636 From: “jim_and_his_karma” <jim_and_his_karma@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu Apr 7, 2005 3:56pm
Subject: Example of Overdoing jim_and_his_…
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Yogani frequently warns of the perils of going to fast, of not observing self-pacing. But
he’s rarely specific about what to expect. One reason is that he simply can’t be; everyone’s
different, we all manifest our own symptoms of over-pacing. In fact, we’ll manifest
different symptoms at different times. It’s literally uncatalogable.
But I thought it might be useful for newcomers to see an example.
I posted the other day on ways of visualizing spinal breathing (no replies…harumph!). One
of my visualizations was similar to spinal bastrika (see lessons 171-173). So much so, that
I figured it couldn’t hurt to give that practice a quick try.
Yogani cautions that bastrika is a fairly rigorous practice, and urges keeping it to two
minutes at the start. So I did a mere 45 seconds. I scrubbed energy up and down my spine
quite rapidly, breathing quite quickly and entirely from the abdomen. It felt good, I was
able to move the energy quite easily, and my attention never drifted. I felt utterly on top of
things, no problems. When done, I felt sparkly/refreshed, and found that my subsequent
meditation managed to pass me beyond a block I’d been having for a couple weeks. I
went out after meditating, and the world had that sharp 3-D look it always has after I’ve
managed some opening and purification. I felt exhilerated but not manic. Nice!
Then I had an encounter in a shop where I was forced into a slightly conflictive situation. I
had to forcefully ask for my money back…and received it politely. No big deal. I left
slightly rattled by the conflict, no longer exhilerated. And thus thrown off balance, little
things started bugging me - things that were happening and things merely remembered.
The descent was so gradual that I hardly noticed, but by the time I returned home, I was
depressed and anxious. And I had a dull but persistent ache on the left underside of my
skull which all my usual yoga tricks couldn’t make go away.
Now, I could have very easily chalked up the depression and anxiety to a bad day, and
attributed the head pain to just some random ache, and done another round of bastrika
that night, with probably more severe (though likely not serious) results. But I was
watching carefully, because I’d added something new. It wasn’t a bad day; I was off. Not
the slight offness which would have signified a slightly clunky start with a new practice (if
that were the case, I’d have continued the practice). It was more than a little. And I recall
from previous overdoing that headache and pains around the base of skull and top of
neck, are, for me, a symptom of burnout from overdoing practice. That was the clincher.
So: no more bastrika. No problem. I caught it in time (because I was watching!), and things
have settled down. And eventually (no time soon) I’ll try bastrika again - cautiously, and
perhaps for even less than 45 seconds. The problem’s not with the practice itself; it’s just
that I personally wasn’t quite ready for its intensity. Sort of like someone unaccustomed to
spice diving into a hot curry. It takes time to ramp up.
Scrubbing can clean and purify, but overdone, it can irritate. Impurities aren’t entirely bad;
they reduce the flow of energy which, at full blast, you’d be unable to handle. That’s why
this is all about going gradually and smoothly; purification without irritation, finessing
along just the right degree of energy ramp-up over time.
One nice (and apparently enduring) side effect…the outward extension from my third eye (I
don’t know how to describe this without sounding like some bizarre alien from a sci-fi
flick; don’t be freaked out, beginners, it’s nothing THAT radical) has been vastly increased.
639 From: “Adam West” <adamwest1@iprimus.com.au>
Date: Fri Apr 8, 2005 1:38am
Subject: Re: Example of Overdoing fraterandros1
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Hi all,
Just a side note on this thread… according to Swami Sivananda, one should do quite a bit of alternative nostril pranayama, which is a purifying breath, before doing bastrika. See his online books for more info 
In kind regards,
Adam.
----- Original Message -----
From: jim_and_his_karma
To: AYPforum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 5:56 AM
Subject: [AYPforum] Example of Overdoing
Yogani frequently warns of the perils of going to fast, of not observing self-pacing. But
he’s rarely specific about what to expect. One reason is that he simply can’t be; everyone’s
different, we all manifest our own symptoms of over-pacing. In fact, we’ll manifest
different symptoms at different times. It’s literally uncatalogable.
But I thought it might be useful for newcomers to see an example.
