Modern Gurus: Ram Das

MODERN GURUS!-FALLEN GURUS?

Ramm Das...

False Gurus and Scandals

Yoga: A State of Mind?????

Yogic Values: Do they Transfer into the Real World of Activism?

• interdependence
• nonviolence
• community

QUESTIONS:

• Can we transition from a personal practice to a collective form of social change?
• Should we? Is this yoga?
• Should yoga be "in the world"?
• does yoga make us more intuitive and therefore empathetic?
• Is Yoga about "articulating another way of viewing the world"? 
• Does yoga see a difference between what you are doing and how you are doing it? (BG/p.166)

Connections:

• Is our "freedom" tethered to the freedom of others?
• is "non-attachment" the key to intimacy and "engagement"?
• Karma (effect in all actions) is a metaphor for what we are doing to the environment (great for Earth day!!)
•  Is non-attachment the ability to shift viewpoints?
• Happiness comes from the "service of others"? Or from "inside our selves"?
• self-centered happiness is an oxymoron

Yamas, Niyamas and the New Economy

• ahimsa (nonviolence) I am not separate from all that is
• satya-(truthfulness) listening, acting and speaking from the heart
• asteya-(non-stealing) being satisfied with what you have
• brachmacharya -encountering all creatures with respect and dignity
• aparigraha (non-greed) -using all ingredients in life without clinging

 Is Yoga Messing With Your Mind? 

The Language of Yoga

• energy
• chakras
• auras

 Advaita Vendanta Redefined! (Go USA!)

• Yoga is when you feel good
• the body and mind are one entity, so working on the mind IS working on the body
• all negative thought and emotion is a projection of one's mind (consciousness generates reality)
• Moral relativism of yoga (its anything you want it to be!!!)

Is yoga a religion? Is Energy a religion?

“To answer this question, I look to the roots of yoga. Traditionally, yoga is the science of the Self. Yoga seeks to help us understand our inner world through various techniques that include med­itation, asanas, breathing, focused awareness, and certain rules of behavior and conduct. If by religion we mean the religious experience of transcendence, the loss of fear of death, and the emergence of platonic qualities such as truth, beauty, goodness, harmony, and evolution, then yes, yoga can give us a religious experience. It is not religion in the form of ideology, dogma, belief systems, or compliance; it’s a spiritual experience that gives us access to a universal domain of reality.”

Cultural Appropriation 

• 
  

—Deepak Chopra, MD, Founder of The Chopra Foundation, author, public speaker, physician, La Jolla, California

“Yoga, though not a religion in the traditional sense, was adopted and utilized by every religious tradition that emerged from Vedic India, including Buddhism and Hinduism. Yoga lays out the means to overcome suffering and achieve self-realization. For those with a theological orientation, that could be rephrased as, ‘To overcome suffering and achieve God-realization.’”

—Gary Kraftsow, Founder and director of the American Viniyoga Institute in Oakland, California

“We have been born. We will die. In the meantime, what do we do with this life? Yoga offers us a darshana: a view or approach to engaging this question with our whole self, body, breath, and mind. Yoga teaches us that we can live in intimate relationship with all that is, and it provides practices to help us recognize and eliminate the obstacles to doing that. Religion? Maybe. For sure, yoga is goodness and beauty.”

—Cyndi Lee, Author of Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, Lynchburg, Virginia

“My practice doesn’t frame yoga as a religion, as I think that invites a bias that belies the great possibilities of yoga: liberation from dogma and from entrenched ideas about the Self and the world. But is the practice of yoga spiritual? For me, absolutely—it’s the ground from which I cultivate wonder and generosity. And the ritualistic aspect can guide us into intimacy with ourselves and others that we might not otherwise find.”

—Sarah Trelease, Yoga Journal reader and co-director of Practice and Presence: Integrated Yoga Teacher Trainings in Portland, Oregon

“There is something irreplaceable about the group dynamic with yoga, something I think organized religion provides at its very best. It is this sense of community that gives yoga a religious element, but one that is not bogged down in the rules of how you must follow it.”

—Doug Schnitzspahn, Yoga Journal reader and editor of Elevation Outdoors, Boulder, Colorado

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Yoga & War

• Do Yogis have a responsibility to create a more just world?
• Is Yoga SUBVERSIVE in this way?
• if so, the insight of spiritual practice must be translated through the unique social and ideological frameworks of the practitioner into ACTION
• spiritual practice alone is not enough to inform people about the pressing social challenges of the day let alone do something about them
• are yoga people particularly ILL INFORMED? 

