Lady Niguma Manual by Yoga Studies Institute

LADY NIGUMA

LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

• Y O G A T H AT C H A N G E S Y O U R W O R L D , N O T J U S T Y O U R B O D Y •

The material contained in this manual, and any other handouts or resources used in the Lady Niguma Certification Courses are the property of the Yoga Studies Institute (YSI). Other than the following exceptions, no part of this manual may be reproduced without written permission. Certified Lady Niguma Master Level instructors and other approved parties are granted permission to reproduce and distribute limited copies of the posture sheets to their in-class students as free handouts. Any pages so used must include the copyright at the bottom of the page and the following, placed conspicuously on the handout, as follows: Reprinted with the permission of The Yoga Studies Institute, 6490 State Route 179 Sedona AZ 86351-7978, USAwww.yogastudiesinstitute.org. Cover and interior design Nigiro Design Studios • www.nigiro.com

Dear Friends: I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has chosen to attend this Lady Niguma Training. As many of you may know Lady Niguma’s Yoga is very unique, not only because it pre-dates all other systems of asana practiced today and that its lineage traces back 1000 years to an amazing woman but because she designed it with one purpose in mind—your happiness. She designed it not just for a happy moment or two while you do your practice but to transform the days, weeks, years of your personal and professional lives. She designed it for you to reach the ultimate goal of yoga. I believe a little Lady Niguma in everyone’s day can take the whole world to a better place. Good luck with this course, and please remember that —more than ever— all the staff of YSI, are ready to help you with anything at all that you need in your particular journey. Thank you for carrying on this tradition, for the benefit of everyone in the world!

Sincerely, Constance O’Brien President

CONTENT LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

INTRODUCTION_________06 NAVANGA YOGA_________11 LIVING IN SUSHUMNA_________26 MAPPING THE INNER BODY_________38 BIJAS AND ELEMENTS_________47 5 GOALS AND 4 MOVEMENTS_________52 TARANATHA_________59 NEYS, DROPS, AND A LACK OF SELF NATURE_________60 OUR DESTINY: TO BECOME LIGHT_________63

INTRODUCTION Foundation Level 1 - Part 1 The Lady Niguma Foundation Level 1 Certification course is designed for students of all levels to develop a deep understanding of Lady Niguma’s yoga. The first part of the course will be a review of Lady Niguma’s fascinating legend, lineage, and philosophy, an exploration of the inner body, the Lady Niguma Asana Series 1, and will instruct students on how to integrate these teachings into living a comprehensive Lady Niguma lifestyle.

Foundation Level 1 - Part 2 The second part of the course is a 30 day Wisdom in Action challenge where students will bring the information to life in their daily worlds. Each week students will have the opportunity to work closely with their assigned mentors for Q&A and discussion of their experiences. Upon completion, students will have established a deep foundation of information and life experience in Lady Niguma’s tradition. After passing a final examination, students will earn a Certification of Completion in Lady Niguma Foundation Level 1.

Master Level 1 The Lady Niguma Master Level 1 Certification course is for students who are certified yoga instructors (at least 200RYT) and are interested in teaching YSI Lady Niguma asana classes and workshops. As well, this course is ideal for practitioners who want a deeper level of mastery in the practices of Lady Niguma.

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The three levels of Lady Niguma There are three levels of Lady Niguma, each delving into more subtle and profound teachings. Level 1 covers the foundational components. Among other advanced topics, Level 2 delves deeper into transforming negative emotions, the 5 inner winds, drops of consciousness in the Wheel of Time system, and the specific mechanisms of getting winds to enter into the central channel. Level 3 is the most advanced level of Lady Niguma and its curriculum prepares students to directly reach the highest goals of yoga. In traditional study, yoga asana was reserved for the highest level of students. Typically asanas like Lady Niguma Series 1 were only taught after 20 years of intense and dedicated study. These practices are very subtle. It might not seem like these practices were ever secret when we see yoga advertisements everywhere, but that is where this practice is very distinct —what you are about to learn goes so much deeper than what we can see. We are delivering to you some of the highest, most subtle teaching in any yoga system, even in Level 1. By the end of this course your understanding of your inner and outer worlds may evolve dramatically. But the highest teachings are still reserved for those who dedicate themselves to mastery. Let us all strive to master this system so we can help all beings to our greatest capacities.

Why Lady Niguma Mastery of Lady Niguma’s yoga has the ability to radically transform a practitioner’s experience of the world in a very short period of time. By combining the outer methods of the physical elements of yoga with the inner practices of the traditional and ancient systems, results manifest more quickly. In addition, by understanding seeds, we understand the mechanisms that bring all of this together into one coherent picture.Lastly, we must learn how to integrate these teachings into the real world. The ultimate form of yoga isn’t the perfect “down dog”. It is walking through life with grace.

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Lady Niguma in context In the past 100 years, the world of yoga has become primarily a physical practice aimed at the many health benefits that the poses bring. The lineage of the Lady Niguma practice is 1000 years old and brings us back to some of the most crucial elements of yoga that have been lost over the centuries. Some essential elements of this practice include an understanding of the role the subtle body plays in yoga, how the poses affect these energies, and how we use this understanding to create a world defined by wisdom, love, compassion and bliss. The benefits of a consistent Lady Niguma practice vary extremely and are highly personal. For many though, the world may appear generally more vibrant and joyful and they may experience a feeling of “open-heartedness” or deep enduring compassion. Many feel less stressed and more calm throughout the day. Practitioner’s often feel higher levels of energy and clearer, sharper minds. Of course the higher benefits, like achieving the ultimate goal of yoga, are the main fruit of the practice and are discussed in depth throughout the course.

How to maximize your experience The goal of the Lady Niguma intensive course is to propel people into a “yogic lifestyle”. The course is not something that one finishes in four days or even after a 30 day challenge. These practices take many years to integrate and the subtleties reveal themselves within these years of practice. Niguma Yoga is not so much a sprint but an ever deepening journey of self-discovery. To help get the most out of this experience, please be prepared to bring as much time and attention to the training as possible. The Lady Niguma tradition is to review each class before attending the next, and there will be small groups meetings and mentors to help facilitate this process. Doing a lot of work with the inner body can also cause some unexpected or undesired results, as blocks to prana are removed and energy flows differently in the body. If issues like an inability to sleep, chest pain, headaches, or an inability to concentrate occur, please talk to an instructor for guidance. These are uncommon (but not abnormal) issues related to an excess of wind energy called “lung”.

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To prevent these problems, please make sure you are eating a healthy diet and are getting enough sleep. It is advised to decrease the amount of device screen time as much as possible and to avoid alcohol and non prescribed drugs.Lastly and most importantly, it is crucial to not be too serious! Look for ways to enjoy the experience, to laugh, play music or dance in the breaks, find ways to uplift others, and to make the training a celebration. Connect with people and support each other in the practices, not just in the training but beyond as well.

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NAVANGA YOGA KEY TERMS Compassionate wisdom Emptiness Kosha Navānga

Prana Seeds Subtle body Wisdom

To understand how yoga works (and how to work yoga) is to understand the central philosophy of the Yoga Studies Institute: practitioners need to combine the inner and outer methods to bring about the goals of yoga more rapidly and deeply. This is accomplished by adding a ninth limb to the traditional eight limbs of yoga: compassionate wisdom. Where ashta-anga translates to eight-limbs, nava-anga translates to nine-limbs.

