Can someone help me with exercises?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

iam 22 year old guy from delhi
i recently had a chance to meet a yogi of swami order who was here to attend a satsang.i just out of curiosty asked him how can i attain enlightenment?
listening to my question he smiled(idk why)and said your nadis are impure(i asked him how to clean them but he didnt answer) and said it(enlightenment) is a process consisting of following process
1 purification of nadis
2 opening chakra, and few other points which i didnt get

i espclly joinedthis forum to asked this quest
HOW TO PURIFY NADIS,which exercises/pranayan should i do
please people im a newbie,appoligies if i asked/said something wrong

#2

Enlightenment would be underachieving considering human potential. It’s an “old” brand of yoga but if that is what you seek than likely that is all you’ll find.

Many times when a question like this posed the response seems to take a very narrow definition of the question. Here one might simply say shatkarmas and leave it at that. But I believe cleansing the energy channels of the human condition can have a far more comprehensive answer. And you touch on it a bit by asking about asana and pranayama.

The first thing I believe is to acknowledge the transformational power of Yoga itself. Without accepting that it is very difficult to move forward mindfully and with care. But some are hurried and will rush ahead like a bull in a china shop, often with similar results. When that transformative power is accepted then too is the danger also accepted and a sound teacher therefore is sought.

That having been said, a newbie, as you mention you are, is best served (in my view) by gentle beginnings. Soreness can be achieved in a day. Enlightenment cannot.

#3

Hi nikhilaria,

Welcome to the forum:)!

[B]Here is some detailed instruction on purifications.http://www.yoga-age.com/pradipika/part2.html

Keep in mind that before purifications of the nadi your physical body needs to be purified.

Please do more research before you start any procedures…wrong order can ruin everything.

Do not disregard asanas - asanas also are a kriya (purification).

Do not rely only on forum answers. Do A LOT OF RESEARCH BEFORE YOU START to do anything with you body or mind:)[/B]

Good luck to you on you path to the enlightenment! i wish your journey to be safe and interesting!

#4

@athlete:ur reply was of no use and out of context but thanks anyways…
@citymonk:thank you for ur reply.this is what i was looking for.and yes i’ll surely research before commencing procedures.thanks

#5

Nikhilarya,
I must disagree at least a little. IA’s answer was of some use, if one were to truly read it and grasp his complete meaning. No, he did not give you the simple answer you were looking for: Do this, do that, do this. From what I’ve observed, that is not his way. You asked a question that has a far broader answer than the one you are seeking, and while Citymonk gave you some great starting points, they are only the tip of the iceburg. As she said, you need to research a LOT before taking those steps she suggested.
IA was saying the same thing, as well as giving you some more food for thought.
Don’t be too hasty to plow ahead, and see each interaction with another as an opportunity to learn. Often we dismiss what we don’t understand, or dont’ want to hear, when it is exactly what we NEED to hear.
Learning to let go of our preconceived ideas and attitudes is evolution and growth.

This is what I found for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatkarma

#6

Anulom Viloma (alternate nostril breathing) is very effective for purification of the nadis. My guru recommends this breathing pattern: in for 1, hold for 4, out for 2, or multiples of that, for example in for 4, hold for 16, out for 8, one nostril at a time, alternating each time. He says beginners should do just five cycles at a time.
He also recommends Asans, especially simple ones at first, co-ordinated with breathing. Forward bending, backward bending, side bending, twisting, balancing, all of these help purify the nadis. Anything that gets your prana flowing and causing it to hit and cleanse your impurities. (which all of us also have)
Also he recommends a simple, easy to digest vegetarian diet, eaten in moderation, and a generally healthy lifestyle.

#7

@Nikhilarya

Unfortunate that you were not served by my reply in some way or the other. I am only able to give what I am able to give. It would not be appropriate for me to “prescribe” particular things for a particular thing without taking into account (respecting) the individuality of the seeker. That merely sets the stage for ignorance, regret, and ego.

The entire practice serves to wash the energy channels. When done correctly, with true and sincere interest in self-discovery, under the guidance of a sound teacher, with effort and patience, the entire practice of yoga will cleanse the energy channels.

And so while no disrespect is meant, the shortest answer is “all of it”.

Memorable yoga teachers teach students, not poses.

#8

@innerathlete the more i searched the net,the more researched abt the topic,the more i understood ur answer.unlike i thought its not very simple to give an exercise w/o explaning the basic concepts.i was being immature.thank you for ur help.now i understand y
The shortest answer is “all of it”.
:slight_smile:

#9

Understood. Thank you for bringing this back to the thread and sharing the shift in your perspective.

