Thanks very much for the quick answer. I have been practicing zen meditation earlier and now I am practicing Ashtanga vinyasa, but only once or twice a week. After a pranayama retreat I got a “prescription” (after pulse reading etc. establishing me as a Vata-Pita) for Bhastrika and Sitali, but I am sad to say that I have not kept up my practice.
I still do not understand what the secret spot is. I guess I have to get a good dictionary to check up the anatomy. Should it be touched with the top or the bottom of the tip of the tongue? Is it on the the floor, roof, entry or exit of the nasal cavity?
I will not try a regular practice of kechari until I have a more regular practice in asanas, pranayama and meditation.
Hi again Lavazza:
See kechari stage 2 in this diagram: http://www.aypsite.org/kechari_image1.html
The secret spot is right where the tip of tongue is there, on the edge of the nasal septum. Or maybe just a tad higher. There can be slight anatomical differences between people.
The secret spot can also be reached indirectly by placing the tip of the tongue up on the roof of the mouth where the hard and soft palates meet. That’s right under the edge of the nasal septum, and is kechari stage 1 (also shown on the diagram).
As for what the secret spot is, it is an ecstatic connection point that promotes the rise of ecstatic conductivity in the entire nervous system. At a certain point on our spiritual journey, the spot becomes as ecstatically sensitive as the genitals, but with a different purpose – the cultivation of divine ecstasy throughout the nervous system. (Indeed, our sexual function can be directly coaxed in this direction also, but that is a different subject - tantra!) The same is true of all the mudras and bandhas. They become ecstatically sensitive. Sambhavi is a very famous one. We often see the saints depicted with eyes raised. Why? Because it feels extremely good all over!
It’s the same with kechari and the secret spot, and all the mudras and bandhas. When they become ecstatic, they combine and work together as one in many subtle ways. In AYP, that automatic coordination of ecstasy body-wide is called the “whole body mudra.”
But again, it all rides on deep meditation and the cultivation inner silence, so we are wise to be starting at the beginning.
The guru is in you.
Hi Lavazza,
Welcome to the Kechari club! Sounds like you are doing great, just follow Yoganis advice and practice every day twice a day without fail and you will be doing great! You can explore your nasal anatomy with your tongue any time you like in order to become familiar but when you meditate just let the tongue rest on the nasal septum and practice.
Kechari is actually part of an integrated connection of shambhavi and mula bandha in siddhasana all done in a coordinated fashion to draw energy up the spine and direct it to the third eye point. By gazing at the thrid eye in shambhavi while doing kechari you create a powerful point of focus for the energies drawn up from the pelvis. This coordinates with mula bandha and siddhasana which creates a lift first from the pelvis and then going up into the spine. This is the energetic essence of the pranayama that we do. It all fits together like parts of a puzzle and each piece reinforces all the other pieces. The only way to really feel it is to practice daily and to remember the details until they become second nature.
It seems like we are thinking of the same spot, after all, Yogani. There is a spot on the floor of the nasal cavity where the soft and the hard palate meet that feels special when I touch it with the bottom of the tip of my tongue.
Victor, I cannot keep my tongue in the nasal cavity for long, just a few breaths. The air coming in makes the tongue tickly and I have yet to find a really relaxing place to rest it. Roof of the cavity seems best. Then the air goes to the bottom of the tongue which is less sensitive.
Thanks for the welcome.
just keep exploring, it will come
Now I have found something. A small passage that is over the holes of the nose. First I close the hole of the nose with the tongue, then I go higher and squeeze the tongue into a cavity that I did not know of before.
yes thats it! now just explore the cavity and get used to your tongue staying up there for a longer time
Thanks, Victor. If we are talking about the same place there is one cavity for each nostril. First there is the nostril, some millimetres further up there is a smaller hole, and and further up there is a small cavity.
just explore the whole region until it becomes familiar. no right or wrong there
Hi
I thought people might be interested in the info I found out about Kechari. I am a complete beginner with regards to kechari and have spent a long time doing my research, gathering material from lots of places, although since reading Yogani’s writings I have sppeeded up somewhat!
This is to do with stretching the soft palate. Hope people find it interesting.
“One thing that helps speed up getting the tongue back past the uvula is to use a spoon in addition to the two methods of stretching the tongue. The spoon is used to stretch the soft material from which the uvulahangs down. (I suggest a spoon simply because even the sides of the handle are generally rounded and won’t cut into the soft material.)
Take a spoon and bend the last half inch or so, of the end of the
handle, at a ninety degree angle. Stick the spoon handle back into your mouth (you will be holding the rounded part that is normally used to for eating) until it is just past the uvula and then raise it up and use it to pull on the soft area of the palate and stretch it towards the front of your mouth. It should stretch fairly easily. This will help you to get your tongue behind the uvula and pointing upwards (you will be able to feel the back entrances of the nostrils), but you will no doubt still have to work on stretching the tongue with the other two methods in order to get the tongue high enough in the buccal cavity to touch the top.”