Onion skin and the five koshas The connection and importance of using inner and outer methods can be described with the metaphor of an onion: our entire being is like an onion that has five layers where the innermost layer is connected to the outermost layer through all the layers in between. Though each layer is unique, all are connected. In yoga, these layers are called “koshas.” Kosha means “sheath” or “envelope” (and in some other famous contexts it can mean “treasure”).

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FIRST KOSHA First is the outermost “layer”: the gross physical body. We can think of this layer as the body that we put into specific yoga poses. By extension, we can also think of this layer as extending out to the external physical world, like the mat upon which we do our asana practice or the trees or buildings outside. This layer often includes the breath, as along with food and water, it is what sustains the body. To show its importance in the system of yoga, we separate it out into its own kosha as below.

SECOND KOSHA Controlling the breath is an important part of yoga and is called pranayama in sanskrit. It is connected to the outermost layer, the body, in very noticeable ways. For instance, if we are in a challenging yoga pose like chair pose, utkatasana, for an extended period of time, our breathing will be affected. Similarly, if we can control the breath during the poses (or during challenging life situations) there is a corresponding effect on our body, muscle tension, and physical posture. These two layers resonate like strings on sitar.

THIRD KOSHA Body and breath are then linked to the next layer down: a layer of subtle physical energy—the prana, or inner winds. These winds flow throughout our body in channels, a network of tiny tubes more subtle than light. Prana means “breath”, “vital energy”, or “life force” and is derived from the prefix pra which means “forward” and the root word an which means “to breathe”. Generally, prana is divided into 5 kinds of inner winds or vayus. These are the prana vayu, udana vayu, apana vayu, samana vayu, and vyana vayu.

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FOURTH KOSHA Upon the winds in these channels ride our thoughts themselves, like a rider atop a horse: the amazing frontier where mind and body meet. There is a very famous saying that expresses this: “where the horse goes the rider must follow”. In Tibetan, this connection between prana and thought is expressed as lung sem jukpa chikpa and is a central concept in the philosophy of YSI. Within this intersection of the third and fourth kosha is perhaps the most profound teachings of yoga. It is the crucial point where our external practices can change our subjective experience of the world.

FIFTH KOSHA The fifth layer again has a cause and effect relationship with the fourth. The thoughts of the fourth layer produce mental seeds in the fifth layer, and the reverse is also true. These seeds ripen into thoughts. Specifically, seeds refers to mental imprints that are produced from acts of body, speech and mind. As mentioned there is a connection of cause and effect: seeds ripen into experiences refreshingly pleasant or painful in their torment depending on whether you have done good to others, or done them wrong instead. These are the 5 layers of the onion. As we have seen, they are all connected to each other, and influence each other. It is like ice that takes form as it covers a twig. But what happens when we get to the center?

Bliss and Emptiness At this point we have reached the center of the onion which is of course… empty! There is no center of an onion. And that is the point. When we dig down through the layers of reality we find that there is no essential nature to things. There is no core reality. To perceive this “layer” of potential (or really, lack of a layer) is intimately connected to bliss and the highest levels of yoga. This essence pervades all the other layers and as we will see below, it is what makes it all work.

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THE 5 KOSHAS

Bliss Emptiness

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Inside-out and outside-in These levels are all interconnected; events at one level always have repercussions at the other levels. To demonstrate this, let’s go first from the inside out. If a good seed ripens we will have calm thoughts and then the prana flows peacefully. This makes the breath flow long and fine, and the gross outer body becomes strong and trim. We have less stress, less anxiety, and we see the world with a more positive, healthy perspective. The magic of yoga is that we can also work from the outside in. When we perform an asana with the gross body in the proper way we cause our breath to move smoothly. This in turn makes the prana flow well and—since our thoughts ride on the winds—our thoughts are correspondingly virtuous and we plant positive seeds. These seeds in turn ripen into thoughts and these very thoughts change how we perceive the world. We are literally changing our perception of the world (which is what it means to change the world) through our practice of yoga. It is no longer about just being more flexible, more strong, or more calm. We are changing our very reality and our experience of it. Putting it all together:

Emptiness at the center of the onion and the pen What happens when you get to the middle of an onion? As we said above, we discover there is nothing there. It’s empty! Unlike the seed in the center of an avocado or mango, there is no core to an onion. This lack of a middle core is just like the emptiness of a pen. If we put a pen down on a table in the middle of the room, and a human comes in and looks at it, it becomes a pen—because an image of a pen is popping out of “pen seeds” in their mind. If the human leaves the room and a dog comes in, the pen suddenly switches to being a chew toy—because the image of a chew toy is popping out of “chew toy” seeds in the mind of the dog. But if both the human and the dog walk out of the room, and the pen is on the table in an empty room, then we can’t really say at that moment that it’s either a

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pen or a chew toy. It’s like a blank screen, waiting to be what seeds will make of it like a movie projector casting an image on a silver screen.

5 • Seeds 4 • Thoughts 3 • Prana 2 • Breath

Bliss Emptiness

1 • Body

It’s empty... it has emptiness This emptiness allows for the seeds to open and grow into a picture that brings the object to life. When the dog walks in, because of its seeds, it sees a chew toy. The human, because of its seeds, sees a pen. So then what is the object REALLY? You could say neither or both. It is neither a pen or a chew toy independent of the seeds of either the human or the dog. You could say it is both - a pen for the human and a chew toy for the dog. This would not be possible if it wasn’t empty of having a self nature. It would have to inherently be one or the other and either the human or the dog would have to be wrong in what it is seeing.

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So how does this relate to our yoga practice? If yoga had some sort of innate magical ability to heal people, then everyone that ever took a yoga class would leave feeling bright and refreshed. But we know that isn’t true. Sometimes we leave feeling great!Sometimes we leave feeling jealous, or not respected. Consider someone in a yoga class who does a headstand and holds it perfectly for 10 minutes. The blood has circulated in their body and the brain has received a new fresh supply of oxygenated blood. They leave class feeling amazing. The next day however, the same person does the same pose for the same amount of time, in the exact same way - but this time they leave with a pinched nerve in their neck.

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What is the difference? What caused the two different results? Seeds. One day the person had good seeds ripen for a good experience and the next day, the exact opposite. This shows that yoga has no innate ability to heal anyone. There is a deeper cause at play here. Yoga is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, but only if we have the seeds for it to work. So we must work at two levels - the level of seeds, and the level of activities that makes those seeds ripen. If we aren’t living a yogic lifestyle where we are helping others, planting seeds of taking care of others’ needs, we simply won’t have the seeds for our yoga practice to work. We will just spend an hour on the yoga mat and leave one hour closer to death. Let’s take a look at how this plays out in more depth in relation to the subtle body.

