Thank you to all our teachers and their teachers and their teachers’ teachers and their teachers’ teachers and all the teachers yet to come. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Table of Contents Prayer for Higher Learning The Point
Into Our Nature
Wild Geese Triumph of Desire The Eternal Dance of the Universe Desire as Fuel
Inner Workings
About Maps and Models Some Subtle Anatomy Language From 350,000 to 3 Sushumna, Ida and Pingala Chakra Nadis Third Eye Nadis Limb Nadis Approximate Chakra Locations A Few Rumors about the Chakras The Bandhas Marma Points The Koshas The Vayus Dermatone Chart Taoist Cycle of Creativity Nervous System Overview Stress, Breath and the Vagus Nerve Nerve Roots of War and Peace Flight, Flight, Freeze or Fold Vagus Nerve Muscles of the Breath How the Practices of Yoga Help Mental Health From Patanjali Sutra 1.33 Sutra 1.33 Field Notes The Kleshas L
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Table of Contents Stress, Breath and the Vagus Nerve Nerve Roots of War and Peace Flight, Flight, Freeze or Fold Vagus Nerve Muscles of the Breath How the Practices of Yoga Help Mental Health From Patanjali Sutra 1.33 Sutra 1.33 Field Notes The Kleshas
76 78 79 80 81 82 84 86 88 90
Bony and Squishy Landmarks The Spine Pelvic Viewing Hip Joint Rotators of the Hip Sciattic Nerve Nerves of the LumbarSacral La Psoas Little Muscles of the Spine Shoulder Joint Your Beautiful Neck
Into the Practice
96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 106
See More Clearly 110 Abhyasa and Vairagya 111 Samyama 112 Some Promises of Samyama 113 Becoming a Learner 114 The Effort Effect 116 What do we tell our Kids? 125 Possible Reading List 143
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Prayer for Higher Learning om saha nāvavatu saha nau bhunaktu saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we create strength among one another. May our study be filled with brilliance and light. May there be no hostility between us. Om peace, peace, peace. L
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The Point of this Course Our time together is meant to be practical. We have three main objectives:
Time Within
We will become intimate with our own Internal Landscapes through techniques that allow the invisible to be more easily sensed.
Time with Ma Nature
We will bring our new relationship within into the mountains and experiment with our senses here.
Tools and Techniques
Together we will discover a collection of techniques and tools that you can continue to play with in your practice and daily life.
May Saraswati open the channels for higher learning to occur and remove our lethargy and laziness. 7
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir
Into Our Nature
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Wild Geese
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clear blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, not matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Mary Oliver 10
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The Eternal Dance Again, there are many versions of this story. This is from Diane Wolkstein, adapted from Joseph Campbell’s translation of Heinrich Zimmer’s ‘Four Episodes from the Romance of the Goddess’ and I made a few tweaks.
Creator Brahma sat in serene mediation. Around him in a circle stood his ten mindborn sons and the ten world guardians. They watched as Brahma sank into himself with a vision, and each time an apparition appeared in bodily form. Brahma plunged suddenly into the depths of his own darkness, and to the surprise of the assembly there stood a beautiful, young, naked woman. She was Dawn -- with glistening blue black hair, eyes like dark lotuses, a face as round as the moon, and upturned, dark-tipped breasts. The assembly stared at her in astonishment. She, in turn, laughed a soft rippling laugh which brought Brahma out of his trance so that he wondered, as did all who gazed at her, for what purpose in the unfolding of the creation this amazing apparition might have been summoned. Then a second surprise. From Brahma’s wonder another creature came into being. He was a youth - dark and strong and splendid - with powerful and beautifully formed limbs and the aroma of blossoms about him. In one hand he carried a banner with the emblem of a fish; and in the other, a bow of sugarcane and five flowery arrows. As Brahma and his ten mindborn sons and the world guardians started, desire crept into each of them - the desire to posses the woman, Dawn. So Desire entered the world. In his first moment he turned and spoke boldly to Brahma, “What is my name? And what am I to do? Each being flourishes when doing the world for which he is designed. Give me my name and since you are a Creator, give me a wife!” Brahma was silent a moment. What had he done? Who was this creature who had slipped from his being? Then Brahma gathered his consciousness and brought his being to center. And because he was Brahma, the divine original consciousness, when he saw the truth he spoke the truth, even if it meant that his own power might be lessened. 14
of the Universe “You will wander the earth with your Bow,” Brahma said, “and no creature will be able to escape the aim of your arrows. Your task is to send your arrows into the hearts of men, women, and gods, arousing bewilderment and delight and thus assuring the continual creation of the world.” Then Daksha, the lord of the ten world guardians, said to the youth, “Your name is Kama, God of Love, and your arrows will be stronger than those of Brahma, Vishnu, and even Shiva. You are all the All-Pervader. We are all in your power.” When Kama heard these words, he turned toward the assembly, drew his bow taut and let his arrows fly: Intoxicating breezes permeated the assembly; Heavy scents of spring flowers brought rapture. The gods stumbled...they reeled from side to side. They started at the woman Dawn...they quivered... One by one...the gods went mad: They gaped...they groaned...Brahma broke into a steam... Daksha and the world guardians began to shake The quivering and shaking caused a rumbling in the firmament, and in the far distant mountains, the arch-ascetic of the universe, Shiva, was disturbed in his concentration. He drifted toward the Love Constellation and when he beheld the infatuated Brahma and the gaping flock, he burst into laughter. “Well, well! And what is all this? Brahma, have you forgotten that you yourself revealed the laws in the Rig Vedas? ‘The sister shall be as the mother and the daughter shall be as the sister.’ The universe is founded on constancy. How can you permit yourself to lose your balance at the mere sight of a woman?” At these words Brahma’s mind split in two. He returned to his True Being; yet a part of him was still gripped by desire and lust. Waves of heat steamed down Brahma’s limbs. Sweat poured down the bodies of the world guardians. From Daksha’s sweat, a woman, gleaming like burnished gold, appeared. Daksha gave Kama as a wife, and called the first wife “Rati” which means delight. 15
At last Brahma was cleansed of his lust. But though Shiva had withdrawn to his place of meditation, the sting of Shiva’s words did not leave him. He had been rebuked before his holy sons. He burned with humiliation. “Why was it that Shiva was not moved by a woman?” he fumed. “If Shiva continued to remain aloof from all the universe, how would he be able to carry out his appointed task? If he remained forever in a rock-like state of mediation, how would he be able to transform the great ones of the earth when renewal was necessary?” As Brahma came out of his meditations he saw the young God of Love, Kama, joyfully united with the beautiful Rati, and he spoke to them: “How blissful and radiant you are. What a joy there is in seeing you together You must go to the mountain tops where Shiva lives and set him on fire with love so that he, too, will take a wide and join us in the eternal dance of the universe.” Kama answered, “If you order it, I will go, But if i succeed in stirring the rock-like Shiva, where is the woman who can arouse him? Nowhere do I behold such a woman for Shiva.” “I shall create her, “ Brahma replied. “Now go.” When the Love God had departed, Brahma spoke with Daksha: “Who can Shiva’s future wife be? What possible woman does he hold in the depths of his spirit? Yet there is only one. She is Maya- the World Illusion - The Enchantress. She is Shakti, the Energy of the World; She can take on any form. She is the one who will beguile him. Daksha, you must go and with proper offerings persuade Shakti to be born as your daughter and then to become Shiva’s bride. Daksha understood the wisdom of Brahma’s suggestion and took himself to the other side of the divine Milky Ocean, across the timeless sea where Vishnu sleeps and dreams the dream of the world. There he prepared himself to make offerings to the Great Goddess who is the manifestation of Vishnu’s dream. With the image of the Enchantress in his mind and heart he went deep into meditation so that by his heat he might be able to animate her image and see the Goddess with his own eyes. For 36,000 years, Daksha remained in a state of 16
prodigious and prolonged concentration,creating his vision of the Goddess. While Dakhsa sat meditation the mighty Brahma took himself to the holy mountain, Mandara, and there for 36,000 years he praised with potent syllables the Mother of the Universe. He called to Shakti in her myriad forms: Maya - Enchantress - Everlasting Divine Drunkness of Dream -- Lady of the Spheres -- Somkey One -- Weaver of the World -- Wisdom -Compassion -- Delision -- The One who Releases -- Maya....
