Am I over doing yoga?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Heres what my schedule is like-

In the morning: 15 minutes of 10 tibethan rite, after that I take a break of 10 minutes & do the 10 tibethan breaths which takes about 45 minutes

Before sleeping- hatha yoga of 1 hr, after that I take a break of 15 minutes & do Pranyama, I do the following exercises-

  1. 3 sets of kapal bhati

  2. one set of 10 repetitions of the following exercise-

inhale for 2 seconds
hold for 4 seconds
exhale for 6 seconds
hold for 4 seconds… & then inhale

  1. one set of 10 repetitions of the following exercise-

inhale for 6 seconds
hold for 6 seconds
exhale for 4 seconds

#2

Why are you doing all this?

How are you feeling as a result of all this?

Where’s the rest of the branches to climb the tree?

#3

AllseeingI,

“Why?” was also my first question. What is the purpose or intention for this particular practice? That having been asked, and hopefully soon responded to…

I could not say whether you are overdoing. The practice you outline I would not advise for a beginning student. Some of the techniques you are using should only be learned from a teacher AND they may not be safely practiced unless they are preceded by 7-10 years of other techniques.

Since you don’t mention anything at all about you, your age, your fitness, your background, it is impossible to give you tailored feedback. You may of course find a suit here off the rack but those tend to be baggy and wrinkled.

#4

Scales & InnerAthlete, those are some good questions & I should have included them in my post.

1 Why? I will first list the reasons for 5 tibethans.
The reasons are manifold:

I started doing the 5 tibethan rites 3 years back, I did them fo about 2-3 months & stpped them, out of sheer laziness. I am not sure if my ‘condition’ mentoned below was the result of stopping the 5 rites as I can’t gauge accurately when did my condition start to manifest.

Now, since a few years I have been feeling quite tired, now this is no ta physical exertion, I would feel like theres a ‘fog’ in my head, its slightly analogous to the feeling of being groggy but its still different , even though I wasn’t doing anything physically testing & had a more or less proper diet. I could not work, I would feel too tired to, while sitting I would feel like I am just using gravity to put my body on the chair & while walking I would feel that I am lifting my legs & then using gravity to throw them on the ground. Let me repeat that it doesn’t feel like a physical tiredness. Also, during the last 2 years, due to career & financial problems I had developed GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). My GAD combined with this foggy feeling & my Attendtion Deficit Disorder rendered me almost absolutely unproductive.
I then remembered reading about ‘prana’ or the life force & had a feeling that I was lacking it. I started doing the 5 rites again with pranayama & my ‘fogginess’ stopped. I started feeling alive & vibrant. Although the rites haven’t cured my ADD, they have cuerd me of my GAD & my ‘tiredness’.

When I started the 5 rites, I skipped them a day in between oncehat day I again felt tired & foggy. Since then I do it every day & seldom do I have that groggy feeling.

So, the primary reason I do the tibethan rites is to feel energetic & to be able to function smoothly.

why do I do hatha yoga & pranayama?
I am preparing for raising my kundalini. I am not sure if the 5 tibethan rites & 10 breaths are enough for it.

  1. How are you feeling as a result of all this?
    I am feeling quite good, healthy & energetic.

  2. Where’s the rest of the branches to climb the tree?
    Ah, If by that you mean opening the chakras & raising the kundalini, I will start kundalini yoga only after I have done hatha yoga for a few years or months. I am also trying to meditate regularly.

About my condition & background-
I am 26, I am thin & I would say I am fit. I have been doing pranayama since a year actually but I wasn’t regular & serious about it.

#5

The Tibetans are fine. The pranayama you mention is risky, but of course up to you. If your mission is to raise kundalini then Ill have to politely bow out of the thread at this point.

#6

Why do you want to raise kundalini?

#7

I think if you are asking this question, you are probably overdoing it. Also, try to have cycles for your practice. Design a cycle of exercises and flows for, lets say, a week or for the celebration of the new moon (from the beginning of the new moon until the full moon appears again). Every cycle can be different. Sometimes your body and mind will want energizing and powerful practices, sometimes it will require a more subtle and slow approach. I suggest reading about sadhana practice. Also, I suggest that you might want to prepare for each session/cycle.