• Buddhism & War
• Buddhism supported the Japanese imperial empire
• Yogis in India supported the caste system and opposed Ghandi's reforms
• Yoga and the US MILITARY?
• ability to focus to kill better
• PTSD
• TILTON STORY

• Corporate Yoga
• better defraud people?
• Does Yoga need an ETHICAL CONTEXT?
• what should it be?
• ___________________________________________
• Yoga & Ethics ....hmmmm SOCIAL MEDIA
• Is yoga more about IDENTITY (in its incipient stages of growth in the West) than it is about SERVICE?
• Does yoga have a COMMUNITY? An organization which strives to engage itself in a positive way in the wider world?
• Has Western notions of INDIVIDUALITY and INDIVIDUALISM spawned a "private self" which runs counter to creating a culture of service?
• (Julian Jaynes) "modern consciousness" : a private self which seeks enlightenment and can dissociate from its ecology in the "ecstasy of personal concern" (ME)
• where is the sense of the public self, the social self, the political self, the ecologically dependent self, the empathetic self? Are they absent from modern yoga?
• WHAT IS SELFLESS SERVICE? (Can we do it here?)
hmmm....copied this from facebook! check out the initial comments from the famous empathic yogis. hmmm..Krista is the Hardtail apparel model always pictures half naked. Hardtail is not ethically produced clothing. (just for a bit of background). Abby...WAY TO GO!...(that is my "like"). Pointing out hypocracy is touchy with yogis.

Brockandkrista Cahill commented on this.



Brockandkrista Cahill shared Fighters Against Animal Cruelty's photo.
1 hr ·
I would love to see this man on death row! What a douche bag! New York Jets suck, can't believe they would hire a massive lowlife!!



UPDATE!! PETITION ADDED..PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE POST..
https://www.change.org/petitions/michael-vick-go-away-mike-vick?fb_action_ids=740415245998979&fb_action_ty...
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• 3 people like this.
• 

  Lora Lennon signed..

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  Carole Ly Sing Lao Signed and shared

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  Leeah Taylor SIGNED. While banning from the NFL doesn't seem like anywhere near a harsh enough punishment to me, it's a place to start…

  1 hr · Like
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  Marisa Flores Sikes done...makes me sick!

  1 hr · Like
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  Jessica Crow signed

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  Katja Wargin can't believe Nike is sponsoring him again with millions of dollars. If that's what they stand for as a company, I am for one not buying their products.

  1 hr · Like · 1
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  Abby Klein Shiner he did serve 2 years jail time for his crimes. and though his actions were heinous and cruel, it's important to recognize that this is complex. he conducted actions in a poor community where gambling based dog fighting rings, like the ring he funded, h...See More

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  Katja Wargin @Abby, I just feel there are many other inspiring athletes nike could endorse.

  1 hr · Like
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  Leeah Taylor 2 years of jailtime for this is not enough in my opinion… the entire community of dog fighting is horrific. Anyone that could harm an animal this way deserves one hellofa punishment (and it's far more than 2 years in jail).

  1 hr · Like · 1
• 

  Brockandkrista Cahill He is not a fit role model for young men looking up to nfl stars. Personally, there is no forgiveness for anyone who harms an animal. He showed no mercy with countless dogs. Fuc@ him. He should b made an example in the NFL for animal rights!