A the end of 36,000 years Maya appeared. She was dark and slender, with her hair hanging free; and she was standing on the back of her tawny lion. Brahma greeted her, “Kali, Oh Dark One, oh Goddess, I have called to you because of your power. The Lord of Spirits, Shiva, remains solitary. If he takes no wife the world creation will not continue in its appointed course. Only you can entice and bewitch him into the eternal dance of the universe.” Kali replied, “It is true what you say. I am the Divine Energy of the Universe. From me comes the food of the universe -- all that has breath, all that speaks. I make each one what that one wish to be - great and powerful, weak and helpless, passionate, or full of dreams, Yes, for the sake of the creation I will agree to entice Shiva. When Shiva meditates and goes into the innermost kernel of his heart he will find me there. I will have melted his heart.” She disappeared, and on the other side of time Daksha saw the Goddess, and she appeared to him on her lion. Her body was dark, and her breasts mighty. Daksha bowed to her and announced his wish. She answered, “For the sake of the wellbeing of creation I will grant your wish. I will become your daughter and the wide of Shiva. But if for a single moment you lose proper reverence for me, I will not remain on earth. I will leave my body, whether happy or not.”
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Full of joy that his wish would be granted, Daksha descended to earth. He married a beautiful woman named Virani, the daughter of Virana, the fragrant grass. Virani conceived at once from a vision of Daksha’s soul. When the child was born and was a girl, flowers descended from the heavens. Virani did not know that her daughter was Maya, the Mother of the Universe, the Great Enchantress. She only knew a little infant was wailing, and she took the child in her arms and gave her the breast to suck. So the child grew. When she played with her small friends she delighted in drawing pictures of Shiva, and when she sang, her child-like songs were of her love for Shiva. Shiva was always in her heart. Her father gave her the most beautiful name. He called her “Sati” which means “She who is.” When she became a young woman, she went to the mountains to meditate. Then Brahma with his divine wide, Saraswati, and Vishnu, with his divine wife, Lakshmi, went to visit Shiva in his place of peace. When Shiva saw them, a strange thing happened. The Paragon of Peace was moved by the radiance and bliss in the face of the two joyous couples, and the smallest trace of desire for woman entered his spirit. “We have come to you,” Brahma said, “for the sake of the creation. I am the Creator, Vishnu is the Preserver, and you are the Transformer. But if you remain in your state of rock-like meditation, how will you understand passion and be able to transform when the moment for transformation comes? We have come to ask you to take a wife.” Shiva said, “At every moment I behold supreme eternity of the True Being. At every moment I keep it before me. Where is the woman who is as consecrated to my work as I am, who is as dedicated to the Highest Vision? If for the sake of the universe I were to take a wide, where is there a woman who could be capable of absorbing my incandescent power, shock by shock?” 18
Brahma was elated. He said, “She exists! At this moment she is waiting for you and longing for you. Her name is Sati!” The two couples departed. Shiva descended to earth to the place where Sati was in meditation alone in the mountains. When she opened her eyes and saw Shiva standing before her, she was flooded with joy and fell to the ground worshipping his feet. When Shiva saw Sati, he was pleased. “What do you wish?” he asked. “Speak.” But Sati could not utter a word. She could not speak before the one who had moved her heart since she was a child. Shiva was filled with a longing to hear the sound of Sati’s voice and that was the moment Kama, the God of Love, drew his arrow and shot Shiva through the heart. Shiva shuddered. He forgot his True Being and he cried, “Be my wife!” And she said, “Speak to my father.” Shiva thundered, “Be my wife now!” Sati trembled and ran toward her home. Shiva, the Paragon of Peace, returned to his mountain abode. He directed his thoughts to Brahma, and Brahma appeared. “Brahma,” he said, “you have won. I am powerless. Maya has caught me in her web. Now all I can be, all I can become. is Sati’s husband. You must arrange it. Brahma, speak to Daksha, ask him if he will permit me to marry Sati.” So the wedding of Shiva and Sati was arranged. It was held on the day and at the hour that was most propitious according to the stars. The bridgeroom Shiva arrived accompanied by divine musicians and dancing girls. He wore a loincloth of tiger skins and a live serpent draped from his left shoulder to his right hip In his hair rested the young moon and a garland of skulls.
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The dancing girls whirled, and the divine musicians played. The lesser and greater spirits, all incarnations of the great Shiva, danced. Flowers poured down from the heaves. The whole firmament was gay and brilliant, blown with sweet-scented breezed. Al the trees stood forth in blossom. Solemnly, Shiva received Sati’s hand. The gods gave praise and recited verses from the holy vedas. Then Vishnu spoke and blessed Shiva and Sati, “Sati gleams blue-black and Shiva is fair. Together you will be a protection to the gos and men.” “So be it!” echoed Shiva, and Sati laughed with happiness. Then Shiva lifted Sati onto his white bull Nandi, and they rode to the tops of the Himalayan peaks. And there they dwelt, and there they played, night and day, and all their play was love. Shiva went and gathered wildflowers for Sati. He let down her nightdark hair and played with it. Then he knotted it up so that he might loosen it again. He painted her pretty feet with scarlet lac so that he might hold them in his hands, and he whispered in her ear what he could have just as well said aloud. But in this way he could be closer to her. In the bowers and by the banks of high mountain streams they tasted each other and played with each other and loved each other. Shiva put a spot of musk on her beautiful lotus breasts and lifted off her necklaces of pearl and set them back again just to touch her softness. He drew off her bracelets and opened the knots of her clothing and ties them back again. He decked her whole body with chains of flowers and swallowed the nectar of her mouth, and Shiva and Sati’s desire never ceased, The fountain of their passion was watered continuously by their love. And so the loved, and the days and nights of 9,000 years passed quickly by. Once before the rainy season Sati asked Shiva to build a house where they could find rest and shelter. 20
And the Great God said, “With what would I build it? I have only a loin cloth, the serpents that decorate my body, and a skull for a begging bowl.� Still he lifted her up and carried her high above the clouds and there he united with her in love. 21
Then when the rainy season was over, Shiva asked Sati where should would like to go. And Sati said, “Let us go to Mt. Himalaya.” And there they dwelt for 3600 years, and Shiva’s heart was held entirely by Sati. Now Sati’s father, Daksha, decided at this time to hold a Great Offering to the Supreme Being. He invited every living creature in all the reaches of space: the gods and the demons, the spirits, clouds and mountains, the rivers and oceans, the men, beasts birds, trees, and grasses - all beings. There were only two creatures he did not invites, and they were Shiva and Sati. He thought that Shiva who meditates among corpses and carriers a skull for a begging bowl would not be fit to attend such an Offering. And of course, he could not invited his beloved daughter Sati, if her were not to invite Shiva. Then Vijaya, the sister of Sati, came to see Sati who was alone. “Dear Vijaya,” Sati said, “you have come by yourself. Where are your sisters?” “They are preparing for the great celebration. All the women in the universe are on their way. I have come to fetch you.... Are you and Siva not coming?” “Celebration? Where?” “Oh Sati! Have you not been invited? Your father, Daksha, is holding a Great Offering. Everyone in all the worlds has been invited. Oh Sati!” “Sati was struck as if by a bolt of lightening. Anger began to burn in her, and her eyes hardened. She said, “It is because my husband carries a skull for a begging bowl.” And she thought to blast Daksha to ashes with a curse. But then she remembered her words to Daksha, “If ever, for a single moment, you do not show proper reverence for me, I shall leave my body, whether I am happy or not.” As Sati’s eternal form became visible to her, she thought, “I will leave this body. I will not stay. The gods will not have what 22
they wish this time. But one day I will return to My. Himalaya where I have dwelt so long in happiness with Siva, and I will be born as the daughter of Menaka. I will play, and then I will marry Shiva and complete the work the gods have wished for.” With that she closed the nine portals of her body. She withdrew her breath and baced herself. Her life force shot up through her body and ripped through the top of her skull, and her body slumped to the ground. When the gods above saw this, they lifted a universal cry of terror. And Vijaya cried, “Oh Sati! Sati! What have I done? Your poor mother will be shattered by the pain - and how will your heartless father survive? Never to see your dancing eyes and hear your sweet words!? Oh Sati, you were a mother to me. Sati, I am crying. Sati, who but you will ever have such loving kind words for me? Oh Sati! And whi will care for Shiva? Shiva! Oopoooooh!” In his meditations, Shiva heard Vijaya’s shriek. He returned at once to their mountaintop where his beloved Sati lay crumbled dead on the earth. But love would not allow him to believe she was dead. Gently he stroked her cheek. “You are asleep?” he said. “Beloved, what has sent you to sleep? Sati, wake up...” Then Vijaya told Shiva that something inside of Sati seemed to have burst when she had told her that neither she nor Shiva had been invited to the Great Offering. With these words Shiva’s entire being was filled with wrath, and he transported himself to the place where the Great Sacrifice was being held. There he saw that every living creature had been invited: the gods, the planets, the beasts the fish, the worms, the season, the ages of the world. And each was reverently carrying out his role. Only he and Sati had not been asked. Shiva stepped into the sacred place to destroy the Offering. The Offering, the animal that was being sacrificed to the gods, 23
