Monthly Archives: January 2024

YOGA AND SEX

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The lessons we are learning on the physical plane are the reasons for our existence on this plane. Those lessons can only be learned here. Our physical form is the utility for the necessary experiences. We are divided into gender, male and female. Sex shouldn’t be treated as a hindrance to enlightenment or spiritual wholeness, but recognized as a microcosmic expression os the macrocosmic duality that animates our universe. The relationship represented by the yin yang symbol shows the ‘one’ being made aware of its self through interaction with the ‘other’, forming the ‘whole’.10174920_244410899077408_1100775321_nYoga reveres balance, and sexual union is the balance of opposites, a manifestation of our divine nature. Sex is sacred, not against God, not a sin. The yogi is God loving rather than God fearing. The yogi chooses to embrace his or her nature rather than deny it. If you call a healthy , natural expression of life a sin, then you can expect to live in a perpetual state of guilt.

The word for sex in Sanskrit is ‘kama’, as in Kama Sutra, the classic seventh century manual of lovemaking. Kama translates as ‘love-sex together’. Sex and love are entwined in one concept. Kama is also the name for the Hindu goddess of love.

Weight Loss Through Yoga, Jewel in the Lotus    Pages 102 and 103.

IN THE PRESENCE

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imagesYoga Nidra as presented in this book was taught by Yogi Amrit  Desai. If you feel it would be interesting or helpful to spend some time with a self-realized being, a true yogi guru of the Indian tradition, you might consider a pilgrimage to visit Yogi Amrit Desai. Known to his followers as Gurudev, he was a pioneer helping to bring yoga to America. He founded the Kripalu Yoga Center in Lennox, Massachusetts in the 1970’s. Once the center was established and thriving, politics surrounding misinterpretation of morality at different levels of spiritual development, threatened destruction of the resource. Amrit Desai selflessly walked away from his creation that it might continue to spread the message of yoga.

The Kripala Yoga Center continues and prospers, albeit without its original inspiration, and Gurudev maintains a peaceful presence  at the Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, Florida surrounded by those who appreciate the importance of the guru as a spiritual resource. Amrit is a lively man in his eighties, and with amazing vital energy and amiable goodwill, he makes himself available to those who want to share his presence. It is an important part of spiritual education to be around such a teacher, to see how exceptional, yet human, they are and to observe the people around the guru, to see how they relate to each other and to their teacher.

 

Weight Loss Through Yoga, Jewel in the Lotus        page 119

UNDERSTANDING BEYOND OUR RANGE OF PERCEPTION

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Fractal — Weight Loss Through Yoga, Jewel in the Lotus

Fractal — Weight Loss Through Yoga, Jewel in the Lotus

…yoga tradition believes the universe is mirrored in each of us. Nature has a working set of solutions that is used on ever greater or lesser scales for everything, as our recent appreciation of fractals demonstrates. To understand something on a scale within our perceptual range allows us to imagine solutions to questions above or below that range.

Weight Loss Through Yoga, Jewel in the Lotus        page 8

ASANAS III

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Because asana quiets the mind, it is preparation for meditation. Indeed, it can be a form of meditation. It fosters awareness of the mind’s functioning, the body’s state of wellbeing, and the mechanics of breath. Asana helps us reconnect with the vast wisdom that controls and directs body function, the same wisdom that wants to bring our body into healthy balance.

weight loss through yoga

weight loss through yoga

ASANA

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Moving into and holding various configurations of the physical body as part of the practice of yoga is called asana. When people in the West think of yoga, this narrow range of the total discipline commonly comes to mind. In Sanskrit, ‘asana’ translates as ‘seat’ or ‘seat next to the teacher’, expressing the need to be comfortable in the body before other learning can commence.

weight loss through yoga

weight loss through yoga

Asana practice improves health, strength, flexibility and balance. The lymphatic system of the body needs movement and the flexing of muscles to propel lymph fluids through the body. All the components of the body need to be exercised to maintain optimum function. Without stimulation they tend to atrophy.

MEDITATION and the ENERGY OF ATTENTION

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MEDITATION

MEDITATION

The energy of attention stimulates latent apana. Because of the sexual nature of the pelvic prana, sensual arousal might occur. Just observe and accept. There is no need to censure the experience. Enjoy the meditation in observer consciousness.

After a set number of breaths, the attention moves up to the first chakra. If the meditator has time, he or she can relax into the experience and allow attention to percolate up to the sacrum on its own. The first chakra is awash with the color red. When initially meditating, all the aspirant needs is to be aware of is the color expressed through each chakra. With practice, all that will be necessary is to touch the front of the body over a particular chakra and the color associated with it will appear before the mind’s eye. Relax into the hue, feel it as much as visualize it. The shade of the color may vary from meditation to meditation and can be an indicator of the influences the person is presently under.

WEIGHT LOSS THROUGH YOGA, JEWEL IN THE LOTUS    page 60

ENERGY OF ATTENTION

ENERGY OF ATTENTION