  39 mins · Like
• 
PSYCHOSOMATIC OBSTACLES to the formation of community:
• practice has often been antisocial
• resistant to householding
• resistant to the bondage of human attachments
• denying rules of caste
• breaking social patterns
• Yoga as Trauma-Response to Bicameral Breakdown (Jaynes)
• people use yoga as a retreat from the stressful moments in their lives
• a negotiation of the shift between pre-modern and modern consciousness and living - it is in some ways a way to avoid the interactions in the present world. To deny changes or refuse them
• prior to agriculture, humans felt little agency in the world. They were PART OF NATURE, they had little sense of personal decision making or self assertion
• agriculture and the growth of populations and economies of trade and intercultural interaction leads to skills of NEGOTIATION, SYMBOL MANIPULATION and MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES.
• The TRUTH is no longer obvious but found negotiated in social interactions
• new questions
• who am I?
• what is true?
• why can't we go back to a similar time? when we knew?
• yoga answers these by retreating from the world to a simpler time
• PATANGALI is about this disconnect from the natural world found in SANKHAYAN DUALISM
• purusha is not prakriti
• escape plan (eight limbs)
• is CLASSICAL YOGA RELEVANT AT ALL????in our modern world. or do we NEED to engage?
• or is self generated PEACE enough to change the world passively?
• The legacy
• dissociative trauma
• ECOLOGICAL STRESS DISORDER? (anxious burnout of climate change activists)
• THE SECRET (psycho-PONZI scheme)
• OMG...take a look at yoga people's inspirational facebook quotes every day!
• yoga offers FASHIONABLE INNER PEACE to a small entitled fraction of humanity
• PROBLEMS:
• no infrastructure
• arc of self-therapy
• what can we do?
• practitioners
• study yourself
• measure your spiritual evolution by your capacity for social participation
• work toward an equal balance of self and other care
• studios
• give in the community with your revenues
• work with other studios
• sliding fees
• income and charitable classes
• share your space with the community
• kitchen to eat
• CSA
• family programming
• bring people in to your community
• service projects
• be honest
YOGA, ACTIVISM & IDENTITY! what do you think?

The energetic Locks: Mudras and Bandhas

Mudra

Mudra is a Sanskrit term that describes the category of hand gestures used,especially during on, to facilitate the balancing of a person's vital energy. The mudra is a gentle form of self-energy balancing or self-pranic healing. The positions of the hand digits direct the life energy (vital energy, prana).So the subtle pressure from the digits balances the body as does self. As you practice with mudras, you will sense the energy flow. Usually it will feel like buzzing from your fingers. It may be a sensation of numbness, hot, or cold as well.You may also think of mudra as a hand gesture version of positive mental affirmation. So you may use the mudra with your meditation practice to increase the effectiveness of your meditation. You may, as well, practice the mudra throughout the day to balance your energy flow, thereby working to improve your total wellbeing. In summary, the performance of mudras is an alternative wellness energy balancing methodology that has no ill effects, costs nothing to do, can be very effective, is easy to perform.

Ahamkara mudra

This mudra is used to strengthen self-confidence and assertiveness. It is a helpful mudra to practice for those of us who are timid, fearful, or introverted. Remember yoga is about moderation. We do not want to eliminate completely aspects of ourselves. There are times when expression of the ego are necessary and this mudra helps us to strengthen our ego while helping us to express it appropriately.

The tip of the thumb is brought to the first joint of the index finger and the hand is help palm side up. The forefinger therefore extends beyond the thumb(the symbol of God) , facilitating the development of the Jupiter(the forefinger represents Jupiter) energy of expansion and ego personality.

Buddhi mudra

This mudra is an enlightenment gesture that works to blend the spiritual energies and the ego. It quiets the mind and regenerates the neuro-biochemical system. So this is an excellent mudra for those of us who are: having trouble sleeping; are too wound up; have manic episodes (this mudra is not intended to replace comprehensive medical care); experiencing complete hormonal collapse(such as hypo- or hyper- throidism, adult-onset diabetes); are depressed.

Although one generally performs mudras with both hands, this is one mudra that requires both hands being used at the same time for the mudra. Both hands are facing palm up. The backs of the fingers are placed so that they are touching. The forefingers of each hand are brought to each thumb and form the Om mudra placement while the remaining fingers gently touch each other while being held in a relaxed fashion.

Cup mudra

This mudra focuses on helping you balance your right-left energies. It promotes balance of the male-female energies. This mudra is almost always utilized with the hatha yoga meditative poses.

This is another two hand mudra. The palms are facing upward with the thumbs touching each other at the tips. Then one set of fingers is placed on top of the other set of fingers. The order is to match the yoga asana. You would place the right hand on top of the left hand if the right leg is on top of the left leg and vice-versa.

Gnana mudra

This mudra promotes the development of wisdom while quieting the ego. In a way it is the opposite of the Ahmakara mudra. It is ,therefore, helpful for those of us who are very strong with ego development and may be overly aggressive in our day to day activities.

The performance of this mudra is as you would think. The tip of the thumb passes the tip of the forefinger. The tip of the forefinger is brought to the first joint of the thumb.

