Advice on yoga?

Craxiette, are you using abdominal breathing during your meditations?

Aeon418 said:

Craxiette, are you using abdominal breathing during your meditations?

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Not very successfully I'm afraid...I find it really hard to expand the belly at the same time as my core muscles are activated to keep the back straight. But then I am not a good abdominal breather to begin with. On the plus side, at least I've already managed to gain the habit of always breathing through the nose...yeey, a little pebble on my pyramid!

Great Success! *she says with a Borat-accent*
I found an Astanga Yoga class, starting today! I think it's a great mix of workout/stretch and "spiritual focus". The lady who holds the class is a bit...well, nuts! She made us repeat sanskrit invocations that just sounded like gibberish to most of us and went on and on about cosmic energy, peace and love and ahimsa for all etc as we did the asanas... I think she is trying to make sure we were not falling asleep! After 1,5 hrs of yoga, I was actually able to sit painlessly in the dragon asana for the finishing mabe 7 min meditation or so --well, it was an easy choice over the lotus, which was the only other option... The only bad thing was making us do kumbaka for maybe 30 seconds together with the three bandhas! -I simply breathed out silently after ten...baby steps for my baby lungs...

Anyways, I think this will be an excellent basic training on which to add some private asana practice. Ah, I feel a lot more optimistic now! And with all the experts around here to give good advice, sloth is my ONLY excuse left to not do it!

Yoga's excellent for improving flexibility, strength, posture and breathing. It also has other benefits, depending on what branch you practice. But it can involve a lot of time and effort. All fine and good if you have the time and effort to put in, but it could be awhile before you see results. A lot of books on Yoga recommend things that are all but impossible for most people. If you're older or have a muscular physique you may never be able to attain some of the postures they recommend. As others have said, a good teacher who understands these things can be priceless.

If stillness and concentration are high on your priorities, I'd recommend Vipassana, or "insight meditation." It's an ancient form of Buddhist meditation said to be taught by the Buddha himself. You can assume any posture you want, but because of the tendency to fall asleep, it's recommended you sit upright or partially upright at first. You may have seen pictures of the Buddha lying down, meditating on his side.

Abrac said:

Yoga's excellent for improving flexibility, strength, posture and breathing. It also has other benefits, depending on what branch you practice.

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The strengthening and flexibility are side effects of dedicated Hatha Yoga practice, but they aren't the goal of the practice. It's only in the West, with our obsession with the "body beautiful", that Yoga is presented as a mere exercise system. Talk about under selling the product.

If you say Yoga to the average Westerner they instantly think of spandex and leg warmers. But there are forms of Yoga that have nothing to do with postures or breathing.

Karma Yoga or Union through Work.
Bhakti Yoga or Union through Devotion.
Gnana Yoga or Union through Knowledge.

Abrac said:

You can assume any posture you want, but because of the tendency to fall asleep, it's recommended you sit upright or partially upright at first. You may have seen pictures of the Buddha lying down, meditating on his side.

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Lying down is no good for meditation. There is already a link in everyones mind between lying down and falling asleep. Even if you are going to meditate while sitting on a chair it idealy has to be in a "non-ordinary" way that you don't automatically associate with other activities.

During your practice you are trying to forge a link in your mind between a certain body posture and a particular mental state. If your chosen posture is slouching in an armchair it already has a whole chain of pre-built associations tacked onto it. That will make results much more difficult to achieve.

Aeon418 said:

The strengthening and flexibility are side effects of dedicated Hatha Yoga practice, but they aren't the goal of the practice. It's only in the West, with our obsession with the "body beautiful", that Yoga is presented as a mere exercise system. Talk about under selling the product.

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...which is kind of silly, as going to the gym is a much easier and faster way of getting good exercise. I think people like the "spiritual tag" that comes with hatha yoga, as if they are automatically doing something more spiritual than just getting in shape...it's like peppermint ice cream that always sells more than one should expect, considering most people prefer other flavours. The idea is that subconciously people connect mint with tooth paste (which is "good for you") so they feel they have somehow chosen a healthier option

Aeon418 said:

Lying down is no good for meditation. There is already a link in everyones mind between lying down and falling asleep. Even if you are going to meditate while sitting on a chair it idealy has to be in a "non-ordinary" way that you don't automatically associate with other activities.

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Lying down meditations are good if you do dream work or lucid dreaming/dream yoga, so I wouldn't rule it out completely!

Aeon418 said:

During your practice you are trying to forge a link in your mind between a certain body posture and a particular mental state. If your chosen posture is slouching in an armchair it already has a whole chain of pre-built associations tacked onto it. That will make results much more difficult to achieve.

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This is my understanding as well.

The way I understand it, here in the US, anyone can teach yoga. Yoga Schools have to be accredited but there is no law that says one has to go to school to call themselves a yoga teacher.

Even if you find a certified teacher from an accredited school, what are they going to know about medical conditions on the more mundane level?

And on a higher level, what is a yoga teacher going to know about my goal of union with HGA? Nothing, no matter how learned and well meaning they are.

I am finding much more benefit from a handful of books, a mirror, and learning to qet quiet enough to listen to my own will.

But that's just me and an alternate opinion.

AW

All I'm looking for is a teacher to demonstrate the practice for me, correct my worst rookie mistakes and to have a set time and place where my butt has to be on regular intervals, plus the enouragment of having others around me doing the same thing. I think if a teacher could actually do much more than that, we wouldn't have to bother with the hassle of doing our Will in the first place... I've spent years looking and longing for THE perfect teacher or THE magic practice that would "sweep me off my feet" and swiftly transform me into this amazing strong and happy person...until I simply gave up. I discovered that no matter what path one takes, sucess always boils down to patient, gradual development and most important of all, no advice or teaching will ever replace the need to take responsibility for and learn how to honestly look at my own situation. This of course includes the skill of being able to listen to what others have got to say about my blind spots as well. I picked up the Thoth tarot in the beginning of this year, choosing it above others more or less by chance, as I knew close to nothing about the tarot or western mysticism. My original plan was just to use the cards as a graphical library of psychological archetypes to meditate and ponder about, but very soon I realized that there was a whole philosophical and spiritual system behind it that resonated very much with my own ways of thinking, so now I find myself gradually being drawn to more and more aspects of the thelemic system...with this rate of increasing interest I'll probably be a "real thelemite" by the end of the year! Lol, who knows? I do know however that it is a great source of inspiration for me, something I definitely was not expecting to find, but I'm very greatful I have and I'm curious to see where it leads me next...

My comment was in genreal, just an alternative to so many people suggesting teachers. And US related as I don't know how it is in other countries.

The US is in a "consult your Dr. before you excercise" state and I even see this leaning toward "ask your Dr if you are capable of sex."

I am afraid there isn't a lot of encouragement, on a social level, to know oneself and one's own capabilities around here.

AW

AW,
I think it's the same here too, maybe not as extreme? - Everything is bigger in America, we are told...
Atleast here we don't sew Mc Donalds for not warning us about the coffee being hot...