was so terrified it changed itself into a gazelle and fled away in to the skies, seeking refuge in Brahma’s realm, Shiva followed. The gazelle sought asylum in Vishnu’s realm. Shiva followed. At last the frightened animal darted back to earth and disappeared on a mountaintop. The hiding place it had found was the corpse of Sati. When Shiva stood once again before the dead bod of Sati, he forgot the Gazelle. He forgot the Offering. He saw only Sati. And the a great cry of grief came up from his throat, and his heart broke. He looked at Sati - at her lips, her cheeks, her beautiful dark hair, Her laughter, her kindness, her touch rushed through him, and he broke with grief like a common mortal. He flung himself to the ground. He crouched by her corpse, Then he got up and ran, but he returned and reached out and touched her body, It was stiff and cold. He caressed her forehead and cheeks and lips. He undid her clothes then fastened them up and opened them again. Then he picked Sati up in his arms and began to walk. He sobbed and he walked and he sobbed and he would not let her go. Vishnu and Brahma watch Shiva, and they knew that Sati’s corpse would never decay as long as Shiva held her. So by their craft, Brahma and Vishnu hid themselves in Sati’s Corpse and as Shiva walked they began to dismember Sati’s body. Her two feet fell, and the place they fell was called “the Mountains of the Goddess.” Not far from there her two ankles fell. And then to the east her womb fell, and nearby her navel: then her two breasts together with a golden necklace, and her shoulders and her neck. Every place a part of her fell became sacred place and a blessing to the children of the world. When her head fell, Shiva stopped. He stood and started and broke into a terrible groan of pain. The gods drew at once around Shiva and wished to comfort him. When Shiva looked up and saw the gods, he was 24
ashamed and transformed himself into a rock in the shape of a Lingam. The gods praised Shiva, hoping he would return to himself. “Light of all Lights, Shiva, you understand the impermanence of all things, in your form of lingam you are the Highest Being We tremble before your grief. Shiva! Let your anguish pass. Shiva!” Shiva remembered his Highest Self that had always been the object of his meditations, but he could not bring his powers to focus. His grief was overwhelming. At last Shiva opened his eyes. When he saw Brahma, he said, “Brahma what am I to do?” And Brahma said, “You must let your pain go. You must let your anguish go. It is only Maya. Return to your True Being. In the whirling dance of the Universe, you will find Sati again.” And Shiva said, “Brahma, I can do nothing. Brahma, stay with me until the pain passes, until I come up fro the ocean of my loss. Do not leave me, Brahma, stay by me and give me comfort.” And Brahma said, “So shall it be.” Blind with suffering, Shiva took Brahma’s hand and the two gods departed into the solitude of the mountains. They walked until they came to a lake. It was surrounded by holy hermits who were meditation. The lake was quiet, clear and peaceful. Shiva sat by the lake and looked into the waters. He saw fish swimming, darting in and out among the lotus stems. It was beside the waters of this lake that Shiva found his rest. He released himself from suffering and centered himself in the eternity of his True Being. So he remained in deep peace and meditation until Sati was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Manaka, Queen of the Mountain. And by her long sustained meditations, Parvati was able to stir Shiva from his deep place of peace and bring Shiva to her, so that once again, they were untied in love. And once again, the rebirth of the world was assured. 25
Desire as Fuel for Heart
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Selection from: Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Deminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhsim, Judith Simmer-Brown
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If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite. ~ William Blake
Inner Workings
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About Maps and Models
At times we will be leaning in on maps and models to help us create containers of understanding. We will do this often especially when looking at gross anatomy, subtle anatomy, methods of teaching, sequences, and alignment ideas. Understanding some of the benefits and constraints will help us create a feeling of spaciousness. 1. They Need You Maps are designed to guide us and they can just as easily mislead if not approached cooperatively. Maps need your intuition to come alive and be of use. 2. They Shrink the Information Models simplify and shrink information so we can approach it. When different models contradict, it can be tempting to judge one as correct and another as false, or try to make them match. Play with allowing the different models to reveal and tease out new insights waiting to be discovered within you. 3. They Are Often Unspecified Rarely can a map give you details of your specific unique journey. Nor will it assure you of a good time once you reach a destination. 4. They Can Blind If we become too enamored with a map or model it will be more difficult to see clearly what is actually in front of us. Have you ever found yourself looking at a map instead of where you are going? When the nice woman in the GPS is telling us where to go we pay less attention. Let them help guide, and be diligent with your awareness. 5. They Can Warn Sometimes a map will indicate that a road can only be traveled during a certain time of year or requires special vehicle features. And sometimes, by looking at a model, we get a new perspective that otherwise would have remained hidden.
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6. They Can Help Determine Vehicle Sometimes a map will confirm that you need to travel by air, sea or land. 7. They Can Reveal New Terrain Maps can guide towards places we might not have otherwise found, and models can provide new contexts of thinking. If we bring ourselves to the map and models, the directions and symbolism will resonate more clearly. 8. They have a Fresh Stamp Models and maps that were once useful, will sometimes have an end. 9. We are like a Model and a Map According to a study published in the Nov. 18, 2010 issue of the journal Neuron, ‘The human mind is very much like a traveler — when it needs to reach a desired destination, it uses a map.’ The brain uses different types of “maps” in order to perform different motor functions. The previous scientific view was that all actions involved the use of a visual map, but the study found that the brain uses a visual map when dealing with external objects and a body map when dealing with self-referential motions. (Source: Daily.Nexus.com)
Our materials for this course, Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras, Physical Anatomy Diagrams, Subtle Anatomy Systems, and our Toolkits are all models and maps. All are to be approached with keen open awareness of their usefulness and shortcomings.
When water flows everywhere there is little role for the water in the well. In this same way, after realizing Divine there is little use for the knowledge of the Vedas. 2.46, Bhagavad Gita L
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Some Subtle Anatomy Language Prana is our vital life force. Nadis are the interior rivers through which the prana flows. The three primary nadis are Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala. The seven Chakras are vortices of the nadis. They are Muladhara, Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddi, Ajna and Sahasrara. The Bandhas are the locks or seals. The three primary bandhas are Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha and Jalandhara Bandha. The Granthis are the psychic knots of spiritual energy. The three granthis are Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. They are located at the Muladhara, Anahata and the Ajna Chakra respectively. The bandhas assist in the directing of the prana through the nadis towards the chakras to assist in loosening the granthis so that prana may flow more freely in the Shushumna and the yogini may connect to the physical, astral and causal planes of Herself. The Marma Points are specific locations on the 14 recognized nadis in the Ayurvedic System of Healing. There are 107 Classic Marma Points. The 5 Koshas are sheaths, or vibrations of our Self, varying in degrees of subtley. The 5 Koshas are annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya. The 5 Vayus are the winds of prana in the body handling different functions. They are apana vayu, prana vayu, samana vayu, udana vayu, and vyana vayu.
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“When the bird and the book disagree, always believe the bird.� James Audubon (1785-1851)
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From 350,000 to 3 The Siva Samitha* speaks of over 350,000 nadis, the Prapanchasara-Tanta refers to 300,000 and the Bhuta-suddhi Tantra and many other texts speak of 72,000 nadis. All these texts say that only 14 are important of which 3 are of the greatest significance. This leaves us with the Shushumna, Ida and Pingala nadis. We are curious about the other 11. Different texts offer slightly different maps, yet it seems that there is a corresponding nadi for each chakra, each sense has a nadi and each side of the body has a primary nadi.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes
* Siva Samhita, 1500BCE, is a Sanskrit text on yoga. It is a teaching of yoga from Shiva to his consort Parvati. * Prapanchasara Tantra (Part I), edited by Taranatha Vidyaratna & Arthur Avalon, 1914.
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Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala
Source: Bihar School of India
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Chakra Nadis Nadi
Extent
Aperture/ Marma Chakra/ Vayu
Alambusha
Runs from center of root chakra to the tip of the rectum. Supplies Prana to the organs of elimination.
* Anus * Muladhara * Apana Vayu
Kuhu
Runs from base of * Penis or spine to Sacral Chakra Vagina and toward the end of * Svadhistana the urethra. Supplies * Apana Vayu Prana to the urinary and reproductive organs.
Vishvodhara Runs from base of spine * Navel to the navel chakra and from it throughout the abdomen. Supplies Prana to the digestive system and digestive fire.
* Manipura * Samana * Vayu Agni
Guda (Anus)
Basti (bladder)
Nabhi (navel)
Source: ‘Ayurveda and Marma Therapy: Energy Points in Yoga Healing’. Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Subhash Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, 2003.