Gomukha mudra

Like the Cup mudra, this mudra is used with primarily the meditative poses. It is different in that the focus of this mudra is the balance of the physical body and the mind, rather than the right-left energies.

The palms face upward and the thumbs and fingers interlock. The right thumb represents the body and the left thumb represents the mind. While performing this mudra, you may change the position of the thumbs so that the tips touch each other or alternate the interlock so that the thumbs alternate being on top. If you want to use only one position, use the position that feels most awkward. The awkwardness indicates the need for balance by using this position.

Namaste mudra

This mudra indicates respect and humility. It is used often as a greeting to others. The greeting indicates that your soul bows to the other persons. It is similar to the head bow in that aspect.

This is performed by placing the palms together with the fingers extended and the thumbs next to each other. The arms are bent and the hands are placed at heart level. This positioning of hands and arms is often used by Christians as they take communion.

Om Mudra

This hand gesture is performed by bringing the ends of the thumb and forefinger together while having the palms face up.

This is intended to blend the life forces to balance and to bring you closer to real time peacefulness.

Prithvi mudra

This mudra is used to give stability. It is used to maximize the beneficent effects of Saturn. This mudra is excellent to use when you are feeling scattered or out of control of your life.

First perform the Om mudra(bring the forefinger and thumb tips together with palms upward). Then turn the mudra downward, so that the palms are facing downward. Sometimes the fingers are separated at this time. Again work the position that feels most awkward.

Shanti mudra

This mudra is a healing mudra. I use it as part of my pranic healing sessions to balance the affected person?s energies. Yogis also use this mudra to bless their food before they eat it to strengthen the positivity of the meal.

The mudra is performed by placing the middle finger(Saturn finger) on the fingernail of the index finger(Jupiter finger).

Yoni mudra (we did this Wednesday :))

This mudra is used as part of the concentration practices.It helps you focus on your inner being by blocking off the access to the external environment with your fingers covering your openings. To perform this mudra you place your thumbs over your ears,index fingers over closed eyelids(at the base of the eyeball),middle fingers at the nostrils,little fingers at the lower lips. The fingers are over the sense organ openings gently. This is an advanced mudra. Historically, if this is practiced with too much force on the sense organs, you can light the energy fire too quickly and cause mental imbalance. So, work with this mudra only after you have worked with pranayama for several months to years.

Bandha Mudras=BODY MUDRAS

In addition to the hand mudras, muscular contractions(bandha mudras) can be performed with the hatha yoga asana routines to strengthen the energy balancing effects of the postures and hand mudras. Different Sanskrit sources list different bandha mudras. The most frequently described bandha mudras are the following: maha mudra; nabho mudra; maha bandha; maha vedha mudra; khechari mudra; viparita karani mudra; yoni mudra; vajrali(vajroli)mudra; shakti chalani(chalana) mudra; tadagi(tadava) mudra;manduki(mandavi) mudra;shambhavi mudra; ashvini mudra; pashini mudra; kaki mudra; matangi mudra; bhujangini mudra; panchadharana[parthiva, ambhavi, vaishvanari, vayavi,akashi]; mula bandha; jalandara bandha; uddiyana bandha. A note of caution: Bandha mudras are generally considered to be intermediate to advanced practices of yoga.
Yoga Mudra

Vripritikorani Mudra (headstand & shoulderstand)

Maha Mudra

Method- Gently using the left heel to press between the external genitalia and anus. Spread the right leg and hold the foot with both hands. Close the nine openings of the body. Press the chin against the chest and practice breath control. Repeat using the right heel and spreading the left leg. Practice this bandha mudra bilaterally in rounds of three.

Purpose- The benefits of this mudra include: strengthening the effects of any hatha yoga routine practiced with this mudra; softening of the five klesha of men ignorance(avidya), excessive ego(asmita), desire or attachment(raga),enmity(dvesha), fear of death(abhinivesha); according to Sanskrit sources the physical health problems of enlarged spleen, fistulas,leprosy, urinary tract disorders.

Vital Energy: the Nadis, the Chakras, the Koshas and the Movement of Prana

THE BODY AS CENTRAL

• There is one truth: What is relative are our angles of comprehension and perception.

The masters of Tantra distinguish between two levels of understanding which correspond to two levels of reality.