#10

@CM. Thanks for the link. My thoughts were searching for this all night and I happened to revisit this thread. Funny how these things just happen.

#11

[QUOTE=nikhilarya;40633]@athlete:ur reply was of no use and out of context but thanks anyways…
@citymonk:thank you for ur reply.this is what i was looking for.and yes i’ll surely research before commencing procedures.thanks[/QUOTE]

:))) :))
You are welcome! Good luck to you on your yoga path.

#12

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;40700]

Memorable yoga teachers teach students, not poses.[/Q

This is great!

#13

Although I know your question pertains to practices and exercises but I feel compelled to say a few words here. Please do not think of enlightenment as a small thing. You might be familiar with the term/concept ‘Brahma’. One who realizes Brahma is said to have attained Brahma-gyan.

I don’t consider myself as a yoga practitioner of any worth. I have not even started yet. So what I say here is based on my religious/spiritual beliefs rather than my own personal direct experience. My emotional beliefs lie with Sikh religion and here is a short composition on what my Guru (fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev ji) says on what a Brahmagyani (One who has the gyan of Brahma) is like(just a small glimpse, we can never understand until we experience ourselves):

The following lines are taken from the composition Sukhmani Sahib, page 272 of Guru Grantha Sahib(holy book of Sikhs)

Note: The word Brahmagyani has been translated to God-conscious being.

SHALOK:
The True One is on his mind, and the True One is upon his lips. He sees only the One.
O Nanak, these are the qualities of the God-conscious being. || 1 ||

ASHTAPADEE:

The God-conscious being is always unattached, as the lotus in the water remains detached.
The God-conscious being is always unstained, like the sun, which gives its comfort and warmth to all.
The God-conscious being looks upon all alike, like the wind, which blows equally upon the king and the poor beggar.
The God-conscious being has a steady patience, like the earth, which is dug up by one, and anointed with sandal paste by another.
This is the quality of the God-conscious being: O Nanak, his inherent nature is like a warming fire. || 1 ||

The God-conscious being is the purest of the pure; filth does not stick to water.
The God-conscious being’s mind is enlightened, like the sky above the earth.
To the God-conscious being, friend and foe are the same.
The God-conscious being has no egotistical pride.
The God-conscious being is the highest of the high. Within his own mind, he is the most humble of all.
They alone become God-conscious beings, O Nanak, whom God Himself makes so. || 2 ||

The God-conscious being is the dust of all.
The God-conscious being knows the nature of the soul.
The God-conscious being shows kindness to all.
No evil comes from the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is always impartial.
Nectar rains down from the glance of the God-conscious being.
The God-conscious being is free from entanglements.
The lifestyle of the God-conscious being is spotlessly pure.
Spiritual wisdom is the food of the God-conscious being.
O Nanak, the God-conscious being is absorbed in God’s meditation. || 3 ||

I feel if this is not the kind of enlightenment worthy of seeking then what else is?

#14

Please forgive my total impertinence, but I strongly feel this needs to be said.

Some gurus/swamis are worthy of veneration, whilst others are just…well…‘meh’.

I mean, if I was at a satsanga and didn’t know all that much…then a ‘swami’ straight up told me that my nadis were impure and I needed to open my chakras and all that (without even explaining himself or at least starting me off in that direction)…I would go ‘WTF and who is this guy?’

Such concepts like ‘nadis’, ‘chakras’, ‘Kundalini’ and all that are for [B]advanced practitioners only[/B] (All, in my humble opinion, of course).
You wouldn’t just tell a yoga noob about these things.

That being said, the initial focus shouldn’t be about pranayama or even yoga for that matter.

Are you a vegetarian dear OP? do you smoke/drink alcohol? do you stay up late at night and wake up late in the morning? (my personal bad habit), do you indulge in a lot of sex? do you have bad thoughts about/towards others? Do you covet money/possessions?

Before you start doing [B]anything[/B], you need to get your body and mind into a ‘regime’ first and then you must start slowly, taking things one step at a time…

Do a few simple yoga postures for 10 minutes a day…meditate for 10 minutes a day, then add 5 minutes onto this every week, so at the end of 3 months, you are doing hatha yoga and meditating for an hour every day.

After a year, you can start incorporating pranayama and kriyas into your practice…again, starting off slowly and building it up until, in the end, you are spending about 3-4 hours daily on your sadhana and keeping your body and mind as pure as you can.

Then, after a few years, you can start to think about nadis, chakras and all the rest of it.

It just annoys me that a lot of noobs think they can pick up a book about the advanced precepts of yoga, or have a ‘guru’ tell them about it, and it automatically becomes, in essence, a ‘shortcut to enlightenment’. It does not work that way.

/rant