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Nadi
Extent
Aperture/ Chakra/ Vayu
Marma
Varuna
Runs from the base of the spine to the heart chakra and from it throughout the entire body. Supplies Prana to the entire body, through the respiratory and circulatory systems and the skin.
* Skin * Anahata * Vyana Vayu * “Allows for the deeper feeling and knowing of the heart to manifest.”
Hridaya (heart) and other marmas in the chest
Sarasvati
Runs from the base of the spine to the throat chakra, branching out to the tip of the tongue. Supplies Prana to the throat, mouth, tongue and vocal organs.
* Mouth and Throat * Vishudda * Udana Vayu * “Gives the powers of speech, song, taste, wisdom and mantra.”
Tip of Tongue, which is not one of the classical 107 marmas. Relflex point in the middle of the jaw, below the lips. Nila and Manya marmas are related.
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Third Eye Nadis Nadi
Extent
Effects
Pingala
Branches out from the third eye, goes to the right nostril, which is its orifice, and supplies Prana to it. Also governs the right nasal passage.
* Muladhara Phana on * Smell right side * “Driving pranic of nose channel for fiery and Pitta activities of all types from digestion to critical thinking.” * “Supplies energies to the right side of the body, stimulating the right side nadis.”
Ida
Branches out from the third eye, goes to the left nostril, which is its orifice, and supplies Prana to it. Also governs the left nasal passage.
* Muladhara * Smell * “Main Prana channel for watery and Kapha functions from tissue development to sleep.“ * “Governs inspired or visionary speech.” * “Causes the whole body to be nourished through Prana.” * “Supplies energy to left side of the body, stimulating all the left side nadis.”
Phana on the left side of nose.
Pusha
Branches out from the third eye, goes to the right eye, which is its orifice, and supplies Prana to it. Ruled mainly by Prana as the main power of the senses.
* Manipura * Sense of Sight * “A very important nadi because the soul (Atman) dwells in the right eye during waking state.”
Apanga marma on right temple.
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Marma
Nadi
Extent
Ghandhari Branches out from
the third eye, goes to the left eye, which is its orifice, and supplies Prana to it.
Effects
Marma
* Manipura * Sense of Sight * “Promotes dream, imagination, and creative vision.”
Apanga marma on left temple.
Payasvini
Branches out from * Vishudda the third eye, goes * Hearing to right ear, which * “At the right ear, is its orifice, and we hear the inner supplies Prana to it. sounds of Yoga or Also governs right nada, the music Eustachian tube. of the soul.”
Right Vidhura marma, just behind ear.
Shankhini
Branches out from * Vishudda the third eye, goes * Hearing to left ear, which * “Increases faith is its orifice, and and makes us supplies Prana to it. receptive to Also governs left higher devotional Eustachian tube. influences.”
Left Vidhura marma, just behind ear.
Source: ‘Ayurveda and Marma Therapy: Energy Points in Yoga Healing’. Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Subhash Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, 2003. LL
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Limb Nadis Nadi
Extent
Effects
Yashasvati
Runs from root * Vyana Vayu chakra to the navel * “Strong healing chakra where it energy potential branches out. through the Supplies Prana to palm of the the right foot and right hand, right hand. Its which like energy comes to a the right eye center in the middle relates to the of the right hand soul and to and foot and from fire.” there radiates out to the five fingers or toes, ending primarily in the right thumb and big toe.
* Right Big Toe * Right Thumb * Main marmas are Kshipra and Talahridaya on right foot and hand. * Related to all right side marmas
Hastijihva
Runs from root * Vyana Vayu chakra to the navel * “The energy of chakra where it the left hand is branches out. more colling, Supplies Prana to soothing and the left foot and left nourishing than hand. Its energy that of the comes to a center right and is in the middle of the watery in left hand and foot nature.” and from there radiates out to the five fingers or toes, ending primarily in the left thumb and big toe.
* Left Big Toe * Tip of Left Thumb
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Aperture and Marma
The Chakra Model Chakra means “wheel” or “circle”. The chakras are understood to be dynamic vortices of prana where the nadis converge. Attention to these centers is believed to assist in awakening our consciousness to deeper and more subtle dimensions within ourselves and the cosmos. Specifically, the chakras are believed to assist in moving the prana between the physical, astral and causal realms. Just as our collective hip joints differ slightly in their shape, flexibility and strength, so do our chakras. And just as our hip joints perform basically the same function, so do our chakras. And just as we have a choice to allow our hips to tighten and close or open and move, so we also have the choice to ignore or connect and develop a relationship with our chakras. Allow the rumours about the chakras to be there when you need them. Filling our minds with facts does not draw us any closer. In fact, knowing the data can often create an illusion of intimacy. Like reading books about swimming, nothing compares to diving in.
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Approximate Chakra Locations
Source: Bihar School of India
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Source: Bihar School of India
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A Few Chakra Rumors Muladhara Chakra
Root Chakra Element: Earth Motor Organ: Anus Sense Organ: Nose Meaning: Root place or base Root Location: Tailbone Flower Location: Perineum Seed Sound: LAM Yama: Ahimsa
Sacral Chakra Element: Water Motor Organ: Uro-genital organs Sense Organ: Tongue Meaning: That which cannot be controlled Root Location: Lower Sacrum Flower Location: Lower Belly Seed Sound: VAM Yama: Bramacharya
Navel Chakra Element: Fire Motor Organ: Feet Sense Organ: Eyes Meaning: City of jewels Root Location: Upper Lumbar Spine (L2) Flower Location: Navel Center Seed Sound: RAM Yama: Asteya
Svadhisthana Chakra
Manipura Chakra
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Anahata Chakra
Heart Chakra Element: Air Motor Organ: Hands Sense Organ: Skin Meaning: Unstruck sound or unbeaten, unbroken Root Location: Between Shoulderblades (T7/T8) Flower Location: Breastbone Seed Sound : YAM Yama: Aparigraha
Vishudda Chakra
Throat Chakra Element: Ether Motor Organ: Vocal Cords Sense Organ: Ears Meaning: To purify, center of nectar Root Location: C7 Flower Location: Teardrop of the throat Seed Sound: HAM Yama: Satya
Third Eye Chakra Meaning: command center, seat of wisdom and Cntuition Root Location: Occiput Flower Location: Between Eyebrows Seed Sound: OM
Ajna Chakra
Sahasrara Chakra
Crown Chakra Meaning: Thousand petal lotus Location: Crown of Head Seed Sound: OM
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The Bandhas
Artist Rendering of Mula Bandha Local
Uddiyana Bandha L
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Jalandhara Bandha
Bandha means “lock”. “Lock” is a farming term and refers to the creation of “dams” to assist in the flow and retention of prana through the nadis for the purposes of irrigation.
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Marma Points ‘Marma’ is a Sanskrit term for sensitive or vulnerable points on the body. Marma Points serve as ‘pranic control points’ on the body, where the energy of prana can be treated, controlled, directed or manipulated in various ways. Marmas are integral to all Ayurvedic therapies. Injury to marmas quickly affects the health and vitality of a person and in the case of some marmas can even prove fatal. Another term used for marma points is ‘varma’ points. Varma refers to protective material or armor. Marmas are regions of the body that were protected in battle in order to safeguard the life of the warrior. There are 107 prime classical marmas according to the Sushruta Samhita, one of the oldest Ayurvedic texts, which also mentions marmas relative to the practice of surgery. Arms and Hands, 11 Regions, 22 Points Legs and Feet, 11 Regions, 22 Points Abdomen and Chest, 8 Regions, 12 Points Back and Hips, 7 Regions, 14 Points Head and Neck, 14 Regions, 37 Points However, besides these primary marmas are many other marmas, up to 360 according to some healers. To some extent, any sensitive point on the body of a person is a kind of marma or vulnerable location. The skin itself can be regarded as a greater marma zone in which all the other marmas are contained. Marmas are also locations in which the doshas of vata, pitta and kapha can be held, along with their subtle essences of prana, tejas and ojas. As sensitive zones, marmas can hold various emotions like fear (vata), anger (pitta) or attachment (kapha), as well as the gunas or primary qualities of sattva (calm), rajas (aggression) and tamas (inertia). In this regard the concept of marmas goes beyond modern medicine and its purely physical definitions to the main principles of mind-body medicine. Text Source: David Frawley
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“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.� C.S. Lewis
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Chakra Marma Points
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Leg Marma Points
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Bottom of Foot Marma Points
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Hand Marma Points
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Arm Marma Points
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Chest Marma Points
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Hip and Back Marma Points
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Head Marma Points
Note: Sira Matrika represents 4 marmas on each side of neck for a total of 8.
