Layayoga: The Definitive Guide to the Chakras and Kundalini (89 page)

14 Curling. Assume standing position, with the arms by the sides, the palms forward, the hands clenched. Contract the arm muscles fully and at the same time contract the latissimus muscles on both sides. Now bring the forearms, bending at the elbows, close to the shoulders without moving the upper arms. Then return to the original position. Inhale when curling the hands and exhale when lowering them. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

15 Body Press. Assume the suspended, pronelying position, supporting the body on the hands and feet. Press the body to full arms length, inhaling. Return to the original position, exhaling. This exercise can be done fairly slowly as well as quickly. Repeat 30 to 50 times.

16 Relaxation. Assume the supine-lying position, with the arms by the sides. Relax the whole body. Maintain for 5 minutes.

17 Stand-on-head. Make the body inversely perpendicular on the head, with interlocked forearms around the head. Maintain the position for 10 minutes.

The best time for these exercises is the late afternoon, 5 or 6 hours after lunch, and definitely before dinner. After exercise, take a short rest and then take a warm, cleansing bath to be immediately followed by a cold shower or a cold pouring. Then drink a glass of cold water.

Walking, running and swimming should be combined with the above exercises for the best results. The following is the schedule:

(For fuller details of exercise and associated factors, see the author’s
Hathayoga
, published by L.N. Fowler, London, 1959; 2nd edn 1963, reprinted 1974.)

Pranayamic Breathing

The pranayamic breathing consists of five forms of breathing exercise. Their techniques and order are given below.

1 Mahamudra Breathing. Sit with the left heel set against the perineum, the right leg stretched forward and the hands placed on the right knee. Make both-nostrils, long-slow inspiration. At the end of the inspiration, suspend breath with chin-lock (by bending the head forward and setting the chin against the top of the sternum). Then bend the body forward along the line of the extended leg, hold the right toes with both hands, and maintain the head position midway. Now, count 6. Then return to the original position, place the hands on the knees and bring the head to its normal position. Now, make both-nostrils, long-slow expiration. Then perform the exercise on the other side, and, finally, with both legs extended forward. Repeat 3 to 5 times each side.

2 Matsyendrasana Breathing. Sit in spinetwist posture, with the head up. Make bothnostrils, long-slow inspiration. At the end of inspiration, suspend breath with chin-lock, and count 6. Then raise the head and make bothnostrils, long-slow expiration. Then perform the exercise on the other side. Repeat 3 to 5 times, each side.

3 Bhujaṅgasana Breathing. Assume pronelying position, with the palms on the floor at shoulder-width. Make serpent raise with bothnostrils, long-slow inspiration, suspend breath with chin-lock and count 6. Then return to the original position with both-nostrils long-slow expiration. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

4 Bhastrika Breathing. Assume lotus posture. Make short-quick expirations and inspirations, by using mainly the lungs and keeping the abdomen relaxed and motionless. Make 100 expulsions. Immediately after this do ujjayi breathing.

5 Ujjayi Breathing. Assume lotus posture. Make both-nostrils, long-slow inspiration, then breath-suspension with chin-lock, and finally, both-nostrils, long-slow expiration. This is one round. The relative measures of inspiration, suspension and expiration are 1–4–2. We are giving here three measures for the convenience of the pupils: 4–16–8, 8–32–16 and 16–64–32. Number of rounds, 3 to 12.

The best time for the practice of pranayamic breathing is the morning after evacuation of the bowels and oral cleansing. Pharyngonasal water bath should be done after oral cleansing and before pranayamic breathing. It is very useful to do pranayamic breathing before the practice of concentration. If concentration is practised both in the morning and evening, then, in the morning practice, do first breathing and then concentration, and in the evening practice do only concentration. Pranayamic breathing should be done once a day.

CHAPTER
14

Mental Purification and Rejuvenation

Mental qualities, though fundamentally mindborn, become involved in physical activities. The mental influence on the body is clearly seen in the ability to execute muscular movements correctly, effectively, and in a well-controlled manner. In the training of the body, intelligence, attention, co-ordination, accuracy, and other mental qualities are brought into play. Learning new and complicated movements and their correct and orderly performance requires attention, control and skill. All this indicates that physical excellence is closely associated with mind, and mind reacts by exhibiting certain of its qualities.

But how far is mind itself developed by physical culture? Mental qualities, which are brought into play by muscular movements, indicate that a certain aspect of the mind is influenced which has practical value in everyday life at the physical level. In the mental field, this physicomental development does not appear to much enhance these qualities, which form the core of mental life. It is true that mental energy which is involved in the development of a high order of mind, functions more effectively when it is supported by a vast amount of nerve energy the source of which is a healthy and vigorous body. So, physical culture has a place in mental development, but it is only a fraction. When mental qualities are released in the mental field by the mental energy function, they are forceful in their expressions, and are able to create mental dynamism which ultimately moulds the pattern of mental life.

Thoughts are replicas in known forms of an unknown mental reality which is the centre of the mental power system. In this power system mental energy flows and tends to be at maximal concentration point. At this point mental consciousness is highly focussed, and thereby the unknown reality is revealed. When it is revealed, it appears to be beyond mind. Thought is a mental function of replicating what has been revealed deep inside, and also all facts which are imaged in sense-consciousness.