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THREE PRIMARY CHANNELS

SUSHUMNA/AVADHUTI (central)

PINGALA/HA • SUN

IDA/THA • MOON

(right side)

(left side)

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Three primary channels Remembering back to the onion skin theory of the koshas, we talked about a connection between the energy (or winds) of the body and our thoughts. We said these winds run through channels (or nadis in sanskrit). There are three primary channels within the body that carry the inner winds. The middle channel runs down the center of the back, following the spine. On either side of it run two lesser channels. When the winds flow through the channel on the right we experience the “hot” emotions like anger and jealousy. When the winds flow in the left channel we experience emotions associated with ignorant desire. These two emotions are mixed with the ignorance of misperceiving our world. When we misperceive, we plant seeds of suffering. A correct view of the world therefore liberates us from suffering. The magic of yoga is that we can work with the physical body in different asanas, or yogic exercises, and release blockages of inner winds in the side channels. When these blocks are removed the winds are able to flow into the central channel and we experience the thoughts associated with this channel - wisdom, compassion, love, bliss, and perfect meditation. So we put our body into a specific pose with proper alignment to affect the breath. This means we need to bring a sense of relaxation to the effort we put in - especially in the harder yoga poses like head stand, for example. By keeping our breath controlled, we calm the wind, and move it from the side channels (which normally make us really hate headstand or have jealousy of those that seem to do it effortlessly) into the central channel and this brings the corresponding results - a sense of well being that stays with us, deep and balanced meditative states of mind, and the wisdom that understands emptiness and seeds. You may be thinking “how can something as insignificant as my breath and attitude toward head stand bring me to realize my ultimate potential?” In fact, it is not just the big moments in our life that shape our world. Truly, it is the constant stream of micro-decisions we make in the more and more subtle ways that accumulate the seeds required to see our world transform.

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The ninth limb of Navanga This brings us to YSI’s system of Navanga Yoga. Traditionally, yoga is described as having 8 limbs or 8 parts. These are:

LIMB

DESCRIPTION

1-2

The art of living an ethical way of life

Physical poses

Control of breath

Withdrawal of the senses

6-8

States of meditation

All of these are inner or outer methods that we use to bring energy, or prana, into the central channel. This removes ignorance, anger and desire, and produces a stable meditation that provides a platform for having insights into emptiness (a direct experience of the center of the onion). This special insight is what allows us to destroy our negative states of mind. Forever. In a sense, one could say these traditional 8 limbs of yoga are incomplete. At face value they are missing two essential ingredients that, when combined, form the foundation of YSI’s yoga--the ninth limb. These are wisdom and compassion. In every step of the path as a YSI yogi, as one who practices the YSI system, we need to remember emptiness and we need to remember seeds. Emptiness is the blank screen and seeds are what open up to project the picture. Emptiness and seeds depend on one another. In combination, they enable us to experience a perfect body, a perfect mind, and a perfect world. This is the highest goal of yoga.

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The other component is compassion and love - wanting to achieve this state not just for our own sake, but also so that we can help other people attain this state as well. This is our motivation —after all, there is no such thing as a perfect world while there is still suffering, anywhere. This is what Lady Niguma’s life story and her yoga are all about. This is the Lady Niguma lifestyle. From her example we can see how mastering the subtle body increases concentration and understanding of seeds. And we can see how her mastery of the elements of the body allowed her to perform miracles, protect people from disasters, and heal people by recognizing their elemental imbalances.Moreover, her mastery of the consuming concentrations, which form the basis of the contemplations in the Lady Niguma course, allowed her to help many people with countless different mindsets. This is how yoga works. This is the YSI method. This is Navanga. Understanding and using inner and outer methods to bring winds into the central channel to produce a perfect body, mind and world. To do this we use all the methods of yoga and infuse these practices with this 9th step: wisdom (understanding emptiness and seeds) and compassionate love (wanting all beings to be free from suffering and to reach this place themselves). Combined together, it is compassionate wisdom. Love and compassion are our intention and drive our motivation. Wisdom is our tool. It is these methods that drive wind into the central channel producing the bliss of perfect meditation. And it is here that we see truth. The world is a perfect reflection of our actions, our kindness, our love. There is no other option. There is no other answer. It is as much our destination as our destiny.

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NAVĀNGA THE NINE PARTS

Self control Perfect meditation

Commitments

Compassionate wisdom

Fixation

Physical poses

Control of the breath

Focus

Withdrawal of the senses

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Yoga Sutras V. 1.41 kṣīṇa vṛtter abhijātasyeva maṇer grahītṛ grahaṇa grāhyeṣu tat stha tat añjanatā samāpattiḥ Those extraordinary people who shatter the way The mind turns things around use a balanced meditation, Which is fixed and clear on its object. And the object is like a crystal, With the one that holds it, and what it holds, and the holding as well.

Yoga Sutras V. 1.43 smṛti pariśuddhau svarūpa śūnyevārtha mātra nirbhāsā nirvitarkā Stay in that one pure thought, and never forget it; That single most important thing: things are empty Of being what they are by themselves. This is the clear light, beyond all conceptual thoughts.

Yoga Sutras V. 4.3 nimittam aprayojakaṁ prakṛtīnāṁ varaṇa bhedas tu tataḥ kṣetrikavat And then we must become as gardeners.

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LIVING IN SUSHUMNA KEY TERMS Ida Pingala Sushumna Nadi Hatha

Review of prana We talked about the relationship between the different layers of the onion. We saw how the prana that runs through the channels are related to our thoughts and how these thoughts create seeds that then create our reality. Let’s take a deeper look at these channels and what happens when we are able to live in the central channel, the sushumna. Prana is the breath of life within the body. It is made of two sanskrit words: praand -ana. Pra means ahead, proud, prow of the boat, and forward. “An” means to breathe. So pra+ana means “to breath very much”. It is the breath of life. Prana is like a wind, it is physical, it is made of light. Prana is not mental. However, if you cut the body to try to find prana, you won’t be able to see it. It’s like trying to cut light or to cut electricity.

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE Chakra: Sahasrara Location: Crown of head Bija: Hung Chakra: Vishuddha Location: Throat Bija: Sum Chakra: Anahata Location: Heart Bija: Lam Chakra: Manipura Location: Navel Bija: Ram Chakra: Svadhisthana Location: 4 fingers below navel Bija: Yam Chakra: Muladhara Location: Perineum Bija: Kshang

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Prana moves throughout our entire body. Think of our mind-body like the sail of a boat, and the prana is the wind that then moves the boat. When prana gathers specifically to move things within the body, these are called vayus. For example, when we speak, energy gathers to make a wind that pushes out the sound. Similarly, prana assists us in all physical movement, in digestion, and in the elimination of waste when we go to the bathroom. These vayus are a major topic and practice focus for Lady Niguma Level 2 and will be covered in great depth in this second course.

Nadis Prana runs through channels in our bodies called nadis much like how electricity runs through the wires of a house. “Nadi” is interpreted as any stream or flow of water or energy, and literally translates as “making a sound”. The idea is that of sitting near the side of a stream, and listening to the pleasant tinkling of the water as it flows. The English word note, as in a note of music, may come from the same root.

TABLE OF SIDE CHANNELS IDA

PINGALA

Object/Subject

What is held

What holds

Temperature

Cool

Hot

Celestial body

Moon

Sun

Wrong view

Ignorant liking

Ignorant disliking

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Hatha Yoga Pradipika IV. 43 savya dakṣhiṇa nāḍīstho madhye charati mārutaḥ tiṣhṭhate khecharī mudrā tasmin sthāne na saṃśayaḥ Suppose you are able To move the unruly winds Into the middle, standing Between the channels To the left and to the right. At this point then you will be In the seal of the skydancer; Of this you need not doubt.

IV.44 iḍā pingghalayor madhye śūnyaṃ chaivānilaṃ ghraset tiṣhṭhate khecharī mudrā tatra satyaṃ punaḥ punaḥ Take emptiness and hold it Along with the wind In the middle, between The milky and rusty channels. Then you will be in the seal Of the skydancer; this is true, More true than true.

