Hatha Yoga Tip
LOCUST IN LOTUS – Advanced
This variation of the Salabasana is an advanced posture that promotes great flexibility in the hip, lumbar and cervical regions of the back. Begin in Padmasana/Lotus. Bring your hands in front on onto the floor in front of you. Lean into the hands and come up onto the knees. Gradually walk the hands forward so the weight of the body is evenly distributed on the hands and knees. Now walk with the hands forward enough so you can lower the abdomen onto the floor. Lower the hips as flat onto the floor as well. Stretch the chin forward. Place the arms under the abdomen, elbows as close together as possible.Clasp the hands together as you would regular locust. Hands are underneath the body. Inhale and lifts the legs as high up as possible. Push the hands/fist into the floor. Breathe deeply and hold the position for as long as comfortable. Try a few times before coming out of the asana, resting on et abdomen in makrasana.
Benefits:
Helps improve flexibility of hips & lumbar
Helps stretch front line of the neck
Brings a large supply of blood to the kidneys, cleansing and regenerating them.
Strengthens the shoulders, arms, pelvic organs and lower back muscles.
Tones the muscles of the abdomen, tights and legs
Tones the sciatic nerves
We might question whether the body has a soul. The yogi says “I am a soul that has taken a body”. Yoga philosophy sees the body as a vehicle for the soul on its journey toward enlightenment. If there is God’s grace you will be able to do intense Sadhana to purify your physical, astral and causal bodies. – Sw. Vishnudevananda
Sit and meditate. Watch the mind. If the mind wanders, think that you are the witness. – Sri Swami Sivananda
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Spiritual Calendar
| JUNE 2022
10 Ekadasi JULY 2022 09 Ekadasi In Samadhi all sound is stilled. All clamouring of desire is silenced. There is perfect peace. – Sri Swami Sivananda |
Glossary
RUCHI – Taste; appetite; liking; desire.
DHYANA – Meditation
Dhyana is the seventh limb of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras, the eighth being Samadhi.
There are many methods of practice of concentration which leads to meditation. The purpose of meditation is to understand the real nature of the object of meditation. The mind is the instrument with which we meditate. A certain amount of the study of the nature of activities of the mind is necessary before one takes up to meditation. The existence of the mind can be found only during its activities. The thief can be found out only during the act of thieving, for at all other times he may look like an ordinary person. When the thief comes to know that the police are after him, he restricts his movements. Similarly, if you begin to study the mind, the mental processes or the activities of the mind will be reduced. There are mainly two stages of meditation. They are: (1) Constantly thinking on one object or thought, to the exclusion of all other objects and thoughts; and (2) keeping the mind free of all thoughts.
In the first stage one must concentrate one’s mind on an object, or engage oneself in the repetition of the Mantra into which he is initiated by his preceptor. If one starts repeating the Mantra with concentration on the Mantra, then alone one will come to know the innumerable other thoughts which lie submerged in one’s subconscious and unconscious levels of the mind and which rise to the conscious level and cause disturbance to concentration on the Mantra. When the concentration on one Mantra together with Bhava (feeling of its meaning), is increased through a long and continued practice, the mind reaches the state of meditation.
In the second stage, one should sit in a comfortable posture, close the eyes and relax all the limbs of the body from toes to the crown of the head. The ears being open, external sounds naturally will impinge on them. One should be a witness to these external sounds and also be a witness to the inner thoughts that may arise one after another in endless succession. One should not go after those inner thoughts, nor should one pay any serious attention to the external sounds. By complete relaxation in the sitting posture and by remaining as a witness of the internal and external activities of the mind, the mind will become non-objectified, after continued, unbroken practice for a long period.
In the early stages care should be taken that one does not go to sleep.
Sincerity, earnestness and purity of thought, word and deed, are the important factors for success in the practice of meditation.
Be regular in your meditation. You will reap a rich spiritual harvest. – Sri Swami Sivananda