Sunburn

[Jim and His Karma]

quote:Originally posted by Katrine
There you have it! I must admit that I have indeed been in breath suspension (most of the time at the end of exhalation)

That'd definitely a move that brings up lots more energy (whereas AYP pranayama is about balancing and distributing energy).

I'd eliminate breath suspension in pranayama and cut down on it elsewhere to fix this overload. And add LOTS of walking and physical exercise. You know how people talk about "grounding" and "being grounded"? Do that sort of activity. Engage a lot more with people and the world.

Good luck. Watch your eczema carefully, it's your friend in that it's a solid, visible, external gauge. We don't get that sort of thing much in spiritual practice! so don't fail to watch for growth/shrinkage of the existing spots and appearance of new ones (especially in armpits and at coccyxx).

[Katrine]

Thank you, Jim
Yes to all of your advises. In deep meditation the breathing becomes very slow and sometimes I am in suspension without noticing it. Since the sunburn I am very careful not to stop the flow of breath.

What do you know of qi-gong? I find it very grounding so I included it in my practise again after the sunburn (I had not done it for some months). Walking is my favorite exercise - I always suffer if there is no time to walk (luckily I have dog).

May all your Nows be Here

[Jim and His Karma]

Yogani recommends (and, I believe, practices) tai-chi. One useful move, borrowed from tai chi, is to stand with legs slightly bent, much weight in feet (and awareness of the point just above the center of the foot), with arms extended parallel in front of you with palms facing each other. Visualize a ball between hands (and connect it with the point of your navel). And fill that ball with energy.

If you have feelings of constriction in head (especially forehead), visualize your mental energy extending freely outside the skull. I.e. let it all hang out. Be careful not to visualize this around the crown (top of the head), though!

If it keeps worsening, here's a useful rule of thumb. Think of everything that makes you feel "spiritual" (certain music, people, activities). And avoid them for a while. When my kundalini first awakened, I made error of going to an art gallery that week. The most beautiful paintings caused me some serious pain...just more overdoing! Was pretty difficult to explain to the person I'd gone with....

[Katrine]

Thanks Jim

 

quote:....and awareness of the point just above the center of the foot....

Do you mean the center above each foot?

May all your Nows be Here

[riptiz]

Hi Katrine, Jim,
A good grounding exercise commonly used in qi gong. Stand feet apart , knees slightly bent and weight slightly more on the balls of feet rather than heels although heels don't lift.Arms at side but keep the elbows slightly out to allow the armpits to remain open.Hands relaxed and slightly curved like a chimpanzee's.
Relax the stomach, chest, turn the hips up slightly and dip the chin slightly to take tension from the neck.
Close eyes and visualise the energy moving down the body, down through the soles of feet and grow roots into the ground , down to the centre of the earth and visualise standing on a rock at the centre.Stay there for a few minutes before bringing the energy back up to the crown and relax.This is a good relaxtion and grounding technique.
L&L
Dave

'the mind can see further than the eyes'

[Jim and His Karma]

Katrine, no, on the sole of the foot. if you considered the ball under the big toe and the ball under the little toe to be two points of a triangle, the third point of that triangle, just above the center of the foot at the top of the arch, is the point to focus on. Nail it into the ground like it's a thumb tack.