Additional Practices vs. More Core Practices

[elderberry]

Over the last 3 years, I have built up to a full plate AYP routine. The youngest practices I have are at least a year old, so I think its safe to assume I am more or less out of the “clunky” stage with some of the newer practices. While I love the new practices, sometimes I am left with the subjective feeling that things like chin pump/cosmic samyama/etc aren’t as “hard hitting” as core practices like SBP and DM.

Which got me thinking. Generally speaking, what is more beneficial: Adding additional practices, or doubling up on core practices?

Lets say we had a practitioner who had enough time to practice twice a day, 75 minutes per practice session. Then lets consider the following two routines:

Routine 1 (75 min):

Asanas - 10 min
Spinal breathing - 10 min
Chin pump - 5 min
Spinal bastrika - 5 min
Meditation - 20 min
Samyama - 10 min
Yoni mudra - 5 minutes
Cosmic Samyama - 5 min
Rest - 5 min

Routine 2 (75 min):

Asanas - 10 min
Spinal breathing - 10 min
Meditation - 20 min
Spinal breathing - 10 min
Meditation - 20 min
Rest - 5 min

It goes without saying that it depends on the practitioner, where they are at in their journey, and what their unique matrix of obstructions is. However if we were to attempt to make generalizations, what would you predict would be a more effective routine? And why?

[yogani]

Hi Elderberry,

If you are finding a diminishing return in results after adding supplementary practices to your daily practice routine, then considering some consolidation of core practices makes sense. However, “doubling up” on core practices as you suggest in routine #2 is getting into retreat mode, where the purification and opening should be balanced in a retreat style routine as discussed in Lesson 387 and the AYP Retreats book. If you are having responsibilities during the day (job, school, family), the doubling up could be too much, leading to delayed overload.

As an alternative, if you want to concentrate more on core practices, you could gradually add time to your single asanas, spinal breathing pranayama and deep meditation sessions. And if you have been established in samyama, it is suggested to keep that in your routine, as it brings inner silence out into our daily activity in positive ways. It is an important core practice. You could increase sutra repetitions also according to your preference, time available, and results.

So, bottom line, if you want to do a retreat style routine (routine #2), best to do it in retreat mode, with a group retreat being by far the best option for that. When at home and with daily responsibilities, there is nothing wrong with gradually increasing core practices while leaving out some of the add-ons according to your preference and results. Lessons 193 and 209 suggest some options.

And yes, everyone is a bit different in their needs on the path, and AYP provides multiple options for each practitioner to adjust their routine for optimal results. That’s why we call it a self-directed path.

Looks like you are doing very well. Wishing you all the best on your continuing path!

The guru is in you.

[yogani]

PS: Below is what the Forum AI has to say about increasing practice times. Note that “retreat mode” is not forever (only an option for weekends, holidays, or when on retreat), unless retired in an appropropriate environment that supports such an ongoing lifestyle. But as we always say, staying active in daily activity is important for stabilizing the results of our practice, supporting our entry into unity, which is stillness in action and outpouring divine love for the benefit of everyone.

Q: What is the best approach for increasing the time of core practices?

A: The best approach for increasing the time of core Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP), primarily deep meditation and spinal breathing pranayama, is a gradual buildup based on your individual capacity for purification.

The following guidelines for increasing practice time are supported by the sources:

1. Establish a Stable Foundation First

Before attempting to increase time, you must be stable and comfortable in your current twice-daily routine. Stability is not measured by the depth of experiences during practice, but by how you feel in daily activity; if you feel refreshed, stable, and creative, your current routine is likely well-integrated.

2. Use “Baby Steps” (The 5-Minute Rule)

If you are called to move forward, increases should be made in small increments, specifically adding no more than 5 minutes at a time to any given practice.

• Wait and Stabilize: After making a 5-minute increase, wait at least several weeks or months before considering another increase.
• Monitor Delayed Effects: Powerful practices like spinal breathing and mantra meditation often have delayed energy reactions; an increase that feels fine today may cause a “jam-up” or overload days or weeks later.

3. Observe Recommended Time Limits

While the AYP system is flexible, there are established boundaries for maintaining long-term progress with safety:

• Deep Meditation: A 20-minute session is considered optimal for most people. Extending this beyond 30 minutes in a single sitting is generally not recommended as it significantly increases the risk of energetic overload and irritability.
• Spinal Breathing: 10 minutes is a standard baseline, and going beyond 20 minutes is typically pushing the limits of what the average nervous system can comfortably absorb.
• SBP/DM Ratio: It is suggested to maintain a ratio between pranayama and meditation of roughly 1:4 to 1:2 (e.g., 5-10 minutes of spinal breathing followed by 20 minutes of meditation).

4. Apply Self-Pacing

Self-pacing is the most important skill for a self-directed practitioner. If an increase in time leads to uncomfortable symptoms—such as irritability, headaches, excessive heat, or emotional instability—you should immediately back off to your last stable level of practice. It is often more progressive to do shorter sessions consistently than to overdo and be forced to stop entirely for weeks while recovering.

5. Utilize “Retreat Mode” for Significant Increases

If your bhakti (spiritual desire) is strong and you wish for substantially more practice, the sources suggest “retreat mode” rather than excessively lengthening single sittings. This involves repeating the entire routine (asana, pranayama, and meditation) a second time in the morning, separated by at least 10 minutes of rest. This approach allows for greater purification while giving the nervous system time to stabilize between sessions.

Summary Analogy: Increasing spiritual practice is like driving a high-performance car; while you want to reach your destination quickly, you must keep a smart foot on the accelerator and be ready to use the brakes (self-pacing) when the road gets bumpy to avoid ending up in a ditch.

