Kechari Mudra

[Manipura]

Thanks so much, Rabar!  A picture really is worth a thousand words - the video answered a lot of questions for me about where the tongue goes in stage 2.


meg

[Victor]

Interesting. that kid is definitely demonstrating Kechari. It somehow makes the whole thing seem a little more silly to watch this way..........but why be too serious?

[GEM24]

Hi all,
     It is said in the scriptures that Kechari Mudra gives one complete control over the prana within a persons body.
 Has anyone experienced this control?

Do what u do, DO WELL

[Lavazza]

Hello everybody!

This is my first post on this forum, so, please, excuse me, if have not posted in the right thread, not read the manual, or whatever.

I went to a lecture series on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and during the part concerning the kechari mudra I tried if I could get my tongue inte my nasal cavity, which I could. I asked the teacher about it and he just smiled.

I have been experimenting every once in a while to see what I can find with my tongue. I can do alternate breathing with my tongue blocking each nostril. I thought that the tongue should rest on the roof of the nasal cavity in kechari mudra, but when looking at pictures it seems that the tongue should stick right up at the opening of the cavity. What is right? And what about the secret spot? Where is it? I found some kind of spot on the floor of the nasal cavity, close to the nostrils, which I can touch with the bottom of the front of my tongue. Please, do not use anatomical terminology but explain in room terms.

I have only been practising yoga for a bit more than a year, maybe it is to early to practice kechari, but it feels tempting doing something people find difficult but that I could do spontaneously. I could do full lotus the first time I tried it as well. Some fellow practioners are convinced that I must have been practicing in an earlier life, but then I must been quite sloppy concerning many of the other asanas, pranayamas and bandhas, which I do not get at all.

[yogani]

quote:Originally posted by Lavazza

Some fellow practitioners are convinced that I must have been practicing in an earlier life, but then I must been quite sloppy concerning many of the other asanas, pranayamas and bandhas, which I do not get at all.

Hi Lavazza, and welcome!

Yes, I would agree. Our tendencies in this life are coming from somewhere, and reincarnation is as good an explanation as any. But that is neither here nor there. The real question is, where do we go from here?

Success with mudras like kechari is a chicken and egg thing. They foster what we call in AYP, "ecstatic conductivity" in the nervous system. That is, a mudra like kechari is both cause and effect. When we are moving into effect mode (and further cause) we will know beyond any doubt that the "secret spot" in about half way up the edge of the back edge of the septum inside our nasal pharynx -- that is the divider between left and right nasal passages. We need go no further than that (stage 2 kechari) to achieve a good connection, and it is very easy to be there once we have gone above the soft palate. The rest after that (stages 3 & 4...) is icing on the cake. Check AYP Lesson #108 for details (diagrams included there).

But how to get that chicken and egg ecstatic conductivity going? It begins with deep meditation, and that is where I recommend you start, just as the AYP lessons suggest if you take them in order. Then there can be a logical buildup from there into spinal breathing pranayama, mudras, bandhas, samyama, tantra, etc. In this approach, it goes from inner silence to ecstatic conductivity and onward to the unity of outpouring divine love, which is working from the inside out instead of the other way around (beginning with physical techniques), which can be problematic.

As it says in the New Testament, "Seek first the kingdom of God and all will be added..." That is the underlying approach in AYP -- inner silence first by very easy means (deep meditation), and all the rest follows naturally.

As for doing kechari now, if you are a natural, it will not hurt. It will have more effect when you have some inner silence coming up and are cultivating ecstatic conductivity with spinal breathing and the additional means suggested in the lessons. It all works together like that.

The most important thing by far is to establish and stick with a stable daily practice. It does not take a lot of time -- just regularity of 20-30 minutes twice each day like clockwork, with a commitment to do it for as long as it takes. With that, we find steady progress over time, and will be in a position to take on more according to our inclinations. Along the way, we also find ourselves developing essential skills in "self-pacing" of practices as the energies begin to move within us, which is navigating the process of purification underway in our nervous system. And so it goes, ever-onward in expressing the infinite divine within us. You can read a lot about it in the AYP lessons, books and here in the forums.

Wishing you the best on your chosen path. Practice wisely, and enjoy!

The guru is in you.

[Lavazza]

Thanks very much for the quick answer. I have been practicing zen meditation earlier and now I am practicing Ashtanga vinyasa, but only once or twice a week. After a pranayama retreat I got a "prescription" (after pulse reading etc. establishing me as a Vata-Pita) for Bhastrika and Sitali, but I am sad to say that I have not kept up my practice.

I still do not understand what the secret spot is. I guess I have to get a good dictionary to check up the anatomy. Should it be touched with the top or the bottom of the tip of the tongue? Is it on the the floor, roof, entry or exit of the nasal cavity?

I will not try a regular practice of kechari until I have a more regular practice in asanas, pranayama and meditation.

[yogani]

quote:Originally posted by Lavazza

I still do not understand what the secret spot is. I guess I have to get a good dictionary to check up the anatomy. Should it be touched with the top or the bottom of the tip of the tongue? Is it on the the floor, roof, entry or exit of the nasal cavity?

