Corpse asana bad rap?
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2 queries about corpse asana.
I'm sure someone (on the forum) said it isn't a good idea to use it if advancing on to paranayama and so on.
Why? Crowley recommended it as legit didn't he?Secondly, someone told me that some factory workers who were suffering from slipped disks were told by their Doctor to lie on their backs every night but *on the floor *(i.e. what you and I would call "the corpse asana") as treatment. Sure enough , months passed after doing this exercise and their slipped disks were healed. How cool is that?
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It's cool, but it's hardly surprising. That's just simple physics that would let the back realign (as anyone could testify who has spent long stretches sleeping on a floor; in some ways, I prefer it to a bed for letting the body settle out).
It likely wouldn't fix something that was severe and genuinely required surgery, but there are a lot of cases where the spine just needs sufficient relaxation and a little gravity to let things slip back into place.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"It's cool, but it's hardly surprising. That's just simple physics that would let the back realign (as anyone could testify who has spent long stretches sleeping on a floor; in some ways, I prefer it to a bed for letting the body settle out).
It likely wouldn't fix something that was severe and genuinely required surgery, but there are a lot of cases where the spine just needs sufficient relaxation and a little gravity to let things slip back into place."
Yeah I don't think they were the level of surgery-requirement.
Anyway what about someone going through the Liber E/O pranayama exercise using corpse asana?
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@Saeptus said
"Sleeping on the ground outside (cold-hard surface) naturally forces you to rotate your body every sleep cycle. Also, you use your arm as a pillow (straight up going above head) and it increases upper body flexibility."
My initial impulse is to regard this as reckless if you're doing it in a cold climate. Summer perhaps but not Winter.
@gerry456 said
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@Jim Eshelman said
"It's cool, but it's hardly surprising. That's just simple physics that would let the back realign (as anyone could testify who has spent long stretches sleeping on a floor; in some ways, I prefer it to a bed for letting the body settle out).
It likely wouldn't fix something that was severe and genuinely required surgery, but there are a lot of cases where the spine just needs sufficient relaxation and a little gravity to let things slip back into place.""
Yeah I don't think they were the level of surgery-requirement.
Anyway what about someone going through the Liber E/O pranayama exercise using corpse asana?
The only setback is you would need to see your clock therefore, in this case your clock would have to be stuck to the ceiling so you could record the breath-counts. Lol.
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@gerry456 said
"2 queries about corpse asana.
I'm sure someone (on the forum) said it isn't a good idea to use it if advancing on to paranayama and so on.
Why? Crowley recommended it as legit didn't he?Secondly, someone told me that some factory workers who were suffering from slipped disks were told by their Doctor to lie on their backs every night but *on the floor *(i.e. what you and I would call "the corpse asana") as treatment. Sure enough , months passed after doing this exercise and their slipped disks were healed. How cool is that?"
shavasana (corpse position) is good for relaxation. but if you need a basic asana in order to further go into raja yoga, one with the spine upwards is, in my opinion, a much better choice (the goal is,after all, wakefulness, not simply body relaxation)
regarding sleeping on the floor, I sleep like this for about 3 years now (with a thin memory foam mattress, a roll-up type), and my body is very happy with this
(when I travel and have to sleep in a bed for couple of nights, the difference becomes obvious- the bed is highly uncomfortable in comparison to the floor!) -
@danica said
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shavasana (corpse position) is good for relaxation. but if you need a basic asana in order to further go into raja yoga, one with the spine upwards is, in my opinion, a much better choice (the goal is,after all, wakefulness, not simply body relaxation)
"Although Crowley says the corpse asana is more suitable for post asana alignment, this corpse asana appears to be my asana.
I did extensive work on the other straight-back asanas and they put a strain on my lower vertebrae and pelvis to the extent where there was constant nagging pain there, during my daily existence. The Vajrasana asana really did my insteps in, I recall myself hobbling about one particular weekend. The ibis just seems too wobbly for me.
I have subsequently substituted them for extensive corpse asana every night for weeks and it has completely healed my lower back pain which was instigated mainly by half-lotus asana and god asana. The corpse asana should not make one "sleepy" if you aim for an hour's work. The natural pain of it will wake you up. If you think the corpse asana is pain free then you are in for a surprise.
That's me, we're all unique.
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@gerry456 said
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Although Crowley says the corpse asana is more suitable for post asana alignment, this corpse asana appears to be my asana.I did extensive work on the other straight-back asanas and they put a strain on my lower vertebrae and pelvis to the extent where there was constant nagging pain there, during my daily existence. The Vajrasana asana really did my insteps in, I recall myself hobbling about one particular weekend. The ibis just seems too wobbly for me.
I have subsequently substituted them for extensive corpse asana every night for weeks and it has completely healed my lower back pain which was instigated mainly by half-lotus asana and god asana. The corpse asana should not make one "sleepy" if you aim for an hour's work. The natural pain of it will wake you up. If you think the corpse asana is pain free then you are in for a surprise.
That's me, we're all unique."
I agree on all points. I get constant nagging pain in the lower vertebrae as well, I'm not actually sure yet weather Dragon is hurting or healing due to the pops and stretches but I'm sticking with it in case it is actually healing it.
Basically because of my cfs and muscular armor taking a full relaxing breath while sitting up really hurts due to the lungs not expanding properly. I found corpse when I practiced it for at least 45 mins blew all the muscular problems away through intense contraction of the muscles against the floor- rigidity and then a wonderful relaxation. Concentration wasn't a problem. Maybe swallowing the tongue is a worry though? Unsure.When I succeeded in the rigidity it was like I was taking a full breath for the first time in years. Unfortunately I stopped it because like you I heared it was not great for all the techniques.
I really should just start relying on what works due to personal experimentation than well meaning direction from others of which works for most people. I'm sure AC mentioned that...Edit . I understand that copse is simply not suitable for all occasions , I am practicing two other different positions - It''s just that in my case - and others may find the same - that coprse first really seems to straighten the back, take the pressure off my upper back breathing system problems and allow for a lot of energy flow as these intense muscles finally relax. Though relax is too low a word for the feeling my body is being stretched in two. But it's a hell of a lot more deal-able than the immediate pressure and stress any sitting or standing asana atm (I tried stretching yoga for this but it ended up aggravating problems and gave me sciatica for 2 years. I now use very low impact tai chi ).