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IDA: the channel of the moon The first of the three major inner channels is the channel of the moon. It starts at the opening of the left nostril, travels up and over the skull, descends tracking along the left side of the spine, and then splits off and runs down the left leg. When the prana moves in this channel we have “cold” negative thoughts like ignorant desire - especially when this desire will lead us to hurt other people, like wanting to steal money from someone. The word for moon here in Sanskrit is tha.It refers to a flat disk (such as a full moon). The moon in ancient times was considered to give off rays of light which had the effect of cooling whatever they struck. Thus the moon channel is related to our “cooler” negative thoughts—wanting or liking things in a mistaken way. The most serious thought of this type is a misunderstanding of the objects around us, as opposed to the subjects, and thus the channel is also known as the channel of “what is held” by the mind. The channel itself is seen as being an opaque, milky white color, like the moon, and a common name for it in Sanskrit is ida, which means milky, or milk. As the moon channel runs down our left side it is also called the channel on the left. Again, we seek to affect our mental state through our body by doing asanas which prevent the concentration of prana in this channel and thus preventing the corresponding negative emotions. Most of us spend a lot of time with prana in our ida. This forces us to look to external objects of desire as ultimate sources of happiness. But external objects always fall short and we often end up creating negative seeds in our pursuit of them. These seeds in turn create even more unhappiness. Does this sound familiar at all: “I want Starbucks even if it will be really inconvenient for everyone else who is with me. I know they are tired and want to get home, but I really want Starbucks and I don’t care if it makes them upset.” The compassionate choice would have been to take care of others.

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PINGALA: the channel of the sun The second of the three major inner channels is the channel of the sun and it tracks in the same way as the left channel - from the right nostril, up and over the head and then down along the right side of the spine splitting off and continuing down the right leg. When the prana moves in this channel we have “hot” negative thoughts such as anger, jealousy, and disliking things in an ignorant way. The word for sun here in Sanskrit is simply ha, which is related to the ancient Indo-European root for sun, sahwel. This root comes into English in words like sun, solar, and helium (from the Greek helios); as well as surya, another Sanskrit word for the sun. The sun channel has many other names. Perhaps the most well-known in Sanskrit is pingala, which means the reddish channel, and is related to the English word pink. The name derives from the fact that this channel is generally seen as an opaque red, due to the passage within it of a high proportion of “red element,” which is related to blood. The sun channel is also called the channel on the right, since it passes down the side of the spine on our own right side. It is sometimes referred to as the channel of “what holds”. The phrase “what holds” here refers to our mind, as the subject which holds an object. The point of this name is important. The most serious of these negative thoughts is the tendency to see subjects—meaning people, and our own mind—as things that come from their own side. When we believe that something we don’t like is coming from its own side (like a partner criticizing us) we can easily get upset.If we understand that “criticism” actually comes from us, because of how we ourselves have behaved in the past, then we stop getting angry. Lady Niguma’s wisdom enables us to actively identify when prana is moving in this channel so that we can respond and stop ourselves from planting more negative seeds. As long as prana or wind is concentrated in this right-hand channel, we have a tendency to misunderstand ourselves and our mind, and to get angry. Again, the purpose of yoga is to move prana out of this channel, and help us to fix our emotions by using the tool of our physical body. © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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SUSHUMNA: the central channel The final of the three major inner channels is the central channel and it tracks along the center of the spine. It is shorter than the ida and pingala and does not continue down the legs. When the prana moves in this channel we experience deep states of contemplation, bliss, pure compassion, and ultimate love. When 100% of our prana runs in this channel, our relationship to our gross physical body changes, and we become beings of pure light. The traditional Sanskrit name for the central channel is sushumna. This word comes from the prefix su- repeated twice, and then the root √man. Su means good, and comes from an older root esu. When this root came into our western languages, it lost the s and became eu. This we see in words like euphony(good sound); euthanasia (a “good” death); and eurhythmics (good beat). The root man means to think, and is found in the English words mind, mental, and man (the “thinking animal”). Su-man thus means thinking well, meaning to think favorably towards someone. As sushumna, with another su before it, it also came to mean to ask someone to think well, or to make a prayer in words or in song. The word hymn, with the same mn, comes from this same source. The central channel is therefore sometimes referred to as the singing channel. The word sushumna also refers to a specific component of sunlight: think of the light coming from the sun as having many separate parts. The part which lights up the moon, which makes it warm, is called sushumna. And of course our ultimate goal with the central channel is that the sun and moon combine here. Another common Sanskrit name for the central channel is avadhuti. This can mean the vibrating or shaking channel, or else the channel that throws them off.As the prana in our body begins to flow more freely, we may experience sudden jolts of power passing through the body. And in the end, again, the central channel “throws off” the two side channels that are twisted around it. While the two side channels are a more opaque color, the central channel is a blazing red-gold, and translucent, like flame. You’ve probably noticed by now that if you combine the names of the right and the left-hand channels together, you get ha-tha. This word has the meaning of “drastic means” to achieve a particular end. The original practices of hatha yoga

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were very demanding and were meant to change the body into light in a very short amount of time. This change occurs when the prana concentrated in these two side channels—ha and tha—are released and flow into the central channel. The two channels then actually melt down into the central channel. This combination or union of ha and tha is of course one of the goals of yoga, in the sense of joining.

Ida and pingala as guides As part of Lady Niguma’s all-day yoga, it is our responsibility to catch when we are moving prana through these channels of mistaken views. As we will learn more later, these mistaken views are what cause all of our suffering. The more prana that runs in these channels, the more we hurt ourselves and others. We will see our bodies become old and die and our time on the mat will have been for nothing. Many might see these channels as our enemies or as obstacles to the goal of yoga. While it is wise to recognize the problems of these channels, it is more wise to use them as our guides out of suffering. With a dedicated and authentic Lady Niguma practice, you will find yourself becoming much more aware of when your prana is running through the side channels. After this course and the two higher levels of Lady Niguma, you will have a complete understanding of what to do when you catch yourself in these channels--by perfectly combining the inner practice of where we put our thoughts with the outer practice of yoga asana. An ignorant person will burn up with pingala-riding anger after they did not get what their ida-riding desires grasped for. The wise Lady Niguma practitioner, however, will use their developed mindfulness to become aware of when the prana is in the wrong channel and use their wisdom to shift out of the mistaken view and dissolve away their negative emotions and experiences. This technique can only be developed through dedicated, consistent practice and sincere contemplation. Learning this information in this class is the very beginning of the journey. As with all yoga, knowing is only the start. It is constant practice without gaps that will bring us to our highest potential.

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Yoga Sutras: I.14 sa tu dīrghakāla nairantarya satkāra āsevito dṛḍha bhūmiḥ You must cultivate your practice over an extended period of time; it must be steady, without gaps, and it must be done correctly — for then a firm foundation is laid.

Most importantly, we must hold a very high sense of urgency to master this because every moment our prana runs with mistaken views in our side channels we are planting more seeds to see suffering in our own worlds and in the worlds of those around us. If your house was on fire and your family was inside, you would do anything you could to help them. Let us have the same urgency in our practice of Lady Niguma’s yoga.

Shifting prana If you want to change your thinking when you’re stressed and anxious at work, you can change your experience by changing where your prana is moving. You can accomplish this by changing your thinking and by doing asana poses. When prana is moving in the side channels, we are seeing the world in a mistaken way. When the prana is moving in the central channel we are more loving, com© 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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passionate, intelligent, calm. It’s like becoming a superhero. It is from these three channels that we create our world. Lady Niguma mastered how to move prana in her channels to create her own perfect experience of the world.