I posted the other day on ways of visualizing spinal breathing (no replies…harumph!). One
of my visualizations was similar to spinal bastrika (see lessons 171-173). So much so, that
I figured it couldn’t hurt to give that practice a quick try.
Yogani cautions that bastrika is a fairly rigorous practice, and urges keeping it to two
minutes at the start. So I did a mere 45 seconds. I scrubbed energy up and down my spine
quite rapidly, breathing quite quickly and entirely from the abdomen. It felt good, I was
able to move the energy quite easily, and my attention never drifted. I felt utterly on top of
things, no problems. When done, I felt sparkly/refreshed, and found that my subsequent
meditation managed to pass me beyond a block I’d been having for a couple weeks. I
went out after meditating, and the world had that sharp 3-D look it always has after I’ve
managed some opening and purification. I felt exhilerated but not manic. Nice!
Then I had an encounter in a shop where I was forced into a slightly conflictive situation. I
had to forcefully ask for my money back…and received it politely. No big deal. I left
slightly rattled by the conflict, no longer exhilerated. And thus thrown off balance, little
things started bugging me - things that were happening and things merely remembered.
The descent was so gradual that I hardly noticed, but by the time I returned home, I was
depressed and anxious. And I had a dull but persistent ache on the left underside of my
skull which all my usual yoga tricks couldn’t make go away.
Now, I could have very easily chalked up the depression and anxiety to a bad day, and
attributed the head pain to just some random ache, and done another round of bastrika
that night, with probably more severe (though likely not serious) results. But I was
watching carefully, because I’d added something new. It wasn’t a bad day; I was off. Not
the slight offness which would have signified a slightly clunky start with a new practice (if
that were the case, I’d have continued the practice). It was more than a little. And I recall
from previous overdoing that headache and pains around the base of skull and top of
neck, are, for me, a symptom of burnout from overdoing practice. That was the clincher.
So: no more bastrika. No problem. I caught it in time (because I was watching!), and things
have settled down. And eventually (no time soon) I’ll try bastrika again - cautiously, and
perhaps for even less than 45 seconds. The problem’s not with the practice itself; it’s just
that I personally wasn’t quite ready for its intensity. Sort of like someone unaccustomed to
spice diving into a hot curry. It takes time to ramp up.
Scrubbing can clean and purify, but overdone, it can irritate. Impurities aren’t entirely bad;
they reduce the flow of energy which, at full blast, you’d be unable to handle. That’s why
this is all about going gradually and smoothly; purification without irritation, finessing
along just the right degree of energy ramp-up over time.
One nice (and apparently enduring) side effect…the outward extension from my third eye (I
don’t know how to describe this without sounding like some bizarre alien from a sci-fi
flick; don’t be freaked out, beginners, it’s nothing THAT radical) has been vastly increased.
For the AYP Lessons and Books, go to:
http://www.geocities.com/advancedyogapractices –
To change your email delivery to “daily digest,” send a blank email to:
AYPforum-digest@yahoogroups.com –
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640 From: “jim_and_his_karma” <jim_and_his_karma@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Apr 8, 2005 1:05pm
Subject: Re: Example of Overdoing jim_and_his_…
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Interesting, thanks, Adam!
I wonder what Yogani would have to say about this…anybody out there who’s read thru
all the more advanced lessons know if there’s been a comment? I"m guessing he’d say that
ALL the AYP practices (woops, that’s redundant) are “purifying”.
— In AYPforum@yahoogroups.com, “Adam West” <adamwest1@i…> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> Just a side note on this thread… according to Swami Sivananda, one should do quite a
bit of alternative nostril pranayama, which is a purifying breath, before doing bastrika.
See his online books for more info
>
> In kind regards,
>
> Adam.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: jim_and_his_karma
> To: AYPforum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 5:56 AM
> Subject: [AYPforum] Example of Overdoing
>
>
>
>
> Yogani frequently warns of the perils of going to fast, of not observing self-pacing. But
> he’s rarely specific about what to expect. One reason is that he simply can’t be;
everyone’s
> different, we all manifest our own symptoms of over-pacing. In fact, we’ll manifest
> different symptoms at different times. It’s literally uncatalogable.
>
> But I thought it might be useful for newcomers to see an example.
>
> I posted the other day on ways of visualizing spinal breathing (no replies…harumph!).
