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Bindu No. 12

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Don’t be deceived...Who wants to learn to swim from someone who just sits and splashes

around at the waters edge talking, but who does not dare to dive in?

these books, because they cannot judgewhether the content is correct. But lessscrupulous publishers will probably printthe books, because there is a great interest

and people will buy them.

Last spring, I was asked by another 

 publisher to read through and commentupon a newly translated book on yoga.The translator was professional, but knewnothing about yoga. This resulted in my

finding numerous mistakes and misunder-standings in the translation, especially

concerning the mind, relaxation and

meditation. I discovered that if one doesnot have a good working knowledge of 

the subject, then it is impossible to know

how certain words and expressionsshould be translated. And how manytranslators have that knowledge?

Those who do not have a thoroughknowledge of meditation, often resort to

nature and confuse beautiful experiences such

as looking out over thesea at sunset, with

meditation. But there areimportant differences.

When you are out in thecountryside, it is the

tranquillity that is therewhich makes you feelmore harmonious.

Pleasant, of course, buthow much satisfaction do

you get out of that whenyou are in a pressingsituation at work?

With yoga and

meditation, you findtranquillity within. Youlearn to rest within your 

self. This experience you bring with you into your 

daily life - and you canreturn to your self whenyou want to.

Do not be deceived by angelic people,

who meditate on exotic beaches withswaying palms. Of course it is nice tomeditate when on holiday in the

Bahamas, but yoga and meditation belong most of all in daily life.

(Also see the article on page 4)

editorial by Mira

“ I don’t care whether the teacher has anytraining. People want a yoga course, and 

that’s what they’ll get ,”said a woman who arranged my yogacourses at one of Stockholm’s mostrespected health clubs. Myown courses werecompletely full, with 25

 people on the waiting list.

She was determined toarrange an extra courseand was looking for aninstructor, as neither I nor the other teachers at our 

school were able to takethe course. My argumentthat the quality woulddrop, if this teacher had

insufficient, or no trainingat all, didn’t impress her in

the least. This total lack of respect shocked me.To be honest I hadn’tthought that things werethat bad.

In a naïve kind of 

way we often see what

is written and printed as being true, but be onyour guard when it is aboutyoga and meditation. Someone I know whoworks as an editor in a publishing firm,

recently told me that they receivemanuscripts on meditation from peoplewho have never learnt to meditate. They just sit at home and write well-formulated

 books. The publishing firm does not print

   I  n  g

  e   l  a   H  a  g  e  m  a  n   ©

   1   9   9   8

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Contents

 “You want people to have the best” 4A comment to the editorial.

 Yoga for “mouse arms” 5How to use the hands and arms differently. Description of the yoga pose“the crane.”

 Yoga tool-kit for computer users 6research is being done into the consequences of long term computer work. Wepresent a program of simple yoga exercises relieve the problem.

Mapping the brains activity after Kriya Yoga 10An article on how deep-going Kriya Yoga really is, and of its positive effects.

On learning to teach Kriya Yoga 14First part of an article by Swami Janakananda: on Sadhana, cycles in healing andlearning and what it means to be silent during the initiation into Kriya Yoga.

Retreats at Håå Course Center in the south of Sweden 26This year ends with our annual 14-day course over Christmas, followed by the

10-day New Year course. Next years courses are also presented.In January 1999, Swami Janakananda starts his 25th three months course with

advanced methods from the Tantric yoga tradition, including Kriya Yoga.

 Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in daily Life 28Swami Janakananda’s book on yoga from a yogi’s point of view.

Courses in Copenhagen 30...and other cities. Introduction evenings, free trial classes, short intensive courses,

“drop-in”, pregnancy courses, as well as weekly courses that run for 10 or 20weeks and classes in English.

 Yoga at Home 30From our shop we send books, relaxation and meditation tapes, nose-cleansingpots, ear candles, yoga mattresses, the periodical Bindu and much more to peopleall over the world.

Experience Yoga Nidra 31Two deepreaching relaxations with Swami Janakananda. Now also on CD.

Bindu’s rolling againWelcome to an exciting new number 

of Bindu. Since the last edition was published, we have bought a new and badly needed printing press, whichwill improve Bindu’s quality andshorten the production time. We print

Bindu in English, Danish, Swedishand German and in future will againrelease two issues a year.

A warm thank you for all the largeand small contributions to our printing press. To all our subscribers andstudents: you should also have a big

thank you for your support and theinspiration you have given to the

school.

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In the field of yoga, the one who teaches

and the one who wants to be trained,have the same responsibility as anyonewho wants to help people and work withthem. If a would-be doctor went to a

“banana republic” (wherever that might be, excuse the expression) and boughthimself a quick education, then it is

naturally blameworthy and irresponsible, both for the “doctor” himself and the

 people he will come in contact with as ahealer and an adviser.

The student who wants to become ateacher must take responsibility when

choosing a teacher (whatever thequalifications) who dilutes the traditionand makes the education “short and

simple”. The tradition is improved only by constantly returning both to its core

and towards what you have learnt fromyour teacher. At least this is myexperience, both in relation to my teacher and in regard to the tradition from which

I teach.Beginning with an inadequate

education as a yoga teacher, no matter 

how conceited you are or who you co-operate with, sooner or later you will run

dry. Instead of throwing yourself into aliberating process together with thestudents, the whole thing becomestedious, because you don’t know the

 process and haven’t acquired the insightthat comes with a daily training. Youhave neither the courage nor the ability to

go further than the limits of your ownlearning and insight. You believe that you

have to entertain the students, or make a

lot out of next to nothing, when there is

nothing left to give - you have noexperience of the transformation.

To bring other superficial ideas andmethods into your teaching to avoid fear 

and emptiness, or to take a lot of moneyfor what you do, does not make it morevaluable. You cheat both yourself and

others. Yoga is “any age”, not New Age,for instance, even though some teachers,

who teach a superficial yoga, may givethat impression.The most important thing about a proper yoga teacher training is surely not what

you learn theoretically and the quantity of methods it contains, but that you receivea daily training also, where you learn the

things in a practical way so that acapability is attained from where you can

diagnose and see the solution to a problem. You should also haveexperience of associating with students.The training must include a compre-

hensive practical part of teaching under the supervision of an experienced teacher.Furthermore, your own Sadhana (see

 page 14) and the experience you gainfrom this, should be deep-reaching.

The daily life together with the teacher that runs the education, should removethe underlying anxiety from people whohelp others. Also the teacher must have a

special ability and be able to guide thestudent towards an insight that goes beyond what is written in books and can

 be learnt on a few courses. The would-beyoga teachers will then confidently be

able to teach and guide others, when they

have completed their education - and they

will be able to continue to do so when thenovelty wears off.

I allow myself to doubt whether theshallow courses that are currently offeredin some places, mostly in the form of a

series of weekend courses, where it isclaimed that the education lasts up to threeand four years, have a sound background.

The students are gathered together only afew hours at a time, once in a while, and if the hours of teaching are counted, then in

reality the education has a total length of from less than a month (at an institute inStockholm), to a maximum of three

months (at an institute in Denmark). Notto mention a company in England whooffer a yoga teacher education by

correspondence, where you never evenmeet a teacher!A full time training lasting several

years is an absolute must.Why is it so important to be a yogateacher, if you don’t become one anyway,when you get neither practical training nor sufficient theory, not to mention a lack of initiation in altered states of 

consciousness? You should be aware thatin the long run, you are helping to ruinsomething very valuable with your limitations.

The responsibility lies with you. Thatothers commit criminal acts, does not

 justify that you do too!

 Also see an extensive article on the yogateacher education at the Scandinavian

Yoga and Meditation School in Bindu no. 9.

 “You want people to have the best” A comment to the editorial by Swami Janakananda

(quote: Swami Satyananda)

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 Yoga tool-kit for computer usersYoga can teach you to be compatible with yourself - and your computer work 

 Don’t let the body come to a standstill in front of the monitor. These four small exercises can beof great help to avoid the build up of tensions in the neck, shoulders and back.

Every othercomputeroperatorcomplains of tensions and pain!During the last decadethere has been a lot of research done on “mouse

injuries” and other  problems that arise with

continual use of a computer monitor and keyboard.Lena Karlqvist from Karolinska Institute in

Stockholm concludes after ten years of research thatnobody can manage the

monotonous strain in thelong run without problems.

Danish experts believe that

by OmkaranandaGood ideas,

 perspective and

understanding come

when we are inspired

and have plenty of 

energy - not when we

are stressed and tense.

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the solution lies in rotating the employeesor students between computer work andother activities, so that they only sit for amaximum of 4-5 hours in front of a

monitor per day. Unfortunately, it isadmitted that in many instances this isunrealistic due to increasing

specialisation and shortage of time.

A tool to remain in contactwith energy and inspirationWith simple yoga exercises one can

release tensions as they arise andconsciously put oneself in an inspired andcreative mood. Computer users often

have tension and pain in the “mousehand”, arm, elbow, shoulder, neck or  back. Other common ailments are

headaches, eye complaints and lethargy,which also arise due to tensions, andwhich prevent the afflicted to be him/herself and work efficiently.

