KY practices during illness

February 4, 2001

Hello, All.

A couple of questions:

1. How should one alter one's practice of KY during illnesses such as colds

and flus?

2. Should one take cold showers when one has a cold or the flu?

Also, I was wondering if others have days where the energy to do yoga in

any form just won't come? It's like a day where you wake up and your entire

attitude towards yoga, cold showers (even with pre-shower oil massage!),

and even eating well for breakfast flips to oppositional. What do days like

these mean for your practice?

Sat Nam,

Nina

P.S. Thanks to all of you who responded to my previous questions. I really

appreciate the feedback.

February 6, 2001

Sat Nam Nina:

> 1. How should one alter one's practice of KY during illnesses such

>as colds and flus?

Take it easy - if you are working through a 40-day set or something,

do the minimum times. Go slow, relax between postures, don't overdo.

There are various practices (like sitali pranayam) that are helpful.

> 2. Should one take cold showers when one has a cold or the flu?

No, stick with warm water. In fact, a hot bath is very helpful to

get rid of toxins. There is a procedure which I find extremely

helpful: submerged in the hot bath, inhale, exhale, hold the breath

out, and pump the navel point 26 times. Repeat for (up to) 15

minutes. Rinse off and wrap up in blankets for 1-2 hours afterward.

Every time I feel as if I'm getting something I do this, and feel

great the next day.

> and even eating well for breakfast flips to oppositional. What do

>days like these mean for your practice?

Means you are normal My experience is that sadhana on such days

often turn out to be my best sadhanas, as I usually feel just

wonderful afterward, so I just try to be patient with myself and work

my way through it. It is simply resistance to the process of change -

we find all sorts of ways to resist...

Love & blessings,

Sadhant

February 6, 2001

In a message dated 02/06/2001 9:24:04 PM W. Europe Standard Time,

kundaliniyoga writes:

> > and even eating well for breakfast flips to oppositional. What do

> >days like these mean for your practice?

>

> Means you are normal My experience is that sadhana on such days

> often turn out to be my best sadhanas, as I usually feel just

> wonderful afterward, so I just try to be patient with myself and work

> my way through it. It is simply resistance to the process of change -

> we find all sorts of ways to resist...

>

> Love & blessings,

> Sadhant

I wonder if any experienced practitioners have noticed a phenomenon

like "overtraining" related to KY practice?

I ask because I have dealt with overtraining related to running.

Symptoms are reluctance to run, chronic exhaustion,

sleep disruptions, chronic muscle soreness, predisposition

to injury and it just gets uglier from there.

One of the best ways to avoid overtraining when running is to listen

to your bodymind; if you really feel averse to running, that is a warning sign

of overtraining and indicates you might be better taking the day off.

Mild depression/lack of enthusiasm for the run is the first overtraining

symptom most people notice. And most people ignore it, considering

it a sign of laziness or some such.

I think I have noticed a phenomenon a bit like overtraining in my

sadhana. It seems very physical but also energetic? It happens

when I have just taken a class and done a whole new set for example.

If I have a really intense and grueling practice one day,

where a LOT of energy moves, the next

day I may be tender, irritable and uninterested in doing any of the new

exercises that made me that way.

I have experienced being downright

averse to practice, as in it is a tossup between doing my

yoga set and going to the dentist in terms of which might be more

pleasurable. On those days I skipped, and the next day or the day after

my enthusiasm returned and practice was no problem. I don't think

I hurt my growth process by skipping on those days, but I would be willing to

hear another point of view.

I suspect one issue here might be learning to distinguish between

resistance to change vs. warning messages from the bodymind

saying "ENOUGH has been done and i NEED another day to process

out the effects of your last practice, PLEASE!"

Ardas Kaur

February 7, 2001

[i wonder if any experienced practitioners have

noticed a phenomenon

like "overtraining" related to KY practice?]