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Krikitika
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Source: Ayurveda and Marma Therapy, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Subhas Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, 2003. 66
Source: Ayurveda and Marma Therapy, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Subhas Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, 2003. 67
The Koshas
Annamaya Kosha food-apparent-sheath, physical body Pranamaya Kosha air-apparent-sheath, vital energy Manomaya Kosha mind-stuff-apparent-sheath Vijnanamaya Kosha wisdom-apparent-sheath Anandamaya Kosha bliss-apparent-sheath
Please note: The Sanskrit is not properly marked on this page.
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Circumstances are nothing but ourselves. John Daido Loori
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The Vayus
Source: Image from Theory of the Chakras, Dr. Motoyama.
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Dermatone Chart
Image Source: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy LL
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The Toaist Cycle of Creativity
Source: universal-tao.com L
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Source: universal-tao.com LL
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The Nervous System An Overview
The nervous system is composed of all nerve tissues in the body. The functions of nerve tissue are to receive stimuli, transmit stimuli to nervous centers, and to initiate response. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord and serves as the collection point of nerve impulses. The peripheral nervous system includes all nerves not in the brain or spinal cord and connects all parts of the body to the central nervous system. The peripheral (sensory) nervous system receives stimuli, the central nervous system interprets them, and then the peripheral (motor) nervous system initiates responses. The somatic nervous system controls functions that are under conscious voluntary control such as skeletal muscles and sensory neurons of the skin. The autonomic nervous system, mostly motor nerves, controls functions of involuntary smooth muscles, cardiac muscles, and glands. The autonomic nervous system provides almost every organ with a double set of nerves - the sympathetic and parasympathetic. These systems generally but not always work in opposition to each other. The sympathetic system activates and prepares the body for vigorous muscular activity, stress, and emergencies. While the parasympathetic system lowers activity, operates during normal situations, permits digestion, and conservation of energy. The two systems generally act in opposition to each other. For example, a stimulation by the sympathetic system on the heart would increase contractions, while a stimulation by the parasympathetic system would decrease heart contractions. Where dual control of an organ exists, both systems operate simultaneously although one may be operating at a higher level of activity than the other. The operation is similar to the operation of a car with both the accelerator and brake pedals depressed. 74
In the peripheral nervous system, a chemical neurotransmitter carries the nerve impulses from neuron to neuron across a synapse (space between neurons). The neurotransmitters are acetylcholine, norephinephrine, dopamine, histamine, glycine, GABA and serotonin. Nerves that release acetylcholine are called cholinergic nerves. Cholinergic nerves are part of the parasympathetic system, somatic motor nerves, preganglionic sympathetic nerves* and central nervous system. (* The nerve that carries the message from the central nervous system to a ganglion - junction for a group of nerve cells - is a preganglionic nerve.) Nerves that release norepinephrine are called adrenergic nerves. Adrenergic nerves are part of the postganglionic sympathetic nerve system** and parts of the central nervous system. (**A nerve that carries the impulse from the ganglion to the effecter cell is a postganglionic nerve.)
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Stress, Breath and the Vagus Nerve Am I Safe?
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is continually sending out the question “Am I safe?” As long as it gets back the answer “Yes,” then the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) runs the show, optimistically keeping everything working. When the SNS gets the response, “No,” the “Flight or Fight Syndrome” kicks in, launching a campaign of action. Adrenaline is released into the blood stream, increasing the heart rate and blood pressure. Simultaneously, the bronchi of the lungs relax to deepen the breath and increase screaming ability. Insulin is released, increasing the blood sugar levels for a quick burst of energy. Concentrations in the plasma of the protein fibrinogen are increased, to encourage blood coagulation (blood clotting) in anticipation of getting wounded. And the immune system gets a 30 minutes boost. Simultaneously, long term optimistic projects within the body are suspended. The digestion system cleans itself out and then shuts down. The reproductive organs also shut down. The Flight or Fight Syndrome is incredibly effective for getting us though or out of physical dangerous situations quickly. Once safe, the SNS is supposed to relax and the PNS (known as the “Rest and Digest” system) is allowed to take over again. In the modern western world we respond to psychological stresses in the same way as physical danger. Infact, there is very little discrimination between the two. Simultaneouly, many of us in the modern western world have forgotten how to relax. “I’ll relax once I get all that stuff done,” is a common phrase. This “go go go” mentality combined with the continual barrage of information and demands that we perceive as stress, has resulted in a large number of people stuck in the “No-I-am-not-safe-mode”. When the body gets caught in a stress cycle, the “rest levels” of the heart rate and blood sugar adapt and rise. The higher blood pressure combined with increase of the clotting hormone combined with the chest breathing increase the chances of a heart attack significantly. L
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The rise in blood sugar combined with a debilitated digestive system can result in diseases like Type II diabetes. The weakened immune system results in chronic illness. The lack of attention paid to the reproduction system will eventually cause it to break down. Many women who are trying to have children while balancing stressful careers are surprised to find themselves unable to conceive.
Cortisol
Cortisol, is the hormone of chronic stress. Below are the well documented effects of chronic cortisol elevations on your mind and body: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Increased appetite and food cravings Cortisol stimulates fat storage esp. around the abdomen Increased body fat - obesity Decreased muscle mass Insulin resistance and eventually diabetes Heart disease Increased blood pressure – high blood pressure Decreased bone density – osteoporosis Reduced synthesis of neurotransmitters Increased anxiety Increased depression Reduced concentration Mood swings (anger and irritability) Reduced levels of estrogen and testosterone – decreased sex drive Impaired immune response – frequent colds, flus, infections and cancer Memory and learning impairment Physical atrophy of brain cells – Alzheimer’s disease Increased symptoms of PMS Increased menopausal side effects
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The Nerve Roots of War and Peace
The Nerves of the SNS emanate from the T1 to L2. The Nerves of the PNS emanate from the medulla oblongata (just above the C1) and the sacrum (S2 - S4). Stimulation of the Parasympathetic Nerves will result in a reduction of stress. The quickest most direct way to stimulate the PNS is through the breath.
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Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fold
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The Vagus Nerve
Image Source: Netter’s Human Anatomy
The Vagus Nerve, also known as the tenth Cranial Nerve, originates from the medulla oblongata and touches most of the internal organ: the lungs, the heart, the stomach, the liver, the pancreas, the kidneys, the small and large intestines. The Vagus Nerve runs through the diaphragm. Deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the Vagus Nerve and communicates that everything is going to be alright. This in turn has the effect of slowing down the heart, relaxing the bronchi of the lungs, lowering the blood sugar and increasing digestion. 80
The Muscles of the Breath Many people are stuck in the habit of breathing from their secondary muscles of respiration of the chest and neck, increasing the risk of heart disease and tension headaches. The practice of learning how to breath with the diaphragm, intercostals and abdominals -- the primary muscles of respiration -- is and effective and powerful tool in the reduction of stress.
Image Source: Donna Fahari’s, The Breathing Book
The Mind
The main purpose of the Inhalation is to stimulate the Exhalation. Beacuse while the inhalation brings fresh oxygen in, the exhale is the breath that releases the toxicity of the body and is more vital to our ultimate survival. Whena yogini drowns, she does not die of lack of oxygen, but rather the build up of toxins. The number one cause of toxicity in the body is our mental and emotional state. Negative thinking creates toxins. And so while we use deep breathing to help clear the toxicity and calm the body, eventually a quiet mind results in a quiet even almost breathless state. 81
How The Practices of Yoga Help
In the practices of yoga, we deliberately try to stretch and open the chest, back and belly to increase breathing room. We deliberately practice deepening and lengthening the breath. Many of the poses are intentionally stressful, offering the opportunity to “counter-pose” through deep breathing and reset the nervous system’s bar. Many of the movements are designed to stimulate the PNS nerves around the sacrum area. Simultaneously, we practice relaxing and releasing the negative thought patterns. We chant to tune the mind to a more harmonous state. Different people respond to different practices. Some need a more active practice to feel met. Some find a more restorative passive practice to be the most effective. There is no one route for anyone. One of the most beautiful characteristics of the yoga practice is that it morphs to meet each of us where we are and gently draw us in deeper.
Image Source: Donna Fahari’s, The Breathing Book 82
Our favorite yogi scientist doctor, Patanjali.