I should point out that I secured a cocktail spoon, a long one, and have bent the end of the handle back to try to achieve the desired effect. So far I am unable to get there without wanting to vomit.
And after many years of not wanting to even contemplate snipping the frenum I am now considering asking my friendly dentist to get her laser out. (!)
I am still taking my time but now realise how important the technique is. I am sure it is one of Life’s great Secrets.
Hi SparkyfoxMD:
Thanks for posting that. Below is my reply that was sent when we discussed this in email some weeks ago.
There can be some short term benefit in the spoon technique you mention for stretching the soft palate to achieve initial entry into stage 2 kechari. But I don’t see much value in it beyond that, as it is the degree of freedom of the tongue from the frenum tying it down underneath that determines both short term and long term progress in the practice. The soft palate has a certain “home position” that it always returns to (thankfully), so there is no progression of more release or stretching of the soft palate over time. Once the hymen-like band across the back edge of the soft palate has been stretched (by tongue entry which can be with finger help and/or the spoon method you mention), then the deed is done, and it will be the degree of tongue freedom that will determine progress from then on. This can be seen in the kechari diagrams here: http://www.aypsite.org/kechari_image1.html
Posting the spoon technique would be of interest to kechari connoisseurs in the AYP forum, so please consider doing so. Aside from sharing, I expect you would get some useful feedback, as there are others who are in kechari stage 2 and beyond there. You can pull up numerous topics on kechari by doing a forum search. Some of the methods discussed are quite creative. Where there is a will, there is a way when the bhakti and inner energies are right for it.
The soft palate is much less of an obstacle than it appears. It is a trap door that folds down once the tongue gets behind (left or right side will be the shortest path). I suggest you follow your heart on kechari, taking your time, going step by step. I do not subscribe much to radical means like surgery (see lesson #108 for the “tiny snips” approach), though some are driven to that by their own bhakti. It is a personal choice. You may wish to interact with some in the forum to gain more perspectives.
Keep in mind that AYP is a comprehensive integrated open source on practices, of which kechari is only one aspect. In AYP there are suggested prerequisites to kechari including deep meditation, spinal breathing, other mudras and bandhas and more, all of which work together to cultivate unshakable inner silence, ecstatic bliss and outpouring divine love.
The guru is in you.
I have been able to use two fingers and push my toungue back into the nasel cavity. Why is this not good enough? I have done this about 10 times and each time it is a little easier and will stay longer held by the membrane. Is it necessary that the toungue be able to go back by itself? Is it not just as effective if I need to use my fingers to get it there? It seems that ths saves a lot of cutting.
Dave (rat)
Hi Dave-rat - This is not an answer to your question, but I’ve been trying for some time to push my tongue back with my fingers, and I’ve been a frenum-snipping fool as well, but still no kechari. I’m thinking, therefore, that your frenum may not need any cutting, or possibly only a small amount in order to get your tongue to stay in the nasal cavity by itself. Lucky you. And then once you’re up there, you’ll probably eventually want to go further up with your tongue, as there are more surprises further on up the passage, so I would imagine that at some point you’re going to want to lengthen your tongue a bit. If you’re averse to cutting, you might try milking, or stretching the tongue. There are many posts on this, if you’re interested.
sparkyfoxMD, thanks for the great posting. Please post more. It’s so GREAT to see different perspectives on all this stuff!!
Hi all,
Some beginner questions here:
1.
I am not an English speaker, and I can’t find “cuticle snipper” in my dictionary. What actually is cuticle snipper for ? I mean the original use of it.
2.
When I stretch my tongue up, the greatest stress on the frenum is along the whole edge of the frenal membrane. Should I snip closer to the higher (ie.,closer to the tongue) or lower end? Or it’s not that important?
Alvin
the cuticle snipper is a small scissor for fingernail care, I think to cut small pieces of skin at the bottom of the nail (cuticle).
This is something you don’t usually do, but if a little piece sticks out it’s painful. Google “cuticle scissor”
actually, teh term scissor could be confusing as a cuticle snipper is not a scissor but more similat to a wire clipper where the blades do not cross
oops, google cuticle snipper
Alvin’s probably still waiting for an answer to the second question but I can’t help.
Alvin - I snip in the middle, where it’s the thinnest. The key is to keep snipping in the same spot; don’t move up or down the frenum for more coverage, as it doesn’t work that way. Snip, let it heal, snip again in the same spot, etc. And milking, or stretching, the tongue in between snips is highly recommended. Just yank on your tongue.
Thanks very much for the reply. I will start snipping soon.
Actually, I asked because I googled “cuticle snipper” but it gave only a few not very helpful results. (in fact I got a few yoga sites including AYP, and a yoga forum where Victor is a frequent visitor!) The supposedly wrong name “cuticle scissor” give me much more pictures to see what it is!