Yoga and Tantra

Anyone care to share any yoga techniques, such as their favourite mantra, or meditation exercise?

As a westerner and practicer of Zen I find many of the traditional positions of meditation uncomfortable. They were developed for eastern societies and the resting positions of those cultures (kneeling) whereas in the Americas and Europe our resting position is reclining or sitting.

I've actually read many acounts of Yogis and Masters telling their western students to asume a sitting or slouching position as it more fully allows the subject to focus upon their thoughts rather than that growing pain in their leg. Personally I prefer to meditate sitting, usuing a traditional Zen hand placement, but really make yourself comfortable. Unless you are trying to deliberately distance yourself from physical sensation, in which case a bit of mild pain would be preferable, the idea is to explore the mental, at least for some meditations.
~Astral

That's true. Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras" keeps it very basic. No special postures, only sitting, breathing, and letting go.

Yet people love the bells and whistles; special postures and secret mantras, words with power to "open sesame" the universe. "The way is so easy that men must make it difficult" - Chuang Tzu.

Oh of course people love the bells and whistles, many Yoga instructors get very high on themselves as to how many seemingly impossible shapes they can bend their bodies into. One must remember though that the practice of inner journey is not for external display or status. It is for elevation of one's self within the self. People would do good to listen to that
~Astral

Peace Agent Orange


The following website has just about anything you would want to know about Tantric Yoga.


www.gnosis-usa.com...


Just type the words 'yoga' and 'tantra' into the SEARCH and you'll find tons of useful info and practices.

Pranayama, Sexual Alchemy, Meditation, Dream Yoga, Mantras, etc., etc., etc.


Most websites are dealing with nothing more than watered down "new age" stuff, if not straight up black magic.

This site offers the type of practice very similiar to that of a very advanced Dzogchen practice, that could be found in a Tibetan monastery.

Dzogchen - The Highest Yoga Tantra of the Tibetan tradition, and synonymous with Universal Gnosticism. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, "According to the Nyingma tradition, Dzogchen is the most profound of all the vehicles leading to enlightenment... but unless the practitioner has the capacity to understand the teachings properly, mistaken views can easily develop... Without a deep intellectual and experiential foundation...[it] can easily lead to confusion." The same may be said of Gnosis.

Padmasambhava said, "[Dzogchen] is the secret, unexcelled cycle of the supreme vehicle [of Tantra], the true essence of the definitive meaning; the short path for attaining Buddhahood in one life." Based in developing the powers of visualization in meditation, and rooted in the establishment of perfect control over attention, Dzogchen harnesses the nature of all experience through profound conscious transformation of all impressions, and is enforced and realized through the supreme methods of White Tantrism, or the perfect transformation of the vital energies.

PEACE


[edit on 15-3-2005 by Tamahu]

I use AUM mantram when I meditate. It has proven to be successful for me. It's not secret or difficult, but it is very powerful. No music, cds, bells etc, but I do use incense, sandalwood, it helps achieve relaxation faster for me.

I do practice hatha yoga, but I know my limitations, you won't see me trying a position that I can't get out of I find the physical exertion before meditation helps the body maintain sitting lotus position longer.

this site lots of great info on AUM mantram
www.swamij.com...

this one is great for learning about different asanas
sivasakti.com...

Tamahu & World Watcher, thanks for the tips on the sites. Very much appreciated.

I've practised a little with mantras myself, such as Gayatri Mantra,

Om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam,
bargho devasya dimahi;
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

For the complete version, as used in Bali, try Bali

Originally posted by Agent Orange
Tamahu & World Watcher, thanks for the tips on the sites. Very much appreciated.

Yeah no doubt.


Mantras are a great practice if utilized properly(because you don't want to invoke demons).


Here are some audio recordings:

Prayers and Mantras


I like to practice these daily:


The vowel I • Clairvoyance, middlebrow, note TI
The vowel E • Occult ear, larynx, note SOL
The vowel O • Intuition, heart, note FA
The vowel U • Telepathy, solar plexus, note MI
The vowel A • Memory of past lives, lungs, note LA
The Vowel M
The Vowel S


From The Heart Sutra:

Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Swaha


To invoke The Cosmic Christ(Chenrezi/Avalokitesvara):

Om Masi Padme Yum



Peace

Regarding the Sex aspect of Tantra, you may want to be aware of the different forms(most books on the subject are teaching the negative forms).


The Forms of Tantrism


Another link:


Daath - Tantric Knowledge

I also really ought to do the knowledge on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and The Upanishads.


Having first a good understanding of these^^^ and being established in Brahmacharya, would be a good idea before moving on to advanced Tantric Sadhana.

The one thing that concerns me are the incidents of people who 'freak out' during yoga or meditation practise. I personally have known a few. One aquaintence of mine went from being a normal, well adjusted, high functioning individual, to a hallucinating schizophrenic.

A well known radio host up here in canada also announced, on air, that she would be taking her vacation at a yoga retreat. She then went on to tell that two of her friends had also gone, on gained more peace of mind, but the other had to be shipped out on a bus, after a complete psychotic break!

I've heard enough of these stories to start becoming concerned.

on DVD. It's convenient for me first thing in the morning.

www.amazon.com...

No 'bells' and 'whistles' though, just good exercise for health and flexibility. God gives me more than I need spiritually.

For me that's the beauty of Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras". There's no BS. Just sit, relax, and let go. It's as if there is yoga, and tantra. Tantra is 'bell's and whistles', magic words, hand gestures, and postures. It's 'cartwheels' and 'abracadra'. It appeals to magic, and morbidity. It is the way of the freak out.

