Spinal Breathing Suggestion

[Jim and His Karma]

I'd like to suggest that folks try a very slight adjustment to spinal breathing.

AYP's instructions are to work from the root, or perineum. But even though that's a pretty small area, there are vast differences between one end of the perineum and the other. My suggestion is to try doing your spinal breathing not from the center of the root, but from the end nearest the genitals (ugh, what an ugly word).

Three reasons:

1. It injects more energy into the practice

For those who are at the stage where they're not sure if they're really moving energy or merely imagining it, this will provide a charge that will quickly make the process fully "real". For those more experienced, it's a way to ramp up energy.


2. It provides a target

Going  down the straight-away portion of the spine is fairly cut and dried. But a little  more effort and concentration is required to move the energy from  the sacrum through the coccyx and to the perineum. As exhalation winds down, there's temptation to simply dump the energy  down there in the nether reaches and start anew with the next inhalation. Which is not a disaaster, but if you move energy to the sensitive genital end of the perineum, it's like having a bell to ring, so to speak. You'll always know when you've reached the end. And the jolt nicely fuels and impels the next spinal breathing circuit.


3. Creates habit of moving up sexual energy

Moving sexual energy from the genitals up the spine is core to both main and tantric practices. I'm not suggesting doing your spinal breathing from the genitals themselves. But the act of drawing energy from the front of the perineum up the spine is very valuable training for anyone seeking to control sexual energy. More so than spinal breathing launched from even slightly further back.

[Victor]

I have to say that I completely agree.
  the spinal chord does not actually go to the base of the spine but branches out through the sacrum almost like roots that "draw" up the energy in the genitals. This is a very good place to feel the energy being inhaled up through spinal breathing.

[Manipura]

hmmm . . . think I just lost my reply to Jim's spinal breathing post.  Will try again later.  Anyway, thanks for the replies to my meditation frustrations - much appreciated.


m

[Jim and His Karma]

quote:Originally posted by meg

hmmm . . . think I just lost my reply to Jim's spinal breathing post.  Will try again later.  Anyway, thanks for the replies to my meditation frustrations - much appreciated.

Meg, online veterans will tell you to NEVER compose a posting in your browser. Browsers make lousy word processors! Unless you're shooting a quickie reply, best to write in a word processing program then paste into your browser. If something goes wrong, you're covered. Those who ignore this advice and find that their stuff gets lost...don't panic. Hit your browser's back button - several times if necessary. You may be able to back up to the text input page, and the text may still be there.

[yogani]

Interesting suggestion on moving the perineum point forward in spinal breathing to bring sexual energy more into it. Feel free to experiment according to results. You will know it when you feel it. Until then, maybe better to stick to the basics. Once ecstatic conductivity begins to come up, then we are in a much better position to optimize our practice  having real sensations to follow.    

Keep in mind that we eventually are cultivating sexual energy in many ways during spinal breathing. This also creeps out as habit (not necessarily conscious practice) into the rest of our sitting practices, including in deep meditation and samyama.

Other means (habits to develop) we use during spinal breathing that are involved with cultivating sexual energy include mulabandha/asvini, sambhavi, siddhasana, uddiyana (very light) and kechari. After spinal breathing, we go for even more with yoni mudra kumbhaka, chin pump and spinal bastrika. Oddly enough, some of the most powerful practices for cultivating sexual energy in the nervous system are located in the head.

Links to AYP lessons on these practices can be found in the introduction to this forum at http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=276

All of these practices are acting to cultivate sexual energy throughout our nervous system, using the spinal nerve as the central transmission conduit  not only up and down, as in spinal breathing-style practices, but also outward via naturally arising ecstatic conductivity. Then we have deep meditation and samyama working within all that inner arousal.

We did not mention tantric sexual practices, did we? That is yet another dimension in all of this. See the forum here devoted to that.  

There is a lot we do to promote both the expansion of ecstatic conductivity (the sexual element) and inner silence (pure bliss consciousness). These two aspects of our inner nature join to become unshakable inner silence, ecstatic bliss and outpouring divine love. That is enlightenment. Well, thats the big picture on practices. Enjoy!

The guru is in you.

[Manipura]

Yeah, I've been losing some messages, so that must be why.  Glad to know that it's me, and not the AYP site!  What I wanted to tell you - Jim - is that I tried the spinal breathing suggestion, and it was effective.  The perineum is sort of a conceptual blur, but the genitals give me a larger target, and it seems to work better for the time being.  Thanks for your reply, Yogani - I wanted to know what you thought about changing to the genitals before I got too far into it.


m

[Jim and His Karma]

quote:Originally posted by meg
 changing to the genitals

Meg.....NOT to the genitals! I'm still talking about the perineum (the area Yogani had originally prescribed), but just one end of it rather than the other. Very slight adjustment, but helpful for reasons stated. And yoga is all about trying different slight adjustments and seeing what works for you.

[yogani]

Hello all:

As time goes on, the focal point of rising ecstatic conductivity in the area of the perineum shifts from sexual (the front) toward the anus and rectum (the back). In a very general (and unofficial) way, the perineum represents the distance between root (anus) and second chakra (sexual organs). The perineum is a logical end point in spinal breathing, covering the full scope from genitals to anus.

Kundalini means "coiled serpent," and the scriptural description is specific -- three-and-a-half coils around the root lingam. This corresponds with the neuro-biology in and around the rectum.

As ecstatic conductivity comes to bloom in the nervous system, this spiritual anatomy reveals itself by degrees. Until then, we are taking things a bit on faith when we do our spinal breathing to the perineum. We know something is going on there, but we don't know exactly what until the inner energies are awakened. In the meantime, we want to be careful not to wander too far off in our practice with this or that sensation, or we may end up missing the main event.

Of course, once we have ecstatic conductivity going (an awakened kundalini), we will not be leading her so much anymore. She will be leading us. We just don't want to be jumping the gun on her, running off into myriad sensations, emotions and thoughts with our practices. What I am saying here applies in all the AYP practices. So much can be coming up that can attract our attention. This is why the lessons say so often:  When experiences happen in our practice, whatever they may be, we easily come back to the procedure of the practice we are doing.  

So, Jim is wise to advise you not to be running too far up the perineum there in your spinal breathing.  The real action will be happening in the other direction... But dont go charging off there in spinal breathing either. Just stick with the practice as given is my suggestion -- to the perineum. Dont forget you will have mulabandha/asvini and siddhasana in there too, along with all the other practices influencing the spinal nerve as well. So it will all work out in the end. Was that a pun?

Ah, adventures in yoga!

The guru is in you.
 

[dadhichi]

Hello All

Although there is a very practical value in traditional practice as prescribed by eighter the ancient sages, Shiva himself, Yogani, or any teaching we trust, the most important point is that when our divine consort in the form of Goddess Chitti ( Kundalini ) sweeps us off our feet, then and only then are we really dancing.
interestingly it is that great regular practice that awakens our own divine power

This is echoed by all the great Ones, and yet it is none other than our own Self who sweeps us off of our feet
It is the Divine Person Himself who wanders pretending to be lost

There is a great power in letting go,in that openness, bliss and guidance comes
when the energy of consciousness  sways in ecstatic dance mountains are moved.