Mahamudra

[darvish]

Greetings,

This is my first post on this forum and wanted to say
that I am very grateful to have found this place on the
internet.

I have a question regarding Mahamudra and it's complimentary
practices of mahabandha and mahavedha.

Is the practice of mahamudra incorporated into the AYP routine?
What do you think of mahamudra? Is it a good practice to add to ones
daily routine?

Thanks!

[Ute]

Welcome Darvish,
Mahamudra isn’t part of the AYPractices. That doesn’t mean it’s not a useful practice, but Yogani offered us what he found to be most effective. Lesson 204 offers an overview of the AYP practices
http://www.aypsite.com/plus/204.html
The recommendation is to start in the beginning. I did, although I had a spiritual practice for many years before I found AYP. Many AYpractices are similar to what I was doing already, though many incorporate “new twists”. It’s a very effective practice. You may want to see if it for you, too.
Blessings,
Ute

[yogani]

Hi Darvish and Ute:

Sorry I am coming in a little late on this one. Great questions.

It turns out maha mudra is covered in the AYP book in the addition to lesson #71 on Asanas. It is in with the "sitting head to knee" postures as a more advanced version. It is mentioned in lesson #183 too, as well as in the glossary of Sanskrit terms both in the AYP book and online.

But you are right, Ute, it is not a regular part of AYP, mainly because all of its elements are covered in other parts of the AYP practices -- forward stretch, siddhasana, kumbhaka (breath retention), mudras and bandhas. etc. Even so, maha mudra can be used in asanas before sitting practices, if desired. Just keep self-pacing in mind for maha mudra in relation to all the other similar practices we are doing, so as not to be "doubling up" on kumbhaka effects.

Maha bandha is doing kumbhaka in siddhasana with mudras and bandhas, which advanced AYP practitioners do all over the place in sitting practices -- spinal breathing (yes, slow breathing has a kumbhaka-like effect), yoni mudra kumbhaka, chin pump, etc. These practices are variations on the same elements, with a different focus in each one.

Maha vedha is essentially maha bandha while dropping the body on the sitting surface from a few inches up with the hands. This is not an AYP practice, however it will happen automatically in samyama at a certain stage when doing the "akasha - lightness of air" sutra. In this particular manifestation it has been called "hopping." It is maha vedha occurring as an automatic yoga in samyama.  

When we are doing the core practices of deep meditation and spinal breathing, the nervous system will know what it needs via the connectedness of yoga!

Also, see Victor's topic on doing kechari, kumbhaka and other things during asanas, which has some valuable related insights.

The guru is in you.

[darvish]

Thank you for the replies!

It is very interesting that many of these practices
have been structured into exercises that attempt to
reproduce natural occuring kriyas or movements experienced
by advanced adept.

I have heard about about the body spontaneously
assuming various yogic postures after the inner energies
get released.

I have a thick folder with exercises from various sources
related to kriya and bhakti yoga, that I have attempting to
sculpt into a daily pratice and it's really a godsend to have
all this laid out so clearly on this site. Thanks you again, Yogani,
for making all this available.

I will purchase the book and start developing the practice with one slight varation as I have previously been initiated with a zekr or
mantra and will use that instead of the I AM mantra.

On a side note related to Kriya Yoga, what do you think of the 22
stage tension/relaxation routine developed by Yogananda? I have a varation of this routine and am wondering if it would be benficial to add to the AYP routine?

Thanks again.

[Ute]

Hi Darvish,
You might find lesson 59 about mantra particulars of interest[]
http://www.aypsite.com/plus/59.html
Blessings,
Ute