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Everything is yoga..?

Good day folks! I tried to look into common history of qigong and yogic asanas (the physical bit of yoga), and so far has had no luck with google. I have just two pieces of information. -- Qigong seems to have been fairly evolved by 2nd century BC. That's the dating of the silk scrolls depicting qigong practice. -- Around the same time period, there is the earliest written mention of asanas, albeit without specific examples. That's all I've been able to find. The google search of a common history keeps leading me to yoga and qigong comparisons, but I'm not interested in that. I want to learn about their common history, if there is one. Perhaps they have a common ancestor? Perhaps they originated completely separately? Perhaps we know nothing? Best wishes, Anton

Have anyone of you in this forum practiced Kechari Mudra? If yes, how was your experience? (Khecarī Mudrā is a yoga practice which is carried out by placing the tongue above the soft palate and into the nasal cavity.)

I was browsing kindle and on suggested reading, found this book "Kundalini - An Untold Story" by Om Swami. I had some pressing questions on Kundalini based on experiences I was going through. The book was given free with Kindle Unlimited. I thought, why not check this book out real quick? I started reading and surprisingly I could not put the book down. I put down after completing the book. I haven't done such reading from cover to cover (single sitting) in a long time. The narration is simply brilliant, capturing the attention of the reader. My initial thought, this must be another book on Kundalini with pictures on chakras that talk about raising this sleeping snake. The stars on chakras, their colors, the visions, the siddhis, the whole nine yards.... To my surprise the book was completely different. The title is apt, it is an 'Untold Story'. Not only is Swami's experience enthralling. Swami explains the entire process of Kundalini in a new light, starting with the story of Daksha Prajapati, the great yajna he conducted. How, he chose to insult Shiva. How Sati choses to leave her body. The metaphorical meaning of the entire story explained is simply beautiful. This story seems to happen in all of us. Due to the ignorance of Daksha in all of us, the shakti goes dormant in muladhara in each one of us. Then she takes the birth as Himavati (Parvati). From a human body, she had to raise up, transcend the human body, climb up with bhakti and dedication, to reach and become one with Shiva again. This story seems to play out in all of us. Those who had read parts of Shiva Purana or Skanda Purana must be familiar with the story of Daksha. One can be familiar with the story from reading comics also The book starts with this story of Daksha, continues narrating, how this knowledge of tantra, was first taught by Lord Shiva to sage Agasthya. How by a series of steps, it comes to Sri Veda Vyasa. Then it tells the story of how Lalitha Sahasranama was revealed by Sri Hayagriva. Those who have chanted Lalitha Sahasranama will know, that it talks about all the Chakras. It talks about Brahma Granthi, Vishnu Granthi and Rudra Granthi. All of these are the names of divine mother. The book goes on to expound Kundalini purely from the perspective of Lalitha Sahasranama. It is a very interesting read. Here is the link for the book, "Kundalini — An Untold Story: A Himalayan Mystic's Insight into the Power of Kundalini and Chakra Sadhana"

Shalom Aleichem I am a Disciple of the Nasarean Path of the Essene Way I am joining this forum to connect with Taoists and learn more about their ancient practices. Nasareans have always sought to learn Truth wherever it may be found. That means we seek the Truth that is inherent in all Spiritual Paths, and that includes Taoism. The spiritual tradition that i follow and represent is re-emerging from centuries of persecution and suppression, thus very few have even heard of the existence of our Religion or Scriptures. Our scriptures explain that our priests and priestesses have been traveling the world for aeons, teaching and healing people of various lands, often unannounced. Our teachings have thus influenced many cultures for the uplift of All Humanity and All Life including Mother Earth herself. This means that although our scriptures are almost completely unknown to the world, fragments of our teachings can be found to exist within the teachings of the various religions that we have influenced throughout history. Of those cultures that were influenced by our teachings, Taoism is one of them. This makes sense to me, because Nasareans practice and teach the Essene WAY. And so when we acknowledge that The Tao means The Way, I can see the beginning of a thread that leads to the Truth that there are Essene (Healing) teachings inherent in the Tao. And I have found this to be true in my research. Before i ever found the Nasarean Path I had been interested primarily in Taoism and Yoga, amongst other religions. I always recognized the profundity of both of these two paths. And so when I began researching the Essenes, before i found the re-emerging Nasarean remnant, i held the Essenes to be of high standing alongside Taoists and Yogis. I considered myself a Taoist Essene Yogi!!! Now that I have been initiated into the Nasarean Mysteries i would consider myself a Nasarean Yogi of the Essene Tao. I also find truth relating to the Nasarean Path among the traditions of Celtic Druidry, Hermetic Alchemy, Zoroastrianism, aspects of Shamanism amongst Indigeonous cultures, Rastafarianism, and a whole bunch of others. Anyway thanks for your patience in reading all the way through my first post to introduce myself to everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know "where i'm coming from", and offer my reverence to Taoism itself from the perspective of someone who ultimately gives allegiance to a different religion. And that religion is one of Peace and Love for the Uplift and Healing of All. Love in All Ways, Always in Love... Amen, Jehudi