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Mental Health from Patanjali 1.2
Yoga is the mastery over the fluctuations of the mind.
yogaś chitta vṛtti nirodhaḥ
1.33 A clear and tranquil mind results from cultivating friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion towards those who suffer, joy towards the virtuous, and impartiality towards wrong-doers.
maitrī karuṇā muditā upekṣānāṃ sukha duḥka puṇya apuṇya viṣāyaṇāṃ bhāvanātaś chitta prāsadanam
1.34 Or from attention to the outward and inward flow of breath (prana).
prachchhardana vidhāraṇābhyāṃ vā prāṇasya
1.35 Or from steady attention to the subtler levels of sensation
viṣaya vatī vā pravṛttir utpannā manasaḥ sthiti nibandhanī
1.36 Or by experiencing inner radiance free from sorrow.
viśokā vā jyotiṣmatī
1.37 Or by turning to those things which do not incite attachment.
vīta rāga viṣayaṃ vā chittam 84
1.38 Or by depending upon insights obtained in the states of greater awakening called svapna and nidra. svapna nidrā jñāna ālambanaṃ vā 1.38 Or by meditation on the longing of the heart.
yathā abhimata dhyānād vā
MeYou, Robyn Dalby, 2012 LL
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Sutra 1.33
A clear and tranquil mind results from cultivating friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion towards those who suffer, joy towards the virtuous and impartiality towards wrong-doers. maitrī karuṇā muditā upekṣānāṃ sukha duḥka puṇya apuṇya viṣāyaṇāṃ bhāvanātaś chitta prāsadanam maitrī - friendliness, pleasantness karuṇā - compassion, mercy muditā - goodwill, gladness, sympathetic joy upekṣānāṃ - equanitmity, impartiality, neutrality sukha - happy, joyous duḥka - suffering, pain puṇya - virtuous, meritorious apuṇya - non-virtuous, wicked viṣāyaṇāṃ - regarding those subjects, in relation to those objects bhāvanātaś - by cultivating habits, by constant reflection, impressing on oneself chitta - mind field, consciousness prāsadanam - purified, clear, serene, calm, pacified
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Perhaps practice writing the sanskrit and english words of sutra 1.33 here to help you memorize them. Practice sharing with others in teaching and conversation.
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Sutra 1.33 Field Notes 1. What did you notice when you made an effort to be in the feeling tone of friendliness? Describe the physiological effects if available.
2. What did you notice when you made an effort to be in the feeling tone of compassion? Describe the physiological effects if available.
3. Do friendliness and compassion feel different to you? If so, can you please describe how they differ or feel the same.
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4. Who is someone that allows you to practice mudita (sympathetic joy)? Can you describe the feeling? What seems to happen in your body?
5. What do you notice in your body when you slip into equanimity? If equanimity is not available, what do you experience instead?
6. Allow yourself to sit with a disharmonious relationship. What happens when you play with one of the emotions suggested by Sutra 1.33? Is one more effective for you than another?
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The Kleshas
In attempting to understand how the mind works, it is popular to use the analogy of a computer. While perhaps helpful for a moment, this inclination shrinks our minds down to something humans have created. This limiting self referencing feeds the concept of the body as a machine with parts and serves the rational gods. Within this analogy, the vrttis (the fluctuations or movements) are described as the “software” that runs off the “firmware” or the “operating system” of the kleshas. The kleśāḥs, described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, are the “colorings of” or “hindrances to” seeing clearly. The writings from over 2000 years ago and from a much older oral tradition correspond to what neuroscientists are just starting to “prove.” As biological beings, with seemingly temporary physical encasings, we are designed to avoid danger and survive. These tendencies create pattens that without observation can concretize and feel like truth. The yogi aims to see these limiting beliefs and allow them to dissolve into greater perceived Truths.
2.1 The practice of yoga consists of self discipline (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya), and dedication to Ishvara. 2.2 Yoga is for cultivating samadhi and for weakening the hindrances (kleshas). 2.3 The kleshas are ignorance (avidya), the sense of a separate self (asmita), attraction (raga), aversion (dvesha), and clinging to the status quo (abhinivesha).
avidyā asmitā rāga dveṣa abhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ
2.4 Avidya is the cause of all the others, whether dormant, attenuated, intermittent, or fully active.
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2.5 Avidya is seeing the transient as eternal, the impure as pure, dissatisfaction as pleasure, the non-Self as Self. 2.6 Asmita is the misidentification of the power of seeing with what is seen. 2.7 Raga arises from dwelling on pleasant experiences. 2.8 Dvesha arises from clinging to unpleasant experiences. 2.9 Abhinivesha is the automatic tendency for continuity; it overwhelms even the wise. 2.10 These subtle kleshas can be overcome by reversing the natural flow (pratiparasava) and returning towards the source. 2.11 Their effects can be reduced by mediation (dhyana). 2.12 Past actions, rooted in kleshas, give rise to experiences in present or future births. 2.13 As long as the root exists, the effects will be experienced as birth and in the quality and duration of life. 2.14 Joy is the result of right action, sorrow of wrong action.
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The Vrittis There is a funny temptation to blame our difficulties of attention on the latest technological distractions. These three sutras remind us that the distractions and results have been similar for a long long time. Pointing towards a cause outside of ourselves is rarely helpful. The solution is to vigilantly engage in self study and knows these temptations and intimate aspects of ourselves.
1.30 Sickness, apathy, doubt, carelessness, laziness, indulgence, confusion, unsteadiness, and feeling stuck are the interruptions which cause dispersion of attention.
vyādhi styāna samśaya pramāda ālasya avirati bhrānti darśana alabdha bhūmikatva anavasthitatvāni chitta vikṣepāste’ntarāyāḥ vyādhi - sickness, illness, disease styāna - apathy, dullness, mental laziness, rigidity samśaya - doubt, indecision pramāda - carelessness, negligence ālasya - laziness, sloth avirati - indulgence, want of non-attachment, sensuality, craving, desire bhrānti darśana - confusion, false views of perception, blindness alabdha bhūmikatva - failing to attain stages of practice (alabdha - not obtaining, bhūmikatva firm ground, state) anavasthitatvāni - inability to maintain, inconsistency chitta vikṣepā - distractions of the mind antarāya - obstacle L
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1.31 Dissatisfaction, despair, nervousness and irregular breathing accompany this dispersion.
duḥkha daurmanasya aṅgam ejayatva śvāsa praśvāsā vikṣepasahabhvaḥ
duḥkha - pain (mental or physical) daurmanasya - despair, sadness aṅgam ejayatva - nervousness, shakiness śvāsa - irregular inhalation praśvāsā - irregular exhalation vikṣepa - distractions sahabhvaḥ - correlates, accompaniments, companions
1.32 Dispersion is prevented by the practice of focusing on one truth.
tat-pratiṣedha artham eka tattva abhyāsaḥ
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Our bodily food is changed into us, but our spiritual food changes us into itself. ~ Meister Eckhart
Boney and Squishy Landmarks
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The Spine
Image Source: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy
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Pelvic Viewing
Image Source: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy
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Hip Joint
Image Source: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy
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External Rotators of Hip
Gemellus superior, Gemellus inferior, Obturator internus, Obturator externus, Quadratus femoris, Piriformis, Gluteus maximus, Sartorius, Gluteus medius, posterior fibers
Internal Rotators of Hip
Gluteus Minimus
Gluteus Medius Tensor Fasciae Latae L
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The Sciattic Nerve
Images from Google.com
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Nerves of Lumbarsacral
Image Source: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy L
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La Psoas
Image copied from Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy with no permission.
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Little Muscles of the Spine
Rotatores Thoracis Muscles
Interspinalis Muscles
Images from neosavina.ivyro.net
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The Shoulder Joint
Images from Google.com 104
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Images from Google.com
Your Beautiful Neck
Image Source: Prohealthsys.com
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The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass; it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. ~ Henry Miller
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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~Aristotle
Into Practice
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See More Clearly In response to the question of why we suffer, the sages are continually telling us that we are just simply not seeing clearly enough (avidya). As Westerners, we suspect that this means we need to see more exactly, with greater magnification and sharper imaging tools. The tendency in the West is to look to fix. Our eastern brothers and sisters suggest that all we need to do is look with a particular quality of attention. This quality is known as perfect concentration (samyama). In addition to the components of steady attention (dharana), wide open awareness (dhyana) and vulnerability (samadhi), key to seeing clearly is affection for the subject one is looking at. And in yoga, the subject is most often the Self. The lucky part for us is that we do not need to already have affection for the Self to begin. The simple act of the practice of looking will eventually result in this as “time with” is key for any intimate relationship to occur. The story from Ramana Maharshi’s ashram in Tirubannamalai, India goes something like this: At Ramana’s ashram, there was a cow shed. And there was a problem with one of the cows eating the grass in all the other cow’s stalls. When Ramana was asked what to do with the problem of the rogue cow, Ramana is rumored to have replied, “She simply has not yet tasted her own grass.” The simple practice of looking within will change everything. We promise. Begin now with gentle kindness and affection. The key to a yogi’s success is a balance of diligent practice (abhyasa) and surrender (vairagya).
