Complete front head shut down

Meditationtime Forum Post

Date: Posted 3 years before Oct 03, 2016

MiBeloved 3 years ago

This morning session of breath infusion was just fine. I was teaching a few students. In teaching breath infusion, the teacher has to be aware of what is happening in the bodies of the students and also what occurs in his own body. This allows for spontaneous adaption of various postures. Some of the postures come on spontaneously and might not have been used before.

I was asked by various students for a set routine. This is after they noticed that my postures change so that what I do in one session may not be repeated in the same sequences of postures ever again.

The practice varies from day to day based mainly on the influence of the sun and the moon, regarding how the air is surcharged with what percentage of sun and moon energy. This means that a teacher has to be sensitive to type of subtle energy which is available on any given day. The teacher should work to make the best use of whatever is available on a set day.

Internal tuning to know what is taking place in the body and in the psyche is an absolute must for a teacher, but when teaching others one should be aware of energy movements of surcharged breath force in their psyches.

A teacher may also do specific postures with infusion sessions which do not allow kundalini to rise in a big way but in a gradually way which novices can handle. As they advance more and more, they can be exposed to a full blown kundalini rise into the head.

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When I sat to meditate it was after ringing a gong for about 3minutes for the benefit of students. This helps those students who need to be centered or who have some distraction. It is well known that when one sits to meditate, the mind starts up its thought-imaging flash-show. This distracts a novice, who is then forced to work around the games played by the mind. With breath infusion the mind’s ability to distract is curtailed but there might be some residual thought-flashes. Hence the gong causes the mind to go into a no-thought generation state for some students.

When I sat to meditate I noticed that in my psyche there were no thoughts. I did not notice this for the first 3 or so minutes because of being attentive to ring a chime and checking on the students’ mental conditions.

This discovery of no thoughts is proof enough about the effectiveness of the breath infusion process in respect to completing the pratyahar sensual energy withdrawal fifth stage of yoga, just by the one act of the infusion session, something that may take hours of meditation practice with much failure and frustration if one were to do it as an internal mental practice.

I noticed that the core-self was in the lower back part of the subtle head. In that position there is total shut down of the frontal part of the subtle head. This is a real black-out of the frontal part, as if it has no energy stirring in it even on the most abstract level.

core-self in the lower back part of the subtle head

Neo_Yogi 3 years ago

MiBeloved wrote:

(…) This means that a teacher has to be sensitive to type of subtle energy which is available on any given day. The teacher should work to make the best use of whatever is available on a set day.

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

Yes, I understand the need for a set routine. It could be easy for a teacher, an advanced student or just sensitive people to feel subtle energies but what about us simple beginners?

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MiBeloved wrote:

When I sat to meditate it was after ringing a gong for about 3minutes for the benefit of students.

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

For my meditation sessions I use a phone application called Meditation Helper, it's free and it can be set up for ringing bells every certain time according to your needs.

MiBeloved 3 years ago

Neo_Yogi wrote:

Yes, I understand the need for a set routine. It could be easy for a teacher, an advanced student or just sensitive people to feel subtle energies but what about us simple beginners?

MiBeloved's Response:

Everything hinges on providence. If providence does not allow you to make yourself available for training, then who is to blame? Should we blame the teacher or you in this case, or just pile it on fate which is something we are tangling with every step of the way, in regards to where we take a body, where that body grows up, the opportunities which are available and so on?

If you are a beginner then you should go somewhere to get trained. If you cannot do that, then what can we do but realize that this is your miserable fate. Fate is supreme. But there are other situations where sometimes a teacher is available. He or she may be next door and then for one reason or the other, one cannot take instructions from that person anyway.

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Neo_Yogi wrote:

For my meditation sessions I use a phone application called Meditation Helper, it's free and it can be set up for ringing bells every certain time according to your needs

MiBeloved's Response:

This may work for you but we are old school and believe in doing things the old way. Too much dependence on technology is not good. If a machine or mechanism rings this for the students, then can the machine be sensitive to vary the beats of the chime according the feel of the energy on any said day. On some days when it is to ring for say 2 minutes or two seconds longer, will the machine know about this?

In addition I do not use a bell or chimes for my own session when I practice alone. I only use it at the start of a session where I am supervising the meditation of students. Normally I have no use for anything besides the naad internal free sound which is heard in the psyche.

Neo_Yogi 3 years ago

MiBeloved wrote:

Neo_Yogi's Response:

I don't blame anybody, not even fate. I'm just saying that a set of body movements, a sequence to follow when doing breath infusion for those who are not sensitive to the subtle energies yet would be nice. You tend to explain things just for advanced students. If that's your aim, good, just inform us and I'll retire. After all, as you said once, it's very easy for an advanced teacher to forget the obstacles one finds when s/he begins this spiritual trip.