Flipped through my journal tonight and thought I'd share some notes I've taken over the years of various teachers from many diverse traditions. They're snippets. Some from books, some from videos. A lot of it is paraphrased but the gist of what was said I tried to make sure is accurate. This section of notes come from some (rather long if you have the time) Youtube vids of Shri Rohit Arya. (I've grown to like him as much as Master Nan Huai Chin and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev) If even one person finds something of interest here I'm glad I came up from the depths of lurkdom. **************** On Money Shakti 1. Money shakti has a golden hue. The vibration enters through the Mooladhara and Svadhistara. Which is why if the 2 lower chakras are damaged you very rarely get money. But here is the extraordinary thing...if your heart chakra is closed or damaged or you've suffered a lot of emotional trauma the money shakti is blocked. - Shri Rohit Arya 2. Money is not the same as abundance. Abundance shakti is not the same shakti as money. Lakshmi is the energy of abundance. Kubera is the shakti of money specifically. Lakshmi is bounty - overall abundance. Bounty/Abundance is known as "shri" (pronounced "shree"). When everything is at its peak, everything is going very well, (examples: you hit the jackpot at the casino, your business won the government contract bid) - that is Shri. Lakshmi power brings shri. Said differently Lakshmi is the energy/power of success. However, if money is what you are wanting specifically then that is Kubera. - Shri Rohit Arya On Mooladhara and Prana / Chi (Moola "core", adhara "foundation') 1. When one first becomes aware of prana (chi) most people experience a swirling movement. Clockwise, anti-clockwise, like a funnel. We feel certain movement and the feeling of tremendous heat. That is because there is resistance in the body to the flow of the prana (chi) and the resistance causes friction. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you feel a cold flow of energy but usually people feel the swirling and/or the heat. As you advance from doing your practices you can feel the cold flow of prana / chi and that is actually a very good sign. - Shri Rohit Arya 2. Of all the chakras in the body the Mooladhara is the most important for life. Not for spiritual progress but for life and the processes of life and of being embodied it is. All the troubles that come in your life, all the troubles that are removed from your life - both come from the Mooladhara. The state of your Mooladhara determines 3 primary things in your life. a. it determines the state of your health b. it determines the state of your money (income, gross / net wealth) c. it determines how long you will live. - Shri Rohit Arya 3. Mooladhara needs to be a strong chakra since it is the Rupa (rupa "form") and prana / chi of life energy. Everyone wants to work on their higher chakras these days so many people have them developed. There's also the aspect that working on the lower chakras runs up against many Society taboos for the lower sections of the body. So most practitioners do all kinds of practices working on the higher ones. There's a lot of information on working with the upper ones these days freely available. But for most practitioners their 3 lowest chakras are usually still a mess. - Shri Rohit Arya 4. Very often you will see people have 1 or 2 of the 3 things primarily granted by the energy of the mooladhara but it is rare to find a person with all 3. It's because their mooladhara is not vibrating / functioning optimally. examples: the person has health but no money the person has long life but no health and no money the person has a lot of money but poor health There is a 4th aspect of the moodhara too. It also has an impact on the Mind. - Shri Rohit Arya On Karma Yoga 1. Nassim Taleb's book The Black Swan is one of the most astounding works on karma yoga ever written. He gets why you have "the right to the action but not the fruit" better than any Indian or spiritual person I've ever known. - Shri Rohit Arya 2. Gurdjieff's method (the 4th Way) was primarily based around karma yoga. Can you throw everything about your being into an action without clinging to a desired outcome. Only those who can let go of any outcome - positive, negative, desired, not-desired - only those who let outcomes in life become what they become from those actions and don't cling to either failure or success of those actions have the capability to grow. They do what needs to be done then move on. - Shri Rohit Arya On Focusing on the Breath 1. The underside part / divide between both nostril outlets has its own chakra. All the texts were actually talking about that chakra and getting you to become aware of it by focusing on the breath at that single point. Focusing on this chakra also is related to the root chakra Mooladhara. The texts were not telling you to go cross eyed focusing on the tip of your nose. They were trying to get you to become aware of the chakra that lies at the fleshy strip between both nostril openings. - Shri Rohit Arya On things forgotten about the Markandeya Mantra 1. Markandeya mantra is typically taught in books and videos as a healing mantra. This is incorrect. It's actually a karma-burning mantra and often the fastest way to burn karma is to go through a lot of suffering in a short amount of time. This suffering might be short to Shiva but not necessarily to you, the mantra chanter. Markandeya himself was a highly advanced being and this mantra was given to him by Shiva to burn the very last of his karma and he - that is, Markandeya, is now outside of space and time. This mantra got the reputation of being a healing mantra because in the old days village Indian tantric healers would use it as part of a series of actions done on behalf of a seriously sick person. However, there were many other things they did along with that mantra that are important and much of that knowledge has been forgotten and not passed on. But the thing the lay people remembered was the use of the Markandeya mantra and so it acquired a reputation as a healing mantra. That's what you see in all the books and videos. But anyone who is aware of the energy of that mantra's shakti knows it burns karma - and often times not in a way the chanter is prepared for (read: they slam headlong into a lot more suffering instead of being alleviated of suffering instead). - Shri Rohit Arya edit: typos