• Laukika (Worldly point of view) - Belief in a solid material universe which is often corrupted 
• Adhyatmika which is informed by wisdom and leads one to the Truth - ultimate reality

Wisdom is superior to worldly knowledge because in the absence of guiding wisdom, worldly knowledge all too easily turns destructive. 

Samsara = nirvana 

• The finite world is really the infinite Reality - what we perceive to be the limited universe is fundamentally an illusion 

The Secret of Embodiment: MACROCOSM & MICROCOSM

• The body (deha) which stems from the verbal root dih - to smear or be soiled - hints at the defiled nature of the body. Yet, the same verbal root (dih) can also signify to anoint or that which is anointed.
• The older Sanskrit word for body which is sharira derive from the verbal root shri meaning to rest upon or support - here the body serves as a prop or framework by means of which the self can experience the world. This has led Tantrics to see the body as the "temple of the divine."
• Tantra has a body positive approach
• If the world is real, the body must be real as well
• If the world in essence is divine, so must the body be divine
• If the world is an aspect of the divine power of shakti, then our body is likewise a divine power of shakti 
• When we truly understand the body, we discover that it is the world which in essence is divine 
• Because the human body has a complex nervous system allowing higher expressions of consciousness it is especially valuable and seen as a ladder to liberation.

KAT (1.16-27) 

"After obtaining a human body, which is difficult to obtain and which serves as a ladder to liberation, who is more sinful than he who does not cross over to the Self?

Therefore, upon obtaining the best possible life form, he who does not know his own good is merely killing himself. 

How can one come to know the purpose of human life without a human body? 

One's self is the vessel for everything. 

Village, house, land, money, even auspicious and inauspicious karma can be obtained over and over again, but not a human body. 

For the purpose of obtaining knowledge, the virtuous purpose should preserve the body with effort. Knowledge aims at the yoga of meditation. He will be liberated quickly. 

What fool starts digging a well when his house is already on fire? So long as this body exists, one should cultivate truth. 

One should cultivate the highest good while the senses are not yet frail, suffering is not yet firmly rooted, and adversities have not yet become overwhelming." 

Human life is so extraordinarily precious because it can serve as a platform or ladder for self realization.

It is considered most auspicious to have achieved a human birth. More fortunate still is a human life in which we encounter a spiritual teacher and teaching that can potentially free us from repeated incarnations. Therefore, we must seize every opportunity to develop the art of self-understanding and self-transformation through yoga or Tantra. 

• Tantra takes the body seriously.       

YV (4.23-24) "For the ignorant person, this body is the source of endless suffering, but to the wise person, this body is the source of infinite delight. 

For the wise person, the body serves as a vehicle that can transport him swiftly in this world, and it is known as a chariot for attaining liberation and unending enjoyment. 

Since the body affords the wise person the experience of sound, sight, taste, touch, and smell as well as prosperity and friendship, it brings him gain."

• The body is a field in which we grow and harvest our experiences, which may be positive or negative, painful or pleasant. No experience need be devoid of merit. 
• Tapas = heat or intense experience.  In the Tantric tradition, one should go "towards the pain." Instead of shying away from pain one should pay full attention to it. It is an indicator of the store of available evolutionary energy in us. 
• Acute sensation can spur one to creativeness and a new level of being. The more mentally active one is, the less they are capable of pain. The half awake suffer most. The most intensely attentive are least aware of pain. (As demonstrated by yogis whose mental concentration makes them immune to pain.) 

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THE BODY AND THE NADIS

Nadis are pathways of pranic, mental and spiritual currents which form a matrix throughout the physical body. They provide energy through every cell, and organ through their vast network. Nadis are not physical or measurable but channels of energy which underly and sustain life and consciousness. Out of the 72,000 nadis, 72 are considered important. Out of these 72, 10 are considered to be major. Among the 10 major pranic flows, three are the most significant.(Situated in the spinal column which pass through every chakra.)

• Eda (Mental channel = female; Chandra = lunar/moon nadi) 
• Pingala (Vital channel = male; Surya = sun/solar nadi)
• Sushumna (Spiritual channel) 

The three most important nadis are also referred to as the 3 most important rivers in India:

• Ganga (Eda) 
• Yamuna (Pingala)
• Saraswati (Sushumna) 

The junction where these three rivers join is called Prayag, located outside Allahabad in North India. In the pranic body, they converge at ajna chakra. 

