Hi All:
This email exchange on kechari mudra is offered with permission. I don't know if the author will be available here for questions, but this information is well worth passing on "as is." He has provided details on his method in Email #2 below.
------------------------------------
Email #1: Hi Yogani:
I managed to get the tongue up behind the soft palate aprox. 2 years ago through use of a plastic tube with one end plugged, the other open for insertion of the tongue -- placing tongue in tube and then sucking the air out of the tube, the tongue is drawn deep into the tube and held very firmly and the very bottom of the tube rests upon the frenum ... by slightly sharpening that bottom edge of the tube and gently manipulating the tube up and back, I was gradually able to cut the frenum completely and painlessly. Since then, I have lost my enthusiasm for the kechari somewhat as it did not have the effect upon me that it had on Norm Paulsen (who I went to see and spent some time with last year -- wonderful person!). I was, of course, hoping to have the ecstatic experiences you describe in your lessons (which I just discovered today, incidentally) and Norman describes in his book. I have felt strong movement of prana in the spine at times during kechari practice in the past, but well short of the ecstatic states others describe.
Anyway, my interest/enthusiasm has been renewed by reading your lessons and I've been trying to feel the "secret spot" ("about half way up the edge of the septum is a small protrusion, a small bulge."). I have not yet noticed any bulge along that interior septum ridge. I'm also confused about the "bony protrusion" both you and Norman talk about, above which rests the pituitary ("the throne of the pituitary", to quote Norman). There seem to be 3 different areas or spots being referred to -- the bony protrusion at the very top of the nasopharynx, the "secret spot" in the center of the interior portion of the nasal septum, and, in Kechari stage #4, yet another place to rest the tongue within the nasal passage itself. My nasal passages are still a little too sensitive to handle my inserting the tongue there, but much less so now than the last time I tried some 6 months ago.
I imagine I need to deepen my kriya yoga practice and be a little more regular in it as well to build a foundation upon which the ecstatic connection of Kechari can rise, at least such is my speculation right now. But, be that as it may, where to rest the tip of the tongue??? Very confusing to have the pictures in your lessons where, in stage 3, the tongue clearly rests at the very top of the nasal septum but, in the text on page 456 (of AYP Easy Lessons book), the middle portion of the septum is cited as the location of the secret spot. I wish I could go by feeling and just "know" where that spot is but, for whatever reason, I'm not sure.
Thanks so much for your response and insights.
Yogani Reply:Hi. Thank you for your kind note and sharing.
That is a very creative approach to achieving higher stages of kechari you came up with. I am sure other readers of AYP would like to hear about it. More on that below...
With regard to the initial rise of ecstatic conductivity in the nervous system, kechari is not necessarily going to be the primary cause of that. I view it more as a "higher gear" practice that takes the process much further once it has been initiated by deep meditation, spinal breathing and other means. Of course, it can happen in a variety of ways, so I am not proposing an exclusive sequence of events or approach to stimulate it. Only an approach that has worked ... and we are always on the lookout for even more effective means.
Kechari is one of several "upper body" techniques we utilize in AYP. Sambhavi and dynamic jalandhara (chin pump) are two others. All of these carry forward whole-body ecstatic conductivity once it gets going. Before we can do much with the upper body techniques ecstatically, we go for "global" purification throughout the nervous system, stimulated by the rise of inner silence in deep meditation and samyama, and clearing and enlivening of the sushumna (spinal nerve) with spinal breathing, yoni mudra kumbhaka, spinal bastrika and other means.
Also, in AYP we directly engage the internal expansion of sexual energy with both yogic and tantric means. Here we are working with lower and middle body methods such as mulabandha/asvini, siddhasana, uddiyana/nauli, navi kriya, and direct cultivation of sexual energy preorgasmically within whatever sexual lifestyle one may be accustomed to.
Well, that is a lot of stuff. Much of it is familiar to you, no doubt, and perhaps some of it is not so familiar. AYP is a refinement and integration of the most effective methods of practice I have come across in my long yoga career. In the lessons, the practices are built up in a logical sequence, utilizing "self-pacing" (an AYP invention) to create a compact and stable routine that leaves us free to continue fully-engaged in our daily activities according to our inclinations, which is how the results of practices (inner silence and ecstatic conductivity) are blended and stabilized in our nervous system.