I have found the similarities between the Indian/Yogic/Vedic and the Daoist internal traditions extremely heartening. Here are two systems, both going back millennia in antiquity, having developed with some cross-pollination (via cultural exchanges in the early history/late pre-historic periods perhaps), but generally independent of each other during the formative periods (more than 5000 years ago). The one missing link was that the Indian system clearly categorizes Prana as having five constituent winds - Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana and Udana Vayus. Each of these have specific roles to play in the human bio-energetic system (and the psycho-physiology as well). Then as I was reading Damo Mitchell's excellent book on Neigong (Heavenly Streams), I found a section that is pretty much articulated in this blog post as well -- http://www.scholarsage.com/five-elements-2/ light shen yi po zhi hun colour red yellow white blue green movement expansion division contraction sinking forwards element fire earth metal water wood The overlap (and biological functions of these) are stark with the Pancha Vayus. Good illustration is provided here -- http://sequencewiz.org/2014/09/03/5-vayus/ Would love more thoughts on this.

So I am interested in a self taught yoga method that would help me gain flexibility and peace of mind and for a better meditation posture as well as something that would keep me limber for other forms of exercise. I've been considering starting with Yogani's Asana's book cause it seems simple and I won't have much time on my hands this year. I also am considering "Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya" by Satananda Saraswati. Seems like a complete guide and I like a lot of its other content about cold showers, neti pots, etc This book seems a lot more time consuming to follow and some have even deemed it dangerous to practice such tantric routines without a guru present. Anybody farmiliar with these texts?

