{"id":136578,"date":"2024-11-13T19:32:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T19:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.in.yoga\/?post_type=docs&p=136578"},"modified":"2024-11-30T20:37:40","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T20:37:40","password":"","slug":"principles-of-independent-practicing-yoga","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/www.in.yoga\/en\/ufy-books\/yoga-book\/principles-of-independent-practicing-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Principles of independent practicing yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doing yoga complex by yourself, you should pay attention to the following.<\/span><\/p>\n

Entering and exiting every pose<\/span><\/h3>\n

A lot about it was said above.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Stable state of your consciousness while doing all the complex of asanas<\/span><\/h3>\n

Stable consciousness is controlled by the breath, which is a guid-ing thread long all the complex. Rhythmic breathing is done in one rhythm both in asanas and passing from one exercise to another. No breaks between asanas: to sit, to think, to recover your breath and continue \u2014 is unacceptable, because it makes you lose your energy and disperses your consciousness. You start a rhythmical breathing, which already warms up the body, then you come to doing asanas. Entering and exiting asana should be done in the rhythm of our breath, not vice versa.<\/strong> Every time your breath breaks up from the initial rhythm, there is a failure of consciousness. If such malfunctions become nu-merous, maybe, it indicates that during the complex you should do a meditation on actualisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

If your breathing rhythm accelerates, after exiting the pose you should stabilise your breath. Normal breath means healthy heart. <\/span><\/p>\n

Deep breath in asana intensifies its effect, creating an additional rhythmical strain of channels at inhalation. Such breath is called \u00aba pump breath\u00bb.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sequence of exercises
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n

(running a little ahead)<\/span><\/p>\n

A complex is built with groups of three postures in each group. Every group one by one should worked out the anterior-middle, the posterior-middle and the diagonal meridians. Every next group of three does the same thing, only more intensively. <\/span><\/p>\n

Exercises with legs apart such as Bhujangasana, Paschimotanasana (konasana), and the pivoted Ardhamatsyendrasana with everted legs help to cleanse side channels, located in anterior and posterior sides of the body, aside from the central line. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bhujangasana with a \u00abrisen tail\u00bb \u2014 the bended knees, is a half-strengthening asana, which has a firming effect. Exercises for stretching work with the inner etheric; half-strengthening and strengthening \u2014 train the exterior etheric. Stretching asanas cleanse the channels and move the energy in the etheric, while strengthening asanas firm the energy and drive it into a certain chakra, helping to structure a firmer chakral field. <\/span><\/p>\n

Groups of asanas are chosen to include all elements. For exam-ple, the warming-up provides Wood energy, stretching asanas \u2014 Water energy, strengthening postures \u2014 Earth energy, small pranayamas, if done right, is Fire energy, Akapalabhati and Kapalabhati is Air and Metal. All elements should be presented in a complex in the precise order. If you ignore a group of exercises, your elements will be imbal-anced. For example, if you do everything, except the warm-up, in the long run you\u2019ll feel heaviness in your body, because there is a lack of Wood and Fire, while Earth and Water are trained a lot. <\/span><\/p>\n

If not to do firming half-strengthening postures, you\u2019ll feel certain looseness, as if you wanted to set out and flow. Such asanas firm our body after stretching poses. Too much of strengthening poses on the contrary make us too firm. \u00abGymholics\u00bb, if they don\u2019t do the stretch-ing, walk as if their body was constrained, because their channels are clogged. A wise trainer after weight-lifting exercises gives some stretching ones, otherwise the body loses grace and suppleness. What is the clogged channel physically? As soon as we stop driving physical energy to a blocked channel, our tissues start transforming into fat, because they lack energy. Either you lift weight from morning till dawn, or you put fat. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, if you want to build your own complex, you\u2019d better include a warming-up, some small pranayamas, at least three stretching asanas and some breathing exercises. Such complex first work out the joints, then small pranayamas work out the cardio-vascular system, then we activate our muscles \u2014 doing stretching postures, then we do some strengthening postures and finish with some breathwork. Sometimes we can swap strengthening and breathing exercises. If after yoga we have some unpleasant work to do, it\u2019s better to do breathing exercises before strengthening ones \u2014 to close the field. In other words, you firm your field, you feel good and it\u2019s easier to \u00abput a wall\u00bb; otherwise, if you have breathed nicely and feel alright, you can easily let enter some bad energies and states you don\u2019t need at all. All this is important to take into account. <\/span><\/p>\n

After aerobic exercises when doing mulabadha and other kriayas, it\u2019s advised to put some salt on tour tongue and to meditate at a dan-tian, until it starts pulsing. This has a juvenile effect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

WARNING!<\/strong> I don\u2019t recommend for beginners to do Shirshasana (standing on the head posture), although surely it\u2019s very healthy and is one of the main poses in yoga. The problem is that, if you want Shirshasana make you good and no harm, you must have a healthy neck. And most of people today have neck osteochondrosis after years of stooping at the desk. If they do Shirshasana, their neck-bone can be jammed, as well as other problems can occur. That\u2019s why I strongly recommend doing Shirshasana from the second year of practice, when your neck is to some extent cured by simpler asanas.<\/p>\n

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Time for yoga<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you are a \u00abnight owl\u00bb, you\u2019d better not do yoga in the morning before your body wakes up, otherwise pressure changes can be signifi-cant. If you measure your BP right after you wake up, it is low, and then it eventually stabilises. Only then you can start practicing. If you are a morning lark, your blood pressure lowers before you go to sleep, so this is the bad time for practice. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Set-ups<\/span><\/h3>\n

All small pranayamas should be done with the Manipura set-up, i.e. after doing them you should be hot. Doing strengthening asanas, you should breathe rhythmically with Muladhara set-up \u2014 otherwise your channels can be blocked by some less subtle energy. In particular you should pay attention on how deep you breath is, i.e. when you inhale, every breathing zone should be filled to the maximum. I recommend doing especially strengthening asanas with Muladhara set-up. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ajna set-up appears when you feel an exercise like an instrument of work with your body. For example, when we stretch our legs to sit into lotus \u2014 we do the stretching consciously, not automatically. So we are thinking how to stretch our leg so that it would be put into lotus. This is a conscious and sensible work. When we practice yoga Ajna set-up should always be at the background. Every exercise should be done not to sit the needed time in it, but to change yourself, clearly understanding that now with the help of asanas, pranayamas, mudras, meditation and so on I\u2019m working with my physical, etheric and astral planes. For example, you sit down to do a rhythmical breath. If some part of your body is not \u00abbreathed\u00bb enough, it should be breathed personally. After it is breathed, the warm feeling fills all your body. Listening to your body and using all known instruments to improve your state \u2014 that\u2019s what we call the Ajna set-up. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Chinese tradition there is a meditation \u00abjust to sit\u00bb. Just to sit and not be distracted, while behind you there is a man with a bamboo stick \u2014 walking and beating those who are distracted. It\u2019s not difficult to see when someone is distracted: his shoulders lift, his head and so on. In this case the role of the third eye is played by a man with a stick. It is not in our custom \u2014 everyone is his own third eye. Everyone decided for himself either he works in yoga or he is just spending time, because someone said it\u2019s good for health. It is good for health, if you know what you do, otherwise it\u2019s not good. It\u2019s not harmful, but with the same result you could sit and watch TV… Without consciousness the practice become religion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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How long should yoga session last<\/span><\/h3>\n

I think that a normal person can do yoga for not more than an hour a day. If you do it right, an hour is enough to fill you with energy. However there are three levels of training, three types of routines:<\/span><\/p>\n