I would also be interested in hearing from others on

this! I teach alot of KY classes, participate in

most, and wonder sometimes about over-extension etc.

daisie

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February 7, 2001

In a message dated 02/07/2001 4:58:54 PM W. Europe Standard Time,

kundaliniyoga writes:

> I'm sure many people are familiar with the idea of 40-day sets (90-

> day sets, even 1000-day sets), and one of the practices associated

> with this is that skipping a day means you should re-start the

> practice from the beginning. I have passed on this story before, but

> a few years ago the community in Espanola was celebrating for someone

> who had completed 1000 days of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya. About a year

> into the practice, she became too sick to practice for a couple of

> days, and had to start over from the beginning!

>

Thank you Sadhant!

It is all very individual, but I have to say that the perspective

described above does not help me. I find it discouraging...

I have done many difficult things in my life ~a day at a

time~, and that way of approaching things

has worked for me. Taking on a philosophy

where what I have done doesn't count unless I do it for a long time

without missing a day is probably not going to happen.

The fear of missing a day would make me not want to begin.

But different strokes for different folks; I suppose some people

might find this very motivational.

Ardas Kaur

February 7, 2001

Dear friends:

I have experienced some of the "overtraining" type symptoms from time

to time, but (based on what other teachers have passed on) have very

consciously not skipped practice (I might do a very light practice,

or practice at another time of day, or focus on relaxations between

every posture, various things to change my perspective).

I'm sure many people are familiar with the idea of 40-day sets (90-

day sets, even 1000-day sets), and one of the practices associated

with this is that skipping a day means you should re-start the

practice from the beginning. I have passed on this story before, but

a few years ago the community in Espanola was celebrating for someone

who had completed 1000 days of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya. About a year

into the practice, she became too sick to practice for a couple of

days, and had to start over from the beginning!

A little commentary from YB:

YB: "Whenever you have a problem with sadhana you are very fortunate

because it indicates you are working on something. That is the time

to beat it out of your system."

Student: "How can I find out what it is?"

YB: "There is nothing to find out. Just go through it. Whenever

you have a problem with sadhana, luck is smiling at you. That is

what you are waiting for. There is a challenge, and you can

challenge it and go through it."

Student: "How do you challenge it?"

YB: "Challenge it by doing it."

Another one I like.

YB: "Some people ask me, they say 'You are a Master! Why do you do

sadhana?' I say, 'To remain a Master!'".

I usually don't want to get up. I never want to get under the cold

water, and I often don't want to do yoga, or chant for an hour. I

have never been sorry when I'm done, though, and, as I said before,

it is often the hardest days when I feel the best afterward. I think

the days when practice seems like a real problem are the days that

pay off the most in the long run. I'm not saying overdo, I'm just

saying do.

All love surround you,

Sadhant

February 7, 2001

Dear All,

Thanks for so many insights into what might be going on when resistance to

practice rises. I have printed numerous of these messages and saved them

for thinking about later.

I have been fishing for insight in the non-virtual realms of my life and

have "caught" something you all might be interested in. This according to a

friend of mine who is trying to "remember correctly" (correct me if we're

wrong):

In buddhism, there is a phrase that describes this resistance to practice:

sansho shima. My friend seemed to remember that sansho means 3 and shima

means devils. Essentially, a person who is moving forward will feel the

pressure of the wind on their face.

Also, when I described my all-out internal fight to run the other way from

practice to my husband, he suggested that perhaps the resistance signifies

that whatever "demon" I'm unconsciously working to clear had decided I was

too close to home and began to fight back through internal strife.

Basically, turning me against that which would clear it out. This is a

variation on some of the earlier suggestions/explanations by others.

I am also interested in the suggestion that resistance could indicate

something akin to "overtraining". I had wondered about that.

Thanks for all of your input,

Nina

February 7, 2001

Dear Ardas Kaur:

I think I didn't get across one of my points well, so let me approach

it from a different direction. If I push my students so much that

they are sore the next day, or too tired for their own practice, than

I have done a poor job. Of course most classes (of mine, anyway)

consist of students of all different abilities, so it is necessary to

do two things - choose sets and lengths for postures that are

reasonable for the whole group, and emphasize that each student be

sensitive to their bodies and to stop before they overdo.