Here follows an introduction to a fewyoga exercises that are good for relievingtensions that can occur in front of amonitor. For these exercises you do not

necessarily need a special place to practise the yoga. It is enough to turn off the monitor, while you print or make a

 back-up, and do one or a few of theexercises suggested here. After five tofifteen minutes you are ready - with

increased clarity and concentration - tocontinue your work.

Besides this, you can take part in a

weekly yoga course, a weekend course or  perhaps a residential course. This willenhance the effect of the yoga you do

yourself. Gradually you will learn to letgo of tensions as they arise. Then theywill not accumulate and develop into pain

and an occupational hazard.

Tension releasing exercises for the arms and shoulders1. Extend your arms forward, shoulder level, palms up. Bend your arms, placing

your fingertips on your shoulders. Keep your upper arms horizontal. 5-10 times

2. Do the same movement, but with your arms out to the sides of your body.

The exercises in the following short program should be done without effort or haste. The text (but not the pictures, dueto copyright) are quoted from the book Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily

 Life by Swami Janakananda. In the book,which is richly illustrated with instructive

 pictures, there is a chapter of eyeexercises, that are of considerable use for those who sit in front of a computer 

monitor. The book is inspiring reading.See also page 29.

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Head Rolling1. Let your head slowly fall all the way to one side, your nose

forward, not towards your shoulder. Hang your head like that for 

a while, then bring it slowly over to the other side and keep it

there briefly.Repeat this 5-10 times.

2. Turn your head all the way to one side, pause a moment, then

turn your head slowly to the other side and pause there.Repeat this 5-10 times.

3. Let your head slowly sink down to your chest, let it rest there

 briefly, totally relaxed then slowly raise it and rest it there,hanging it back a while. 5-10 times.

4. Let your head rotate all the way around 5-7 times in each

direction. Do it in a very relaxed way and take your time. Feelthe position of the head at any one point of the circle.

5. Pause immediately after the head rolling: sitting relaxed and

completely still with your head upright and your eyes closed.It is important to do the first three exercises each time as a

warm up to the head rolling.

If you have a tendency for dizziness or an extremely high blood pressure, you should do the head rolling very carefully.This exercise relaxes the neck and shoulder area and has a

general relaxing effect on the entire nervous system. Good

against headaches and lethargy.

3. Shoulder Rolling - Rest your fingertips on your 

shoulders throughout this exercise. Begin with your upper 

arms at shoulder level, elbows pointing sideways. Thenrotate your arms in a circular motion, moving them backwards and down, and then let the elbows meet in front

of your stomach. Keep them together as you rise up in front of your chest and face, and then turn them out to the sides, back 

and down again. 5-10 times. Repeat this exercise in the oppositedirection. Shoulder rolling limbers up your shoulders and theupper part of your neck.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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Spontaneous BreathingThis is a breathing exercise, relaxation and meditation exercise. Start by lying on your  back with your hands by your sides (or directly following the head rolling, remainsitting in a chair with the hands resting on the legs or in the lap.) The eyes are closed.

 It is best if you can do the relaxation

with subdued lighting.

Experience your whole body,the whole body at once,feel how motionless it is -concentrate a long time on themotionlessness.

Then begin to experience thatthis motionless body is alive, it is breathing;

let it breathefreely,avoid slowing downor speeding up your breathing,avoid controlling it, breathe freely,spontaneously -go on, go onas long as possible -ten minutes - fifteen minutes - half anhour.

After a whilemake sure you are breathing with thestomach.Otherwise use your will a little, but avoid disturbingthe free rhythm of your breath,feel -that you breath with the stomach;let the stomach expandas you inhale,and let the rest follow;

let your stomach sink down and relaxwhen you exhale;do not bother about your mind; breathe freely and spontaneouslywith your attention onyour stomach,go on -now notice how your stomachrises and fallswith the natural movements of breath,go on -

Use this exercise as often and as long asyou likeany time - but preferably at regular times.

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In the living brain, millions of nerve cellscommunicate with each other by emittingtiny electrical impulses. In this way, the brain is electrically active night and daythroughout ones life. This activity can beregistered as oscillations (popularly called brain waves) by placing electrodes on the

scalp, amplifying the signals and displayingthem on a computer monitor. This method

of measuring is called electroencephalo-graphy (EEG). The brain oscillates atdifferent rates (frequency) depending onthe state of consciousness, just as the

height of the waves (amplitude) can vary.There is a direct correlation between a

 persons activity or level of attention and his brain wave frequency (see fig. 1). Duringunconscious states (e.g. deep sleep) the

slow delta waves with high amplitudesappear in the EEG. In the half consciousstate, between wakefulness and sleep, thetawaves are often dominant, and during the

wakeful, mentally relaxed state withclosed eyes, alpha waves dominate inmost people. Finally, the high frequency

 beta waves with small amplitude appear during conscious wakeful activity. Thus

the EEG measurements can verify whether a person is conscious (alpha and betawaves) or unconscious (delta and thetawaves). The lower the EEG frequency,

the more unconscious the state (fig. 1).

The four types of brain wavesBeta waves (13-36 oscillations (or waves) per second (Hz)). This is the brain

rhythm in the normal wakeful state

associated with thinking, problem solvingand active attention directed towards theouter world. Beta waves may beclassified as beta1 (13-20 Hz) and beta2(20-36 Hz). Mental tensions, excitementand anxiety can increase both amplitudeand frequency of the beta rhythms. This

can cause a shift from beta1 to beta2.Alpha waves (8-13 Hz). Alpha is the

most dominant of all brain rhythms. Most people have some alpha activity in their EEG, especially when they close their eyes, turn the attention inwards and relax.

This increases the amplitude of the alphawaves. Alpha waves, which signifyconscious awareness, are the “bridge” or “entrance ticket” to the unconscious,which is represented by even lower 

frequencies (theta and delta).Theta waves (4-8 Hz). Theta is the

dominant brain rhythm of small children.In adults, theta waves normally appear 

only during dreaming or drowsiness, aswell as during strong emotions. Thetawaves are formed deep in the brain andreflect unconscious activity associatedwith emotions and dreams. Both whenone comes close to unconsciousmemories during deep meditation and

close to repressed feelings in therapy thetheta activity tends to increase.

In order to have conscious access toand remembrance of the unconsciouscontent, alpha waves must be present inthe EEG. Without alpha the unconscious

content remains unconscious.The presence of a certain amount of 

theta combined with alpha in the EEGrecorded during rest may signify personalinsight and creativity.

Delta waves (0,5-4 Hz). Delta is seenin new born babies and in adults duringdeep sleep. These slow rhythms areassociated with basic survival functions

Mapping the brains activity afterKriya Yoga by Erik Hoffmann, Ph.D.

Fig. 1. Brainwaves and states of consciousnessThe meditative state builds a bridge between the conscious and unconscious. It is adrowsy/dreamy state observed by a clear, conscious awareness. The EEG pattern is

a mixture of alpha and theta waves. Theta signifies subconscious activity, whilealpha reflects the conscious awareness.

Unconscious Meditation Conscious

Deep sleep Drowsy/dreaming Relaxed Active

Delta Theta Alpha Beta

0.5 4 8 13 40Hz

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deeply seated in the brain. During

 psychotherapy, where patients relive their own birth, the appearance of delta waveshas been observed. Delta waves are

associated with the deepest states of consciousness. Some consider that deltasignifies contact with the collective

unconscious. Delta rhythms combinedwith alpha can reflect an inner intuitive,empathetic radar, a kind of sixth sense.

Purpose of the StudyWe wanted to study the effects of KriyaYoga on the brains activity (EEG). Inscientific literature there are often reports

of an increase in alpha and theta wavesduring and after various forms of 

meditation. The ancient Tantric KriyaYoga is a powerful method for awakening and expanding consciousness,as well as for strengthening the vital and psychic energy. We therefore anticipatedthat the EEG measurements before and

after a single Kriya Yoga session would

show significant changes. Furthermore,

we wanted to chart the brains activity on

coloured brain maps (see fig. 4 and 5)during the distinct changes inconsciousness that occur in connection

with Kriya Yoga.

ResultsEleven yoga teachers from theScandinavian Yoga and MeditationSchool - all with many years experienceof Kriya Yoga - participated in the

research. EEG measurements were takenimmediately before and after two hoursof Kriya Yoga from eight electrodes, four over the left side of the brain and four 

over the right, placed on the scalp withthe aid of elastic bands. The amplified

EEG signals were transmitted to acomputer, displayed on a screen andsimultaneously stored on a hard disk.Subsequently the EEG data wereanalysed for distribution of delta, theta,alpha and beta rhythms in the EEG.

Following the meditation, a significant

rise of alpha and theta rhythms in the

Fig. 2. Increase of alpha and theta amplitudes after two hours Kriya Yoga

ThetaAlpha

(Wilcoxon test: *p<.05, **p<.01,

***p<.001, ns=not significant)

OccipitalRight Left

FrontalRight Left

TemporalRight Left

ParietalRight Left

Fig. 3. Change in the temporalright/left (R/L) alpha ratio aftertwo hours Kriya Yoga

With mentally healthy human beings, anideal R/L ratio is 1,05 - 1,10 - a little

higher (culturally determined?) activity

in the left compared to the right side.