Patanjali's "YS", on the other and, is purer. Sit, let go, and clear your head. Yogis have traditionally taught that tantra, and magic, is a barrier to enlightenment.

I take a lot of Ashtanga Yoga, and Bikram Yoga (which is in a superhot sauna).

I tend to like the Ashtanga version since I don't feel like I wanna pass out, and it's deeper and more enjoyable than standard Hatha.


As for meditation, I try to do at least an hour in the morning, 3 days a week, but it's so hard sometimes, not only time-wise but to actually do it right.

jako

I'm literally psychotic until I attend Yoga. Our practices are actually held in an art gallery in the afternoons and evenings.

If I take my evening meds too soon after doing Yoga, I do get a little "wierd."

I practice Flow two times a week for 2 1/2 and do Om Yoga (more advanced and CV) once a week for 3 hours. In between I do CV activities, with one day off for "recovery" and eating whatever the ell I want. Sort of a way of thanking myself, I guess.

I was a vegatarian when I started, but then started craving meat (???). So I eat one piece of meat on my "recovery" day.

The lady who does the Om techniques weighs well over 300 lbs, and can do the splits!!!! O Myeffing G! We aren't forced into any positions... it's pretty lax (pun intended) otherwise. I work on my positions during any free moment... scare the ladies at work by doing the tree stance.

I have a severe chemical imbalance, but all of my Western-taught physicians say go for it. Since I've been doing it, my stance and posture have changed. My limbs appear longer. No more back pain. Minimal arthritis. Best of all, my anxiety attacks have ceased, so my meds have been reduced.

My senses have become more enhanced. My balance has improved 2X, so I'm going to start sword-training again. Studied Hapkido...and start Shaolin this week. It's a shame...the Shaolin instructor is dying of lymphoma.

That's my input...I'm still a newbie...but I practice the more difficult poses when alone. The sitting stance can be improved by balancing your spine on a pair of blankets folded four inches wide on the center of your mat. Place your tailbone at the end of the "beam," cross your legs, and slowly lean back. Remain laying/balancing there until you reach your "edge."

Keep exhaling deeply and your hips will become more malleable. It'll hurt like ell at the time, but once you need to sit back up you can really feel the difference. I do this for an hour a day...

Cool thing is you can watch TV or listen to the radio while you're doing it. I was told by Hapkido Master Hilland to start off by practicing the stance during a commercial. Do that for a week. Then practice the stance for the part of your favourite TV show between commercials. Do that for another week. Keep going until you can make it through the entire TV show.

You hurt and reward yourself at the same time. Which is part of what Yoga and Martial Arts are about. Yin and Yang.

Dot.

I have my test tonight for straight sword! Love the pic. Also is snake-style. You'll love Shaolin Wushu, I've been doing it for about a year and a half. My advice is to not give up, it gets easier after a year or so. I'm sorry to hear about your instructor...let me know if there's anything I can do.

Pray, train, study.
God bless.



[edit on 22-3-2005 by saint4God]

Astral city is right. The kneeling and sitting with legs crossed upwards are far too uncomfortable as meditating positions for people who are not used to these. They deserve daily pratice on the long term to achieve a degree of physical adaptation where you won't feel pain anymore, especially for the legs crossed thing.

The formal, conventional yoga positions seems very contradicting the principle that one must have all the muscles of his body completely relaxed in order to attain a real state of meditation. If your back, yoru arms and yoru legs are focing to maintain a perfect position, that will simply not work, and you need to practice these positions for a long time before being able to really meditate.

I usually tend to do the kneeling thing, which is more used in the shinto tradition. It's easier to get used to the position and it feels a lot more stable tahn the sitting. For beginners, I'd recommend to slouch, on your back with no pillow, since it's the best position for the cardiovascular system to be controlled with breathing exercises.

Too much of meditation as been mixed with obscuregnostic gibberish that will only have the effect of making an esoterical freak out of you. Meditation is a lot more physical and mental than it is spiritual, it's only because a bunch of hippies in the '60s completely misunderstood the theorical aspect of it and made it into a New Age travesty.

Meditation is still extremely effective in your daily life, and this even if you keep it on a "earthly" level. It's wonderful for cleaning away all the frustrations, corruption, stress and self-hatred, and to reset the whole system on a more positive ground.

Originally posted by saint4God
I have my test tonight for straight sword!

I wish you luck! I've been told that genuine training is not time-based... it's funny because earlier today I found a website that offered "online" Shaolin training, including a sash with each order. Geeeeeeeze....I wanted to spam the guy.

You'll love Shaolin Wushu, I've been doing it for about a year and a half. My advice is to not give up, it gets easier after a year or so. I'm sorry to hear about your instructor...let me know if there's anything I can do.

I've learned that the instructor is awesome. He doesn't accept the class fee for the first month of training. He also says if you can't afford the fee that you can "work it off," meaning do chores, etc. He's also Christian (as am I), yet is able to incorporate the philosophy of WuShu into class in a non-denominational manner. Also, the class sessions are not time-based. They "start" at a certain time, and can run for hours (he lectures about Chinese history)

Good luck!
Dot.

Originally posted by The Astral City
As a westerner and practicer of Zen I find many of the traditional positions of meditation uncomfortable. They were developed for eastern societies and the resting positions of those cultures (kneeling) whereas in the Americas and Europe our resting position is reclining or sitting.

Uncomfortable positions are kinda the point, the goal is to overcome it. Even a easy position is uncomfortable at first. Before you fall asleep, just lie there not moving. Your body is going to start rebelling pretty fast, you might get an itch, if you ignore it you will get more itches, then your body will start to twitch or have a tremor here and there, anything just to get you to move a bit.

.





[edit on 22-3-2005 by Tamahu]