In a more practical way, when thought is intimately associated with perception on the physical level, its force is scattered, and consciousness diversified. Now, thought becomes a ‘mirror’ of everyday life. Unless we are able to bring its force to a focus, thought will remain an open book of our lives. On its way to concentratedness, thought exhibits highly intellectual constructiveness. But as concentration increases its intellectuality is transformed into mono-form thought-consciousness which is very close to concentrated inner mental consciousness, and at a certain point, thought-concentration becomes real conscious concentration of mind.

Those mental qualities, which help to rouse the concentration factor in thought, are concentration qualities. There is a mental antagonism between the concentration qualities and those qualities which tend to decentralize thought-force. The mental practice is first directed towards the control of anticoncentration qualities. This is mental purification. Mental purification creates a mental state in which all qualities which interrupt and weaken concentration are in coil by the emergence of concentration qualities. When mental purity is established, thought-force begins to concenter.

The control process is frequently interrupted by the penetration of diversifying mental qualities. When mental character is sufficiently weakened, mind becomes fully externalized. Now consciousness is the playground of pride, arrogance, anger, harshness and other black qualities around the self which has been overemphasized and is in a dark cloud of ignorance. Ignorance veils the spiritual light and under such a condition desires, hopes, sadness, fear, disgust, jealousy, disdain and delusion are released. Unless these impurities are cleaned out from the mind, thought-force is without strength, and without developing it to a high degree, concentration is not possible. Thought-force and concentration grow in that mental soil which has been nourished by restfulness, meditativeness, self-control, firmness, patience, magnanimity, mercy, fearlessness, truth, sincerity, cleanliness and energy.

Discipline

The first and foremost step towards mental purification and for the development of thought-force is the practice of tapasya—vigorous disciplining of the body and mind. An aspiring pupil must undertake it. There is no ease-comfort way.

The first step of mental purification is as follows: Be happy when you find that people around you are happy, and be really sorry when you find that they are sorry; that is, make the happiness and sorrow of others your own and feel in the same manner. Similarly, when you find that others are doing good things, be glad for it; but when you find that they are doing the wrong things, just isolate yourself from them. This practice will gradually cleanse your mind.

Start with the practice of disciplining your body and mind. First of all, subject your body to cold, heat, sun and rain; hunger and thirst; and lack of sleep. You have to carry endurance to the pain point. Train the body by vigorous muscular exercise as well as in motionlessness. Certain appropriate postures can be selected for the practice of motionlessness carried to the pain point.

The most important part of mental control is the control of the sex urge. Sex urge has two main phases: the mental which consists of sexual thoughts and emotions, and the physical which includes all forms of sexual acts. Therefore, control has two parts: thought control and control of orgasm and ejaculation. Physical control is subordinate to mental control, but it is necessary.

The main point in mental control is to prevent sexual thought-emotions leading to action. It is possible and necessary to restrict thought-emotions, however intense they may be, to the mental field, without allowing them to exercise their influence on the sexual organs to the extent that causes volitional acts. The waves of intensified thought-emotions should be mentally endured. To do it in a systematic way practise this thought control process:

Assume either accomplished posture (siddhasana) or lotus posture (padmasana). Keep the whole body absolutely motionless. Now, endure mentally and resolutely the thrusts of intensified sexual desires. Continue this practice until the emotion evaporates. If it becomes very difficult to exercise control, then change the posture to spine-twist posture (matsyendrasana), and practise it as long as it is necessary. If it is still difficult, assume knee-heel posture (watayanasana) and do it. The posture should be continued beyond the pain point, and until the mind becomes calm.

When you have gained sufficient mental strength by the regular practice of enduring sexual desire, then start with the following thought process. It is indicated when very strong sexual desire arises in the mind. The process: Assume accomplished posture. Think deeply that sex-fire is burning in the muladhara. Then rouse apana-force, red in colour, lying in the muladhara, by concentrated thought in conjunction with anal contraction, and then get sex-fire absorbed into apana. Now, raise the apana along with sex energy through the sushumna upward to reach the wishuddha chakra, by deep thinking. Here lies the smoke-coloured udanu-force. By deep thinking, transfer sexual energy to udana which will carry it to the indu chakra. Here, transform sexual energy to moon-coloured life-force which is located in the indu chakra. Patiently practise this process.

Mental Rejuvenation

Assume accomplished posture. Think deeply that moon-coloured life-force has been concentrated in the indu chakra. From this concentrated life-force lifeful radiations are being emitted. Then the life-energy gradually becomes condensed to form a perfect body, a body which is vital, vigorous, youthful, internally purified and diseaseless; the senses being calm; and mind shining, but perfectly tranquil.

It is better to practise this process in the morning after pranayamic breathing (see chapter 13). It can also be practised any rime if you feel like doing it, omitting pranayamic breathing.

CHAPTER
15

Posture, Breath-control and Sense-withdrawal

The first thing in the practice of concentration is to arrange an appropriate room which is most suitable for the practice. The room should be in a secluded part of the house. It should be neither very big nor very small, nor too high, nor too low. It should be very clean; there must be no furniture or any other things. It should be kept well-ventilated and have free access to natural light. It must be completely free from bad odours. This room should not be used for any other purposes or by other persons.

The seat on which the practitioner will sit for concentration should be comfortable, but not too soft. A soft and thick blanket can be used as a seat, and if necessary it can be folded to get the desired thickness. It should be covered with a piece of washable clean white cloth. Under the blanket, a seat made of kusha grass (Poa cynosuroides) may be placed, if possible. The seat should be large enough for the practice. This seat is exclusively for the practitioner; no one else should be allowed to use it.