Notes on Yoga!

I have been lucky enough to be a student of yoga all these years and fortunate enough to be introduced to their deeper meanings and benefits. The world of yoga is very (mind) very(prana) very (body) vast and has so many layers to it. On a quick scale, yoga helps us understand the connection between the mind and the body, with the help of prana (breath).

Though there are so many asanas, I consider the following asanas to be my favorite.

Sarvangasana:

Here are a few key benefits of practicing this asana for both men and women

1. Increases the blood circulation and helps in maintaining blood pressure.

2.Improves the digestive process and aids in bowel movement and alignment

3. Helps to maintain your weight. (when you are in this pose you try to maintain the balance by automatically shifting your weight to the center of gravity of your body).

4.Improves reproductive health and rejuvenates the reproductive organs

5. Improves resistance and strengthens the upper body.

Sirasasana: Considered to be the king of asana’s it’s simply a headstand. You stand with the help of your head upside down (and hands to support). There are so many benefits to this asana but the mystery about this asana is that it is the asana that aids in achieving sexual sublimation.

1. Men, please follow — according to yogic science, the most important energy in the whole universe is the seminal energy that is present inside a man. Seminal energy is present throughout the entire body and is created from the best nutrients that go in the form of food and water (water has so many minerals than food) (though not these days since RO processed water robs us of these minerals away by filtering at micron level). This seminal energy is very important to the vitality of a man. This seminal energy flows down the body and is transformed into a fluidic form (reproductive fluid) during the act of creation. Brahmacharya is a very twisted word and has a labyrinthine of meanings. One definition goes that a Brahmachari is a person who has successfully mastered sexual sublimation or abstained from any sexual activity in the mind, body, and spirit all his life. Many think that brahmacharya means being a bachelor all your life but that is no so. You don’t have to be a bachelor all your life and yoga plays a vey crucial role in helping you transmute all your sexual energy into a higher form of energy. An Oordhvaretas yogi is equivalent to a Brahmachari and is a person who has mastered the upward flow of seminal energy instead of its natural movement downwards and in the process harnessed the power of this energy to understand higher consciousness and do more important things than normal people. It is also said that the Seminal energy is transformed into Ojas Shakthi, once it reaches the brain and can make the brain function more efficiently. Constant flow (period of 12 years according to Swami Vivekanada) of Ojas in the brain creates what is called as a “Medha Nadi” which is important for meditation, contemplation and super human memory. Sirasasana helps greatly in streamlining the upward flow of this energy. Though the above version is offered by many, the common benefits of practicing this asana are plenty some.

( Sirasasana is a complex pose and Siddhasana is the shorter version and more simple asana offered as an alternative to control and sublimate the sexual energy. It is also the asana all sages are commonly seen in)

Nauli -Kriyas :

I learned about Nauli kriyas in my later college years. Nauli is a beautiful asana which offers an abdominal massage. Nauli is very unique in the way it gets done. Nauli massages all the organs of the digestive system and purifies the entire digestive system.

It is also referred to as alien yoga in the west since it looks very different. When one performs the Nauli stance, the abdominal muscles come together isolated and form a lump. Nauli has three variations. You generally go into the Madhya Nauli — all your muscles come together to the center of your stomach.

You move the lump to the left side by applying more pressure in your left hand. This achieves “Vama Nauli”. When the pressure is applied on the right hand, the lump shifts to the right side creating the “Dakshina Nauli”. Continuous variation of Madya, Vama and Dakshina Nauli creates a wave pattern to your abdomen.

(The key to achieving Nauli lies completely in eliminating air from your lungs and pulling your stomach in by locking the thoracic region)

( “Otiyanam” (in Tamil) or Uddiyana Bandha ( Sanskrit) is the percursor asana before performing Nauli. One must master Otiyanamam (the act of pushing the topmost organs of your digestive system flat into your rib cage before arriving at Nauli)

The story of the creator, preserver, and the destroyer :

We all know that Hindu mythology idolizes Brahma, Vishnu, and Lord Shiva as the creator, preserver, and destroyer of life.

The human body can be segmented into three layers and dedicated to three gods. The lower part of the body — below the waist is attributed to Brahma since the lower part of the human body involves in the creation of life. The middle segment of the human body starting from the neck until waist attributes itself to Vishnu since all essential organs needed to preserve human life (the heart, the respiratory and digestive systems) is found in this region. The top portion of the human body, above the neck, is the abode of Lord shiva — the lord of destruction. Ironically — what we see, what we hear and what we speak influences our mind and is responsible for both innovation and destruction. Shiva is also the lord of meditation and the key to understanding universal knowledge. The brain is the receiving antenna to the soul of the universe.

I have always enjoyed the story of the triumvirate and their attributes in the human body. I take this opportunity (I saw this connect post honoring yoga) and wanted to share three of my favorite yoga poses.

Sarvangasana (creator) (Please note that Sarvangasana helps improve the function of the sexual organs), Nauli (preserver) and Sirasasana (Destroyer) are three asanas that are in my opinion the essential asanas that focus on the organs involved in creation, preservation, and destruction of the human body. Doing these asanas brings these three acts in focus and is pure joy.

Conclusion:

The world of yoga is very very large and there are many asanas and advance yoga poses that are simply brilliant. Again, most of us would be beyond our age and shape to do these advance yoga poses but still, these gifts can be passed to our children relatively young if we understand the essence of yoga.

(Image search Google for BKS Iyengar and you will see impossible things that the human body can do thorugh yoga)

(Yoga is free for everyone and you don’t have to pay for it (unfortunately you have to because there are fewer people who can teach it). Sometimes, the Joker is right — “If you are good at something, never do it for free.” Ancient knowledge is plentiful and free. It is a day to day life activity and I hope so many will embrace this lifestyle in ages to come as the article is one such attempt)

Footnote 1: All the yoga poses in this article are advanced. Please do not try without proper mentoring.