Book 1 of 5
The Practice and the Body
Part 1Kriya Yoga practice
- 1Who can practise; preparation and readinessFrom the text: Whether anyone can practice Kriya and reach samadhi in this life: it depends on motive, plus your mental and physical level and how far you hope to go.
- 2Routine, time, place and dose of practiceFrom the text: Do not believe you must get up at 6, or 3 or 4: from 4 to 6 in the morning is the best time for sleep; practice in the night.
- 3Pranayama and breath workFrom the text: Sitkari is the most mysterious pranayama; shvasahita is based on the bhastrika part you already do, and all depends on how you master the sound.
- 4Khechari mudraFrom the text: With khechari mudra the flame is maximally equalized; without it, as the fire of the earth element rises with tremendous energy in Kundalini awakening …
- 5Mudras, bandhas, postures and exerciseFrom the text: Lying face down is the best. To relax, lie face down, or after postures go into yogasana: sit in lotus with palms up on the ground, relaxing in 2 seconds.
- 6Levels and steps of Kriya (Omkar Kriya, granthi-bheda)From the text: The Mahavidyas come wherever you are concentrating or facing, step by step through practice, starting with Talabhi Kriya or Jivha chalan Kriya; Kali and Tara are tied to initial steps by the physical experiences …
- 7Discipline, tapas and the practitioner's conductFrom the text: Asked about three types of tapas, he says there are many definitions; his three are Adhyatmik, worldly and religious.
- 8Difficulties, safety and results of practiceFrom the text: If a mother keeps practicing yoga during pregnancy as long as she can, the child practices with her and receives all the results she goes through then.
- 9What Kriya is: its aim and general adviceFrom the text: Kriya is not for making the body symmetrical: the aim is direct contact with the immortal spirit, with the breath as a cord, and the spirit as friend will tell things from beyond.
Part 2Body, health, food and celibacy
- 1Training, strength and exerciseFrom the text: Real concentration happens when you realize the real purpose of your life; till then it is exercise for the mind.
- 2Food and drink: vegetarianism, meat, onion and garlic, alcoholFrom the text: If someone is really so high spiritually, the desire to drink alcohol will not be there.
- 3Health, illness, medicine, sleep and ageingFrom the text: Smoking is not recommended for yoga practice: very deep practice depends on pranayama, and smoking drops lung capacity dramatically, sends the smoke's essence to the brain, impairs it, and lowers blood quality.
- 4Sexuality and brahmacharyaFrom the text: Brahmacharya comes as you become familiar with your mind and why thoughts arise: most sex depends on the libido you create in your mind, and libido is a thought in imagination …
Part 3The inner body: prana, nadis, kundalini and ojas
- 1Prana, apana and the vayus (breath as life)From the text: Breath is the connecting element between the physical body and the spirit: if you begin to understand your breath, one day you will begin to see your spirit …
- 2Nadis, sushumna, chakras and granthisFrom the text: Ida and pingala are, he says, the left and right hemispheres of the brain; writers ignore the brain and stick to nadis and chakras, ignoring the root of everything.
- 3Kundalini: what it is and where it sleepsFrom the text: A second version of the earth-element talk: muladhara represents the Earth; the real Shakti sleeps in the earth element, maybe in Earth herself, and opening muladhara connects you directly with the planet …
- 4Ojas, tejas, amrita and bindu (the brain hormones)From the text: Lahiri Mahasaya's bindu is experienced when you go much deeper in practice. What appears inside kutastha is the pathway that takes you to bindu, the beginning of it.
- 5The heart (hridaya), Ishwar in the heart, kutasthaFrom the text: As a yogi he says Ishwar lives inside the heart; connecting directly with him there is connecting with the source of life, after which you need no spirit for life …
- 6Aura, vajra kaya and the electric bodyFrom the text: For immortality, vajra kaya is one stage among many before you no longer need your spirit, as working out develops the body even if you do not become Mr. Olympia.
Part 4Samadhi and the awakened states
- 1Samadhi: kinds, duration, signs and recoveryFrom the text: In Samadhi the body is in suspended animation, as long as he wants, usually one and a half hours; the conscious mind becomes unconscious and the subconscious conscious.
- 2Suspended animation and why samadhi looks like deathFrom the text: Samadhi as an experience of death opens the subconscious mind; the new energy is too overwhelming for an unprepared body, so the wise first prepare the body for suspended animation …
- 3Kundalini awakening: the first and secondFrom the text: After the second awakening Kundalini is in the subconscious, moving all over the brain; prana remains suspended, sushumna and 100% of the brain stay active …
- 4Nada, the inner soundFrom the text: The four types of nada in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are only the initial sound, an introduction: nada is one, and these four develop with practice.
- 5Kutastha: the light and its coloursFrom the text: Kutastha is not a reflection of light but comes from inside. It may be seen with the visual centre in the brain, since the physical eyes are closed; what you see is your jivatma.
- 6Higher states: turiya, nirvikalpa, niralamba, kaivalya, sahajFrom the text: Turiya, the fourth, comes by recognizing the three states of mind and going beyond; then milk it as much as you can.
- 7Atit ghat and atit shunyaFrom the text: It is very difficult to say when Atit Ghat starts: you experience Atit Shunya first, then Atit Ghat follows, when the mind becomes even stronger.