Living in the sushumna Prana in the central channel produces deep states of concentration that last throughout the day, no matter what one is doing. The mind becomes very calm, but also very clear and vivid. There is a constant pleasant, blissful feeling that runs in the background of the body and mind - even if there are physical pains running along the surface. Thoughts naturally align with our ethical principles and the wisdom that understands seeds becomes profound and guides our actions.Love arises and doesn’t discriminate, even when circumstances are harsh or call for stern responses. These states aren’t some fantasy story belonging only to other people.These states aren’t reserved for only people that lived in some distant past. These states are accessible to everybody. People around us have achieved these states and there is no reason why we can’t too. When the prana runs entirely in our sushumna we gain incredible abilities and experience the most profound feeling of love, compassion, and joy. Want to increase your memory? Want to heal your body? Want to see your loved ones achieve their dreams? Want to experience financial abundance? Want to have perfect relationships? This is the result of living in the sushumna. When our prana runs perfectly in the central channel, there is no prana left to run in the channels that make us see suffering and affliction. There is no wind in that sail, there is no horse for these experiences to ride upon. And when we melt our mistaken channels into the central channel, we have achieved the goal of yoga. Though beating death is a great benefit of accomplishing the goal of yoga, there is a higher benefit still. You will become a body of light. We will learn more about this next, but our bodies as we perceive them with flesh, blood, and bone, are a mistake. We are meant for a body of perfect clear light. When this body is achieved we can help every single person ever remove themselves for any suffering.

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We must keep this wish to help all other people as the main motivation of our practice. It is what Lady Niguma taught. May that be the motivation for us to learn this wisdom and practice Lady Niguma’s yoga with great intensity and urgency. We study Lady Niguma’s yoga because she lives in her sushumna-- she has achieved the goal yoga and has shared with us how we can get there, too. May we dedicate our efforts to attaining this state and to the happiness of all beings.

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MAPPING THE INNER BODY KEY TERMS Granthi Chakra Ney Drop

Muladhara Svadisthana Manipura Anahatha Vishuddha Sahasrara

Granthis, knotted hoses, and nadi formation If we are meant to live in bodies made of light, why do some of us relate to our bodies as made of flesh, blood, and bone and that grow old and stop working? This is because of the knots that choke our central channel. The three main channels do not go perfectly straight up and down along our spine. In fact, the two side channels twist themselves around our central channel forming knots. The Sanskrit word for these knots is granthi. These granthis create problems inside our bodies and are the mechanism that make us see ourselves grow old. This mechanism can be explained with the metaphor of a hose. Imagine a hose with water flowing through it. If that hose becomes knotted, what happens? Because the water can’t pass through, the hose will balloon. Imagine there was a huge amount of pressure in the hose. What will inevitably happen? The hose will burst and water will shoot out in many directions. Imagine your central channel as a perfectly straight hose. Now take your ida and pingala channels and twist them around the central channel once. If there is no prana running through the side channels (water in the hose) then the central channel can continue to flow. However, when prana does run through the side © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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channels then they will expand, tightening the granthis and choking the central channel. The backed-up prana then bursts out of the sushumna shooting out new nadis in many directions.

New Nadis Granthi New Nadis

Chakra

New Nadis

What chakras really are and how they kill you In deep meditation, it is possible to look at the central channel from the above looking down, with a birds-eye view. What is seen from this perspective looks like a wheel where the granthi is like the center of the wheel and the new nadis bursting outward look like the spokes of the wheel. This phenomenon is called a chakra, which is Sanskrit for wheel. These chakras are the result of choke points and from these choke points, more channels are formed. Traditionally in yoga 72,000 different channels are described. These are the channels that allow prana to flow to every tip of the body. © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Usually we see pictures of these chakras as sources of radiant light. They are depicted as good and beautiful, and inspiring awe. Make no mistake: the stark reality is that chakras kill you. Chakras are the way that your body will die. As we push more and more prana into our side channels due to our mistaken views of reality, the blocks and knots become stiffer and stronger, eventually inhibiting the flow of prana entirely. This causes our bodies to deform, deteriorate, and die. Chakras create negative emotions. They create illness. They cause suffering. They are a mistake. The goal of Lady Niguma’s yoga is to remove these choke points so the energy can flow smoothly, to eliminate the negative emotions, to remove sickness, and even to remove death.

Opening chakras and untangling knots When we hear about “opening chakras” what is really meant is the loosening of granthis, or knots, so that prana can flow more easily through our sushumna. Though chakras may seem elusive at first, a dedicated practitioner will develop an intimate relationship with their subtle bodies, especially the chakras. Lady Niguma’s yoga offers us the wisdom that teaches us how to connect and influence these subtle components of our body. Chakras express themselves not only as our body, but also as emotions. This relationship is a main focus of Lady Niguma Level 2. Generally speaking, however, you will know that you have loosened or opened a chakra when you feel increased compassion, mental clarity, and overall energy. As well, contemplation practice becomes focused and our capacity to understand philosophical concepts becomes more subtle and profound. Lady Niguma focuses on how we can release the pressure in our knots. Even if you can’t control your mind, you can control your body in asana and with that you change your chakras. Outer methods are like banging on a clogged kitchen pipe from the outside. We use practices like the asanas or postures, we control the breath with pranayama, and we keep our ethical morality. Inner practices clean these clogged kitchen pipes from the inside, like by removing a blockage in a pipe with a long stick. Inner practices include contemplation, © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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thoughts of love and compassion, visualization techniques, and the wisdom that understands seeds. We use inner and outer yoga methods to untangle these knots and allow the prana in the right or the “ha” channel as well as the prana in the left or “tha” channel to flow into the central channel. Remember, yoga means “to join” and so we “yoga” or join the winds from the “ha” channel with the winds of the “tha’ channel into the central channel. We “ha-tha yoga”! This is the real meaning, the deepest meaning of hatha yoga. Hatha yoga isn’t about yoga poses or a flowing yoga series. Hatha yoga is about bringing the winds into the central channel. And when we do that we eliminate negative emotions. Forever. We experience physical and mental bliss. We understand seeds and see emptiness directly and our heart is filled with love and compassion. These are the real goals of yoga.

Neys and Drops The topic of neys and drops are fundamental to Lady Niguma’s yoga. In this course we will present a broad overview and definition of these two components and then again much more rigorously in Levels 2 and 3. A ney is translated as a crucial point. These are points where we work on the body at the middle of the chakras. Unlike chakras and channels, neys are specific locations. If one were to trace all the nadis backward toward the center, they would all come to a single point, like the GPS coordinates that mark the absolute center of a chakra. In the analogy of “all roads lead back to Rome,” you could say “all nadis lead back to a ney.” Drops are the essence of who we are. There are many drops and they move throughout our body. Lady Niguma’s yoga focuses on methods to crack open specific drops. By bringing our prana to these critical points, we are able to rapidly accelerate the transformation of our negative emotions and to transform our bodies - by understanding the subtle body, or body of light.