I'm still trying to figure out if weightlifting will help open chi channels. I already know how to do weightlifting so that's why I'm asking about it. I read in Bill Bodri's Little Book of Meditation that exercises to open the legs, shoulders, and butt are beneficial because these areas are hard to open chi wise. So wouldn't that make weightlifting a good thing to practice along with yoga, chi gong, or whatever exercise style best fits the user? I soon wish to get into Yogani's advanced yoga practices and take yoga classes at college. The AYP system seems to help people and it seems pretty simple so I figued why not give it a shot. I like structure to some degree. Almost everyone in college goes to the gym (mostly males) and I know there has been forums about it, but I just wanted to throw in my thoughts and current stage of discovery. One reason I'm considering getting into lifting again is because my left glute is always tight. I was thinking about sticking to basic movements like the pull up, push up, goblet squat, and deadlift for the most part just to help with overall flexibility and circulation. Maybe lifting again will help me with the tightness in my left glute? I also find myself attracted to stimulants such as marijuana (although I have not been smoking) and reading books a lot lately and figured this may help me get more grounded into my body. I also think maybe I should be meditating into my dan tien or concentrating on a mantra during meditation as following my breath through my nose is not that beneficial to me at this stage. Sorry for my constant thread posting guys and thanks for the help

Hi, I've been on various kinds of 'spiritual' path for years. Quite eclectic. Been with a few gurus, some good some bad, some in between. Mainly checking things out here today. Time will tell if I fit here. Free expression is important to me, I heard this is one of the best places for that. Van

Greetings everyone, In honor of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's upcoming retreat on the pranayamas of Yantra Yoga, I want to say something about this marvelous system, which has benefited me a great deal. In contrast to Indian Yoga, where there is an abundance of information on postures and pranayama exercises available, Tibetan pranayama exercises are not given out to the general public, and to a large extent even the systems of systems of yoga postures are secret. One of the exceptions to this secrecy is Yantra Yoga taught by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Yantra Yoga is a Sanskritization of Trul Khor, a "yantra" being a series of movements linked with breathing. In the practice, movement is done on inhales and exhales, and breath retention is done holding a posture. Those who have researched Tibetan breathing practices such as tummo have probably seen that they use a type of breath retention called vase breath. But what exactly is vase breath - how does one do it? Getting clarity on this is not easy. This is where Yantra Yoga comes in: in Yantra a proper vase breath is divided into four steps: open hold, directed hold, closed hold, and contracted hold, which in turn are done on the basis of correct inhalation and exhalation. The mechanics of the movements and poses make your body do these elements correctly (provided you are doing practice with awareness). So you get a very precise felt sensation of what a proper quick inhale, slow inhale, quick exhale, slow exhale, open hold, directed hold, closed hold, contracted hold, and empty hold feel like. You then take this knowledge and apply it to your pranayama practice, so there is no doubt that you are doing it correctly. Brilliant! Different holds are trained by different yoga postures. Backbends such as cobra, locust and bow train open hold; twists train directed hold; inversions such as sholderstand and headstand are poses that train closed hold; and downward dog, fish, and frog are poses that train contracted hold (I am using the standard Hatha Yoga names for the poses here, although they are often similar or the same in the Tibetan system). There is more to the system than that such as various preliminary and closing exercises, but training the different holds using postures is the gist of it. There are many books and DVDs available to learn the system. In my case, I went to yoga classes in my area with good lineage (Iyengar and Ashtanga) in order to learn the poses correctly, and then learned the Yantra Yoga way of linking the poses together with breath from the books and DVDs. So that is the physical aspect of the system. It is very good even if you are just interested in Hatha Yoga because you understand what correct breathing is like, rather than just correct physical alignment, and this plus the dynamics of the different holds opens up a deeper understanding of subtle inner alignments. A lot of things about yoga postures make a lot more sense to me having studied this. Now, about pranayama. There are two preliminary pranayamas which are forms of alternate nostril breathing, and then five main pranayamas of which use vase breath in a major way. The first two of these are more physical and the last three incorporate visualizations of channels and chakras. Chogyal Namkhai Norbu is going to be teaching these pranayamas in his next retreat which will be webcasted (!) for free (!!). He typically spends one or two session of every retreat teaching about Dzogchen generally, and then teaches the practices specific to that retreat, with one session at some point explaining and then giving direct introduction (!!!). These pranayamas are not associated with the cycle of a deity like other Tibetan tsa lung systems, but are directly related with Dzogchen. So if you get the direct introduction and oral explanation, you have permission to practice. And he doesn't teach these particular practices very often. What's more, the books that serve as references for the practices he teaches are only available to members of his organization, the one exception being the book on the complete system of Yantra Yoga, which is publicly available. http://www.amazon.com/Yantra-Yoga-Tibetan-Movement/dp/1559393084/ In other words, this retreat, in addition to the publicly available book, is giving unprecedented access to authentic Tibetan pranayamas connected with Dzogchen. The retreat will be June 3-7, from Tenerife, Spain. The official schedule is not up yet, but typically the session are two hours each, with a 10 am morning session and an afternoon session starting a 3 or 4 pm. http://melong.com/events_listing/spain-tenerife-dzamling-gar-june-3-7-2016/ http://webcast.dzogchen.net/