During deep relaxation, though,human beings come nearer to a balance

of 1,00 between the brain halves.On the other hand, with neurotic and

 psychiatric patients, a R/L ratio far 

 below 1,00 is found. The greater themental disturbance, the lower the ratio:

People suffering from anxiety neurosis,

for instance, show values from 0,93 toextremely low values from 0,50 to 0,60

where you find schizophrenic

 paranoiacs (Hoffmann,1982).

Position of the electrodes

on the head during

recording.

Frontal

Temporal

Parietal

Occipital

% increase

1,12

1,08

1,04

1

0,96Before After 

(Wilcoxon test:  p<.05 (n=11))

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Fig. 4 Mapping the activity of the brain before and after Kriya YogaAfter two hours of practising Kriya Yoga, both the alpha and theta activity has risen

considerably. This shows that the subject is more relaxed after the meditation and in better contact with his/her feelings and his/her subconscious.

Before Kriya Yoga After Kriya Yoga

 brain was observed in ten out of elevensubjects. For some, the alpha waves morethan doubled. The increase of these

rhythms was greatest in the rear part of 

a. Repressed - Extremely low alpha andtheta indicates emotional blocking and poor contact with the subconscious.

b. Normal - Moderate alpha together with some theta shows a good balance between conscious and unconsciousactivity with some degree of contact with

the subconscious.

c. Hypnosis - High theta activity duringdeep hypnosis shows activation of theunconscious. Low to medium alpha showsthat there is little or no conscious experience

of what is happening in the subconscious.

Comparing Kriya Yoga with other statesFour examples of brain maps which show an increasing degree of contact with the subconscious. The strongly repressed person (a)

has poor contact, while the meditating person (d) has the best contact with his/her subconscious. NB. These four brain maps come from various independent studies, fig. d. is from previous research done on some of the schools

teachers where the measurements were taken during Kriya Yoga. Present research, however, measures the differencebefore andafter Kriya Yoga meditation (see fig. 4.).

the brain (parietal regions), where bothalpha and theta rhythms rose by anaverage of 40% (see fig. 2). There was ageneral tendency for these rhythms to

spread from the rear part of the brainforwards. In ten of the eleven righthanded people, the alpha increased morein the right than in the left side of the

temporal regions (fig. 3).The significance of these changes will

 be discussed below. All the above

mentioned results are statisticallysignificant and therefore cannot beascribed to coincidence.

Better contact with emotionsand the subconsciousThe considerable increase in alpha and

theta activity in most regions of the brain

after meditation (fig. 4) indicates that the brain is deeply relaxed and focused

following Kriya Yoga. It also shows thatthrough the meditation the subjects haveobtained a better contact with their 

subconscious and their emotions.

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The great increase of 

alpha in the right

temporal lobe is aninteresting finding.Recent research in theUS has shown thatdepressed, introvert

 people have more alphain the left fronto-temporal region, whileoptimistic, extrovert

 people have more alphain the right side.

According to theAmerican research, anincrease of alpha in theright side, as found inthis study of KriyaYoga, counteracts stress

and depression.

Several scientific

d. Kriya Yoga - High theta activity during Kriya Yogameditation shows activation of the unconscious at thesame time as the very high alpha reflects a strongconcentrated conscious awareness. There is optimal

contact with feelings and the subconscious.

studies have demonstrated that theta

rhythms in the EEG (mixed with alpha)

correlate with the appearance of  previously unconscious feelings,

images and memories. Brainresearchers claim that a person in thehigh alpha/theta state is able to confront

and integrate unconscious processes.This knowledge from modern

research supports the experience that

yogis have had from Kriya Yoga over 

thousands of years, that the meditativestate, characterised by high alpha/theta

activity, can bring about a release or “cleansing” of unconscious material ina person. This study demonstrates that

Kriya Yoga is an extremely effectivetechnique for raising the alpha/thetaactivity in the EEG and therefore it also

strengthens the associated positive

effects.

These brain maps are made on the basis of approximately 60seconds recording of the brain waves from eight EEG channelsduring rest. Four electrodes are placed on the left side, four onthe right side (and a reference electrode on the top of the head)

(see fig. 2.). A brain map is constructed on the basis of afrequency analyser which shows the distribution in the brain of delta, theta, alpha and beta waves.

As shown in fig.5, a brain map is made up of seven oval pictures, which with various colours indicate the distribution inthe brain of a specific EEG parameter. These pictures depict the

 brain as seen from above, where the small tip is the position of the nose. Most interesting are the five pictures to the right,which show the distribution of delta, theta, alpha, beta-1 and beta-2 waves. The individual pictures show, in accordance withthe tall vertical colour scale, the brain waves of the meanamplitude beneath each of the eight electrodes. Thus, the dark 

 blue colour indicates a very small amplitude, while the red andwhite colours indicate maximum amplitude. The two oval pictures to the left on the brain map display respectively the distributionof the mean alpha frequency and distribution of the total amplitude regardless of frequency (0,5 -36 Hz).

Fig. 5.  Pictures of the brains electrical activity = brain maps

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On Learning and Teaching Kriya Yoga

In the 60’s, Swami Satyananda’s Tantric

teaching was at its height - culminating in1968-69. During the 70’s, it was gradu-ally replaced with other areas of the yoga

tradition to which his interest turned, or that of the students who came to himthen.

My article is based partly on SwamiSatyananda’s teaching from that time, thelife together with him in the daily work in

his ashram, as well as his directinstructions to me as to how Kriya Yogaought to be taught; and partly on my

nearly thirty years experience with using

also my article on Yoga Nidra in the

 previous issue of Bindu).In this part of the article, I shall deal

especially with Sadhana, with cycles in

healing and learning, and with what itmeans to be silent during the initiation inKriya Yoga, why you do it and what you

can get out of it.

The Children of GoraknathThe mystic explores, works consciously

with him/herself, and comes to know

him/herself. Contrary to the philosopher 

by Swami Janakananda

Kriya Yoga myself and teaching it on the

yearly three-month and one-monthcourses here at Håå in the South of Sweden - about 2000 people have partici-

 pated over the years in these courses.This has given me a steadily growing

insight into the processes, which make it

 possible to pass on a deeper (mystic)experience.

The composition, length and timing of 

different methods and their interplay isessential when imparting a real initiation.This corresponds with certain principles

that you find in the Tantric rituals (see

I am not seeking to changeand no one needs to tell me

what to believe in.

Life to me is a gift.

My Sadhana is to be constantly able

to accept life as it is

and to receive it, as it comes.Yoga and meditation are the tools

for what I want - to keep the transformation alive.

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or the preacher - who thinks and talkstheory, without having experienced thatwhich he teaches others (and with“experience” I do not include the

euphoria that anybody can work themselves into) - the mystic acts, seeksand finds.

Was it the fault of the mystic from the beginning that people would rather listento a sermon or a prophecy than explore

and experience reality? Was it becausesome mystics talked about their experiences (rather than teaching the

methods that gave them insight) that prejudice, zealousness andcensoriousness developed and were used

against different-minded people? Or wasit perhaps that later successors, in thethird, fourth or fifth generation put up

rules for how to become “worthy” of the“pure” teaching? Did they impart a parrot-learning, which hindered the

individual from having deeper experiences, from obtaining insight anddrinking “the water of life” (also called

Amrit, Nectar, Ambrosia or Soma)?Fervour and devotion are the finest

marks of religion, and this it has in

common with mysticism. However, didthe organised religions teach co-operationand sensitivity towards others, or showconsideration and understanding alsotowards those who have another view of life, another culture or faith? What does

history tell us, and how does it look today? Isn’t it tolerance, insight andindividual experience we need, rather than people who patronise us?

One of the fundamental ideas of wisdom is furthermore expressed in the

innermost teachings of the worldreligions - have no expectations: if youform a picture of the god or call it by

name, then you will not be able to

recognize it when you stand in front of it.You will not be able to open yourself andreceive the gift, the boon, the grace…

At a certain point in time the individualreaches a stage on the path of evolutionwhere understanding and knowledge

from books and preachers is not enoughanymore. Then the human being must, asa part of evolution, consciously intervene

in his/her own development by using theavailable methods, by taking part in thatexperience which is passed on from one

individual to another.

“With all my heart, I wish that in the

exploration of consciousness mystical tradition - not the methods of traditional 

 psychology - were to be followed to

bring a correct awareness of its

evolution to the world. Intellectual 

dissertations, beyond a certain limit,

would only lead to confusion and chaos

in a province where first-hand 

experience is necessary to know the

truth. Like the exploration of the sky,intellectual exercise can carry us only a

 short distance. After that, the use of the

telescope becomes absolutely necessary

 for correct knowledge of the position. In

the same way, for the study of the inner 

 firmament, a dive into the depths of 

one’s being is essential to know the

reality.” (Gopi Krishna)

Gopi Krishna is from India, but eventhere, there are “yogis”, who are soinfatuated with the simplified, the popular and with explanations and holiness, that

they don’t want to look through thetelescope of mysticism.