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The Root Chakra “Root Chakra” is the English name for the Muladhara Chakra. The Sanskrit word muladhara is made up of two parts: mula and adhara.Mula in Sanskrit means root, and the corresponding Tibetan is tsa. The same Sanskrit root appears in the English mural, meaning a “painting on a wall,” since a wall was a strong foundation or root for a building. Adhara, or ten in Tibetan, means basis.This ultimately comes from the Sanskrit root √dhir, which means “to hold firm. ”This same root is found in the very common Sanskrit word dharma, which can mean “spiritual way” but has the more basic meaning of a thing: anything that “holds” its own essence. We find this root in the English words tree (a firmly-rooted plant); true (firm); and farm (a holding of land). Adhara means basis. This ultimately comes from the Sanskrit root √dhir, which means “to hold firm. ”This same root is found in the very common Sanskrit word dharma, which can mean “spiritual way” but has the more basic meaning of a thing: anything that “holds” its own essence. We find this root in the English words tree (a firmly-rooted plant); true (firm); and farm (a holding of land). The general location of the Root Chakra is in the perineum, or area of the groin, between the two legs. This chakra is generally related to sexual energy, especially in its spiritual form as a pure form of inner wind which can greatly aid in transforming the body into light.

The Chakra of the Seat of the Self The Chakra of the Seat of the Self is called Svadhisthana Chakra in Sanskrit. The word svadhisthana is made of two parts, sva and adhistha. Sva means its own, or self, and is found in the English words self and suicide. Adhistha means a seat or place where something stays, and its root is found in the English words stay and station. This chakra is located four finger widths down the spine from the navel chakra.

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The Chakra of the City of Jewels The Chakra of the City of Jewels is called Manipura Chakra in Sanskrit. The word manipura is made of two parts: mani and pura. Mani means a jewel, and may be related to the English word mane, in the idea of an “ornament upon the neck.” Pura means full, and is found in the English full and ball. In olden times it very commonly meant “full of people,” and thus a town or city. We see it at the end of many cities in India as well as in Singapore(City of the Lions). This chakra is located at the level of the navel, and is related again to sexual energy and its pure form of inner fire; imagine the spark of fire within a ruby.

The Unstruck Chakra The Sansksrit name for the Unstruck Chakra is Anahata Chakra. Again, anahata is made of two words, an and ahata. An is a form of a, which is the negative in Sanskrit: not. We find it at the beginning of English words such as atheist (not believing in God) and apathetic (not passionate). Hata means struck or beaten in the sense of hitting a drum or a bell.It comes from the Sanskrit root √han, which means to strike or to smite. This root is found in the Sanskrit word ahinsa (non-violence) and the English word gun (an instrument for violence). The Unstruck Chakra is found at the level of the heart, and the general idea is that the beating of the heart is something which occurs from the heart itself, and not because someone has struck it like a drum. The Tibetans call this chakra the Chakra of All Things (Chukyi Korlo), since within it lies a tiny drop where all our karmas are stored, and from which all things in our world, and ourselves, emanate. This chakra is thus related with the creation of the world, and is also the place where we first experience ultimate love. This chakra is related with the creation of the world, and is also the place where we first experience ultimate love.

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The Chakra of Purity The Sanskrit name for the Chakra of Purity is Vishuddhi Chakra. The Sanskrit root here is √shudh, meaning to purify. This is probably related to English words meaning to shine, such as shine, sky,and scintillate. The Tibetans call this chakra the Chakra of Experience (Longchu Kyi Korlo). The point is that this chakra is located at the level of the throat or base of the neck, and the inner winds related to it play a role in the experience of food and drink— the beginning of the process where these substances are purified for use by the body. This chakra is called the Chakra of Experience because it is located at the level of the throat or base of the neck. The inner winds related to it play a role in the experience of food and drink—the beginning of the process where these substances are purified for use by the body.

The Chakra of Command The Sanskrit name for the Chakra of Command is Ajnya Chakra. The word ajnya comes from the root √jnya, which means to know; the prefix a- makes it to inform or to command. We see this same root in the English know and ignorant (where the prefix i- is negative). The Tibetans call this chakra the Chakra of the Third Eye, or literally “The Chakra between the Two Eyebrows” (Min-tsam Gyi Korlo). Sometimes it is said to be located more generally in the middle of the forehead. This chakra is called the Chakra of the Third Eye, or literally “The Chakra between the Two Eyebrows”. Sometimes it is said to be located more generally in the middle of the forehead. This chakra plays a major role in allowing us to focus or direct our mind on an object, and we’ll be using it for this purpose throughout Heart Yoga.

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The Chakra of a Thousand Petals The Sanskrit name for the Chakra of a Thousand Petals is Sahasrara Chakra. The word sahasrara has two parts, sahasra and ara. Sahasra means a thousand, and ara means a spoke of a wheel, or petals of a chakra. The Tibetans refer to this chakra as the Chakra of Great Bliss (Dechen gyi korlo).The name derives from the sensation one feels when special substances at this chakra melt down during successful yogic practice. This is known as the Chakra of Great Bliss. The name derives from the sensation one feels when special substances at this chakra melt down during successful yogic practice.

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BIJAS AND ELEMENTS Bija Bija means seed. Often bijas are referred to as seed syllables and are represented by Sanskrit letters. As mentioned earlier these sanskrit letters are the sounds of the inner body. As prana flows through a chakra the natural song of that chakra is a bija syllable. This is the basis of a practice called nada yoga or“the yoga of sound” or perhaps even “the yoga of the song of the inner body”. We will study this subject in future Lady Niguma programs. Sanskrit is a powerful language. Even if you don’t at first know the meaning of the sanskrit sounds, their resonances have a powerful effect on the subtle body. Because of this, learning the sound of the bija syllables helps us find, and focus on, the crucial point of the specific chakras. The combination of the syllable sound, the focus on the ney, and feeling the resonance of the sound within our body all help us bring winds into the central channel. Lady Niguma’s mastery of this allowed her to help people in the most profound of ways. This is why before we start Lady Niguma’s asanas we chant the bija or syllable for each chakra. This helps us identify the crucial point that each asana targets and allows us to place our focus there more effectively. It is important to understand that different yoga systems use different seed syllables, colors, shapes, and even names for the chakras. Some systems emphasize certain chakras more than other systems. Some even have them placed on the front of the body instead of the back. Yoga has a known history reaching back 4-5000 years, and we can appreciate that some systems developed and flourished in some countries and cultures, and other lineages became suppressed and obscured. For example we can see these differences in the traditions of Chinese medicine and how they contrast with the ayurvedic medicinal systems in India. The basic framework and ideologies are the same, but the specific details of each system vary. © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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The Lady Niguma system is 1000 years old and elements of it are aligned with teachings that are much older than that (the Wheel of Time tradition for example). It can often be confusing as a student to figure out the right answer.And we should make these efforts. That said, we should understand that teachings on the subtle body (chakras, crucial points, seed syllables, etc) are fairly “short on instruction, long on practice”. The subtle body is an experiential journey. We get the instructions, but then we need to get proactive and discover these inner body elements for ourselves. We aren’t going to study our way into these experiences by intellectually demanding to know the right answer. The bija syllable, the sound, the chakra details - these are all tools to lead us to an experiential result. They are tools in our tool belts or road maps pointing to a destination. But the map is not the goal.