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MiBeloved wrote:

Neo_Yogi's Response:

I just wanted to help, Michael, I'm not that dependent on technology either. Perhaps there was an old-old school that didn't even used bells to chime for meditation nor internet for teaching... but when something is useful, why not use it? If it's a matter of finding a teacher who can chime a bell at the right moment, then, very little one can do.

MiBeloved 3 years ago

Neo,

Alfredo is the right person to address this issue of your request for

a set of body movements, a sequence to follow when doing breath infusion for those who are not sensitive to the subtle energies yet.

Yoga practice keeps moving and each person, each student, keeps abreast with the level he or she attained. Various students are at different levels and require instructions which are suited to their condition.

I will consult with Alfredo and perhaps with Surya to see if we can tackle this issue.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

unlimitedsun 3 years ago

Neo,

Interesting! I have been using the same android app for over a year. It's pretty neat, and the best I found for this purpose. You can even get the total duration of your sittings over time, and preset several different sitting times. It is very useful for me because I need to conclude my session by a certain time, get up and finish up whatever I need before rushing to work.

So I can relax in my meditation knowing that the bells will alert me, otherwise I have to keep distracted thinking that I may get late to work; not an option. Necessity is mother of inventions. On weekends, since I don't work and can take my sweet time; well no need for it.

As for a routine, initially it is true that one needs or wants a routine to go by. So the videos come handy for that. I remember years ago when I was dealing with that very situation, there were no videos. Anecdotally, I had to ask Michael's daughter for his picture before living at the conclusion of my week's stay with them in Florida.

So Christopher Hall aka Yogi Kripamaya explained and showed me how to do what he called stick drawings of the postures, for I can't draw prople for nothing. He said that he had done many such drawings himself. As for Michael, well that is one Swami who was just doing what he does and you find way to make it work for you.

Thinking back, while I was there another yogi Kurt and his family came by to pick up the practice. I was exercising with them, and Michael had skipped the back flexing posture; I interjected to mention it so that they get to apply and learn it also. I thought that a routine was to be respected, and adhered to some extent.

Really, it is only before one starts a regular practice, because shortly afterwards you start to remember the sequence of asanas. As time progresses the routine is modified pretty much at will or as needed. In my case depending on the areas or aspects I feel I need to work more on. And ultimately, there comes the time when intuition, prana, the energies ... will guide the movement. Then the process is being internalized.

Keep up the good work, and don't you talk about retirement! We're just getting started. We are not advanced so it is true that Yogiraja's explanations or clarifications can be unsatisfactory and frustrating. What has been second nature to him for so long is still counterintuitive to us.

Neo_Yogi 3 years ago

MiBeloved wrote:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

Thank YOU for your patience & understanding.

_/\_

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Alfredo wrote:

Sell the iPhone, etc, and come over for training, Vedic style.

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

I wish it was so easy to make the move!

And it's just a cheap android phone and a cheap laptop running Ubuntu Linux, I don't believe in fancy stuff.

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Unlimitedsun wrote:

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

Exactly! That's the purpose for which I've been using it since I found it.

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Unlimitedsun wrote:

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

Yes, I understand it; it's like when one starts to learn Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskara): at first one has to re-read many times the instructions or even see the pictures a couple of times while doing it.

The thing with breath infusion is that, according to the Acharya, one has to take the energy there where is needed in the body but, as a beginner, I don't feel this energy yet; I don't know what or how I'm supposed to feel it so when the Acharya talks about moving, distributing or compressing the air or energy to a certain area, I feel helpless, lost, not knowing what to do...

Michael says that the energy must be balanced in every area of the body and, since a beginner cannot know which area is more needed in his/her body at that time, perhaps -I thought- someone could provide a sequence where every important area in the body is looked after so the whole body gets balanced and ready for the meditation session which comes afterwards.

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Unlimitedsun wrote:

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

Thank you for your kindness and support.

unlimitedsun 3 years ago

Folks I wish I were technologically stingy as per your examples, but I now have a Galaxy Note II. C'mon Bernard my techie guru to the rescue...

Oh Neo, now I understand more of your predicament. Sorry I missed quite a few posts as of late, on account of unusually challenging times; I intend to eventually go back in time one day...

So your frustration (if it is one) must be deeper than I initially thought. It is a bit difficult for me to share with you because if you previously detailed your challenge(s) I missed them.

What you are expressing that you want to accomplish presumes a correct application of other aspects of the practice that I do not know if you possess. It is important in the long run to make sure that previous steps are properly assimilated, especially in long distance gathering solely through writing.

It is a simple inquiry and concern, as you first indicate that you do not feel the energy. Then, what to speak of distributing or channeling that energy... Detecting the energy is not a lack of sequence or routine necessarily. I can appreciate that you may have attempted to address it that way following this initial post, as just another way of furthering your understanding in this aspect.

And, when all that is done nicely (detecting it, and channeling it) then one sits to meditate properly! But are you kidding me? Is it really that easy? You're right Acharya postulates as if it were, and as if we should all be doing that. Impossible! He constantly advises that it takes time and can take years.