Throughout the history of yoga, theactual yoga has been kept alive by thoseyogis who have practised the exercises

and used the meditations. Let me mentionthe master Goraknath. He is seen as oneof the very greatest teachers, and is

looked upon as standing side by side withBuddha and Patanjali. But he did not give people anything to dream about, no

ideals, he pointed to action andconsistency, when he was asked.Therefore he did not become so well

known among the masses.Goraknath and other yogis were often

succeeded by interpreters and writers of 

commentaries, therefore they weremistaken for philosophers and moralists.Those “followers” were people who had

not themselves sought advanced yoga andmeditation, nor did they explore it bylong and thorough use. They did not have

the desire for transformation, for discovering the possibilities and the finer states, to discover the whole thing, theself. Instead they came up withinterminable explanations, where theyidealised yoga and put forward

unnecessary demands.

The fourth Article on Kriya Yoga- hopefully an inspiring, but also critical article on one of the very finest and most profound meditation methods there is. A method which demands respect, careful preparation, precise and thorough learning and wisdom in using it. The topic

comes in two parts, of which one of them is printed here and the other will appear in one of the following issues of  Bindu. (You will find the three earlier articles on

Kriya Yoga in Bindu nos. 4, 5 and 7.)

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The yogis experience that yoga is

transforming. No change of your 

temperament or your behaviour is

necessary in advance, since, as a result of 

the use of Kriya Yoga, for example, a

harmonisation happens in body and mind

and thereby a change in your 

fundamental state takes place.While moralists and philosophers

demand understanding and ethics, as a

 precondition for beginning to meditate -

while they slander and throw suspicion

on people who think differently than

themselves and start religious wars, then

the common man begins to meditate, gets

results and wonders what all the fuss is

about.If there is something that brings us

closer to harmony and a natural ethic,

like not tormenting our fellow beings -

human beings as well as animals - it is a

good and genuine meditation. But those

guardians of morality who pass

 judgement on how other people live will

not even hear this. They would rather live

on pretence and mirror their own fear in

whatever warnings they send out, than

realise that the human qualities and the

human genius can very well be

strengthened as a result of the use of 

meditation.

Maybe, dear reader, you want to say that

 people would rather dream, hear aboutthings and believe in tales, than tread the

 path themselves and experience the

transformation. That they would rather 

torment themselves and others with

feelings of inadequacy and frustrations

stemming from not being able to live up

to their own hopeful ideals, than really

seek clarity and the experience of unity.

And maybe you are right.

Rama Krishna told about a corridor in

a house, where there were two doors at

the end. On one of the doors there was

written “heaven”, on the other “lectureabout heaven”. When you looked at the

floor in front of both the doors, the floor 

in front of the door that led into the

lecture was worn through the varnish andway down into the floor boards. In front

of the other door, the one to heaven, the

varnish was as clean and fresh as the day

it was applied.

Lectures, however inspiring they may

 be, remain lectures, second-hand

knowledge and spiritual entertainment.

This is not only about the personality or the mind, or the body - but the essence,

that which resides deeper, the soul, the

self … When you reach your own

essence, then you experience at once that

you include it all and that all is part of the

same whole. But if you only identify with

a part of the whole, for instance the mind,

then you lose it all. The German word:

“Geist,” signifying mind, originally

meant: “that which scares the soul .” The

soul, the consciousness, that which you

really are, forgets itself. Instead it

identifies with the content of the mind,

with understanding, worries, plans, that

which I have to do in a while, in a month,

in a year, time, death and the dream of a

life after this, another place. Then it doesnot matter whether you call it resurrection

or reincarnation. The door to heaven is

called here and the key to it is called now.

“What is the greatest hindrance to self 

realisation?” a student asked me on the

three month course this year. “It is

expectations of any kind,” I answered.

The mystic is present and attentive in

everything he does - or strives to be.

While others are busy inventing

conditions and mythologies to follow and

 believe in, to “understand” life and

 become “worthy” of living it, the mystic

sees through this and gets results using 

yoga. He knows that you do not have to

 be a perfect human being to make use of 

the tools of yoga. Such an idea only givesyou a feeling of guilt and bad conscience,

 because no changes appear in the world

of expectations.

This is not to say that there are not

things that one has to be able to do and

 precautions to take into consideration, if 

one wants to undergo a transfor-mation.

And that I am also going to write about in

this article.

Then what are the merits of Goraknath?

That he was never tempted to make

himself look knowledgeable at the

expense of others, to become a

 philosopher, prophet, or the like? That he

did not sell yoga for morality or religion

or New Age? That he did not modify it,

make it easier, shorter or lesser - so it lost

its effect. No, he gave instructions, so

 people could have their own experience.

He trusted that they were able to do that,

 because he knew what he was teaching.

He sought and walked the path unasked.

He knew the effects of yoga and its

 possibilities from personal experience.

Today even doctors know that yoga

works. In the British journal, The Lancet,

there is a mention of the research done on

Yoga Nidra in a PET-scanner that we

described in the last issue of Bindu. The

article concludes: Yoga is not a quick fix

 for health, but it may hold surprises for 

those who are willing to make the effort.

(Kelly Morris).

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On getting used to the light …Sadhana - to consciously take part in your own maturing

“The term ‘Sadhana’ comes from the root ‘Sadh,’ which means to exert, to ‘endeavour to get a particular 

result or Siddhi’ [special ability] Sadhana is a means to attain the goal of human life. Without Sadhana

no one can achieve the purpose of life.” (Swami Sivananda)

mastering your field and your instrument.Here, however, the instrument is the body,

the mind and the personality - and it isabout teaching yourself to actively partici- pate in the creative process we call life.

We proceed step by step:“The Yoga and meditation made me

aware of the tensions, which had been sitting in my body and my mind for a long 

time. After all, the same crises returned again and again, but each time I got 

more adroit and better at handling them.

 During a part of thecourse I experien-

ced the blackest depressions, but at the most, for fiveminutes at a time. Before it had taken

me months to gothrough the same. It was partly due to thewonderful KriyaYoga and partly tothe Tantric training.”(Synne, a student on

a three-month retreatfrom Denmark)

A three month retreatis a course of a veryspecial nature. It is a

Sadhana retreat . In aSadhana, you makeuse of “that which

leads to the goal”. It includes everythingwhich awakens your consciousness and

keeps it awake, from the life together with a teacher, the use of methods,unselfish work and acts, to awarenesstraining in daily life - and the three months

gives enough time for this to take root.During the three month Sadhana retreat,

not only do you learn to use some of the

most advanced yoga and meditationmethods, like Kriya Yoga, Prana Vidya,

Chidakash Dharana and advanced vari-

For me the yearly threemonths retreat, the

Kriya Yoga teaching,the work with the yogateachers and thestructure of HååInternational Retreat

Center, as an Ashram,is a great help to livean intensive life. Thisapplies not only to myinner life, but to mycommunication andmy encounter with

other people. It isvery much working

in the midst of society. Here I am part of a creative process together with

the people who for a period have chosento work with

themselves. This interaction helps mewear off my edges and realise that my

inner world is not the only one, but thateach person represents a unique world of their own. They come from different backgrounds, with different potentialities

and capacities.The Tantric awareness training, which

is both part of the teaching and of the

daily life in the ashram, is a form of artistic work. For every artist and in every

teacher-student relationship, it is about

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ations of Antar Mauna (Inner Silence), but - with the culmination of 33 days of silence - a real perspective grows forth.

This is truly an initiation. In certain

respects it is similar to what we know fromthe Vision Quests of the North Americannatives and from the Walkabouts of the

Australian Aborigines - to spend one period (or several) in your life, taking a break from all outer influences, to be able

to see better, both forwards and backwards,and, above all, to be able to rest in your self and awaken your inner resources.

Such a period also symbolises the dailymeditation, that you can use later on tomaintain that which you have achieved.

The urge to practice Sadhana for a periodof time is deeply rooted in many people.To stop for a while and be free from theunbroken bombardment of information,news, advertising and media noise and,through Sadhana, to use concrete ways toseek and reach the innermost, the sincere

and genuine. One day you have hadenough of thinking, reading, hearing and

talking about well-being, energy,concentration and other states. Now youwant to experience it yourself - to dosomething about it.

One might say that the urge to doSadhana is a prerequisite in order tolearn, for instance, Kriya Yoga. KriyaYoga is not just something you collect,like, “I also want this.”

One who wishes to learn Kriya Yoga,is seeking more than just a mere method.He or she is seeking something immens-ely valuable, of which Kriya Yoga is onlya part, and which is expressed in theword Sadhana - a transforming processwhich leads to the meeting with yourself.

In the East, there is a tradition that people

go to Zen cloisters in Japan, to Buddhist

cloisters in Thailand and to Indian ashramsto undertake training - which lasts for several months, yes, sometimes evenyears - at least once in a lifetime. They do

it to create a foundation for their unfold-ing in life and to maintain a spiritualanchoring - to themselves and to the

values which ensure a real quality of life.They are people who are sincere, they do

not do it because of conventions or because

it is in fashion. They seek no compromises,neither outer theoretical knowledge nor diluted instant-methods to satisfy their 

curiosity - methods which have only shortterm effects or no effects at all. They seek an unavoidable situation, which has been

 prepared in such a way that you can meetyour self, discover your capacities andrealise your unity with the universal.

