Yoga Report

without ego

johan flod — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:27:39 +0000

All of us are acting out something that we have to act out. Life is very simple. Either you give to a person or you don’t. Either the spirit is talking through you or he/she/it isn’t. The whole system of beginner, expert, high level, low-level comes from the ego who wants to separate us. The more energy you spend the more energy you get. That is the reason your muscles get stronger when you run/walk/bike/swim. From the science perspective, energy is just shifting forms. Eye contact, physical contact, sexual interaction, study, work, biking, walking, eating … let go and allow the change to happen.

Review: Sensual tantra in a safe environment

johan flod — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:54:41 +0000

I was kind of nervous when I found my way to the C-H-A-I Copenhagen and the Melting Monday workshop. As it says in the flyer “non verbal communication and playfulness”. It is true, this evening is really about body language and play. At some moments it is like being in a club expect there are no drugs present. The two guides takes us through a range of exercises which appeals to the more subtle sides of sensuality. It is a nice feeling to rediscover playfulness and I definitely recommend this for couples who want to get some inspiration and for singles who want to feel awake again

Compared to an evening in town I felt more safe in this environment and all exercises are with clothes on and your integrity is respected.

for practical info http://tantrazone.dk/undervisning-kurser/melting-monday/

sexual transformation

johan flod — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:27:36 +0000

As a pretty shy guy, I find it quite embarrassing to develop this subject but there is no way around it. Without sex you and me would not exist in this world. In a few yoga books (Janakananda) (Satyananda) I came across sexual rituals and they seem to be very beneficial for spiritual awakening . For various reasons this have not been practiced in the ashrams I have been to and there seems to be a great deal of secrecy. At least it seems to be pretty hard to find places where this is taught in a serious manner. Through friends I have heard about a guy called Alex Vartman and The New Tantra. The theory is very simple and it is all about prolonging the blissful state (Sexual Secrets, Nik Douglas) . Lately I came across the DVD Erotic Tantra in the library and it was kind of basic, not without a few useful exercises. If you have any relevant information, please reply to this post.

Books:

Kundalini Tantra Swami Satyananda

Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life Swami Janakananda Saraswati

Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger

DVD:

Erotic Tantra Yazmin Katarina Fox Andersen

plan for the autumn

johan flod — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:49:11 +0000

breath-hold exercises 2-3 times a week
cycling to university 2-4 times a week
physical yoga 3 times a week
pranayama 3-4 times a week

breath-hold exercises

freediving tables

8×2’30” is my lates one

cycling to university

2×14 kilometres

physical yoga

short classical program

headstand, shoulderstand, plow pose, vipareta karani, bridgepose, universal pose

pranayama

kapal bathi x 3-5

nadi shodan with bandhas 10:40:20:20 counting

patanjali on Pranayama

johan flod — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:26:03 +0000

Patanjali seems to focuse on Kumbhaka, the pause between inhalation and exhalation and that is what he calls pranayama.

Patanjali says that “retention of breath after expiration removes the obstacles to yoga”.

prANAyAma : prANA = breath; Ayama = pause, break; in later haTha yoga literature, prANa is sometimes used to indicate a subtle psychic force; however in patanjali, it is clearly used as a breath; either together with pracchhardana (expulsion) or vidhAraNa (retention); or shvAsa/prashvAsa, etc. patanjali: originally 4 types of prANAyama; later authors merge types 3 and 4 to reach three types p. 36: – bAhya kumbhaka, (hold or kumbhaka after full exhalation or recaka); – Abhyantara kumbhaka (kumbhaka after inhalation or puraka) – kevala kumbhaka – unclear – pause all at once and with ease (patanjali 3) or pause through many inhalation and exhalations (patanjali 4)

from http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/amit/books/kuvalayananda-1966-prnyma-pranayama-popular.html

pranayama according to swami sivananda

johan flod — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:42:03 +0000

from the pranayama instructions from sivananda “42. Gradually increase the period of Kumbhaka. Retain for 4 seconds in the first week, for 8 seconds in the second week, for 12 seconds in the third week and so on, till you are able to retain the breath to your full capacity. “

“That is called Kumbhaka (cessation of breath) when there is neither expiration nor inspiration and the body is motionless, remaining still in one state. Then he sees forms like the blind, hears sounds like the deaf and sees the body like wood. This is the characteristic of one who has attained quiescence.”

Use only that which works

johan flod — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:19:12 +0000

a few quotes by Bruce Lee

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it”

” Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. “

“Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing. Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety; in that state of mind, there is perception. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Awareness has no frontier; it is giving of your whole being, without exclusion.”

The challenge

johan flod — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:50:13 +0000

Something that happens to me again and again is that I go into competition mode. I compare myself to what others have achieved. Nadi Shodana is supposed to be a relaxed and calm practice but it really feels like a struggle right now. My intuition tells me that it works like it does with any yoga pose. I remember how much I struggled with the plow pose in the beginning. There was pain and I could not hold it for such a long time. I could stay longer in the pose after a while and there was not a definite point where it all cha, it was more of a gradual process. With time it got much better and now it is relatively easy. Breathing has such a strong influence and the thoughts that comes up are much more dramatic when I do breathholds for example. I wonder if I will ever master the art of pranayama.

The only thing to pay attention to is that it is a healthy struggle. I mean if you push yourself into a lotus pose and you have very big thighs it is going to damage your joints

a static table

johan flod — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:32:47 +0000

8 times in a row I held the breath for 2 minutes. I had about 2 minutes of rest in between. felt totally fine.

Pranayama according to Swami Narayanananda

johan flod — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:52:26 +0000

The secrets of Prana, Pranayama & Yoga Asana (Narayanananda) suggests to practice Nadi shodan 4 times a day. In the morning , at midday, in the evening and at midnight. Only in the morning you can combine with other pranayamas. Do 4 rounds.

trace mind from muladhara up to Sahasrara along with the Sushumna Nadi. Think that you are taking the Kundalini Shakti fully from the Muladhara Chakra to Sahasrara. While retaining the breath think that you are holding the Prana equally all over from the top of the head to the toes of your feet and also filling the whole of your body and mind with purity, health etc. When exhale trace the mind from Sahasrara back to Muladhara and while tracing thus, think that you are taking the Kundalini Shakti back to Muladhara and at the same time keep time.

The lowest kind of Pranayama is 12, 48 and 24 seconds. The impurities of the body are thrown out

The middle kind of Pranayama is 24,96 and 48 seconds. There will be tremors in the body.

The highest kind of Pranayama is 36,144 and 72 seconds. One perceives the levitation of the body and an influx of great bliss. The Kundalini Shakti rises upp fully and when it reaches Sahasrara one attains Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Narayananda suggest that one should increase the number of rounds to 10 if there is a problem with increasing the time. One can increase the number of rounds all the way up to 80. when increasing the number of rounds one should only practice 2 times a day.