Given what you have mentioned, you may wish to consider adding deep meditation into your practice routine. In AYP it comes first. It is never too late to cultivate inner silence, also called "pure bliss consciousness," "the witness," "inner stillness," and by many other names. It is the ground state and source of all that goes on in yoga. The time to do deep meditation is right after spinal breathing. You may be doing a form of meditation there already, and it is up to you how to proceed, of course. From your description, it sounds like you could use a boost in the inner silence department. That is usually what is found to be somewhat in short supply in those who have gone far with pranayama and hatha yoga methods alone.
Once we have inner silence/stillness springing into action (a paradox!), then the way will become gradually more clear for the ecstatic elements of our journey. In the end, it is the joining of these two qualities that completes the cycle. The great kriya yogi, Lahiri Mahasaya, called this "The merging of emptiness with euphoria."
On the location of the secret spot in kechari, I find it to be about half way up the edge of the nasal septum -- that's about half way between the floor on top of the hard palate and the top of the nasal pharynx. In my case there is a small protrusion there, but I don't see that as a defining characteristic of the experience. In stage 2 kechari, the tip of the tongue rests right on the secret spot (
see diagram). That is the most common advanced kechari position during pranayama and meditation. The secret spot can also be stimulated indirectly in kechari stage 1, through the roof of the mouth where the hard and soft palates meet, right under the edge of the nasal septum.
The secret spot is also stimulated by the back side of the tongue in stage 3 kechari, a position that can occur spontaneously at any time during practices.
Stage 4 (alternating up in each nostril during a practice such as chin pump) covers the secret spot also. In stage 4 we are adding stimulation of the erectile tissues in the nasal passages, which is a new dimension, but not more central (or continuous) than the secret spot on the edge of the septum. I do not find any spot more central than the secret spot in kechari practice, including the top of the nasal pharynx or the top of the nasal passages near the inside of the brow.
There is no special "direct" stimulation of the pituitary gland in kechari that I have found, though it is certainly stimulated indirectly (it is in the bony structure right above the nasal pharynx), and I agree with Norman Paulsen that it is an important seat of divine consciousness. Sambhavi is much involved in this also.
Btw, I have the highest regard for Norman Paulsen and his work -- a true American yoga pioneer!
All of this that I have been mentioning has been determined by direct experience with ecstatic conductivity -- the ecstatic connection between the head, the root, all points in-between, and even the environment outside the body. The secret spot is known by all of those ecstatic connections. A similar kind of ecstatic connection can be found in sambhavi, and these sensations lead us ever higher into divine absorption whenever we are inclined to go there. These ecstatic connections in the head lead simultaneously to the refinement and introversion of sensory perception -- pratyahara.
As a final point on ecstasy, I would add that quite a few involved in AYP have found ecstatic conductivity rising in their nervous system before reaching stage 2 kechari. This is evidence that kechari is not necessarily a primary cause of whole-body ecstatic conductivity. So, perhaps it is better to look back to meditation and other means designed to provide the prerequisite purification and opening of the overall nervous system. Then we can take the upper body mudras and fly!
As you may know, we now have the AYP forums available for anyone who wishes read and interact with many yoga practitioners from beginning to advanced. A search there will yield a wealth of additional knowledge from others on approaches to kechari.
I'd like to ask your permission to post your note (anonymously) and this reply in the AYP forums, so other practitioners can benefit from your unique input on kechari. I am sure they will find it most interesting. Whether or not you choose to participate in the discussion is up to you, of course. As a minimum, I hope we can share this interchange. The goal in AYP is to create an ongoing and evolving "open source" on effective yoga practices that is accessible to everyone. It is my hope that this can be the beginning of real applied yoga science leading to substantial improvements in the application of spiritual practices for present and future generations.
So let me know...
