Power of Relaxation: Align Your Body, Your Mind, and Your Life Through Meditation PDF
Preview Power of Relaxation: Align Your Body, Your Mind, and Your Life Through Meditation
THE POWER OF RELAXATION THE POWER OF RELAXATION Align your body, your mind and your life through meditation YOGI ASHOKA NANDA Contents INTRODUCTION How to Use This Book CHAPTER 1: The Power of You Why Relax? The Power of Self-realization What Research Tells Us About Meditation The Role of Tantra A Short Lesson in Indian Philosophy The Subtle Body Samskaras Chakras and the Endocrine System Meditating Upon Ourselves Using Light CHAPTER 2: The Power of the Breath The Importance of Breath Pranayama Breath and Space Breath and the Body Breath and the Brain Alternate Nostril Breathing CHAPTER 3: The Strength Within the Body Why Engage the Body? Balance and Equilibrium The Powerhouses of the Body Chakras and the Mind/Body Connection Mudras Bandhas The Importance of the Spine CHAPTER 4: The Power of Primordial Sound What Is Primordial Sound? Reconnecting to Your Source Primordial Sound and the Chakras AUM The Gayatri Mantra CHAPTER 5: Beyond the Duality of Life Microcosm and Macrocosm Mystery and Transparency Adopting an Attitude of Total Awareness Self-acceptance CHAPTER 6: Total Relaxation Connecting to Our Infinite Source Finding Equilibrium Swadharma Some Personal Experiences of the Practices Further Reading and Resources Acknowledgments Introduction Nowadays everybody wants to experience meditation through yoga, but traditionally it was the other way round – yoga (yuj) was experienced by practising meditation. I do not think of my own practice as a prescription for my life or a hobby that I can discuss at a dinner party. Instead, I integrate yoga and meditation into my life and live them along with everything else. On my first and second visits to London I felt overwhelmed and drained because I had never before experienced a metropolis like this. I described my reaction to my teacher and he replied, ‘You don’t know how to meditate.’ And so I made a plan … I looked for the busiest place in London and discovered it on Oxford Street. I set myself the task of meditating there during peak shopping hours. I found a spot and stood still, trying to meditate (I didn’t sit down because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself). I did this until I was able to rediscover the silence within me amid all the external bustle. Once I had reached a place of inner silence and found the peace that exists within, I was oblivious to my surroundings – I couldn’t hear a thing and nothing could bother me! I have lived in the UK since 2005, teaching various techniques and practices (including those featured in this book, as well as others) in order to help people connect with themselves and find a sense of balance with everything around them. These methods provide the tools to leave behind uneasy circumstances and situations, to grow, and to live a healthier and happier life. My teaching comes from years of study, practice and experience alongside my teachers, my friends and all my students. I feel it is important to honour the traditions and stay true to the roots of these practices, which came from ancient yogis. Although I have been able to adapt these methods to suit the lives of people in the 21st century, they have not lost any of their authenticity and sacredness. In India, my teacher, the late Gurudev Dilipji, and I taught many of these practices, with some amazing results. A number of people helped me in this by giving me instruction and encouragement. They include: my Guruji, Swami Vishwarupananda; Dandi Swami Sri Hansananda Saraswati (god brother of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi); the late Sri Krishna Ojha; Masta Baba (the funniest, strongest character in my life); my beloved grandfather, the late Sri Lalji; and, of course, my beloved friends. I deeply appreciate the help of Mary Attwood in collecting and writing up these teachings for this book; she is a creative visionary! Yogi Ashokananda’s practice is based on embracing the whole self, with all its desires, disappointments, confusion, pain, love and joy. The practices in this book have been highly effective in my own life, helping me through difficult personal circumstances and healing emotional wounds. Hurt feelings, disappointment, confusion and desire are common to all human beings. These emotions can leave a person scarred or in pain, to a degree that depends on the individual’s own awareness. Many people experience psychological problems when trying to follow spiritual techniques and practices. These problems are partly the result of poor teaching, but also arise when someone is thrown too quickly into a deep inner state without establishing psychological stability first. I have met people who thought they could change themselves through spiritual practice or by joining a spiritual group, but nothing shifted inside them. All they did was become ‘spiritually bipolar’ and increasingly frustrated at the inconsistency between the life they imagined for themselves and the life they were living in reality. New Age thinking is often responsible for this state of affairs as it deals primarily with instant results and encourages shopping around for spirituality. It tells us that we can heal ourselves, or distract ourselves from the symptoms or causes of unhappiness or dis- ease, by acquiring a new identity as a positive thinker. But true spiritual growth is not about quick fixes and replacement; it requires patience, acceptance and transformation. When we acquire a new belief system or thought process, we are often under the impression that we have to think positively all the time. This is both unrealistic and exhausting! When I came to the West it really struck me that so many people feel guilty about having negative emotions and try to ‘cleanse’ themselves of these thoughts or feelings. A path to your authentic self The practices I share in this book allow you to relax into your authentic self without the pressure of having to be ‘happy’ all the time. Ironically, when this pressure is taken away, we feel more content and fulfilled. We become more aware of our own patterns of behaviour, and the split between our material personality and our spiritual self is healed. As our world becomes increasingly frenetic, it is ever more important to find inner stillness. Even when we go on a retreat or to a peaceful place, our surroundings may be quiet but we are not necessarily quiet within. My practices are based on embracing the whole self and trying to create a sense of humanity. This happens by accepting and transforming the lower three chakras, concerned with grounding, rootedness, mental and physical constipation, anger, sexuality, self-confidence, greed and lust. Your spirit or soul is already perfect and whole – it does not require healing. All it needs is space for you to experience your highest self. You will accomplish this by clearing the physical and emotional pathways to it and ridding yourself of samskaras (the imprints in your personality of unused emotions from experiences – see page 33). We constantly separate, classify and label everything in life – religion, politics, society and so on – and this creates conflict. The body, too, is viewed as something separate rather than as part of us. People who think that meditation happens only in the mental body are running away from their present experience. I believe meditation happens through the body, and that in order for our awareness to shine, we must engage our senses and the body’s present state. The tangible body is a gateway into the non-tangible part of ourselves. Without it we cannot achieve total relaxation. I grew up in a village in northern India, where people lived in a simple, natural way. Most of the villagers owned very little, but there was a strong sense of community. If someone had grown vegetables, they would always give some away. Village life was basic but there was an abundance of love and a sharing of resources. We were surrounded by nature, and the silence and stillness after sunset was profound. I used to watch animals engaging in their own activities without noticing anyone around them, and through this physical expression of centredness I sensed a larger force at play in the world. I saw unity in the simplicity of the villagers’ way of life. As time went on, people started to acquire televisions and other appliances, and the atmosphere changed. The village lost its sense of community because desirable objects became the focus of people’s attention rather than the relationships between each other. We can see this happening the world over. The material things, which are there to support us in life, become the primary focus of our life. I was first introduced to yoga as a young child by my grandfather, who practised on a sack cloth. I saw the difference that yoga and meditation could make to my life, and they have been part of it ever
The list of books you might like