They do not travel from course tocourse, from guru to guru or only attendweekend courses. They know, that it is not

 possible in a short time or piecemeal toreach a real insight or initiation which lasts.They do not build their search

on busyness, restlessness, “easy”or “new” solutions. That wasnever part of the timeless

tradition of mysticism. Nor do they overindulge

their bodies or get obsessed bya mental/emotional narcis-sism or self-involvement,which you find today within

certain branches of yoga andin certain therapies, where the body and/or thoughts andemotions are all - and wherethe self and a greater whole isnot perceived.

The three month Sadhanacourse is an indispensable part

of the four year yoga teacher 

training which takes place at theScandinavian Yoga and MeditationSchool. As the course is very compre-hensive, yoga teachers with other back-

grounds and training also participate inthis retreat. They do it to go further asteachers and gain a better personal

knowledge of yoga and meditation, butalso to get their inner base in order.

What kind of people, both here in theSouth of Sweden, in the East and probablyalso in other places, decide to experience

a real Sadhana period? They are peoplewho want something with their lives, theyare artists, actors, musicians and above all

“common” human beings and - what istypical, especially for Japan, but also for us here in Sweden - managers from the

 business world and people from the fieldof science, medicine, politics and themedia. For what is it all worth if you

 bring about something in life and don’t bring yourself along?

h il“I l di d th t th diff b t thi ki

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The Silence

Is it sensational to keepsilence?A few years ago it suddenly becameheadline news in the media that peoplefrom many countries come to our three

month retreats to keep silence for 33 days.“The Whole World keeps Silence in

 Ljungby”, Expressen, one of the major Swedish newspapers wrote on their  placards. “The news” spread like wildfireand newspapers and radio stations around

the world focused on this one thing, thesilence and that people paid money to besilent for about a month. That the silence

was part of a larger context with all thatwent on at the retreat, e.g. yoga - relaxation

- karma yoga - intestinal cleansing -dance - music - meditation and awarenesstraining, apparently was less interesting.

“What news?” we thought to ourselves,

while we welcomed the journalists and letourselves be interviewed. We have, after all, run these courses for nearly 30 years,

and before us others have used silence for thousands of years, within yoga and

elsewhere, also in the West.

The Rest is Silence“From pure sensation to the intuition of 

beauty, from pleasure and pain to loveand the mystical ecstasy and death - all the things that are fundamental, all the

things that, to the human spirit, are most 

 profoundly significant, can only

“As the senses were sharpened theexperiences in everyday life got stronger.

 Now and then I stopped and wondered:‘Is this possible’?” (Synne)

Silence is part of all the

courses we teach at HååSilence, Mauna, is not Kriya Yoga initself but an original condition for the

initiation. You learn Kriya Yoga under complete silence. No reading, no writing,no talking.

On the three months courses, asmentioned before, you are silent for 33days and on the one month courses for 21

days during the learning of Kriya Yoga.On the 10 and 14 day courses, there is

silence for 2½ days, while you learn the

finer of the nine steps of the meditationAjapa Japa. Curiously enough, it is oftenthose who are going to be silent for 

“only” 2½ days, who experience it moresensationally than those who havedecided to be silent for a month. Probably

the participants are prepared to be silentfor a longer period of time, but this is alsodue to the thorough preparation we give

them during the first five weeks of thethree month course. Here, among other things, they learn at greater depth the

meditation and yoga methods usuallytaught on the 14 day courses, and we

have even more time to go deep and get

used to the practice. So when we begin

be experienced, not expressed. The rest isalways and everywhere silence.”(from Music at Night by Aldous Huxley,

from the essay: The rest is silence)

To be silent while you learn yoga and

meditation increases your ability to godeep and gives a more direct experienceof everything.

The silence helps to remove deeplyrooted tensions in the brain. When I don’thave to defend or hold on to some opinion

I express, when I don’t have to explain or evaluate everything around me, then mymind will relax and open itself.

Since the more intellectual activities inthe brain, like analysis, appraisal,

reading, talking and writing take placeespecially in the left hemisphere of the brain, then the silence, together with the breathing exercise Nadi Shodan and the

deep relaxation Yoga Nidra, contributesto a better balance in the brain. That partof the brain which deals with totalities,

colour, form, music and emotion isallowed to play a role.

The openness enables our resolutions(which arise during this periodunhindered by your own habits or thedoubts and the faint-heartedness of 

others) to influence life from then on.

Together with yoga and meditation, thesilence strengthens both the experience of one self, of other human beings and of 

the nature surrounding you.

“I also discovered that there was a difference between thinking some-

thing about something and really experiencing it and living it.” (Synne)

It’s great, I’m sure, to take a walk in the countryside and talk about how beautiful it is and what the trees are called, or to remember the name of the constellation of stars you see above you, among all other stars. But it is something else to be together with it all. Toexperience the fields, trees, houses, animals and all stars at once, as part of the same whole, as the all. Without talking about it,

without describing it or giving it names - but to be in it and part of it - that state is called Brahmacharya - you are one with yourself 

and everything else. In the face of this experience, the mind becomes silent.

Sweden about 25 km from

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the long silence, the body is well trained

and fit and the mind more concentrated

and peaceful.

Being together“We became more sensitive towards eachother in the group, there was a greater affection present among us, but also our 

clashes were more strongly experienced.”(Synne)

You experience each other moreclearly during the silence, than when youtalk all the time. You are morefundamentally present for each other.

As a rule, people discover that thereare other ways to communicate. However,not in a way that you are constantly

 playing pantomime for each other.All the energy you normally spend in

talking, is preserved and channelled by

yoga. Thus you rest more in yourself and

misunderstandings do not arise so easily.

This is also important in the relationshipto the teacher and the teaching.

Over the years, several mothers (whohave been on a three month course toge-ther with their children) state afterwards

that being silent has opened a new dim-ension in the contact with their children.

Also there are those who experience

that their intuition has become clearer from

the silence and the meditation together.

The mind is left in peace“ It is, literally, as if an armour has beenremoved, so I have a more direct contact with the life that exists around me, with

light and air.” (Synne)Håå International Retreat Center is

situated in the countryside of Southern

Sweden about 25 km fromLjungby, the nearest town. It is anarea with a great variety of nature -forests, fields, lakes and a river,

with plenty of opportunities for horse riding, walks and canoeing.

The surroundings of the Retreat

Center therefore are quite peaceful.Also there are no shops, nonewspapers, no radio or TV and

during the silence the students’mail is kept aside. The teachingand the whole set-up however give

you enough to do and experience.You do not get bored.

When the outer stimuli and influ-ences lessen, when restlessness andself-indulgence diminish with the

help of yoga and the meditations,and your own desire to move inthis direction, then inner and outer 

awareness is strengthened.“After my first 33 days of silence I 

regretted that, although I had not talked 

at all, I had not been truly silent. I knew I had foregone a very precious opportunity.On subsequent courses, I have grown toappreciate the silence even more.”

(Robyn Taylor from Queensland,Australia)

Life receives a richer dimension(quality instead of quantity). This is oneof the reasons that Kriya Yoga is taught

during a long period of unbroken silence.The longer the silence lasts, the more the brain relaxes and that strengthens theability to perceive even very fine things.

 Now the student can, in quite another way, receive the subtleties in the teaching

and learn what he or she needs. When youdo not talk together, you don’t disturbeach other with another concept or agrandiose description. It is one’s own

experiences that count and that is the This pyramid to me is a symbol for Nothing in our nature can be forced

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experiences that count and that is the best. Every one in this way is equal. Fromhere you go deeper.

When Kriya Yoga is taught as an initi-

ation with all conditions in order - as weshall see in the second part of the article -and not as a hurried and busy mechanical

teaching, then it can contain things,which can only be perceived or become possible during a long period of silence.

This sensitivity and awareness does notarise, or can even be lost, if you talk it allaway and let opinions and judgement

stand in the way of insight. Therefore thelearning period itself contains very littleor no theory and explanations - so the

teacher is in this way rather silent.Through his instructions and hisguidance, he intends to give the student a

direct experience.

The Retreat and the PyramidAt the Retreat Center, we have anisolation tank built according to the ideas

and instructions of Dr. John C. Lilly.Added to that, it is comfortably big, extra

sound proofed and has the form of a pyramid. Here an environment has beencreated, where the sense impressions areminimal. You don’t hear or see anything,you lie completely still and float on the back in body-warm saline water. The

water carries you so you hardly feel thegravity, the air is well ventilated and thetemperature is stable.

When the mind does not get any newimpulses through the senses for a while,it calms down. No “new” thoughts arise.

The mind gets time to empty itself and isstrengthened to meet future influenceswith composure and perspective. After anhour in the pyramid, you come out in astate of strong and undisturbed calm.

This pyramid to me is a symbol for what has been called many names, i.e. aretreat , “pax”, a Sadhana course. Thesilence and the lack of distractions in and

around the Retreat Center is necessary, if you are to calm down and go deepconfidently with the methods we use.

The Length of the Silenceand the InitiationA biological cycleWe are used to machines carrying out our commands immediately, at the press of a button. Sometimes we compare our 

 brains with computers. Most of us existin a world of noise and automation. All

 Nothing in our nature can be forcedand if we try anyway, then we may risk all kinds of consequences, from a strongshock, to reaction, disharmony, frustration

or complete indifference, because we findnothing and reach nothing of what we areactually looking for.