One
> of my visualizations was similar to spinal bastrika (see lessons 171-173). So much so,
that
> I figured it couldn’t hurt to give that practice a quick try.
>
> Yogani cautions that bastrika is a fairly rigorous practice, and urges keeping it to two
> minutes at the start. So I did a mere 45 seconds. I scrubbed energy up and down my
spine
> quite rapidly, breathing quite quickly and entirely from the abdomen. It felt good, I was
> able to move the energy quite easily, and my attention never drifted. I felt utterly on
top of
> things, no problems. When done, I felt sparkly/refreshed, and found that my
subsequent
> meditation managed to pass me beyond a block I’d been having for a couple weeks. I
> went out after meditating, and the world had that sharp 3-D look it always has after
I’ve
> managed some opening and purification. I felt exhilerated but not manic. Nice!
>
> Then I had an encounter in a shop where I was forced into a slightly conflictive
situation. I
> had to forcefully ask for my money back…and received it politely. No big deal. I left
> slightly rattled by the conflict, no longer exhilerated. And thus thrown off balance, little
> things started bugging me - things that were happening and things merely
remembered.
> The descent was so gradual that I hardly noticed, but by the time I returned home, I
was
> depressed and anxious. And I had a dull but persistent ache on the left underside of
my
> skull which all my usual yoga tricks couldn’t make go away.
>
> Now, I could have very easily chalked up the depression and anxiety to a bad day, and
> attributed the head pain to just some random ache, and done another round of
bastrika
> that night, with probably more severe (though likely not serious) results. But I was
> watching carefully, because I’d added something new. It wasn’t a bad day; I was off.
Not
> the slight offness which would have signified a slightly clunky start with a new practice
(if
> that were the case, I’d have continued the practice). It was more than a little. And I
recall
> from previous overdoing that headache and pains around the base of skull and top of
> neck, are, for me, a symptom of burnout from overdoing practice. That was the
clincher.
>
> So: no more bastrika. No problem. I caught it in time (because I was watching!), and
things
> have settled down. And eventually (no time soon) I’ll try bastrika again - cautiously,
and
> perhaps for even less than 45 seconds. The problem’s not with the practice itself; it’s
just
> that I personally wasn’t quite ready for its intensity. Sort of like someone
unaccustomed to
> spice diving into a hot curry. It takes time to ramp up.
>
> Scrubbing can clean and purify, but overdone, it can irritate. Impurities aren’t entirely
bad;
> they reduce the flow of energy which, at full blast, you’d be unable to handle. That’s
why
> this is all about going gradually and smoothly; purification without irritation, finessing
> along just the right degree of energy ramp-up over time.
>
> One nice (and apparently enduring) side effect…the outward extension from my third
eye (I
> don’t know how to describe this without sounding like some bizarre alien from a sci-fi
> flick; don’t be freaked out, beginners, it’s nothing THAT radical) has been vastly
increased.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> For the AYP Lessons and Books, go to:
> http://www.geocities.com/advancedyogapractices –
> To change your email delivery to “daily digest,” send a blank email to:
> AYPforum-digest@yahoogroups.com –
> To stop email delivery and use “web viewing only,” send a blank email to:
> AYPforum-nomail@yahoogroups.com –
> To resume “individual email delivery,” send a blank email to:
> AYPforum-normal@yahoogroups.com
> You can also make these changes in “Edit my Membership” on the group home page.
>
>
>
>
>
–
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a… To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AYPforum/
>
> b… To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> AYPforum-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c… Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>
>
–
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.5 - Release Date: 4/7/2005
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
643 From: “jim_and_his_karma” <jim_and_his_karma@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Apr 8, 2005 5:39pm
Subject: Re: Example of Overdoing jim_and_his_…
Offline
Send Email
I see lesson 41 deals with nadi shodana.
And I see that Yogani provides a whole lot of intermediary purifying steps (e.g. yoni mudra
kumbhaka and chin pump, etc) prior to bastrika (all of which I skipped :)), so AYP seems to
be even more cautious than Sivananda (also, I’m not sure AYP’s bastrika directly
correlates…it seems to be a novel “take” on the practice).
— In AYPforum@yahoogroups.com, “Adam West” <adamwest1@i…> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> Just a side note on this thread… according to Swami Sivananda, one should do quite a
bit of alternative nostril pranayama, which is a purifying breath, before doing bastrika.