• Eda governs the left side of the body and Pingala the right side of the body. 
• Eda and Pingala dominance is directly related to the flow of breath in the nostrils. 
• The specific functions of the brain are correlate with the activities of Eda and Pingala. The right hemisphere governs the left side of the body and the left hemisphere governs the right side of the body. Eda is connected to the right hemisphere and Eda to the left. 
• The right hemisphere (Eda) processes information in a diffuse and holistic manner. It controls spacial awareness and is sensitive to vibrations and the external senses. 
• The left hemisphere which relates to Pingala processes information in a sequential, linear and logical manner. It is responsible for analytical and mathematical ability. 
• The Eda controls manomaya and vijnanamaya koshas, whereas pingala controls anamaya and anandamaya koshas. In pranamayakosha, the Eda and Pingala forces reach out in both directions. 
• Sushumna, the neutral channel- when the two forces of Eda and Pingala are balanced, the third channel of Sushumna becomes active. When the sushumna is active, the breath flows through both nostrils simultaneously. 

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PANCHA PRANA: Pranic Forcefields

• Five primary forces which operate in the physical body at all times
• These five forces make up PRANA SHAKTI
• This is why prana is experienced differently in different parts of the body.
• These forces also work on subtler levels, influencing and being influenced by mind and consciousness 
• PRANA, APANA, VYANA, SAMANA, UDANA (vayu)
• They are all located in different parts of the body and have different movement associated with them.

STHOOLA PRANA

• prana vayu is also known asa school (gross) prana and it is experienced at the PHYSICAL level in the thoracic region. (to distinguish it from the all pervasive prana)
• maintains the heart and lungs and all activities in the chest
• This is the most essential of all the pranas and it controls the other four.
• on the subtle level, school prana is responsible for the INTAKE of impressions and ideas, it energizes all the KOSHAS and is active at all time. in fact, a blockage of sthool prana can cause immediate death because of its vital functions in the thorax.
• one pointedness of the mind and intuitive knowledge are based on the strong functioning of prana vayu
• it is the guide for self-realization, mediated by the heart center
• IMBALANCE: inability to think clearly and poor heart and lung function

APANA

• at the physical level: operates in the pelvic region between the navel and root chakra
• sustains the kidneys, bladder and the bowel, and controls elimination, excretion and reproduction
• composed of the earth and water elements, apana is experienced as a heavy force
• Subtle level: brings energy down through the KOSHAS and the lower chakras are realized through its activity. 
• assists in awakening the kundalini
• MAHAPRANA is experienced in this region
• mental level, apana removed negative thoughts and emotions
• imbalance: depression, heavy, poor elimination

SAMANA

• physical level: operates between the navel and the diaphragm to activate and "BALANCE" the digestive organs and is responsible for metabolism. It literally is a balance of the opposing forces of prana and apana.
• associated with digestive FIRE
• subtle level: maintains cohesion and balance between the koshas, also digests thoughts
• imbalance: psychological problems, buildup of toxins in the body

UDANA

• physical level: operates in the extremities and is responsible for all of the sensory organs and the organs of action
• all the functions of the throat and mouth. It assists prana in inhalation and exhalation. Maintains the pranic link between the heart and the brain.
• assists the MINOR pranas
• subtle level: positive mental work
• maintains the relationship between the GROSS, SUBTLE and CASUAL bodies (more on this)
• experienced in all the extremities.
• imbalance: lack of coordination, inability to perform all body functions properly

VYANA

• physical level: RESERVE energy. helps the other pranas when they require an extra boost.
• SECOND WIND
• regulates and coordinates muscular movements
• subtle level: brings circulation through the five koshas
• gives us the sense of over;ll embodiment
• imbalance: tremors, lack of coordination, inability to relate to people

UNION OF PRANA AND APANA

• the two most important pranas and prana and apana

SS(3:6) "out of the ten major and minor pranas, the first five are the leading ones. Even among these, prana and apana are the highest agents" 

• These opposing forces connect us at once with the physical world of gross experience and the mental world of consciousness.
• In the practice of yoga, the forces of prana and apana are reversed. The upward flow of prana is directed downward, and the downward flow of apana is directed upward.
• in this way they both move toward one another and meet at SAMANA
• this meeting is where the FIRE of agni is ignited and kundalini awakens