Replies (1)

· Arpana Ukkund

· 2016-10-03T10:33:22+0000
Continued from above.......

However, his approach is to make the information available as it comes, and we take it and toss it around just as we are doing right now. So all is well.

Back to this elusive energy. Most important now in my opinion at this stage of detection is to determine efficiency vs effectiveness. The first focus is to do whatever is done at this stage right, with proper applications and approach versus what are all the right things to do. It is the same in learning many other arts or techniques.

Of course all along one does the full cycle of some routine and then meditation. But just like for anyone and any session or any day the emphasis is where the need is. In that sense yoga practice is yoga practice regardless of level, even a first timer is doing the same thing that consists of focusing on needed work in order to advance. Am I understanding you? Please redirect as needed.

Neo_Yogi 3 years ago

Unlimitedsun wrote:

(…) And, when all that is done nicely (detecting it, and channeling it) then one sits to meditate properly! But are you kidding me? Is it really that easy? You're right Acharya postulates as if it were, and as if we should all be doing that. Impossible! He constantly advises that it takes time and can take years.

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

You are right; reading Alfredo's, DevaPriya's, or even your reports it sounds easy from here and I tend to forget that you all are advanced students and that's why it's so easy for you to follow Acharya's instructions and get good result instantly.

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Unlimitedsun wrote:

Back to this elusive energy. Most important now in my opinion at this stage of detection is to determine efficiency vs effectiveness. The first focus is to do whatever is done at this stage right, with proper applications and approach versus what are all the right things to do. It is the same in learning many other arts or techniques.

Neo_Yogi's Reply:

You might be right there too; perhaps, at my level of practice, one should focus only on doing the cycle movements (jumping, standings, bending, applying locks, etc.) until it becomes mechanical and only then one can focus his/her mind on the perception of these subtle energies.

However a proper sequence for beginners to follow is still wanted.

unlimitedsun 3 years ago

The videos can help with establishing a routine. But as for a video specifically geared towards beginners, I am not personally aware of such; but that does not mean that it is not there.

I would initially put the accent on the proper breathing format and application of the locks. Efficiently performing those two with some combination of yoga postures should yield some result.

The objective is to rid the system of negative elements or charges, that is done through the excess breathing while assuming different yoga postures; the latter allowing the targeting of various areas of the body.

Simply, I suggest making sure that what you are doing, you are doing right! There is little benefit in doing a cycle of movement mechanically otherwise. Especially should it have to be unlearned at a later time.

Would you like to provide some background as to your level of comfort in yoga practice? It is fine if you want to start another thread or use email, unlimitedsun@gmail.com

Alfredo 3 years ago

Neo_Yogi wrote:

[However a proper sequence for beginners to follow is still wanted.]

Alfredo's Reply:

This sequence is the one depicted in the video where I am with Michael while he is teaching. It is posted here and on You Tube. Then look at the other videos by the Acharya (one of them also on You Tube) and pick what suits you.

Postures are innumerable, basically. They will insinuate to you.

On the inhale, exhale, etc. My experience tells me it could be any of the 2. There is even a time when, at the end of a session, none of the 2 is used, but only relaxation, it all depends on the posture.

In general, the session of rapid breathing stop with an inhale in order to compress the lungs and force the air where you want it to go. For example, to the navel to spark Kundalini. Thus, typical kneeling asanas that we end, inhale and stand up are of this kind, now you squeeze your lungs and push the air into the navel and muladhara chakra. You must keep your eyes closed, to aid with concentration and tracking the subtle energy. You can send the compressed air anywhere in the body also.

Other postures, you will find it is better to stop at an exhale, and, using the lungs as a vacuum pump, squeeze out the last molecule of C02 from the lungs, before pushing the air into where you want it to go.

Thus, finally, the end of both stops at inhale or exhale is the same, but in the exhale one you first concentrate on taking out the CO2. In both cases above one may breathe without applying the locks and then apply all locks at the end.

The 3rd type, the relaxation, is good for that purpose, when it is natural to just relax the body after the session of rapid breathing. This comes naturally, and perhaps some of the most awkward postures at first ask for this approach.

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Let me illustrate further the principle of sequence in relation to ending a session with an inhale or exhale, this using the same common posture.

Perhaps the most common posture taught by the Acharya for beginners (besides the kneeling one with the bent back) is the kneeling one with the toes curled and pressing down the fingers on each side. The action of the fingers, as explained in other posts, is to fool the lungs into taking as much air as possible (as if you were jogging).

How do we finish it? Inhale, exhale, or relaxation? It depends, any of the 3.

Option 1: We do a session, then exhale and apply the locks and push the air and check within to see where the energy travels.

Option 2: We do a session, then rapidly stand up while inhaling, apply the locks tightly and push the air into the navel or check within to see where the energy travels.

Option 3: We do a session, then relax the body and hands by doing the hand-relaxation exercises.

There are even more options. In other words, there is certain space within a few rules.