You can’t buy Kriya Yoga - what you pay,apart from accommodation, food and thespace you have reserved on the course, ismaking it possible for us teachers to be

there for you, and for this situation or ashram to be available.

In North and Central Europe and NorthAmerica, you can just walk into a shop or 

a railway station, and demand what youwant, as long as you pay for it. In anumber of southern

and eastern countries,this cannot be done.You have to give thehuman being on theother side of thecounter your attention.

I have seen aEuropean having togive up trying to buy a

 box of matches in alittle shop in Israel. Itwas impossible for 

him not to treat theshop owner as a slotmachine. I have seen

an American at therailway station inDelhi getting near to breakdown as he,

glowing hot and red in the face, just keptdemanding things without any respect for the person sitting on the other side of the

hatch. And it does not help to pretend,you have to be present yourself.

We don’t know what we have missed -

no matter how much we pay, no matter 

the time we hurry on to the next senseexperience, the next task, next movie,next piece of music on the radio, next

 piece of news, next high.Therefore it is easy to forget that life

unfolds itself according to organic laws,and that all takes time, like the cycles of the year, and the cycles of the moon.

how many courses we sign up for, no the sequence with a certain meditation

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how many courses we sign up for, nomatter how many journeys we embark upon - because we never reallyexperienced it, we did not have the time.After all there was something else, thatwe had to do afterwards, tomorrow, after the retreat, next summer, next winter,when we get better conditions…

We forgot to live, while we did it.Therefore we try to choose easy

solutions - quick solutions - dilutedsolutions, that do not come up with a realchallenge, but just a taste, a flirt, aninterest - and our preconceived ideas standin the way of us learning something new.

In other words, if we don’t follow our  biological cycles, we risk missing the

target.

Seven years is one kind of biologicalcycle, I have learned. During that time,the idea is that the body changes all cells,apart from some nerve cells. Also thereare cycles of twelve years and twentyyears. 21 days is also a cycle, that is thetime it takes for the body to establish thehealing process. The proteins for instance

are renewed within 21 days and so is theouter layer of the skin. Not only is the body part of this process, the mind also -consciously or unconsciously - needstime for change and adaptation.

When I learned the Kriya Yoga fromSwami Satyananda, it took about 33 days,apart from the preparation that preceded it,as well as the period following it, to digestwhat had been learned, where you got usedto practising the different Kriya Yoga programs under conducive conditions. Hetook time to honour those conditions, whichhe said were part of the tradition. For instance, every kriya has to be learned in acertain sequence, the instructions have to be repeated a certain number of times and,with most of the kriyas, you only learnone new kriya a day, while you “warm

up” with those already learned, and end

the sequence with a certain meditationwhich is used during the learning period.

There are said to be other cycles thanthose mentioned above, so called biorhythms, 33 days for the intellectualcycle, 28 for the emotional cycle and 23days for the physical cycle.

So it is important that this kind of initiation takes place over a period whereyou can live through these cycles.Therefore the shortest Kriya Yoga retreatsare one month, and the longest threemonths, with 33 days of silence.

We are not machines, but living organic beings. As the life of a flower, from seedto full blossom, can be described as acycle where all phases take their time tounfold, so the best learning of Kriya Yogais ensured during a complete cycle of around 33 days of silence.

On the one month courses only those people come who have been well prepared in advance after participating ona 10 or 14 day course and who thereforehave meditated before - so the body andthe mind can better absorb what they

learn - and the energy can go through thecleansing it involves to learn the 24kriyas I teach.

Many things are legitimately calledkriya within the yoga tradition, for instance, the Hatha Yoga Shatkarmas or kriyas, the physical cleansing processes.Also in Raja Yoga, Patanjali has somedisciplines that he calls kriya yoga, whichhowever are more of a disciplinary mentalnature and have nothing to do with theTantric Kriya Yoga. The meditations weteach on the 10- and 14-day courses, theSource of Energy and Ajapa Japa, are preliminary Kriya Yoga, and by someteachers they are also called kriya yoga.Concerning the cleansing processes, theyare a natural part of our courses, amongother things in preparation for the great

Tantric Kriya Yoga.

Apart from observing silencefor longer periods of timeduring a course, here aresome ideas for daily life:

“They have a notion that when people

are met together, a silence does muchimprove conversation: this I found tobe true; for during those littleintermissions of talk, new ideas would arise in their thoughts, which verymuch enlivened the discourse.”(About the Yahoos, from GulliversTravels by Jonathan Swift.)

Keep silence every now and then

together with others, for example atdusk. This is an old tradition inScandinavia, among other places. Anexert from Bindu no. 6:

“In the spring and in the autumnwe children used to play outdoorsafter the evening meal. I remember coming boisterously into the living room where my parents sat silently in

the dusk. My disturbing them wasn’t  popular, also not at the home of  friends when their parents sat like that.”

And then of course the obvious: Don’ttalk about unimportant things whichmake you and others forget your  presence in the now.

Gossip can also be cut away, and theeternal judging: positive-negative,

wonderful-terrible. You can completethe list yourself if you want to wastethe time.

Prana = Vital Energy.When I came home from India in1970 I met many Danish yogateachers with a long experience of teaching. They called a person whotalked too much a “prana eater”.

On one of the first three month courses I instructions - since Kriya Yoga is not You can compare the period of silence

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taught, one day toward the end of the silent period I had to go down to Copenhagentogether with our cook. When we came

off the ferry, I started to wonder about thefacial expressions of people, they seemedhard. It made me ask my companion

whether there was a crisis going on or what? We did not find any explanationthen and there. But when we came back 

to the students at Håå Course Center, werealised that we had grown used to thesoft faces gradually acquired by the

 people on the course. The silence and theyoga had relieved them of the consciousor unconscious need to hold on to a mask.

 It became clearer to me which thingsinhibited me in every day life. For instance, my worrying about how I 

looked. After all, I also judged other  people in that way. I began to realise howmuch easier it would be if I took it more

naturally. (Synne)

For the mind to open and become

receptive to the deeper kriyas - and to beable to perceive what happens behind the

y gtaught with words alone - for the mind tolet go of its content (of habitual thoughts,limiting states, attitudes …) and for this

ability to last, the silence must be as longas possible. It takes time for the mind toget used to taking it easy and to going

deep, and really experience all nuances inthe teaching and in life - in this situation,here and now.

“In one of the Upanishads it is said that atman or spirit is homogeneous silence. How do you experience this? Not by the sensory or psycho-emotional communications, but by tuning yourself 

into silence. This is what you must do toexperience the process of transmission.You don’t have to become rigid at all and  you don’t have to put on that serious‘Sunday face’. Be as bright and asnatural as you are. The barrier is not in spirit, because spirit is one. The barrier 

is in man’s mind. Once you surrender this personal mind, then the mind becomes

homogeneous and is called the cosmicmind.” (Swami Satyananda)

p p

and the Kriya Yoga initiation to a

meditation - it will never get deep if it is

short. A meditation of 10 minutes is no

meditation, compared to one of 30 or 40

minutes. An unbroken silence from two

to say ten days will give an experience

and will most likely have a certain effect, but it does not compare to the level you

reach through a silence that at least

includes a cycle of 21 days - and better 

still 33 days.

It is about slowing down and reaching

a calmness, where the mind is given time

to think, time to let memories come forth,

to dare to be creative and to get a general

view - and time to let go of the thoughtsand “experiences”.

“During the 33 days of silence, I realised 

that Swami Janakananda did not just 

want to teach me something, he wished to

 give me the opportunity to explore

dimensions of my being that I hadn’t 

been aware of before.”

(Morten Jon Jepsen)

The State “It is not necessary to tell yourself, or  (The basis or requirement to use this is

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The StateAntar Mauna, the innersilence - a Tantricmeditation techniqueFrom a meditation in one of my classes:

“It is important that you don’t explain to

yourself, why you have an experience.During the silent period of this course, I

am sure that you have experienceddifferent emotional states. Probably youalso had a reason to have theseexperiences. But to know the reason doesnot help you here. It is your ability to becontent with experiencing what happens in

your emotional and mental life, which

counts. By not making up your mind for or against anything, by not reacting, you canstay with the experience until it hasexhausted itself.

“This course is composed in such a way

that it mirrors the way you react and howyou experience things. It will constantlyshow you where you forget yourself.When do you end up in self-indulgence

instead of being present in what you do,think and feel - and how do you find your 

way back to the direct experience from theessence of your being?

“When you meditate, and that is what weare doing right now, then of course you canavoid the naked experience all the time byexplaining to yourself, why you have this

thought or emotion and what it is about.

Of course there are situations in life whereyou need analysis and making up your mind about things. But here you are silent!You confine yourself to experiencing the

thought. Then it stops being somethingthat influences you automatically. Itloosens its grip and you don’t have to takeit for granted anymore, you don’t have tofollow it blindly. You are able to see it,

 purely and simply, as just a thought.

y yme, or anybody else why you have thisfeeling of hatred, this reaction, or whyyou feel this hope or this intense joy!

Settle for the experience alone. Let it be.“This is important.“During the meditation no analysis is

taking place. No understanding either.And if your mind becomes analyticalhere, you don’t try to stop it. You again

look at it as just another thought. Letthings come and go. Feel them, see them,taste them, smell them ... That is all.