Elements Elements represent the basic forces that make up the worlds we perceive. By understanding these, as Lady Niguma did, we deepen our wisdom and understanding of how reality works which ultimately enables us to help others extremely accurately and effectively. Lady Niguma yoga places a lot of emphasis on these elements - especially in our contemplation practices. Understanding the elements, and the emptiness of the elements, allows us to understand what it means to have a “light body”. Even from a scientific perspective, we can understand that solid matter is not as solid as it seems. If we consider the atom to be the basic building block of matter, we see that it is 99.9999999999996% space! And the remaining solid particles can be looked at as nothing more than energy. Knowing this, how solid is a chair? It is amazing we can even sit on a chair without falling through! ALL yoga traditions have an understanding that if we understand the elements, and the emptiness of elements, we can perform acts that might normally look like a miracle. In Lady Niguma’s yoga, there are 5 elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Here their definitions:

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ELEMENTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS Earth

Solid, supporting

Water

Wet, flowing

Fire

Hot, burning

Wind

Light (not heavy), moving

Space

Space—that space which is not produced by causes— is “the simple absence of anything concrete which could block something else from entering its space”

Each of the elements performs these functions in our body and by extension, in the outer world. However, we should understand that we can not take these elements too literally. The water element of the body does not refer to a drop of water so much as to the liquidity of the body. Wind element is not like an external wind.It is the movement within the body. Fire element is not a match or flame inside the body, but rather, the ability of the body to produce heat. The balance of these elements are affected by all sorts of variables including time of day, our age, the foods we eat, our emotional tendencies, and of course by our yoga practice. This means that we can use all of these aspects of life to influence and balance the elements. In the Niguma system we mainly talk of manipulating these elements through contemplation. Lastly, we can associate each element with specific chakras. When we repeat the bija syllables associated with a chakra we can simultaneously be focusing on the associated element as well.

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CHAKRA

LOCATION

BIJA

ELEMENT

Kshang Muladhara

Perineum

Space

Yam Svadishtana

4 fingers below navel

Wind

Ram Manipura

Navel

Fire

Lam Anahata

Heart

Earth

Sum Vishudda

Throat

Mount Meru

Hung Sahasrara

Crown of head

Perfected consciousness

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5 GOALS AND 4 MOVEMENTS We’ve learned about the channels and how they knot into chakras which ultimately lead us further away from living in our sushumna. Lady Niguma’s yoga has 5 fundamental goals which are achieved by applying 4 basic movements to each chakra. Before we discuss those, let’s talk generally about the problems of our channels and knots. Then we will understand how the 4 movements solve those problems to achieve the 5 goals.

Damaging and healing side channels For those of use who are not living 100% in our sushumna, we have prana running through our side channels. These channels are damaged and have perforations, or small tears all over them. The more we see things the wrong way, as coming from their own side, the more we damage the channels. The more damaged they are, the more unhealthy our body becomes and more mistaken our views of the world become. While you are doing your asana practice you are withdrawing the prana from your side channels. If these channels are damaged, however, then the prana will seep back in and the benefits of your asana will not last. This is especially true when we are stretching out our channels. Physical expressions of damaged channels include having a bent spine, wrinkles and generally aging, or some form of twisting in the body. On the other hand, someone who has healed their channels by understanding seeds and emptiness, and by taking care of other people, will be more vibrant, joyful, compassionate, and strong. The more we practice compassionate wisdom, the more we are able to loosen our knots and clean and strengthen our channels.

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An example of this level of awareness can be found in a donut shop. Imagine that you are at the donut shop and there is only one maple donut left---you’re favorite! You’re already salivating. You really want it. But then you hear a sweet old lady’s voice behind you say “I love maple donuts.” At that moment, where is your prana? Are you ignorantly desiring the donut for yourself? Are you thinking that the enjoyment of that donut is coming from the donut independent of your seeds? When we hold these two mistaken views, we damage our channels and push our prana out of our sushumna. Alternatively, we can buy the donut and offer it to the sweet lady and rejoice in her enjoyment knowing that those seeds will bring us closer to the goal of yoga. This compassionate wisdom straightens, heals, and strengthens our channels. Living a Lady Niguma lifestyle like this makes us ready to do the intense and focused work that will bring us the goals of her yoga.

The 5 Goals Lady Niguma’s 5 goals are focused on using asanas to make changes to the inner body. The Lady Niguma Yoga sequence achieves these five goals through four simple steps that work to release the knots in the channels, straighten the channels, gather the winds into the central channel and distribute the drops and prana. Lady Niguma Level 1 applies these goals to the components within our subtle body. Lady Niguma Level 2 applies these goals to how the changes affect our emotions and mental states. 1. Cleaning the channels of impurities 2. Cleaning the inner drops of consciousness 3. Cleaning the winds and drops together 4. Opening the channel 5. Entering the wind into the central channel

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1. CLEANING THE CHANNELS OF IMPURITIES

1 TWIST

4. OPENING THE CHANNEL

2 STRETCH

5. ENTERING THE WIND INTO THE CENTRAL CHANNEL

3 GATHER

2. CLEANING THE INNER DROPS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

4 DISPERSE

3. CLEANING THE WINDS AND DROPS TOGETHER

4 Movements Lady Niguma teaches that there are four movements we can make with our body that will help us achieve the 5 goals. Briefly, they are: (1) Twist, (2) Stretch, (3) Gather, and (4) Distribute. 1. Twist Twists are composed of poses that primarily pull at the channels in the opposite direction of their natural twist around the central channel. When it is not possible to twist, applying pressure is substituted. This is done for the root and crown chakras, for example. © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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2. Stretch These poses primarily straighten out the primary channels. 3. Gather Poses that help gather the wind from the side channels into the central channel. 4. Disperse After the prana has been gathered, it is distributed and moved up along to the next chakra.

Bandhas Bandhas are light constrictions performed at different areas of the body to help control the prana - preventing the prana from flowing out of the central channel for instance. Lady Niguma utilizes bandhas to gather and distribute prana. The Sanskrit word bandha literally means to bind and we see the same root in the English words bind and bond. You can think of bandhas as locks, or one-way valves. Bandhas create a kind of seal for the winds. A seal can also happen spontaneously. Bandhas should be learned from a qualified instructor and should be approached gently. The three main bandhas are:

Mula Bandha Mula means root. The same root is found in the English word mural, meaning a painting on a wall or the wall itself. The idea is that a wall is a foundation or a root that holds up a house. This area of the body is considered the root or foundation of the inner energetic system. Mula bandha is performed by pulling in and up at the perineum or you could think of it as a slight constriction at the perineum or pelvic floor.

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Uddiyana Bandha The word uddiyana is made of two parts: ud and diyana. Ud means up. Diyana comes from the Sanskrit root di, meaning to fly or soar. So udiyana means to fly up, and this is the internal feeling of doing this bandha. Uddiyana bandha is performed with an exhale that empties out the air and hollows out the abdomen. This first part of the lock can either be done in a slight or exaggerated way, depending on the intent, skill and experience of the practitioner. Secondly, there is a slight constriction of the abdominal area in and up. This contraction is briefly held simultaneously with the other two locks.

Jalandhara Bandha The word jalandhara is made up of jalan and dhara. Jala, depending on how it is spelled in Sanskrit, can mean either water or net. It probably derives from the root car, meaning to move or flow. This root is found in the English words car and chariot. Dhara means to hold. Jalandhara bandha is performed with a slight constriction at the throat achieved by tucking the chin towards the chest. Simultaneously there is a slight sensation of sucking in the front of the throat into the back. This can also be triggered by ujjayi breathing. Jalandhara bandha helps prevent prana from moving into the head. These bandhas should be learned in person from a qualified teacher. Engagement of these bandhas takes some practice, but once learned they are of great benefit to our asana practice.

Opening chakras sequentially The Lady Niguma Yoga poses go in a special order. The sequencing flows up the chakras of the bodycausing prana to flow more smoothly. If you do this yoga over a period of months, it prepares you in a safe way to attain higher energetic states.