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Abhyasa and Vairagya 1.12 abhyasa vairagyabhyam tan nirodhah
Stillness develops through practice (abhyasa) and non-identification (vairagya).
1.13 tatra sthitau yatnah abhyasa
Abhyasa is the effort of remaining present.
1.14 sah tu dirgha kala nairantaira satkara asevitah dridha bhumih
Continuous care and attention for a long time establishes this practice.
1.15 drista anushravika vishaya vitrishnasya vashikara sanjna vairagyam
Vairagya is the mastery over the craving for what has been seen or heard.
1.16 tat param purusha khyateh guna vaitrshnyam
The higher vairagya arises from a vision of the Transcendent being (Purusha) and leads to the cessation of craving for the things of the world.
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Samyama 3 Definitions of Samyama: Perfect Concentration Total Attention Perfect Discipline
3.4
Samyama is when dharana, dhyana, and samadhi are together.
trayam ekatra saṃyamaḥ
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Some of the Promises of Samyama 3.23 From samyama on friendliness and similar qualities, these qualities can be gained. maitry ādiṣu balāni 3.24 From samyama on the strength of an animal, such as an elephant, one gains that strength.
baleṣu hasti bala ādīni
3.26 Knowledge of the universe can be gained by samyama on the sun. bhuvana jñānaṃ surye saṃyamāt 3.27 Knowledge on the arrangement of the stars can be gained by samyama on the moon. chandre tārā vyūha jñānaṃ 3.29 Knowledge of the bodily system, can be gained by samyama on the navel center. nābhi chakre kāya vyūha jñānaṃ 3.34 Samyama on the heart leads to an understanding of chitta. hṛdyae chitta saṃvit
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Becoming a Learner
If we are only rewarded by our achievements, we slowly become non-learners. We begin to avoid the activities that we are not good at and slowly start to shrink our lives. If we can feel rewarded by our efforts, then challenges and new things become exciting as they offer an opportunity to grow and stretch and live a richer life. Key ingredients of a yogi are wonderment and willingness. If we approach ourselves with curiosity and amazement, we increase our capacity to hold the opposites.
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The Law of Karma
As I am, so I act. As I act, so I become. 115
The Effort Effect According to a Stanford psychologist, you’ll reach new heights if you learn to embrace the occasional tumble. By Marina Krakovsky ONE DAY LAST NOVEMBER, psychology professor Carol Dweck welcomed a pair of visitors from the Blackburn Rovers, a soccer team in the United Kingdom’s Premier League. The Rovers’ training academy is ranked in England’s top three, yet performance director Tony Faulkner had long suspected that many promising players weren’t reaching their potential. Ignoring the team’s century-old motto— arte et labore, or “skill and hard work”—the most talented individuals disdained serious training. On some level, Faulkner knew the source of the trouble: British soccer culture held that star players are born, not made. If you buy into that view, and are told you’ve got immense talent, what’s the point of practice? If anything, training hard would tell you and others that you’re merely good, not great. Faulkner had identified the problem; but to fix it, he needed Dweck’s help. A 60-year-old academic psychologist might seem an unlikely sports motivation guru. But Dweck’s expertise—and her recent book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success—bear directly on the sort of problem facing the Rovers. Through more than three decades of systematic research, she has been figuring out answers to why some people achieve their potential while equally talented others don’t— why some become Muhammad Ali and others Mike Tyson. The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed. What’s more, Dweck has shown that people can learn to adopt the latter belief and make dramatic strides in performance. These days, she’s sought out wherever motivation and achievement matter, from education and parenting to business management and personal development. AS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT YALE, Dweck started off studying animal motivation. In the late 1960s, a hot topic in animal research was “learned helplessness”: lab animals sometimes didn’t do what they were capable of because they’d given up from repeat failures. Dweck wondered how humans coped with that. “I asked, ‘What makes a 116
really capable child give up in the face of failure, where other children may be motivated by the failure?’” she recalls. At the time, the suggested cure for learned helplessness was a long string of successes. Dweck posited that the difference between the helpless response and its opposite—the determination to master new things and surmount challenges—lay in people’s beliefs about why they had failed. People who attributed their failures to lack of ability, Dweck thought, would become discouraged even in areas where they were capable. Those who thought they simply hadn’t tried hard enough, on the other hand, would be fueled by setbacks. This became the topic of her PhD dissertation. Dweck and her assistants ran an experiment on elementary school children whom school personnel had identified as helpless. These kids fit the definition perfectly: if they came across a few math problems they couldn’t solve, for example, they no longer could do problems they had solved before—and some didn’t recover that ability for days. Through a series of exercises, the experimenters trained half the students to chalk up their errors to insufficient effort, and encouraged them to keep going. Those children learned to persist in the face of failure—and to succeed. The control group showed no improvement at all, continuing to fall apart quickly and to recover slowly. These findings, says Dweck, “really supported the idea that the attributions were a key ingredient driving the helpless and mastery-oriented patterns.” Her 1975 article on the topic has become one of the most widely cited in contemporary psychology. Attribution theory, concerned with people’s judgments about the causes of events and behavior, already was an active area of psychological research. But the focus at the time was on how we make attributions, explains Stanford psychology professor Lee Ross, who coined the term “fundamental attribution error” for our tendency to explain other people’s actions by their character traits, overlooking the power of circumstances. Dweck, he says, helped “shift the emphasis from attributional errors and biases to the consequences of attributions—why it matters what attributions people make.” Dweck had put attribution theory to practical use. LL
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She continued to do so as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, collaborating with then-graduate student Carol Diener to have children “think out loud” as they faced problem-solving tasks, some too difficult for them. The big surprise: some of the children who put forth lots of effort didn’t make attributions at all. These children didn’t think they were failing. Diener puts it this way: “Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, I’m a problem solver, and I’ll try something else.’” During one unforgettable moment, one boy—something of a poster child for the mastery-oriented type—faced his first stumper by pulling up his chair, rubbing his hands together, smacking his lips and announcing, “I love a challenge.” Such zest for challenge helped explain why other capable students thought they lacked ability just because they’d hit a setback. Common sense suggests that ability inspires self-confidence. And it does for a while—so long as the going is easy. But setbacks change everything. Dweck realized—and, with colleague Elaine Elliott soon demonstrated—that the difference lay in the kids’ goals. “The masteryoriented children are really hell-bent on learning something,” Dweck says, and “learning goals” inspire a different chain of thoughts and behaviors than “performance goals.” Students for whom performance is paramount want to look smart even if it means not learning a thing in the process. For them, each task is a challenge to their self-image, and each setback becomes a personal threat. So they pursue only activities at which they’re sure to shine— and avoid the sorts of experiences necessary to grow and flourish in any endeavor. Students with learning goals, on the other hand, take necessary risks and don’t worry about failure because each mistake becomes a chance to learn. Dweck’s insight launched a new field of educational psychology—achievement goal theory. Dweck’s next question: what makes students focus on different goals in the first place? During a sabbatical at Harvard, she was discussing this with doctoral student Mary Bandura (daughter of legendary Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura), and the answer hit them: if some students want to show off their ability, while others want to increase their ability, “ability” means different things to the two groups. “If you want to demonstrate something over and over, it feels like something static that lives inside of you—whereas if you want to increase your ability, it feels dynamic and malleable,” Dweck explains. 119
Students for whom performance is paramount want to look smart even if it means not learning a thing in the process. People with performance goals, she reasoned, think intelligence is fixed from birth. People with learning goals have a growth mind-set about intelligence, believing it can be developed. (Among themselves, psychologists call the growth mind-set an “incremental theory,” and use the term “entity theory” for the fixed mind-set.) The model was nearly complete (see previous diagram).