“With the experience that ‘I experiencethis’, ‘I accept this’, you free the fettersof the mind. And when you have let go of 

things you don’t need anymore, thenthere is no reason to look back for them.When you are finally rid of your 

headache, then you don’t search for itagain so you can find it and get it back.

“The meditation teaches you to allow

and accept these emotions or thoughts. Youlet go unconditionally, with no resistanceand without wanting to pursue them

afterwards - you get time to experiencethem, you are allowed to feel them andexperience them. You have a choice, you

need not pursue your thoughts andemotions, and therefore they do not createany unwanted consequences in your life.

“So if you suddenly feel hate, feelhate! If you live through this hate in your meditation, it will not drive you to act

afterwards. No, it is the things we don’t

allow ourselves to feel, or that we feel

without knowing that we do or that we

explain away, that mak us behave

unreasonably towards others - and

towards ourselves.

“Therefore no understanding, no

explanation, no justification during the

meditation. Settle for the best:

Experience and let go!”

to follow those techniques that areincluded in the seven steps of themeditation Antar Mauna ( Inner Silence),

and which is fundamental in this work.Read more about it in Bindu no. 8 andlater in this article, and supplement it

with no. 3 and 6 and future issues.)“During the silence, I felt that I wanted to say stop to certain thoughts. Thesewere thoughts that seemed to me that I 

had only by the force of old habit - therewas not really anywhere in me wherethey could get a hold. ‘Stop’ I said, likein the fourth step of Antar Mauna. It is awonderful feeling, for instance during a

walk, ‘stop!’” (Anna, a student fromSweden, on a three month retreat)

For the student who understands how touse the silence on the course, it can, inconnection with the meditation Antar Mauna, become rich and fruitful - also inthe long run.

The silence, together with the meditation

Antar Mauna and supported by the KriyaYoga, shows you the “place”, your self,from where you experience. A state toreturn to again and again, to be, to restand restore the fundamental harmony in body and mind.

From here I gaze upon life:

Life changes constantly, but herenothing changes. Here is still, here IS -

silence, the background on which lifeunfolds.

- after the courseAfter the silence the effects also showthemselves when the influences arelaunched again. The inner strength lasts

longer, when the silence has had its full

length, and if the course has been long. It

goes without saying that students from a of the USA, “agreed” upon where they A little bit later he arrived at a cross-

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three month course feel it the most, butalso people from a one month courseexperience an unmistakable effect.

“When I came home, [from the threemonth course] I suddenly realised how

much information you are engulfed byevery day. The advertising also wasoverbearing” he says.

The surroundings saw him in a new

light.“My father and my fiancee said, that 

 I had become calmer, happier and more harmonious. I have alwayshad a nervous nature, but after 

the course it has become moredifficult to throw me off balance.”

“During the course you get all your habits and automatic thought patternsbroken at a single blow …”

 says Christian Frøkjær Thomsen. … Today seven years later, he

has found a balance between yoga and his job as a medical doctor at aalcoholics out-patients’ clinic.

(Quotations from an article by ThomasBjerg Mortensen in the Danishnewspaper Berlinske Tidende 12.5.1995).

Other placesA tool in the mystic search and realisationhas always been seclusion (and thereforesilence). Apart from India, for instance inthe desert in the Middle East, in the moun-tains of Tibet and in Catholic monasteries,

like one you find nowadays on the islandBornholm in Denmark, where monks inwhite robes are always silent.

A large group of Quakers, after sittingin silence for three days on the East coast

 In one of the following issues:The Process and its conditions

The second half of this article may

contain among other things:The three steps of the Tantric KriyaYoga. “The Green House” - Prerequisites

for learning Kriya Yoga -

Preparation - The qualifications andabilities of the teacher.

A Kriya Yoga initiation, the way it istaking place in Håå, is not just a retreatwhere you learn meditation. It is a

 process which you live through. It hassuch a lasting effect that even if younever again use any of the yoga and

meditations that you learned, you stilltake something valuable home with you,which may be of importance for the rest

of your life. It is a dynamic process,which gives strength and breaks throughfundamental inhibitions.

should go as settlers. The Quakers havesilent church services.

My friend the painter Sohan Qadri grewup in Punjab in India. One day when he

was young, he had to go from his villageto another, which

was about a

road, and since there were no signs, he hadto give up and return to the village to ask for directions. The first house inside the

village was a bicycle shop. The midday break was now over so he entered the shopand asked a young man there for directions.

While they talked, he saw the sameold man sitting in the yard. “Now itsuddenly strikes me that I passed that

old man who is sitting in there,”Sohan told the bicycle man. “But Icould not ask him for directions,

isn’t that odd?” “No”, said the bicycle man, “it is not, he is myfather, he is a Muni, he is

observing silence (Mauna).”

day’s walk away. He had had the routeexplained, but knew that he would

 probably have to ask for directions whenhe reached a village which was situatedabout half way.

When he reached the village, however,it had become noon and everyone wasasleep, so he decided to try and find the

way himself on the other side of the village.On his way out of the village he saw

an old man in the distance comingtowards him. “Well, I can probably ask him,” he thought, but as he approachedthe man he lost the desire to ask him and

 passed him without doing so.

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Retreats at Håå Course Center in the south

of Sweden At the Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School in the south of Sweden (two and a half hours drive north of Copenhagen, Denmark),our most intensive courses are held. Håå Course Center isinternational and the courses are held in English. Only here do weteach the deep meditations such as Ajapa Japa, Prana Vidya and KriyaYoga as well as the meditation Antar Mauna, yoga, breathingexercises, relaxation, music and dance.

From May to September, in the autumn, at Christmas and at NewYear, there are 10 and 14 day courses, and each winter from Januaryto April the three months course is held. Every autumn and in Januarythere are also weekend courses.

Håå offers vegetarian cuisine and comfortable accommodation insingle, double or dormitory rooms. During the free time, the Swedishcountryside surrounding the school is inviting for walks in the forestand in the open landscape. Our horses are at your disposal for riding,and there are canoes and a boat by the lake. You can also use therelaxation tank, the pyramid .

Swami Janakananda has put these courses together, which are runin co-operation with the schools teachers and teacher aspirants.Participants not only come from Scandinavia, but also from the restof Europe, USA, New Zealand, Australia and India...

With the exception of the one month Kriya Yoga course, a prior knowledge of yoga and meditation is not necessary for participation.

Order the course brochure for Håå Course Center. It gives a

detailed description of the courses’ content and the course center.

Where you stay for 10 - 14 days, one month or three months

“In my job as a lawyer, I have a

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27 

Current retreats at Håå Course Center

busy day with pressing projects and 

deadlines that have to be kept. I can

easily get stressed if I don’t per-

 sistently return to the relaxed state.

 I have practised yoga and 

meditation for a number of years,and feel that it gives me strength

and an attitude to my life so that 

once in a while I can lean back,

contemplate everything and see

things in a wider perspective. In

this way, stress and tensions lose

their hold and energy returns.

 However, some of the best times of my life have been the times I have

 given myself a break at Håå Course

Center.

To be able to step out of daily life

and into a setting which is arranged 

 so that I can explore and deepen

the possibilities of yoga and 

meditation, feels like a great  privilege.

 I have just come home from a

 summer course and can feel that my

daily yoga practise has been given

new life.

My stays at Håå have given me

the possibility for introspection,

which I find difficult at home. I feel 

inspired and look forward to

tackling the tasks in my daily life.

 At the same time, I know that when

the time is right, I can return to a

new intensive stay at Håå.”

(Amrit Fossan, student on a course

during the summer of 1998)

The Christmas Course19 Dec. - 1 Jan. 5150 Sw.Cr.Swami Janakananda and Yoga Shakti

The New Year Course

2 - 12 January 4550/3550 Sw.Cr.Síta and Erling Christiansen

The Three Months Course '9920 Jan. - 17 April 19.500 Sw.Cr.Swami Janakananda, Síta et.al.

The Kriya Yoga Course '9917 July - 15 August

Swami Janakananda et.al.

Weekend Courses20 - 22 November 1400/1100 Sw.Cr.15 -17 January 1400/1100 Sw.Cr.Síta et.al.

Summer Courses '9913 - 23 May, 23 May - 5 June,6- 19 June, 20 June - 3 July,4 - 17 July, 29 August - 11 September7 - 17 October

Read more about the retreats at HååCourse Center, and check out the pricein your own currency, on internet:

www.scand-yoga.org/english/haa

Read Bindu Previous issues are still available

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No. 3: The ability to experience.

Headstand. Nose Cleansing...

No. 4: Kriya Yoga I. The effect of 

yoga on the finer energy. The Sourceof Energy - a Tantric meditation...

No. 5: Kriya Yoga II. Psychic energy.

Six years of scientific research on the

3-Months Courses in Håå, Sweden.“The Pyramid” and Pratyahara.

No. 6: The twilight hour - did we

have a living meditation tradition inthe North? Invent tomorrow's

education, about R.Y.E. (Research on

Yoga in Education). Shoulderstand...

No. 7: Silver Jubilee issue! Read

about Kriya Yoga III. Yoga for  pregnant women. Savasana.