BG (4:29) "Apana is absorbed in prana by some, and prana in apana by others. By restraining the course of prana and apana, the yogi is wholly occupied in pranayama"

• UNION or SUSPENSION of both is the goal of pranayama
• JALANDARA prevents prana from ascending, MULADHARA prevents apana from descending and UDDUYANA creates a suction process which affects the behavior of both prana and apana
• NUALI KRIYA also creates a union between prana and apana
• RETENTION creates the union of prana and apana at ANJA chakra

YGU (27) "Just as a ball goes up and down when thrown by hand, similarly the individual soul is thrown up and down by the movement of prana and apana (and therefore) does not remain still". 

PRANA & MANTRA

•  intrinsic relationship between prana and sound underlies all creation
• first manifested sound was OM, also called NADA this is the highest level of sound vibration.
• from nada emerged KALAA, the universe of time, space and object
• SHABDA (Word): the first form was sound (manifestation) and it came into existence through prana shakti (mahaprana). SOUND is therefore one of the best vehicles for prana shakti. This is why mantras are so powerful in the tantric system.
• mantras are cosmic sounds discovered in higher levels of meditation, whereby yogis can explore different levels of consciousness
• chakras are stimulated by chanting particular sounds since they are associated with different frequencies or vibrations. These are called SEED mantras.
• two important qualities of mantras
• VARNA: color
• ASASHIC: form

• mantras have six parts
• rishi (guru who discovered and gave the mantra)
• meter
• presiding diety
• bija (essence)
• kilaka (pin)- unplugs the consciousness hidden in the mantra

 

Vital Energies

Prana animates everything. It is a combination of PRA and NA "force" "in constant motion"

• exists in sentient beings as the energy that drives all actions
• exists in non sentient beings causing motion, growth & decay

Prana flows through "nadis"

• stored in chakras (energy vortices)
• maintained through the air we breathe, food we eat, actions we make thoughts we think

Pranayama

• inhalation "Pooruka"
• retention "kumbacka"
• exhalation "rechaka"

by directing these stages the different practices of pranayama which move prana throughout the body to allow higher levels of consciousness are obtained.

YS 2:49 "pranayama is the pause in the movement of the inhalation and exhalation when it is secured" 

=----technically this suggests that pranayama is only the kumbackas so inhalation and exhalation are methods of inducing "kunbacka"---this allows for longer periods of ASSIMILATION of prana and better control the mind.

stages:

• initial---clear the 72,000 nadir
• state of the nadis and chakras "blockages"  are defined by our SAMSKARAS. these are conditionings carried in "seed" form. 
• PURUSHARTHA (self-effort)
• ANUGRAHA (grace)

pranayama when practiced releases us from all of this.

• higher levels---the direction of pranic flow is manipulated and a greater amount of energy is released from the chakras
• pranayama is part of a BALANCED SEQUENTIAL ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTICE as a preparation for and perfection of pratyahara.
• from gross (anamayakosha) through subtle (anandamayakosha)

SS (3:57) "when one attains power of holding the breath for 3 hours, then certainly the wonderful state of pratyahara is reached without fail" (YOW!!!!)

TYPES OF PRANA:

• MAHAPRANA: cosmic prana that came into being at the time of creation
• UNIVERSAL PRANA:
• in the beginning there was unmanifest consciousness known as Para Brahman
• the "willing" (VASANA -inherent desire) of the singular unmanifest consciousness to become one causes the first SPANDA or movement (before this we have perfect equilibrium of potential) 
• first primal movement is the MAHAPRANA (leads to EVOLUTION of all levels of existence)
• the many subtleties of PRANA & CHITTA (consciousness) are the ladders of all spiritual practices. The end being INVOLUTION- where all that exists is pure consciousness

HYP (2:2) When prana moves, chitta moves. when prana is without movement, chitta is without movement" 

HYP (2:3) "As long as the vayu (prana) remains in the body, there is life. Death occurs when the vayu leaves the body, therefore retain the vayu" 

• RECEIVING PRANA
• positive thoughts, higher feelings and yogic practices produce higher levels of prana
• sublimated or transformed sexual energies prana is conserved within the system and transformed into OJAS (subtler energy which is accumulated in the brain and used for creative and spiritual development).
• prana can be transmitted from yogis to others. (shaktipot)
• prana can be gotten from the environment
• food
• sattvic, rajastic and tasmasic is a designation of the amount of prana in food.
• air
• should not be contaminated.

