Adding chin pump before sidhasana

[emc]

So... since I seem to do everything upsidedown when it comes to practices, and is a queen of automatic movements, I must ask a question:

Is it recommended to add practices (mudras and bandhas) is the suggested order in spite of whatever automatic movements may be going on?

The reason of asking is that after meditation I added spinal breathing, then mulabandha, then sambhavi. Then I added samyama. That's what I've been doing, plus a lot of self-pacing. I have felt that sidhasana or asanas has NOT been of interest or any use, since my kundalini is flowing like bara den (Swedish, translation: *&%#).

Now my body is automatically doing A LOT of chin lock and chin pump during pranayama, meditation and resting period and during the rest of the day. Sort of jumping ahead in the "add on chart".

Should I add chin pump to my practices? Or something else?

[yogani]

Hi emc:

The order in which we add practices in AYP is not ironclad, though there is a certain logic to it, and the lessons are laid out accordingly.

We don't want "automatic yoga" to be directing our practice routine, for that will certainly be running us willy nilly. Automatic yoga is great, a clear sign of purification and opening going on, but it wants it all right now. Few practitioners can accommodate that without going though extreme discomfort, and ending up traveling slower while recovering from episodes of excess.

On the other hand, if you want to try a minute or two of chin pump between spinal breathing and deep meditation, it will not hurt, and might help quell the random occurrences of it. That way you will be adding some structure, which you can then self-pace for progress with comfort. The rest of the time automatic yoga may be occurring, we can just regard it as "scenery" and easily favor whatever practice or activity we are doing.

Chin pump is good for helping to clear blockages in the throat, heart and front channel, including bringing energy down from the head, which can help relieve pressure in the third eye area. At the same time, chin pump brings energy up through the spine from root to brow, and when ecstatic conductivity (kundalini) is awake the pumping action can be felt through the entire length of the sushumna (spinal nerve), particularly on both ends.  

All the best!

The guru is in you.


PS: A light set of asanas before sitting practices can help calm down/smooth out random occurrences of automatic yoga. And, of course, plenty of grounding activity during the day.

[yogani]

PPS: Regarding the above, consider beginning with "chin pump lite" (without breath retention), as this will be less kundalini stimulation.

[emc]

Thanks, yogani!

I've added three rounds in each direction of chin pump WITH breathing and it seems to ease the automatic movements.

I have also been drawn to do asanas before meditation since 2-3 weeks, although that feels very weird... There is a pull to do it, but there's also some strange resistance so I have only randomly done one or two asanas every third day or so... I think I will try it more structured for a while and then evaluate. At least the "quick" variant suggested in the book, with only some twists... Have no idea of where my resistance to asanas comes from...

Good to know that the order of adding practices is not superfixed. I think sidhasana would make my kundalini go crazy since I already have a burning root chakra...

[yogani]

quote:Originally posted by emc

 Good to know that the order of adding practices is not superfixed. I think sidhasana would make my kundalini go crazy since I already have a burning root chakra...

Hi emc:

Yes, siddhasana can do that, though interestingly, in the long run it actually smooths the ecstatic energies, even while cultivating them. In that sense, siddhasana is a really terrific tantra technique.

Perhaps when you consider trying siddhasana, start slow with a soft rolled up sock, or similar. Like everything else in yoga, siddhasana can be self-paced to suit just about any situation.

One thing at a time though...

The guru is in you.

[emc]

Inspired by the topic opened by Yogani on the freedom within the AYP system to experiment a bit and report the consequences, I happened to run into this old topic and thought some feed-back could be written.

I have not changed my practices since this was written, and it works fine with adding 1-3 rounds of chin pump (lite) right after pranayama before DM. There's no more automatic chin pump occurring. When I self-pace I sometimes drop the chin pump and samyama and shorten the pranayama and meditation time considerably, but then it's ok to come back to the same procedure, and the chin pump (even though it's only 1-3 rounds in each direction) clearly cleanses the throat chakra and front channel thoroughly.

However, the asanas has not been ok to add yet as a steady practice... they cause immediate crown openings and immense overload and I don't dare to do them a period long enough to see if they perhaps "smooth things out" after a while... The same with sidhasana. My nose burns away whenever I try... I don't dare to continue to even try adding that.

If there's one thing at a time... I seem to have to wait very long before the next thing is ready to be added. Of course three weeks retreat and strong stuff like that disturbs what could be a slow organized process of adding practices, and causes periods of overload which inhibits the progress of adding AYP practices. It has to be considered when reading about my journey.

[gumpi]

Hi emc,

This topic brought up a couple of thoughts for me.  First, doesn't a burning root chakra signify that the kundalini energy is "locked" up there and can cause excessive sexual thoughts?

And about asanas.  I was reluctant to try them also, i don't know why either.  But i am starting to use them and what a difference!  Tons more relaxation.  Is that why you find asanas difficult to cope with?

[emc]

Hi gumpi,

I wouldn't know about the root chakra. I have not been accompanied by sexual thoughts for a long time.

I am no longer reluctant to asanas. As described here http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=4857
I finally found very comfortable asanas and truly enjoy the practicing of it. It's just that they almost always bring about a crown opening, which is too much for me at the moment.

[gumpi]

regarding the crown, i sometimes get unpleasant sensations right in that spot, feeling like heat, tingling, pins pricking, pressure.  I thought it was related to my anxiety but i find it strange that this would be an anxiety symptom come to think of it.  I don't feel "energy" coming into it from above the head or energy going out of it.  

So what happens to you when you have a crown opening?

I couldn't believe how much asanas and simple pranayama techniques would make me feel so much better.  I'm following a book called The Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya by Swami Satyananda Saraswati from the Bihar school of yoga.  It is my favourite book on yoga and has been called the yoga bible by some people.  It has amazing information in it and i've just started and the effects are really good.  

I did savasana (corpse pose) and concentrated on the breathing and had one of my best meditations ever.  I didn't feel as though i had to do it a certain way or use a mantra and had no expectations.  My breathing slowed down and paused on the exhale and my tongue started going back by itself.  I don't know why in particular i get those symptoms but at least i know something is working.

It seems strange to me that you would get crown openings with asanas but then again they can be powerful, as i am finding out.

[emc]

Hi gumpi,
Nice to hear about your experiences but I'm sorry, I will not answer your post here. It's an off-topic discussion.

[gumpi]

Sorry, i didn't mean to derail the thread.  I post anywhere on these forums and ask questions and relate my experiences and i don't discriminate as to where i am doing it much.  Perhaps i should be more attentive to that.

I don't know what off topic really means.

I wanted to know why asanas cause so much activity with your crown chakra.  And someone told me recently that the reason why lots of gurus go bad is because the kundalini is locked in their root chakra a lot.  So i just throw out questions to see if spiritual experiences tally.

Sorry for the derail.