen no matter what happens
5. Read Madhva's bhagvad, Uddhava , Anu Gita or Hatha yoga prathipika or any other book for 20 mins. Take energy from those texts and start to practice slowly
6. Don't do any vigorous movements, start with sitting postures. Avoid standing postures, it can suck out more energy.
7. I generally go to virasana whenever sluggish energy strikes me hard, from there I clean up
8. All sluggish energy usually gets stored up in Pelvic bowl, this type of cleaning is an art
9. By mystic force if one knows how to pull up the apana or dense energy out of the system, the practice will be successful
10. This comes with practice in these situations

Eg of these situations: Medium to Viral fever, big indigestion, local anesthesia in mouth for root canal or similar level.

**Disclaimer: This is not a medical advice, this is a recording of my practice. One should gauge one's capacity and stage of the physical body and mental strength to do this technique.

4. Extremely high Sluggish Energy:

At this level, it is better not to do and skip the practice for the day.

For recording, I will leave this.

1. Same techniques as mentioned above.
2. Crawl or roll on the ground to go the spot wherever you choose to do the practice.
3. Heavy apana or dense energy is everywhere in the body, even the head can't stand in the torso but there is consciousness that's enough for this method.
4. Now, energy is depleted almost to nil but not nil
5. Now, I have asked energy from Shiva or Buddha entities to continue the practice.
   1. Energy is received on the basis of particular relationship and intention with respect to deities
6. Once the energy is received for the practice, next thing is one should know how to convert that potential energy into kinetic energy by putting into practice. By now, it should be known.
7. Remember, there is not enough human energy to put astral energy into practice
8. By this time, there must be a relationship to a particular asana. Some Asanas gives that relief from this side of existence.
   1. some texts says some asanas can cure snake bite or poisons or even git rid of death too. That could be true in olden days but not in modern days like this. Need to consult a physician. Hatha yoga prathipika is filled with such statements 
9. Having stated that, some asanas with the particular relationship to that particular individual atma or psyche can yield certain protection or relief to an extent. I cautiously state that.
10. I usually go into Virasana and then to Padmasana and countered extreme sluggish energy
11. In this case, there are instances when I was barely able to practice and then I would be practicing up to 1-3 hours. These are rare cases not a example to be followed.
12. Virasana has protected me from extreme sluggish or inertial energy and gained some balance for the moment. It is not an instant relief but eventual relief in few days if I persist with practice.

Eg of these situations: extreme viral or enteric fever, nausea

**Disclaimer: This is not a medical advice, this is a recording of my practice. One should gauge one's capacity and stage of the physical body and mental strength to do this technique. Middle or balanced path is better than these instances.