Wishing you success on your chosen spiritual path. With gentle persistence, I know you will find all you are seeking. Practice wisely, and enjoy!
The guru is in you.
Email #2:Dear Yogani:
I am most grateful for your thoughtful, thorough response to my inquiry and have much more clarity about the placement of the tongue now. As I experimented today at work, I found the best resting place was, indeed, the middle of the septum and was pleased to find your confirmation waiting for me when I got home just now. The reason I had not really experimented with keeping the tongue there in the first place was the notion that it needed to rest at the top of the nasopharynx on the "bony protursion". Your suggestion to emphasize spinal breathing to prepare for higher states also helped ease my mind and give me some confirmation of direction. And of course you have my permission to share our correspondence on the AYP site.
It was because of a fear I dare say most people will encounter -- that of taking a razor or such directly to the frenum -- that I felt compelled to find some other way (I did try the razor a few times but it was clearly not for me -- i ended up nicking my lips and was very, very squeamish about it). Here's a bit more info on the technique as it may prove useful to some. The tube I used was 1 inch in diameter (you may need a larger or smaller one I imagine, based on the width of your tongue) and can be found in Home Depot or Lowes hardware stores on a spool. I plugged one end of the tube with a bathtub plug which, fortuitously, I noticed in the same aisle as the tubing itself, securing the plug to the tube with super glue. When you get home, use an exacto knife or some such implement to trim to roundness the sharp edges of the tube so as to protect the tongue. Then further trim the bottom portion of the tube so there is a slope to a sharp edge just as wide as the frenum is at it's base. (Side note here: this tube method was engaged secondarily, after talabya-kriya was employed to it's full extent -- pressing the bottom of the tongue against the hard palate with vigor, stretching and gradually tearing the frenum bit by bit -- this process, by the way, produced an amazingly pleasurable feeling in the frenum itself and the craving to tear it further became almost obsessive over time. Dropping the jaw enables maximum extension in talabya and some may not need the tube process after this is accomplished. As for me, my frenum was considerable). Place the tongue into the tube as deeply as you can to begin (mind you, if there are any sharp edges you still need to trim, excepting the small bottom edge over the frenum area although that will perhaps need the most attention to get it just right, you'll feel them and will probably have to make numerous trims to soften the edges of the tube and get a comfortable fit), then simply suck the air out of the tube in successive inhalations. The tongue will produce a secure vacuum and be drawn deeper into the tube with each inhalation. 3 to 5 inhalations, as I recall, is about as much as you can total. Once the tongue is secured in the tube via suction, lift the tube up towards the roof of the mouth and press the sharper lower edge against what is left of the frenum (that is, what is left after maximizing talabya kriya). It basically continues the work of talabya kriya until the frenum is completely severed. There is no pain in the process if performed with care. Take special care to ensure the arteries on either side of the bottom of the tongue are not endangered -- all of the pressure should be and can be isolated against the frenum and, as I already said, keep trimming the edges till it fits properly around the tongue. Considerable force can be used as one gets used to the device. To protect from infection, I applied an equal mixture of turmeric and salt and this also helped keep the "wound" open and ready for the next days efforts, kept it from closing up and slowing the process. The application of the turmeric/salt stings considerably, no doubt about it, but is tolerable and eased my mind somewhat. I used the tube frequently, sometimes 5 times in a single day. I also set the tube and exercise aside for a few days at a time. I let the feeling in the tongue guide my progress. Breaks in the practice will need to take place, in other words. The tongue will actually start hurting from the suction over time, then a break will need to be taken. Or there will be an intuition to simply wait, to let the body "catch up", so to speak. Listen to those intuitions. Oh yes, last thing -- cleaning the tube. I used a baby bottle cleaning brush and anti-bacterial dishwashing soap. You'll have to clean the tube after each use to remove the saliva and I found simply squirting a bit of soap into it, filling it with hot water and inserting the baby bottle brush and scrubbing a very quick and easy way. And one more obvious note -- use the tube over a sink.
Again, thank you so much for your kind response, Yogani. I hope this will prove of some help to someone. Your response has been a great help to me already. Namaste.