• WORKING WITH PRANA
• prana is also self generated and it can be refined and directed
• one must work with PRANA SHAKTI (the force of prana) in order to perfect any experience in life (aim of pranayama)
• the length of the exhalation determines the pranic "utilization" of it. 
• different activities create different exhalation lengths and pranic utilization
• maximum prana is used by the brain, so if there is not enough prana, thoughts become restless and disturbed.
• breath is gross and prana is subtle, but the former can influence the latter.
• pranayama leads to PRANA VIDYA (knowledge of the inner workings of prana) which leads to the ability to gain control over the mind. Prana is grosser than the mind and therefore easier to control.

HYP (2:42) "the movement of the breath in the middle passage makes the mind still. this steadiness of mind is the state of MANONMANI (devoid of thought)"

PRANA & THE KOSHAS

• all five sheaths (levels of experience) are pervaded by prana. 
• the movement from one kosha to another is also enabled by prana=PRANA SHAKTI
• prana is like the "neutral" in shifting gears (Saraswati)
• shatkarmas and asanas clear blockages in ANAMAYAKOSHA and allow movement to pranmayakosha
• the 5 sheaths are interlinked, must be penetrated sequentially
• the rare yogi can reverse this process and through the attainment of anandamayakosha purify all of the other koshas.

KOSHA CONCIOUSNESS

• ones experiences in life indicate the realm of consciousness to which one has evolved. However blockages in other koshas may still exist. for this reason, an INTEGRAL path of yoga is advised. 
• time should be spent in each limb to achieve clearing of these blockages
• the aim of the practitioner is to work with the prana (through PRANYAMA & PRANA VIDYA) at pranamayakosha until the perception of prana becomes SUBTLE
• Annamayakosha: prana is experienced as nervous energy
• Pranamayakosha: the awareness of prana shakti in the other sheaths developed through PRATYAHARA
• manomayakosha: compared to a house light with the lights switched on
• vijnanamayakosha: inner visions, sounds, smells are experienced
• anandamayakosha: luminosity
• ATMAMAYA KOSHA (experience of unity)

CHAKRAS AND BINDU

• the chakras power the pranic body
• each chakra vibrates at a particular velocity. (low to higher frequencies)
• MULADHARA is the seat of pranic energy and must be awakened for ANJA to be awakened. it is the "generating station" for prana
• associated with anamayakosha, unconscious mind, primitive instincts
• 4 petaled lotus
• tamasic
• SWADHISTANA: storehouse for latent samskaras and impressions. forms a karmic block and makes it difficult for awakened prana to pass through
• desires located here can become an obstacle to awakening
• six petaled flower, associated with pranamayakosha
• tamasic
• MANIPURA: the storehouse of prana is at the navel
• rajastic
• 10 petallotus and pranamayakosha
• ANAHATA: seat of the cosmic sound
• VISHNU GRANTHI (the second psychic knot) representing the bondage of emotional attachment is located here
• manomayakosha
• 12 petals
• VISHUDDHI
• purification center. The fountain of youth
• the nectar of life falls from BINDU down into this center, generating, health, vitality and youth
• vijnanamayakosha
• 16 petals
• AJNA: guru chakra or command center
• third eye or center of divine wisdom, it is the doorway to the psychic or astral dimension
• lies at the RUDRA GRANTHI (knot of shiva) attachment to psychic personality and to the siddhis which accompany awakening of anja chakra
• vijananmayakosha, two petals, the mind changes from gross to subtle here.
• BINDU
• POINT
• it is the point of creation where oneness first develops into multiplicity, the ultimate point from which all things manifest and into which all things return
• contains the evolutionary potential for a myriad of objects in the universe, the blueprint for creation (where Hindu Brahmins keep a tuft of hair at the back of their heads)
• the MOON at bindu produces the life-giving nectar clued AMRITA and the manicure consumes it. (disease, old age & death are suffered because of this consumption) Tantric Yoga techniques are aimed at reversing this process so that amrita is retained in the vishudda=IMMORTALITY
• the first manifestation of creation was NADA (Sound) and bindu is also the point where the original nada emanates.