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| Yoga-Nervous-System-Pranayama |
Agni Sara
This is the most
important practice in the series. Agni sara means “energizing the solar
system,” the abdominal area associated with physical health and digestion. Agni
sara benefits the bowels, bladder, digestive system, nervous system,
circulatory system, and reproductive system. If time is very short, this
exercise can be performed alone.
Experienced yoga students may have learned a different
technique, using the same name, as part of their practice of the stomach lift
(uddiyana bandha). That exercise is not the same as this one, and will not give
the same benefits.
To perform Agni Sara, place your feet comfortably apart,
with the knees bent, and let the weight of the body rest on the arms. As you
exhale, slowly push the lower abdominal area inward and upward from below. You
can identify this area by using your fingers to feel your pubic bone at the
base of the abdominal wall with your fingers.
Contract this region first; then
continue the contraction upward. The result is a wavelike contraction of the
entire abdominal wall, rising from the base of the abdomen and continuing to
the rib cage. The duration of the contraction is precisely the length of the
slow exhalation. Do not retain the breath.
As the inhalation begins, slowly release the contraction
from above to below. Imagine that the contraction is a wave moving upward from
the pelvis, and the relaxation is a wave moving downward. Continue this
systematic contraction and relaxation with each breath. If you tire or become
short of breath, pause and breathe freely before continuing. Start with 10
breaths. Gradually increase to 50 or more. It may take many months to acquire
the control and stamina necessary to perform this exercise correctly, but you
will be rewarded for your effort with excellent health.
Shavayatra
The preceding exercises lead naturally to the next step: the
practice of deep relaxation. To begin, lie on a firm, flat surface in the
corpse posture. Survey and relax the muscles of your body in preparation for
shavayatra, “inner traveling through the body.”
Shavayatra, sometimes called the “61 points exercise,” is a
subtle form of relaxation that leads to very refined states of consciousness.
In shavayatra, attention is rested briefly on each of a series of 61 points in
the body. At a microcosmic level, these points are similar to the confluences
of rivers.
Energy channels within the mind-body merge with each other and
create points of focused energy. Resting attention at each point gradually
creates access to the experience of this energy and to the connections between
mind and body. Rather than manipulating the energy during the practice of
shavayatra, you allow it to be.
The first stage in learning the exercise is to identify the
pathway of points. Bring your attention to the point between the eyebrows and
slowly think “one.” Keeps your attention resting at this point for a few
seconds, then move to the point at the base of the throat, slowly thinking “two?”
Continue with the other points in the order shown. When you have completed all
61, rest and breathe, sensing the entire field of points and their
interconnection within you. You will find that you are alert and deeply
relaxed.
Obstacles to completing the exercise include falling asleep,
losing track of where you are in the sequence, and drifting off into extended
reveries. With practice, you will be able to complete the exercise without
distraction. One simple way to prevent dozing is to maintain a deep, rhythmic
breath throughout the exercise rather than letting the breath become shallow or
pausing between breaths.
After completing the
61 points exercise, continue in the corpse posture.
Have the feeling that your
body is lying on the sands of a warm tropical beach. With the exhalation,
imagine that a wave passes downward through the body, carrying away wastes,
fatigue, and all worries. With the inhalation a fresh wave passes upward
through the whole body, carrying a feeling of energy and well-being from an
ocean of cosmic vitality. In this way, breathe 10 times. Then slowly come back
to a sitting posture.
Two-to-One Breathing
The final practice of this series uses the breath to
thoroughly cleanse the body. Sit with your head, neck, and trunk straight. Use
a chair with a flat seat or your yoga meditation posture. Breathe diaphragmatically,
releasing tension.
Next, begin to exhale twice as long as you inhale. In the
beginning you can count mentally (about one count per second) to help measure
the length of the breaths. If the exhalation is six counts, inhale to the count
of three. Gradually your breath will become more subtle and serene, and the
count will lengthen. Do not artificially try to lengthen the count. Breathe in
a duration that is comfortable for you, and let the breath lengthen by
relaxing.
As this exercise continues, the pores open and the body bring
forward waste matter to be expelled by the lungs. The mouth may become dry.
Begin with seven breaths, and gradually lengthen the
practice to three to five minutes. Experienced students may wish to continue
with alternate nostril breathing and meditation.
Final Thoughts
Students often ask how critical it is to practice the
exercises in the order given. The answer I received to that question is simply
that the sequence was given in the order it is to be practiced. Similarly, the
reply to queries about whether it might be possible to abbreviate the practice
by leaving parts of it out is a simple no. The practice is meant to be done in
its entirety, so that its benefits can be fully experienced.
You may feel stiff for a few days after beginning these
exercises, but this will soon give way to a sense of fitness. My experience is
that if I do the practice in the morning, it seems to provide energy that lasts
all day. Meditators will find that the sequence helps deepen concentration.
As
the exercises are assimilated, the ability to discriminate muscle tension and
maintain a very refined awareness of relaxed posture and breath will become
deeply embedded in the mind. Then you can turn your attention toward even more
subtle dimensions of mind and consciousness.
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