Advice on visualising while spinal-breathing

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Hello,
My current pranayama practice is centred around helping me lose some weight and is working well. This means I put emphasis on  bhastrika/kapalabhati/agnisara/surya bheda/nadi shodhana. With this a do a small asana practice, just to support the pranayama.
However, after reading about spinal breathing I would like to add that to my practice.
My question is: when I visualise the breathing from mula to ajna and back, should I picture it as something that's happening outside or inside of me? I can potentially picture this up/down movement as if I was looking at the nerve from outside, but not having much luck when trying to picture the movement along the nerve within myself.
Could I please have some advice, or maybe you could share your own methods/experiences.
Thank you.

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by img

Hello,
 I can potentially picture this up/down movement as if I was looking at the nerve from outside, but not having much luck when trying to picture the movement along the nerve within myself.

Go with that for now. Don't force anything. As long as you are following your awareness up the spine during in breath from root to third eye and down during out breath, you are fine.  
It will change over time.

I would suggest though, if you are doing that much of pranayama, to add some meditation to bring a balance in the energy and stillness. It may not hit you immediately, but over time it may cause an imbalance in your inner being. Just a suggestion.

Welcome to the AYP forums.

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Thank you for the reply and for the welcome. :-)
I do meditation, just didn't mention it. It seems that AYP recommends meditation twice a day, and I am willing to try, but the option for the second session, at least for the moment, is before going to bed at night. Apparently this isn't ideal, but better than no second session. Why is meditation before sleep not advisable?
By the way, I am amazed at the information presented in the AYP Lessons: things that take a lot of time to understand via trial and errorare presented there in a straightforward way. The author is a generous person indeed.

[Shanti]

In the beginning, doing meditation just once is fine, but make sure you do it right after asanas and pranayama. I could fit in only one session for the first six months.

If you do want to add it to the evening routine, it is recommend to do it early, and not close to bed time (as you mentioned in your post above) as it may interfere with your night sleep. It does not affect everyone, I can do it close to bed time and sleep well after, but some people cannot sleep after meditating close to bed time.... so it's individual. You can try it and see how you react to it.

The one thing to keep in mind is to rest after meditation. If you are doing it close to bed time, rest, then get up and do something, like watch TV, read, walk around a bit, then go to bed. If you fall asleep directly after meditation, it can make you groggy and tired the next day.

Wish you all the best. Hope some of this helps.

PS:Yes, the author is a very generous and loving soul. Blessed to have him in our lives.

[Etherfish]

Yes, the author is doing a great service to mankind. And the painter is helping a lot with it.

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Oh, I see. Thank you!

[maheswari]

quote:PS:Yes, the author is a very generous and loving soul. Blessed to have him in our lives

yes he is...namaste