Hi again Lavazza:

See kechari stage 2 in this diagram: http://www.aypsite.com/plus/kechari_image1.html
The secret spot is right where the tip of tongue is there, on the edge of the nasal septum. Or maybe just a tad higher. There can be slight anatomical differences between people.

The secret spot can also be reached indirectly by placing the tip of the tongue up on the roof of the mouth where the hard and soft palates meet. That's right under the edge of the nasal septum, and is kechari stage 1 (also shown on the diagram).

As for what the secret spot is, it is an ecstatic connection point that promotes the rise of ecstatic conductivity in the entire nervous system. At a certain point on our spiritual journey, the spot becomes as ecstatically sensitive as the genitals, but with a different purpose -- the cultivation of divine ecstasy throughout the nervous system. (Indeed, our sexual function can be directly coaxed in this direction also, but that is a different subject - tantra!) The same is true of all the mudras and bandhas. They become ecstatically sensitive. Sambhavi is a very famous one. We often see the saints depicted with eyes raised. Why? Because it feels extremely good all over!

It's the same with kechari and the secret spot, and all the mudras and bandhas. When they become ecstatic, they combine and work together as one in many subtle ways. In AYP, that automatic coordination of ecstasy body-wide is called the "whole body mudra."

But again, it all rides on deep meditation and the cultivation inner silence, so we are wise to be starting at the beginning.  

The guru is in you.

[Victor]

Hi Lavazza,
Welcome  to the Kechari club! Sounds like you are doing great, just follow Yoganis advice and practice every day twice a day without fail and you will be doing great! You can explore your nasal anatomy with your tongue any time you like in order to become familiar but when you meditate just let the tongue rest on the nasal septum and practice.
 Kechari is actually part of an integrated connection of shambhavi and mula bandha in siddhasana all done in a coordinated fashion to draw energy up the spine and direct it to the third eye point. By gazing at the thrid eye in shambhavi while doing kechari you create a powerful point of focus for the energies drawn up from the pelvis. This coordinates with mula bandha and siddhasana which creates a lift first from the pelvis and then going up into the spine. This is the energetic essence of the pranayama that we do. It all fits together like parts of a puzzle and each piece reinforces all the other pieces. The only way to really feel it is to practice daily and to remember the details until they become second nature.

[Lavazza]

It seems like we are thinking of the same spot, after all, Yogani. There is a spot on the floor of the nasal cavity where the soft and the hard palate meet that feels special when I touch it with the bottom of the tip of my tongue.

Victor, I cannot keep my tongue in the nasal cavity for long, just a few breaths. The air coming in makes the tongue tickly and I have yet to find a really relaxing place to rest it. Roof of the cavity seems best. Then the air goes to the bottom of the tongue which is less sensitive.

Thanks for the welcome.

[Victor]

just keep exploring, it will come

[Lavazza]

Now I have found something. A small passage that is over the holes of the nose. First I close the hole of the nose with the tongue, then I go higher and squeeze the tongue into a cavity that I did not know of before.

[Victor]

yes thats it! now just explore the cavity and get used to your tongue staying up there for a longer time

[Lavazza]

Thanks, Victor. If we are talking about the same place there is one cavity for each nostril. First there is the nostril, some millimetres further up there is a smaller hole, and and further up there is a small cavity.

[Victor]

just explore the whole region until it becomes familiar. no right or wrong there

[sparkyfoxMD]

Hi

I thought people might be interested in the info I found out about Kechari. I am a complete beginner with regards to kechari and have spent a long time doing my research, gathering material from lots of places, although since reading Yogani's writings I have sppeeded up somewhat!

This is to do with stretching the soft palate. Hope people find it interesting.

"One thing that helps speed up getting the tongue back past the uvula is to use a spoon in addition to the two methods of stretching the tongue. The spoon is used to stretch the soft material from which the uvulahangs down. (I suggest a spoon simply because even the sides of the handle are generally rounded and won't cut into the soft material.)

Take a spoon and bend the last half inch or so, of the end of the
handle, at a ninety degree angle. Stick the spoon handle back into your mouth (you will be holding the rounded part that is normally used to for eating) until it is just past the uvula and then raise it up and use it to pull on the soft area of the palate and stretch it towards the front of your mouth. It should stretch fairly easily. This will help you to get your tongue behind the uvula and pointing upwards (you will be able to feel the back entrances of the nostrils), but you will no doubt still have to work on stretching the tongue with the other two methods in order to get the tongue high enough in the buccal cavity to touch the top."

I should point out that I secured a cocktail spoon, a long one, and have bent the end of the handle back to try to achieve the desired effect. So far I am unable to get there without wanting to vomit.

And after many years of not wanting to even contemplate snipping the frenum I am now considering asking my friendly dentist to get her laser out. (!)

I am still taking my time but now realise how important the technique is. I am sure it is one of Life's great Secrets.