No. 8: Harmony between theexperiencer and the experienced. Onthe Tantric meditation Antar Mauna

(Inner Silence), its ancestors and

cousins. The Lotus Pose. Intestinalcleansing.

No. 9: Instructor or Guide? Yoga for 

the Back. Experience and Knowledge

- about the yoga teacher education at

the Scandinavian Yoga and

Meditation School.

No. 10: Nada Yoga, meditation on the

inner sounds. Vibrations create forms.

Song and dance. The Bumble bee.

Read Bindu - Previous issues are still available

Read more about Bindu on internet: www.scand-yoga.org/english/bindu

Attitude or insightEditorial

Meditative deep relaxationA short introduction to Yoga Nidra.

The relaxed state and scienceIn the course of the last 30 years, research has shown that the relaxed state ishighly beneficial for your health. We explain a little of what this state entails,how you achieve it and how you ensure it becomes deep and lasting.

Pictures of the brains’s activity during Yoga NidraA new chapter in research on meditation, it was called, when the scientists published pictures of yoga teachers doing Yoga Nidra. The research was donewith one of modern medicine’s most advanced instruments - the PET scanner at The State University Hospital in Copenhagen.

Tantra and Yoga NidraSwami Janakananda writes for the first time about the knowledge and methodsin Tantra which lie behind Tantric rituals and which make Yoga Nidra souniquely effective and deep - about Nyasa, Chakras, consciousness and theresolution in Yoga Nidra.

What on earth do they use it forPeople’s very different experiences with Yoga Nidra ...

No. 11:On Yoga Nidra and Relaxation

Tantra - Nyasa - Chakra -

resolution - consciousness - research

 Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life

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“ In my opinion this is one of the best 

 yoga books available at the moment.

Yoga, Tantra and Meditation in Daily

 Life is an inspiring and, above all, a

refreshingly practical book. It has

been written by a man who

understands his trade and knows what 

he is talking about, you feel this when

reading it.

Swami Janakananda has had a

lifetime of practice and more than 20 years experience in teaching yoga and meditation. He imparts this yoga

consistently, as he himself has learned 

it from his teacher Swami Satyananda

Saraswati - without any superfluous

religious or philosophical 

interpretations, and equally without 

any fashionable New Age dilutions.

Simply and clearly formulated one

 finds all necessary instructions for 

inquiring independently into the

original methods of Tantric yoga and 

meditation.

The entire book is generously

illustrated and there are photographs

of all the various yoga programmes,

which facilitate practising the

g , ySwami Janakananda’s book in a revised and extended edition

(Rider Books, UK and Weiser, USA). (Yoga, Tantra et Méditation dans la VieQuotodienne, Editions Satyanandashram, France).

exercises by oneself. Breathing 

exercises and deep relaxation (Yoga

 Nidra) are also carefully and thoroughly introduced. Even people

who already know something about 

 yoga will be surprised at how much

this book offers.

Many yoga books today

unfortunately lack a usable description

of real meditation, but here we find 

both a theoretical introduction as well 

as concrete instructions. The last four 

chapters exclusively treat the theme of 

meditation and belong to the best of 

what I have read on this theme up to

now.

One of the chapters is devoted to the

 sexual rituals. Here the reader finds

original Tantric instructions for 

approaching sexual energy and 

experiencing it as it is: one of the

 fundamental forces in Mankind. The

Tantric attitude to sexual energy is,however, often falsely inflated and 

overestimated; this is a pity, for the

 sexual rituals are only a small part of 

the manifold Tantric tradition.

 In a total of 13 chapters Swami

 Janakananda gives an excellent survey

of the various aspects of yoga and 

meditation, including chapters on

concentration, on Kundalini Yoga and 

the Chakras, and a Sanskrit glossary.

 But, as I have said, Yoga, Tantra and 

 Meditation in Daily Life is above all a

manual to use.”

(Swami Pragyamurti - from a review in

Spectrum, the journal of the British

Wheel of Yoga)

SubscriptionYoga shop

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Publisher: Bindu,Håa Course Center,340 13 Hamneda, Sweden.Circulation: 4,000 in English (Also printed inGerman, Swedish and Danish)Printed: Håå Course Center,by Erling Christiansen & Mark RichardsLayout: Robert Nilsson & Swami Janakananda.Translation: Nicola Birch, Mark Richards &

Robyn Taylor.Pictures: Back page and p.2,14,17,21 IngelaHageman, Sweden; front page, p.5-9,23,26,27Omkarananda, Denmark; p.18 PhotoDisc inc.;p.20,25 Corel PhotoCD; symbol p.26. SwamiJanakananda.

Copyright © 1998 Bindu and Scandinavian Yogaand Meditation School. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced inany form without written permission from the

publishers.

Sweden• Västmannagatan 62, 113 25 Stockholmtel. +46 8 321218, fax. +46 8 314406email: [email protected]

Denmark • Købmagergade 65, 1150 Copenhagen

tel. +45 3314 1140, fax. +45 3314 1434email: [email protected] • Vestergade 45, 8000 Århustel. +45 8619 4033, fax. +45 8619 4013• Kongensgade 12 B, 3000 Elsinoretel. +45 4921 2068

Germany • Sextrostrasse 3, 30169 Hannovertel. +49 511 803 9941 fax. 803 9942

email: [email protected]

Norway • Georgernes Verft 3, 5011 Bergentel. +47 5614 3310 fax. +47 5614 9738email: [email protected]• Skjolden 1, 1322 Høvik, Oslotel. +47 8800 6488email: [email protected]

Finland• Sukula, 30100 Forssa, Helsinkitel. +358 3 4350599

Contact in AustraliaRobyn Taylor, Concept TrainingPO Box 89, Mackay Q4740tel. +61 749 531 594

Internet • www.scand-yoga.org

Håå Course Center, 340 13 Hamneda, Sweden • Tel. +46 372 55063Fax. +46 372 55036 • Email: [email protected]

pYou are welcome to support us, sowe can continue to publish Bindu.Pay 45 Sw.Cr. for one issue or 80Sw.Cr. for 2 issues + 40 Sw.Cr. post-age (payment, see below). Further contributions are also welcome.

 Yoga shopThe book: Yoga, Tantra and Meditationin Daily Life

 by Swami Janakananda175 Sw.Cr. + 55 Sw.Cr. postage.

Also available in other languages.New French translation of the book !See also page 29.

The CD:  Experience Yoga Nidra165 Sw.Cr. + 30 Sw.Cr. postage.

The tape:  Experience Yoga Nidra

120 Sw.Cr. + 30 Sw.Cr. postage.

 Hopi Ear Candles: made of 100% beeswax and cotton; cleanses the ears. 50Sw.Cr. + 30 Sw.Cr. postage.

 Nose cleansing pot 

with instruction brochure:

 Joghus, (short spout) blue, red, yellow,green or black.

165 Sw.Cr.+ 55 Sw.Cr. postage.

 Krutis, (long spout) blue, sand, white or 

green, 195 Sw.Cr. + 105 Sw.Cr. postage.

The periodical:

 Bindu, no. 3-11,25 Sw.Cr. each + 20 Sw.Cr. postage. See also page 28.

The brochure (free):

about the retreats at Håå International Course Center. (See pages 26-27).

We can only accept payment in Swedish Crowns by international postal money order or to our postal giro account 73 86 03 - 0 in Sweden.If you send an international bank cheque, please add 50 Sw.Cr. (cashing fee). NB Euro-cheques are not accepted any more in Swedish

 Banks! Please send money and order to: Scandinavian Yoga and Meditation School, Håå Course Center, 340 13 Hamneda, Sweden.

Now  o n  C D!

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Experience

 Yoga NidraInspiration for a richer life

 with

SWAMI JANAKANANDA

1. The Wholeness of Your Nature, therelaxation Yoga Nidra to the sounds of Mother Earth. Composed and guided

 by Swami Janakananda. 20.41

2. Travel through the Space of Experience, a piece of music,composed and played on a Swara-Mandala harp by Roop Verma. 7.44

3. Discover Your Self , the deep Yoga Nidra. The relaxation is guided bySwami Janakananda, to the music of Roop Verma. 45.16

With the CD there is a 20-page bookletabout Yoga Nidra, and how to get thefull benefits from the two relaxations.

 N o w

“Relaxation is a state. It is best achieved through a technique that triggers it. The blood  pressure is normalised, the immune system is strengthened and the brain relaxes and cooperatesbetter. All the organs and senses of the body are rested in a way that sleep seldom provides. Thusthe senses are sharpened and you feel invigorated afterwards.

The more familiar you become with Yoga Nidra, the easier it is to glide into the relaxed state. And as you come to know harmony, you are soon able to recall it instantly - in the middle of theactivities of your day.

What makes Yoga Nidra so special is that it touches all parts of your being through thedifferent methods it contains. After having made the body and mind thoroughly aware and relaxed, I use, among other things, the mantras (spoken sounds) and the visual symbols of thechakras - to awaken and harmonise these energy whirls or fields of consciousness.

On this CD Roop Verma, as the first musician, has been inspired to record the ancient music symbols of the chakras, which you experience with my text and guidance during the deep Yoga

 Nidra.” (Swami Janakananda)

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32“Passage” - Ingela Hageman 1997


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