Have a look at what one of my beloved teachers suggests -
mail.shivarea.com/ttresources/pdf/LivingSadhana2010.pdf

Good luck!

#8

What’s a Kundalilni? If you want anything raised, try viagra :slight_smile:

#9

"If your mission is to raise kundalini then Ill have to politely bow out of the thread at this point. "

LOL

#10

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;52881]The Tibetans are fine. The pranayama you mention is risky, but of course up to you. If your mission is to raise kundalini then Ill have to politely bow out of the thread at this point.[/QUOTE]

Thankyou for your valuable insight, could you be a bit more specific about the pranayama? Are you implying that including pranayama in my routine may be excessive since I am already doing the 10 breaths?
Or do you think that some particular exercises I am doing maybe unsafe?

#11

[QUOTE=The Scales;52888]Why do you want to raise kundalini?[/QUOTE]

The reasons are myraid & yet congruous, to quench my Faustian/cat-like morbid curiosity, to experience an esoteric existence, to know all that I can…

#12

[QUOTE=AllseeingI;53029]The reasons are myraid & yet congruous, to quench my Faustian/cat-like morbid curiosity, to experience an esoteric existence, to know all that I can…[/QUOTE]

Then one lays the good foundation by practicing:

the limbs

good ethics

investigations into the nature of being

investigations into the nature of this universe and all it’s myriad phenomenon.

the study of the scriptures and teachings that appeal to one

and all in proper measure which is bramacharya for the lay

#13

YogiAdam,

“What’s a Kundalilni? If you want anything raised, try viagra”

Or vairagya.

#14

AllSeeingI,

“The reasons are myraid & yet congruous, to quench my Faustian/cat-like morbid curiosity, to experience an esoteric existence, to know all that I can”

With intentions like these, you should avoid something like awakening kundalini at all costs.

#15

[QUOTE=AmirMourad;53115]AllSeeingI,

“The reasons are myraid & yet congruous, to quench my Faustian/cat-like morbid curiosity, to experience an esoteric existence, to know all that I can”

With intentions like these, you should avoid something like awakening kundalini at all costs.[/QUOTE]

Verily, I say unto you, for the true mystic, nothing is true & all is permitted.
What, in your opinion, qualifies someone to awaken kundalini?

#16

[QUOTE=YogiAdam;53006]What’s a Kundalilni? If you want anything raised, try viagra :)[/QUOTE]

Fortunately, I don’t need a help in that department but truth be told, my sexual urges have greatly subsided, not that I am feeling ‘asexual’.

#17

AllSeeingI,

“What, in your opinion, qualifies someone to awaken kundalini?”

If you receive something which you are not prepared to receive, it may create far more damage than good.

Anybody can awaken Kundalini if one is aware of the methods to do so and is willing to invest the necessary time, effort, and energy in the right direction. But whether this is going to be helpful to assist you towards your liberation or bring you to an even deeper unconsciousness, that is a totally different matter. Many people, because they had not done the necessary work to prepare their system for the awakening of kundalini, have simply become insane, and have developed various psychological disorders, and in some cases, physical sicknesses because they awakened an energy which they were unable to tolerate. Because the energy of kundalini is of such an intensity, that if your nervous system cannot handle it, it may simply damage the system even permanently. Much of the work involved in the process of awakening the kundalini is just to create a prepared vessel which can tolerate intense states of energy. If you are not prepared for it, it is a bit like trying to increase the voltage to 200 volts on a machine which can only withstand 50 volts.

#18

[QUOTE=Viktoria;52897]I think if you are asking this question, you are probably overdoing it. Also, try to have cycles for your practice. Design a cycle of exercises and flows for, lets say, a week or for the celebration of the new moon (from the beginning of the new moon until the full moon appears again). Every cycle can be different. Sometimes your body and mind will want energizing and powerful practices, sometimes it will require a more subtle and slow approach. I suggest reading about sadhana practice. Also, I suggest that you might want to prepare for each session/cycle.

Have a look at what one of my beloved teachers suggests -
mail.shivarea.com/ttresources/pdf/LivingSadhana2010.pdf

Good luck![/QUOTE]

Or it could be that I am not overdoing it but I just want to make that sure. Thanks for the cycle part, I will go through that book.