For example, consider the forward stretch. If you do this stretch

every day, and carefully observe your limitations, never stretching

beyond what is comfortable, you will progress in a natural and

comfortable way, and over any given period of time, will see

consistent improvement - all positive feedback, continuous progress

(given the natural cycles of change), a rewarding and pleasurable

experience.

But if you overdo, the next day you will be sore. You will want to

skip that stretch, and even if you don't, you can't stretch as far,

and probably have set yourself back by several days before you can

get back to where you were when you overdid - a negative feedback

cycle, interrupting the comfortable flow of progress. I'm sure we

have all done similar things, and I use this as an anology for our

larger practices.

I find that my progress and sense of well-being and comfort with this

work is best supported by a daily practice. These practices are an

extremely supportive aspect of my life. Overdoing is always a

setback, and if that comes at a time when other issues of life are

particularly challenging, then I may not have the support I need

coming from this work. Which in turn might lead me to question the

value of doing the work, so I might skip again, and in turn the

problems of life make my attitude about practice worse, and so on...

In fact, this kind of downward spiral once knocked me completely out

of my yoga & meditation practices and contributed to a significant

health problem and a very dark and difficult period of my life. I

was not practicing KY at the time, but rather hatha, and it was years

before I encountered KY, and finally began a journey back toward

stability and health (well, at least I have health

Finally, it isn't that missing a day means our work "doesn't count" -

everything we do counts. But a 40-day set feels different than doing

20 days and then skipping a day and doing another 20 (try it and

see). If you have to stop for some reason in the middle, so what?

We don't have to judge ourselves, or fear anything. There are no

yoga police. Nobody will show up at the door and revoke our license

to do Sat Kriya (although sometimes I wish they would

Love & blessings,

Sadhant

February 7, 2001

In a message dated 02/08/2001 5:06:34 AM W. Europe Standard Time,

kundaliniyoga writes:

> Dear Ardas Kaur:

>

> I think I didn't get across one of my points well, so let me approach

> it from a different direction. If I push my students so much that

> they are sore the next day, or too tired for their own practice, than

> I have done a poor job. Of course most classes (of mine, anyway)

> consist of students of all different abilities, so it is necessary to

> do two things - choose sets and lengths for postures that are

> reasonable for the whole group, and emphasize that each student be

> sensitive to their bodies and to stop before they overdo.

Hi Sadhant-

Were I in your class, I doubt you would have the power to stop

me from overdoing... I think it is the responsibility of the student

although a sensitive teacher

can facilitate responsible behavior.

I am still smarting a wee bit from my teacher telling me last night

that I had best back off from a certain

backbend and do a modified version.

I think she crossed a personal line for me when she tried to make

the judgement call ~for~ me, of what I should and should not attempt.

I did really appreciate it, that she presented modified poses.

Okay, here is a question. Do you think it is

possible that so much energy can be moved/released

in a single practice, that a person is wise not to practice the next day?

>

> I find that my progress and sense of well-being and comfort with this

> work is best supported by a daily practice. These practices are an

> extremely supportive aspect of my life. Overdoing is always a

> setback, and if that comes at a time when other issues of life are

> particularly challenging, then I may not have the support I need

> coming from this work. Which in turn might lead me to question the

> value of doing the work, so I might skip again, and in turn the

> problems of life make my attitude about practice worse, and so on...

I think you are probably simply saner/healthier than I am about the issue

of "progress". I am attached to that notion and I probably can't

do enough to release it in this lifetime. It only took me ten years

to accept that I needed to spend the time in corpse pose after doing my

poses. I thought I was just lying there wasting time; but now

I can feel how the corpse pose protects me from adrenal burnout.

> In fact, this kind of downward spiral once knocked me completely out

> of my yoga & meditation practices and contributed to a significant

> health problem and a very dark and difficult period of my life. I

> was not practicing KY at the time, but rather hatha, and it was years

> before I encountered KY, and finally began a journey back toward

> stability and health (well, at least I have health

I suspected you had some kind of experience of personal darkness,

otherwise you would not be so devoted to giving and caring for others,

nor would you be so wonderful at it.