When practicing testicle breathing should you as well as practice celibacy to improve results? And how long does it take to have a successful session with testicle breathing. When you center your attention around your testicles should I feel like a cold icy feel down there when breathing? And is it the breath going from the testicles to the spine? Any Tips

http://www.astrojyoti.com/sandilyaupanishad.htm

UPDATE: I have prematurely awarded the prize to the1gza. I am leaving the country to do intensive training in Taiwan, and as I may be M.I.A for a while, it's important that I keep my word. Thank you to the few people who participated in this challenge. Overall, I was disappointed that this practice-oriented thread generated so little interest, but this is the internet, after all, and in a way the lack of love helped to kick me off the internet entirely and into real practice, which is pretty much the ideal outcome. ---------- Okay! Ladies and Gentlemen! I hereby declare a new 100-day challenge/contest of practice. I really enjoyed the last one started by BKA, but alas, I was very late to the party, and I did not win. So this time, I'll be offering two grand prizes for two special winners. THE CONTEST: SATURDAY, MARCH 7th -> SUNDAY, JUNE 14 POST YO' PRACTICE (IDEALLY 100 DAYS STRAIGHT) THE RULES This contest is limited to the following practices: -chigong / nei gong -energy work of any kind (like shen gong, reiki, whatever your energy practice is) -yoga -trampolines count Post as much as you want: what you did and for how long. Keep a record of how much you're doing. This is on the honor system. GREAT PRIZES FROM DOGSON At the conclusion of the practice period, I will be offering the following prizes: GRAND PRIZE - MOST CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF TRAINING Whoever has the longest streak of training, measured in days, will win the Bruce Frantzis Tai Chi Mastery DVDs. This is quite a lot of material. About 12 DVDs I think, including fighting applications. It is specifically the Wu Style short form. FIRST PRIZE - MOST INSPIRING POSTS I am going to offer another prize for whoever posts the most "inspiring" stuff about their practice during the 100 days. This is totally vague and subject to my whimsy. This is because I'm a libra and also left handed. Seriously though: I feel that inspiration is really valuable, and I think that a great reason to train is in order to enjoy a long beautiful, healthy, creative life. THE PRIZE FOR MOST INSPIRING POSTS WILL BE THE BRUCE FRANTZIS XING YI DVDs - I believe an 8-DVD set, including a separate I-Chuan standing program. PLEASE NOTE: "INSPIRING" DOES NOT INVITE SPAM AND CLICKBAIT. You are not going to win by constant posting clips from the matrix or crouching tiger! Post real stuff about your real practice/life experiences. Yoga note: I'm including yoga because yoga is dope. EDIT: NEW TRAMPOLINE CLAUSE Trampolines are now considered as chi training after my awesome experience with my new rebounder. Admittedly, after I do a 20 minute bounce, I always do some tai chi... but it really opens stuff up. Feel free to post with your trampoline nei gong experiences, trampoline nei gong is totally welcome in this contest, and furthermore, everyone should get a trampoline. *drops mic* LET THE GAMES BEGIN