See his online books for more info
>
> In kind regards,
>
> Adam.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: jim_and_his_karma
> To: AYPforum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 5:56 AM
> Subject: [AYPforum] Example of Overdoing
>
>
>
>
> Yogani frequently warns of the perils of going to fast, of not observing self-pacing. But
> he’s rarely specific about what to expect. One reason is that he simply can’t be;
everyone’s
> different, we all manifest our own symptoms of over-pacing. In fact, we’ll manifest
> different symptoms at different times. It’s literally uncatalogable.
>
> But I thought it might be useful for newcomers to see an example.
>
> I posted the other day on ways of visualizing spinal breathing (no replies…harumph!).
One
> of my visualizations was similar to spinal bastrika (see lessons 171-173). So much so,
that
> I figured it couldn’t hurt to give that practice a quick try.
>
> Yogani cautions that bastrika is a fairly rigorous practice, and urges keeping it to two
> minutes at the start. So I did a mere 45 seconds. I scrubbed energy up and down my
spine
> quite rapidly, breathing quite quickly and entirely from the abdomen. It felt good, I was
> able to move the energy quite easily, and my attention never drifted. I felt utterly on
top of
> things, no problems. When done, I felt sparkly/refreshed, and found that my
subsequent
> meditation managed to pass me beyond a block I’d been having for a couple weeks. I
> went out after meditating, and the world had that sharp 3-D look it always has after
I’ve
> managed some opening and purification. I felt exhilerated but not manic. Nice!
>
> Then I had an encounter in a shop where I was forced into a slightly conflictive
situation. I
> had to forcefully ask for my money back…and received it politely. No big deal. I left
> slightly rattled by the conflict, no longer exhilerated. And thus thrown off balance, little
> things started bugging me - things that were happening and things merely
remembered.
> The descent was so gradual that I hardly noticed, but by the time I returned home, I
was
> depressed and anxious. And I had a dull but persistent ache on the left underside of
my
> skull which all my usual yoga tricks couldn’t make go away.
>
> Now, I could have very easily chalked up the depression and anxiety to a bad day, and
> attributed the head pain to just some random ache, and done another round of
bastrika
> that night, with probably more severe (though likely not serious) results. But I was
> watching carefully, because I’d added something new. It wasn’t a bad day; I was off.
Not
> the slight offness which would have signified a slightly clunky start with a new practice
(if
> that were the case, I’d have continued the practice). It was more than a little. And I
recall
> from previous overdoing that headache and pains around the base of skull and top of
> neck, are, for me, a symptom of burnout from overdoing practice. That was the
clincher.
>
> So: no more bastrika. No problem. I caught it in time (because I was watching!), and
things
> have settled down. And eventually (no time soon) I’ll try bastrika again - cautiously,
and
> perhaps for even less than 45 seconds. The problem’s not with the practice itself; it’s
just
> that I personally wasn’t quite ready for its intensity. Sort of like someone
unaccustomed to
> spice diving into a hot curry. It takes time to ramp up.
>
> Scrubbing can clean and purify, but overdone, it can irritate. Impurities aren’t entirely
bad;
> they reduce the flow of energy which, at full blast, you’d be unable to handle. That’s
why
> this is all about going gradually and smoothly; purification without irritation, finessing
> along just the right degree of energy ramp-up over time.
>
> One nice (and apparently enduring) side effect…the outward extension from my third
eye (I
> don’t know how to describe this without sounding like some bizarre alien from a sci-fi
> flick; don’t be freaked out, beginners, it’s nothing THAT radical) has been vastly
increased.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> For the AYP Lessons and Books, go to:
> http://www.geocities.com/advancedyogapractices –
> To change your email delivery to “daily digest,” send a blank email to:
> AYPforum-digest@yahoogroups.com –
> To stop email delivery and use “web viewing only,” send a blank email to:
> AYPforum-nomail@yahoogroups.com –
> To resume “individual email delivery,” send a blank email to:
> AYPforum-normal@yahoogroups.com
> You can also make these changes in “Edit my Membership” on the group home page.
>
>
>
>
>
–
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a… To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AYPforum/
>
> b… To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> AYPforum-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c… Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>
>
–
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.5 - Release Date: 4/7/2005
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]