There, can you stomach that

compliment? (The true test of the enlightened!)

>

> Finally, it isn't that missing a day means our work "doesn't count" -

> everything we do counts. But a 40-day set feels different than doing

> 20 days and then skipping a day and doing another 20 (try it and

> see).

I will try it. On days when I feel adverse I will do a weenie practice

with the minimum time.

Today will be day 2 of a 40 day cycle

devoted to the set I learned last night in class

since I will count doing the set in class last night as day 1.

>If you have to stop for some reason in the middle, so what?

> We don't have to judge ourselves, or fear anything. There are no

> yoga police. Nobody will show up at the door and revoke our license

> to do Sat Kriya (although sometimes I wish they would

Do you promise? I mean, really promise? Are you SURRRE?

I have this nightmare of walking into a room full of people with

funny white hats on who immediately point at me and intone

SHE SKIPS DAYS OF SADHANA! BEGONE, YE

FALSE SEEKER!

>

> Love & blessings,

> Sadhant

>

Back atcha

Ardas Kaur

February 8, 2001

Dear Ardas Kaur:

> Okay, here is a question. Do you think it is

> possible that so much energy can be moved/released

> in a single practice, that a person is wise not to practice the

next day?

I think it is quite possible to move/release so much energy that a

person would be wise not to practice for a week - or perhaps even

several years - maybe lifetimes, I don't know... This stuff is

potent! I think it is wise to avoid doing this, that's all.

> poses. I thought I was just lying there wasting time; but now

I can so relate to this. When I first started - and for quite some

time, I really disliked the relaxation time. I didn't understand how

important it was, I was unable to be still, it really drove me nuts!

It tooke me quite some time to get past that. It is often my

favorite part of sadhana these days. Maybe I'm just getting in touch

with my inner laziness

> I suspected you had some kind of experience of personal darkness,

> otherwise you would not be so devoted to giving and caring for

Your kind words honor me greatly. I hope I can help people to avoid

going through the sort of difficult period I have experienced, and I

know the key for me is to learn to be more kind and patient with

myself. This is a slow process.

For 6 months or so I simply couldn't stay awake during the sadhana

chants. I would get through 1 or 2 chants and just fall over. I

really felt bad, like I was doing something wrong and was totally

missing out on the benefits or something (but still, no yoga police

showed up!

Finally I contacted my first teacher, who doesn't live around here

any more, to ask for suggestions on how to stop doing this. She told

me instead to just accept that I needed to fall asleep during the

sadhana chants right now, and to work on loving myself for whatever I

was able to do.

So (with a little time), I started looking forward to sleeping

through the sadhana chants. I started to be more appreciative of

just getting into my yoga area and doing what I could do that day,

and not worrying about how much I had done or what I could or should

have done. And one day I realized that I had got all the way through

the chants, and enjoyed it very much - and then for several months I

did that every day. One day I didn't, I fell asleep, and I enjoyed

that very much too...

We are always the harshest judges of ourselves. Holding ourselves up

to some standard of perfection is not a good idea. Loving ourselves

for who and what we are right now is what really counts.

All love surround you,

Sadhant

February 8, 2001

Dear Sadhant Singh,

I hope I can help people to avoid

> going through the sort of difficult period I have experienced,

My experience and observation of life (see NMB on Saturn) is that we cannot

avoid our difficult times and we wouldn't want to because that is how we

learn t empower ourselves.

and I

> know the key for me is to learn to be more kind and patient with myself.

However, we can move through them more lovingly and gracefully. I think

that is what you are sharing. And BTW you are doing a great job! Thanks

for all your insightful, truthful and compassionate responses.

>This is a slow process.

Alas, welcome to Earth School. Well, the good news is we have lots of

supportive schoolmates on this list.

In the end, the lesson is self love, even if you have to fall asleep in

Sadhana for years to learn it. :+) And we thought it was about chanting.

Sat Nam,

Gururattan Kaur

February 8, 2001

Dear Friends,

"Sadhant Singh" <kundaliniyoga