I've been reading some discussions that compare different approaches to the Spiritual quest. One camp seems to consider the intellectual inquiry method (aka Jnana Yoga) to be superior to others, while the other camp seems to prefer the body-mind-energy method (aka Raja Yoga). I bring up the four yogas because this topic has been addressed in the Bhagavad Gita a few thousand years back. The Bhagavad Gita covers four different approaches to the spiritual quest - The devotional way aka Bhakti Yoga, The action without desire way - aka Karma Yoga (which essentially is Wu Wei approach) The mind-body-energy way - aka Raja Yoga The intellectual inquiry way - aka Jnana Yoga If you read a good commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (or if you know sanskrit the original document), you will realize that all the four ways are considered equally good. Paradoxically, the translations of the verses on each way says "This < > way is the superior way". When one reads only one section, they might come back with the impression that, that specific way is preferred over others. However, when taken into context of reading the entire book, it will become evident that specific characteristics are also mentioned about the type of person who might benefit from any one approach over the others. It depends on the mental, energetic and physical make-up of the seeker and no one way is absolutely better than another...it all depends

I collect guided and self hypnotic meditations. I found a 21 minute Yoga Nidra meditation in my collection that I didn't remember using or where I got it. I been listening to it the last week. Its very good. I've always considered Yoga/India to be something of a motherland for spiritual practices and it was nice to find a whole group of meditations called Yoga Nidra that work so well. The Yoga Nidra I've been using is from Kharmanidhi Sarasvati Acarya Yoga mandala studio of Berkely. It begins with a very deep powerful voice chanting a long involved Ohmn a few times; you can really feel it moving through ones body. It quickly calls out body parts for you to relax, then moves you to refocus above your body looking down as it sends you into deeper relaxation, including the mind away body asleep you find in Monroe style audio's. I assume Monroe was highly influenced by this type of practice. Then runs you through heat, cold then emptiness. Then light up chakra centers.. connecting you through the heart center to all other beings. Good stuff. Well paced. Having discovered it, there are many more. I just found http://www.yoganidranetwork.org/downloads which has a number of Nidras from a group of teachers. I just downloaded the Yoga Nidra Sleep, Yoga Nidra Pain Management (I collect these), and a long 42 minute Beach and Stars. I'm looking forward to listening to these.

Hi everyone, I'm new here, as you can probably tell. My significant other has been a member for quite some time, and is quite active here, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm quite interested in Alchemy, and I'm working on a few things at the moment. It'll be a few weeks before they're ready. Maybe, if all goes well, I could start some discussions about my projects. Heh, maybe if it doesn't, I could still talk about it and see if anyone has advice or something. I've read quite a few books on the subject, but I'm finally starting to actually walk the path. I'm one of those people who likes to know as much about something as they can before they actually approach it (I think it's my Rat nature, my Chinese Zodiac sign, lol). It's an odd topic, so I doubt here's the place to really go in depth on it. I'm also interested in Yoga. Mostly the philosophical, devotional, and mystic side of it. Not so much into Hatha yoga, seeing as how I don't have money for classes and I've seen people injure themselves doing it on their own. I perform Bhakti yoga, being devoted to lord Shiva. Y'know, puja, mudra, mantra, japa, etc. I feel as though the Shiva Sutras have made a pretty big impact on my life. I also decided to practice brahmacharya, so I've deleted all my porn, stopped going to dating/sex sites, and am trying to be more conservative about the type of media I take in. Heh, I probably sound like a prudish weirdo now, but I've got to admit, this is a huge change for me. I've also practiced witchcraft since I was about 13 or so. I was heavily into Wicca back then, but after many years I realized that it just didn't click with me. I didn't feel satisfied, fulfilled, or like I was making any personal/spiritual/psychological/whatever progress. Sure, I could cast some spells and get results, but it wasn't really making me "evolve", if you know what I'm getting at. I want to be a better person, bring good things to myself and those around me, and impact the world in a profoundly positive way. I feel like Wicca is a good way to feel good about yourself, and maybe get in tune with the natural cycles of the Earth, but I couldn't really find a way to get much deeper than that. Maybe it's just me, and if it is, that's totally fine. If the system works for you, I'm very happy for you! I'm not trying to negate anyone else's beliefs or systems, I'm just stating my own personal experience, that's all. I hope no one takes what I'm saying as an attack. All that said, I have found that some of the practices are pretty much the same regardless of what path you're on, and are quite effective for obtaining specific goals. So yeah, still in "witchcraft". Aside from that, I also make herbal medicine. Really into tinctures, salves, teas, etc. I've been told that some of my medicines are pretty effective. It makes me really happy to be able to help people. If I had some way to make that my life's work, I'd do it. Sadly, I don't see it ever being more than just a simple hobby. Anyway, I'm mostly here to see if I can get more insight into Alchemy and Yoga. Thank you.