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GROWING UP IN BROOKLYN in the ’50s, Dweck did well in elementary school, earning a spot in a sixth-grade class of other high achievers. Not just any spot, it turned out. Their teacher, Mrs. Wilson, seated the students in IQ order and even used IQ scores to dole out classroom responsibilities. Whether Mrs. Wilson meant to or not, she was conveying her belief in fixed intelligence. Dweck, who was in row 1, seat 1, believes Mrs. Wilson’s intentions were good. The experience didn’t scar her—Dweck says she already had some of the growth mind-set—but she has shown that many students pegged as bright, especially girls, don’t fare as well. Tests, Dweck notes, are notoriously poor at measuring potential. Take a group of adults and ask them to draw a self-portrait. Most Americans think of drawing as a gift they don’t have, and their portraits look no better than a child’s scribbles. But put them in a well-designed class—as Betty Edwards, the author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, has—and the resulting portraits look so skilled it’s hard to believe they’re the work of the same “talentless” individuals. The belief that you can’t improve stunts achievement. Culture can play a large role in shaping our beliefs, Dweck says. A college physics teacher recently wrote to Dweck that in India, where she was educated, there was no notion that you had to be a genius or even particularly smart to learn physics. “The assumption was that everyone could do it, and, for the most part, they did.” But what if you’re raised with a fixed mind-set about physics—or foreign languages or music? Not to worry: Dweck has shown that you can change the mind-set itself. The most dramatic proof comes from a recent study by Dweck and Lisa Sorich Blackwell of low-achieving seventh graders. All students participated in sessions on study skills, the brain and the like; in addition, one group attended a neutral session on memory while the other learned that intelligence, like a muscle, grows stronger through exercise. Training students to adopt a growth mind-set about intelligence had a catalytic effect on motivation and math grades; students in the control group showed no improvement despite all the other interventions. “Study skills and learning skills are inert until they’re powered by an active ingredient,” Dweck explains. Students may know how to study, but won’t want to if they believe their efforts are futile. “If you target that belief, you can see more benefit than you have any reason to hope for.” 121
‘What makes a really capable child give up in the face of failure, where other children may be motivated by the failure?’ The classroom workshop isn’t feasible on a large scale; for one thing, it’s too costly. So Dweck and Blackwell have designed a computerbased training module to simulate the live intervention. Their hip multimedia software, called Brainology, is still in development, but thanks to early buzz from a Time magazine article and Dweck’s recent book, teachers have begun clamoring for it, one even asking to become a distributor. Unlike much that passes for wisdom about education and performance, Dweck’s conclusions are grounded in solid research. She’s no rah-rah motivational coach proclaiming the sky’s the limit and attitude is everything; that’s too facile. But the evidence shows that if we hold a fixed mind-set, we’re bound not to reach as high as we might. ALTHOUGH MUCH OF DWECK’S RESEARCH on mind-sets has taken place in school settings, it’s applicable to sports, business, interpersonal relationships and so on. “Lots and lots of people are interested in her work; it touches on so many different areas of psychology and areas outside of psychology,” says Stanford psychology professor Mark Lepper, ’66, who as department chair in 2004 lured Dweck away from Columbia, where she’d been for 15 years. “The social psychologists like to say she’s a social psychologist; the personality psychologists say she’s a personality psychologist; and the developmental psychologists say she’s a developmental psychologist,” Lepper adds. By all rights, her appeal should transcend academia, says New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell, who is well known for making psychological research accessible to the general public. “One of the most popular pieces I ever did relied very heavily on work done by Carol Dweck,” he said in a December interview in theJournal of Management Inquiry. “Carol Dweck deserves a big audience. It is criminal if she does not get that audience.” Perhaps Mindset will help; it was written for lay readers. 122
It certainly cemented Tony Faulkner’s belief that Dweck could help the Blackburn Rovers soccer team. Unlike the disadvantaged kids in Dweck’s middle-school study, the Rovers didn’t think they lacked what it took to succeed. Quite the opposite: they thought their talent should take them all the way. Yet both groups’ fixed mind-set about ability explains their aversion to effort. But aren’t there plenty of people who believe in innate ability and in the notion that nothing comes without effort? Logically, the two ideas are compatible. But psychologically, explains Dweck, many people who believe in fixed intelligence also think you shouldn’t need hard work to do well. This belief isn’t entirely irrational, she says. A student who finishes a problem set in 10 minutes is indeed better at math than someone who takes four hours to solve the problems. And a soccer player who scores effortlessly probably is more talented than someone who’s always practicing. “The fallacy comes when people generalize it to the belief that effort on any task, even very hard ones, implies low ability,” Dweck says. Her advice for the Rovers rings true for anyone stuck in a fixed mindset. “Changing mind-sets is not like surgery,” she says. “You can’t simply remove the fixed mind-set and replace it with the growth mind-set.” The Rovers are starting their workshops with recent recruits—their youngest, most malleable players. (Faulkner realizes that players who’ve already earned millions from being “naturals” have little incentive to reshape their brains.) The team’s talent scouts will be asking about new players’ views on talent and training—not to screen out those with a fixed mind-set, but to target them for special training. In his 2002 essay that relied on Dweck’s work, Gladwell cited one of her best-known experiments to argue that Enron may have collapsed precisely because of the company’s talent-obsessed culture, not despite it. Dweck’s study showed that praising children for intelligence, rather than for effort, sapped their motivation (see sidebar). But more disturbingly, 40 percent of those whose intelligence was praised overstated their scores to peers. “We took ordinary children and made them into liars,” Dweck says. Similarly, Enron executives who’d been celebrated for their innate talent would sooner lie than fess up to problems and work to fix them.
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Business School professor Jeffrey Pfeffer says Dweck’s research has implications for the more workaday problem of performance management. He faults businesses for spending too much time in rank-and-yank mode, grading and evaluating people instead of developing their skills. “It’s like the Santa Claus theory of management: who’s naughty and who’s nice.” Leaders, too, can benefit from Dweck’s work, says Robert Sternberg, PhD ’75, Tufts University’s dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Sternberg, a past president of the American Psychological Association, says that excessive concern with looking smart keeps you from making bold, visionary moves. “If you’re afraid of making mistakes, you’ll never learn on the job, and your whole approach becomes defensive: ‘I have to make sure I don’t screw up.’”
Source: New Yorker
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What Do We Tell Our Kids?
YOU HAVE A BRIGHT CHILD, and you want her to succeed. You should tell her how smart she is, right? That’s what 85 percent of the parents Dweck surveyed said. Her research on fifth graders shows otherwise. Labels, even though positive, can be harmful. They may instill a fixed mind-set and all the baggage that goes with it, from performance anxiety to a tendency to give up quickly. Well-meaning words can sap children’s motivation and enjoyment of learning and undermine their performance. While Dweck’s study focused on intelligence praise, she says her conclusions hold true for all talents and abilities. Here are Dweck’s tips from Mindset: Listen to what you say to your kids, with an ear toward the messages you’re sending about mind-set. Instead of praising children’s intelligence or talent, focus on the processes they used. Example: “That homework was so long and involved. I really admire the way you concentrated and finished it.” Example: “That picture has so many beautiful colors. Tell me about them.” Example: “You put so much thought into that essay. It really makes me think about Shakespeare in a new way.” When your child messes up, give constructive criticism—feedback that helps the child understand how to fix the problem, rather than labeling or excusing the child. Pay attention to the goals you set for your children; having innate talent is not a goal, but expanding skills and knowledge is. Don’t worry about praising your children for their inherent goodness, though. It’s important for children to learn they’re basically good and that their parents love them unconditionally, Dweck says. “The problem arises when parents praise children in a way that makes them feel that they’re good and love-worthy only when they behave in particular ways that please the parents.”
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Body Blanks
You are tapped into the same subtle forces that our yogi brothers and sisters were as they started to sense map these magical flows of prana within. As a Yogini, Yogi, Rishi, Poet, Songwriter and Being living the Life Divine, you are requested to sense AND express these realms. Let these body maps assist your recording of your experiences with the less visible. If you title and timestamp your drawing as well as write notes with your drawings, you will set yourself up for more success of remembering what you meant in the moment.
“The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive.� - Henry David Thoreau, Walden 126
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Possible Reading List The Wisdom of Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras: A New Translation and Guide, Ravi Ravindra, 2009. Kundalini Tantra, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, 1984. Moola Bandha: The Matster Key, Swami Buddhananda, 1978 Ayurveda and Marma Therapy, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Subhas Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, 2003. The Serpant Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga, Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffee), 1919. The I Ching or Book of Changes, Richard Wilhelm, 1950. Mountain Record of Zen Talks, John Daido Loori, 2008 Cultivating Stillness: A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind. Translated by Eva Wong, 1992. Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo’s Quest for Enlightenment, Vickie Mackenzie, 1999. Reflections on a Mountain Lake, Teachings on Practical Buddhism, Ani Tenzin Palmo, 2002. Treasures from Juniper Ridge: The Profound Treasure Instructions of Padmasambhava to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, Padmasambhava, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Marcia Binder Schmidt, and Erik Pema Kunsang 2008. Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism, Judith Simmer-Brown, 2001 Vijnanabhairava (Divine Consciousness), translated by Jaideva Singh, 1979. A Gradual Awakening, Stephen Levine, 1989. The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm, 1956. Kabir: Ectastic Poems. Translated by Robert Bly, 2004. New and Selected Poems, Volume 1, Mary Oliver, 1992. Pilgrim, Poems, David Whyte, 2012. The Book of Nightmares, Galway Kinnell, 1971 Duino Elegies, Ranier Maria Rilke, translated by A.S. Kline, 2001. 143
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