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

The Jewel of the Practice The jewel of the practice is the inner focus on crucial points combined with the physical movements. If you’re focusing on the crucial points without love (for others as well as ourselves), then you’re missing the point. You will never realize the full potential of this practice. You must put your mind in higher thoughts while you do the asana-thoughts of compassionate wisdom. This is how we see the faces of every being. This is how we achieve the goal of yoga.

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

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TARANATHA 500 years after Niguma first passed on her lineage, a great yogi by the name of Tarantha was born in India.As we learn from his life stories, Taranatha wrote the main commentary that we study for these practices called The Machine of the Body. Taranatha was of critical importance in the Niguma lineage because although the teachings still existed, no one really understood them and they had become confused and corrupted. Taranatha was relentless in his studies and practices and through his hard work was able to save these teachings from being lost to the world. In this intensive we will use the life example of Taranatha as a means to integrate these teachings into our own lives, once again preserving the Lady Niguma lineage in the world by preserving it in our hearts. Taranatha had an amazing life because he was an amazing student, and we can use these lessons to do the same. As well as studying his story in great detail, we will use these 21 Lessons of Taranatha for our 30 day Challenge. By following his examples we see how he integrated the teachings into every aspect of his life and we can seek inspiration from his example to do the same.

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NEYS, DROPS, AND A LACK OF SELF NATURE Earlier in the manual we looked at the importance of crucial points in bringing the winds into the central channel. As well, we briefly touched on the idea of drops, or drops of consciousness, and how these too play a role in bringing winds into the central channel. In fact, the entire goal of Lady Niguma yoga is to use inner and outer methods to bring winds into the central channel. When winds enter into this channel we use bandhas, or locks, to keep the winds from releasing back out. Through continued practice, these winds enter, stay, and dissolve into the heart chakra and at this point the dissolution of the elements occurs. As these elements dissolve, so too do the inner winds, and as these winds calm down and settle, what else starts to dissolve? Our thoughts which ride upon these winds. At the heart chakra, during the dissolution of the elements, this happens in a very extreme way. At the center of this chakra is the most important drop called the “indestructible drop”. As the winds dissolve here, all forms of conceptual thought subside, and this drop breaks open releasing the most crucial wind and the most crucial thought of all… But first, it is important to understand that these are extremely advanced practices and come with some very important warnings. Working with the subtle body at this level, especially at the level of the heart can cause all sorts of very serious ailments. Ailments that can come on in minutes and take days, months or even years to fix. These practices are generally not taught in large groups, these practices are generally only taught to students who have been studying closely with a teacher for many years,and the specifics of the practices are never taught to beginners. © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

The main problems that can occur are related to an excess of the wind energy.To understand this we can use the analogy of a hose and water.If there is a kink in the hose and we force too much water into this constriction, the hose will burst and water will go everywhere. This is the same with our winds and our channels. If we start moving energy through the channels in a forceful way through our yoga practice for example, we are at risk of blowing out our channels just like the hose. What would be a forceful way? Doing our yoga practices with emotions like jealousy or pride, thinking how great or inferior we are compared to others in class. Doing poses that are too extreme, with too much intensity or holding them for too long. Doing our poses with extreme thoughts of ignorance or holding our breath in forceful ways. This condition of excess wind energy is called lung (pronounced “loo-ng” like the “u” in glume (not like the lung in our chest). When doing these practices it is essential that we recognize when these conditions are starting to arise and we must react immediately to take corrective measures. Signs of lung include: • Chest pain or feelings of constriction around the heart • Inability to sleep • Headaches • Shaking in the body, arms, or hands • Abnormal inability to concentrate • Feeling overly giddy and acting silly, laughing uncontrollably for no apparent reason • Feeling paranoid or having delusions; being overcome by sudden anxiety • Again, when these signs arise, we must take some action. These ailments are much easier to treat if we act sooner than later. The most important way to counteract these conditions is by slowing down or stopping our practices until the symptoms go away. Additionally we can: • Eat solid, heavy food. Oils, butter, peanut or other nut butters, and ghee, are especially helpful • Take a walk outside or in nature. Look up at the sky or vast landscapes to open up our consciousness in relaxing, expansive ways © 2021 YOGA STUDIES INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

• Take a nice relaxing warm bath • Have an oil massage • Read something enjoyable, not serious, something that makes you laugh • Avoid situations that further cause stress or anxiety. Strictly avoid all forms of caffeine and sugars, even things like chocolate and fruit juices. If these symptoms are acute or continue for more than 18-24 hours, it may be necessary to seek advice from an experienced yoga teacher or someone who has experience in contemplation retreats, or from professional medical personnel. These conditions are rare, but not uncommon. As we progress along our yogic path, we will recognize lung quickly and be able to deal with it more and more effectively. As a yogi, we should see our health as a crucial component in our ability to serve others. Keeping our bodies and minds healthy therefore becomes an important part of our yoga practice. And perhaps not so ironically, this ends up being the best protection against lung--setting a pure motivation for our practice and doing it out of love and compassion. This is the ultimate protection. This is the ultimate path. And this is the ultimate goal.

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

OUR DESTINY: TO BECOME LIGHT There is a very famous expression in yoga: kaladanda.Kala means time and danda means stick. Although kala means time, it has the connotation of death, because given enough time, the conclusion is death. However, the Lady Niguma practice is the ultimate danda. It is the stick that we use to beat death to death. Death is a mistake. It is an accident. Death has causes and we can remove these causes. These causes stem from ignorance that misperceives reality and it is this misperception that creates the side channels which form and twist around the central channel cutting off the prana. Through the practices of Lady Niguma we are able to loosen these knots and allow prana to flow into the central channel.When perfected, this is the death of death. This is the point where the light body manifests completely and the mind is free of negative thoughts and all obstacles. This is the royal road of yoga. This is the path to taking care of infinite beings. Perfectly. And this is the goal of Niguma’s yoga. Please remember that the path of yoga is a lifestyle not an asana sequence. And please remember that the most important change is the change we find in our heart. Travel the path with joy. Travel the path with patience. And travel the path with love. The team at the Yoga Studies Institute sincerely appreciates your efforts to keep these teachings alive in the world and in your hearts. We believe that we are with you, on the same team, trying to do the same.

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Hatha Yoga Pradipika Verse 3.2

suptā guru prasādena yadā jāgharti kuṇḍalī tadā sarvāṇi padmāni bhidyante ghranthayo api cha III.2 When the sleeping Inner fire is awakened Through the kindness Of your teacher, Then all the lotuses Are pierced, And the knots as well.

Verse. 3.3

prāṇasya śūnya padavī tadā rājapathāyate tadā chittaṃ nirālambaṃ tadā kālasya vañchanam III.3 Then too The inner winds Travel the path Of emptiness; Then too you have stepped Upon the royal road; Then too the mind Has nothing at all to see; Then too you have cheated The Lord of Death.

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

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LADY NIGUMA LEVEL 1 FOUNDATION COURSE

YO G AST U D I ES I N ST I T U T E .O R G

yogastudiesinstitute.org • Y O G A T H AT C H A N G E S Y O U R W O R L D , N O T J U S T Y O U R B O D Y •

Lady Niguma Manual

Articles inside

MAPPING THE INNER BODY

TARANATHA

5 GOALS AND 4 MOVEMENTS

OUR DESTINY: TO BECOME LIGHT

LIVING IN SUSHUMNA

NEYS, DROPS, AND A LACK OF SELF NATURE

INTRODUCTION