I have a question regarding proper breathing patterns and the ideal of practices involving the control of the breath, because I have observed that deep breathing is widely advocated by diverse teachers or people giving advice. But I have read that hyperventilation is unhealthy and according to some teachers of Yoga, the goal of Yoga is not to increase the intake of oxygen but the reverse, namely to breath less than the average. Here is a wikipedia article on the physiological effects of hyperventilation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperventilation Here is a video in which a professional practitioner of Yoga argues that the purpose of Yoga practice is to develop the ability to breath less than the average: http://blog.yogasynergy.com/2012/11/spinal-movement-sequence-part-23-why-to-breathe-less-than-normal-in-yoga/ What do you think?

As a cultivator and young man I've come to realize over time that it is highly desirable to adopt a physical practice, for reasons of energy movement dispersion, mental clarity, et cetera. There are many different practices available however, such as martial arts, bodybuilding, yoga. Are practices such as bodybuilding in which one acquires a certain material physique or skill, strength in accordance with the Dao? It seems to me that anything that focuses excessive energy on the self is anti-Dao, and physical strength, while an asset, is temporary, while spirit is eternal. I am seriously considering switching to yoga, as I feel that practices that develop a physique are excessively and inherently selfish. Thoughts?

"The word that can be spoken is not the eternal word" That brings up some kind of feeling for me personally in regards to joining this forum. But honestly something called to me to put in a post and see just who are on these things. Within the last year I read over and over again the Tao Te Ching. Different versions can be particularly interesting in being giving a new spin. I have also been taking yoga more sincerely just because it helps me get into my body and really feel like I am present. Meditation has gone with it hand in hand and I have even realized my heartbeat getting very slow. I would love to hear from anyone practicing any type of Taoist art! How you feel it brings you closer to the Real. Look forward to discussion!

Hello. It is nice to discover such a forum with dedicated practitioners. I love mountains, nature and the way of nature. I study nature, martial arts, yoga, qigong and meditation and I enjoy learning about myself in these practices. nice to be here.

I am celibate and have been practicing cultivation / jing retention for quite some time now, but have come to realize that it is unnatural long-term for a human to exist without experiencing occasional arousal of Kundalini energy. This is not to say to give in fully to lustful desires, but to at least allow the energy to flow through the body. Does anyone have any specific sexual yoga or meditation practice to offer apart from Chi-Gung, which I already do? Thanks.