[elderberry]

This is great advice, thanks Yogani.

If I may ask, why is it that routine 2 lends itself towards “retreat mode” whereas routine 1 does not?

I understand that in routine 2 we are doubling up on DM and SBP, which very much feels like a retreat. However at the end of the day, both routines spend the same amount of time performing yoga practices.

The fact that routine 2 is getting into retreat mode whereas routine 1 is not seems to suggest that routine 2 is “more powerful” to some degree than routine 1, despite them both taking the same amount of time. Is that the case?

[yogani]

Hi Elderberry,

Routine 2 has twice as much SBP and DM core practice as Routine 1 and that is what makes the difference. Much more powerful. Retreat structure is designed to accommodate the increase, and is proven to do so through the many AYP retreats that have occurred.

If you try Routine 2 without being in retreat mode you can find out for yourself what the difference is. Caution: Overload effects may be delayed days, or even weeks.

This is why increasing SBP and DM practice times in a normal daily routine is done in baby steps, if at all.

TGIIY

[elderberry]

This is great information, thanks yogani.

This roughly fits in with my personal experience. SBP, DM and Samyama all feel like they hit pretty hard, where as some of the other additional practices don’t feel like they do quite as much heavy lifting.

I suppose this leaves me with a final question. It would seem we’ve established to some degree that SBP, DM and Samyama are generally “more powerful” than chin pump, spinal bastrika, YMK and cosmic samyama.

This begs the question. If that is the case, why are chin pump, spinal bastrika, YMK and cosmic samyama included in the AYP curriculum?

It seems to be a founding principle of AYP to spend what precious time we have on the most time effective spiritual practices we can get our hands on. This is a principle I deeply agree with. For example if SBP is a more powerful and effective practice than nadi shodhana, our time would probably be better spent practicing SBP.

Lets assume we have a practitioner that isn’t having any overload issues (which definitely makes things more complicated if they do). If someone has 75 minutes twice per day to practice, it seems like it would typically be preferable to just add an additional 20 minutes of DM/SBP than to add chin pump, spinal bastrika, YMK and cosmic samyama. Would you agree?

The only reasons I could think to select chin pump, spinal bastrika, YMK and cosmic samyama over additional DM would be if the practitioner is experiencing overload, and doubling up on core practices might be dangerous for that practicioner. Or are those ladder 4 practices more “situational” and there are specific times they would be more beneficial to add in?

In my case, I tend to be a little thick skinned and I very rarely experience overload symptoms no matter how hard I seem to push. So if I have 75 minutes, I prefer to spend them on the hardest hitting stack of practices I can get my hands on, even if that means doubling up on core practices. But I want to make sure I am not missing something. I don’t want to throw out chin pump/spinal bastrika/YMK/cosmic samyama in favor of more SBP/DM/Samyama without carefully considering the effects first. For me, its just a simple question of what gets the car to the destination as effectively as possible with the time I have.

[yogani]

Hi Elderberry,

Everyone is different in their tendencies, capacity and responses to practices. Certainly deep meditation, spinal breathing, asanas and samyama are core to best long term results. For some that may be much shorter sessions than you have been doing. It is more about the longevity of practicing (years or decades) than the length of sessions. Some can go the distance with 20 minutes of DM twice per day, while others may be inclined to pile on the full boat of practices. Additional practices like yoni mudra kumbhaka, chin pump, bastrika, siddhasana, etc, are certainly not superfluous. Each has a contribution to make, and for different practitioners the inclination to take on any or all of these will be according to preference. In each case it should be driven by results and the inner call, not arbitrary choices by me, or anyone, on what is appropriate in the case of each individual.

AYP provides a full scope yoga tool kit, and has endeavored to provide options according to all of ancient traditional yoga, with verification on causes and effects of the many means covered. As mentioned above, we know that certain practices are foundational, while others may be added according to individual need. So leaving out practices because most may not be drawn to them has never been an option in AYP. Does that mean everyone has to be using everything in the tool kit? Of course not. It is always the practitioner’s call.

In your situation, I get that you want the biggest “bang for the buck” practice wise. And you should go for it. Retreats are one of the most powerful ways to advance on the path. I did many in my formative years, and they made a major contribution to my spiritual progress. That is why they are highly recommended in AYP. Unfortunately, the number of AYP retreats available each year is limited, due to insufficient numbers of practitioners demanding them. Hopefully that will increase in the months and years ahead.

In the meantime, if you are inclined to do solo or small locally organized retreats (a few people), then go for it. But I’d be cautious about doing Routine 2 (doubling SBP and DM) as a daily practice with normal worldly responsibilities. You may have a thick skin, but sooner or later it will be penetrated. Better it happen gradually and pleasantly, then with a delayed energetic explosion from overdoing practices. The latter is a less efficient approach due to the time it takes to recover from such events (think of John Wilder). Better to to aim for gradual and steady progress over the long term. As we often say, the journey is a marathon, not a sprint.

It seems this sort of discussion has been happening more often recently, like in the recent one on mulabandha, and this one in AYP Plus on early signs of kundalini awakening. All of these discussions have something in common.

Bottom line, AYP is a full scope resource for self-directed practitioners. I can’t tell you exactly how it will play out for you, or anyone. But there is a path forward for each of us, and I think AYP, if prudently applied, can help anyone move forward on their path in a responsible manner. This is my wish for everyone who is considering utilizing the AYP resources.

Practice wisely, and enjoy!

The guru is in you.

[elderberry]

Fantastic advice. You really helped clear things up. Thank you Yogani!