Psychological Issues and Spiritual Practices: Shouldn't Practices Trump Therapy/Medication? (This is taken from a previous thread, but [in addition to another thread] I thought this could do with a thread of it's own [i hope it doesn't seem I'm flooding the forum, searched through but couldn't find a similar discussion.) Any thoughts on how spiritual practices work in general and how this relates to mental health would be much appreciated. Taken from: http://thetaobums.com/topic/34480-looking-into-new-practices-for-mental-health-enlightenment-and-then-perhaps-immortality-;-in-woteva-order-formerly-taoist-systems-of-practice/ I agree with finding help, specifically tailored to the problem at hand. But, in addition, here is some story and some thoughts about mental health and spiritual practice: After an initial year (years ago) of aversion to ANY western method (during my spiritual, put your money where your mouth is phase), I have since been in contact with western medicine doctors, therapists, etc for the past few years. No doubt, CBT and medication do work, and seem to have been the only thing that has worked for the severe anxiety (which will teach me to think in black and white "Only spiritual practices should help blah blah, etc")-(mainly the CBT/I believe [and the science points to] that it results in new neural pathways/neuroplasticity/a change in brain structure). What Do Spiritual Practices Do? This makes me wonder about practices in general. Aren't spiritual practices about clearing out the karma/conditioning/habits/attachment to-or-belief in thought-fear-worry-separation/fear/lies/falseness? This is how I have been taught/come to understand energy practices like Kriya Yoga, Tantra, Yoga, etc, that the spinal breathing is clearing obstructions/conditioning/karma out. And, then, self inquiry/meditative practices seem to be about highlighting Truth/True self, sitting/being with True self/stillness and slowly seeing through thought, undoing reactivity and attachment to thought/feeling, becoming less identified with noise and more with silence/stillness/emptiness/nothingness underneath/behind/between/at the birth of the noise, building new neural pathways perhaps/most likely, and in becoming less identified with noise, less noise arises? What Is a Psychological 'Problem'? All a psychological condition is, is an extreme instance, high on the spectrum, of a trait/phenomena that is present in ALL humans: fear, neurosis, depression, psychosis, etc. We all experience these things, but when one area gets out of balance it's labeled pathological, but it's all just noise, and spiritual practices are surely about clearing out this noise/and or attachment to/belief in noise, no? (this isn't typed argumentatively, in case it comes off that way; I'm genuinely asking myself/pondering all of these issues currently). CBT works. I guess CBT is like a forced kind of self inquiry type thing, that focuses on the specific issue at hand. It is very similar to the lower stages of self inquiry. So Why Not Just Do CBT/Therapy? So, you may ask, if CBT works, then why don't you just do that and then once you're sorted get back on spiritual practices? Well, it worked, (CBT and an SSRI [i hate medication, but I was out of options]) I had about 1 month of being fully 'functional'/back to normal compared to how I was when all of this pathological instance of anxiety started, but then it came back. So, I guess I should just keep up with CBT and stay proactive with that (perhaps set myself a weekly CBT reminder practice for life, like a spiritual practice, to keep tabs on myself) but, it's hard, AND, the fact that the issues came back points to me to a more underlying issue perhaps, maybe? I don't know. I'm sure with pro active CBT for years I would hopefully, eventually restructure/rewire my brain so the issues are non existent, but, again, this is difficult, it's very easy to relapse, and, why can't a spiritual practice also do this? Or, at least they should help right? (these are half rhetorical questions). In addition, CBT, for me anyway, to fully work, I need (or at least feel I need and have in the past needed) the help of a physical therapist, to 'bully me' (I joke, but being almost forced in an agreed way is needed) into doing exposures/the CBT work. Self help materials don't seem to be enough. Hence why a spiritual practice to clear out mental gunk is preferable, as, therapy is expensive, and government/NHS support takes ages (I've been waiting for over a year now for an NHS therapist/psychologist, after seeing one initially and it working my sessions ran out). Again, any thoughts on how spiritual practices work in general and how this relates to mental health would be much appreciated. Thank you

Perennial Philosophy/Perennial Technique: Spiritual Thesaurus (copied from a different thread I started, as it seemed worthy of it's own) My vocabulary of terms and practices is pretty much solely western or Indian/Sankrit/Yoga/Tantra, etc. Along those lines, does anyone know of any book, pdf or website (preferably an all in one source) that serves as a sort of spiritual thesaurus between the different traditions/geographical locations? Or a spreadsheet/chart? I believe/know there is a perennial philosophy (Truth is Truth, right?) and like to think that there's a perennial practice as well (hence the similarities between Self Inquiry/Philosophy systems [Jnana, Zen, Buddhism, Advaita, Gnosis, Sufism] and energy work systems [Yoga, Tantra, Neidan, Taoist, Tibetan, Christian Kabbalah, Kabbalah, Dhikr etc; humans are all built the same, right?]). If no such document exists then perhaps this would be an interesting project to take up on here/and through other forums. Part of me that likes to think of universal theory/practice is a bit apprehensive about starting on a new route and coming across potential clashes/dissonances throughout traditions, but I guess this is just ego attachment/fear.