Asana
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@jcrow said
"In regards to the Dragon asana; are the toes curled underneath pointing back towards the body? or pointed behind you so the insteps would be flat on the floor toes pointed behind you?"
There seems to be some confusion about this, due to a book that was released a while back (I forget the name) that had the Dragon posture labelled as one that has the toes curled towards the body.
This however is completely wrong and stems from somebodies misinterpreting of Liber E.
The correct posture is simply to sit in what the Japanese call Seiza.
This posture is difficult enough over long periods, but has the virtue of being well balanced. if you try to sit in the other one for an hour you'll mess your feet up.
93 93/93
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@Dar es Allrah said
"The ONLY thing that is relevant to ANY yoga position through which you are trying to raise the Kundalini - is that the back is straight!"
I would agree that the back being straight is the most important aspect of posture.
Though I would add the implication of straight is relative to the natural curvature of the spine. -
@Archaeus said
"The correct posture is simply to sit in what the Japanese call Seiza."
The Japanese seiza differs depending on whether you are male or female, men sitting with the knees apart and women with them together. I think the "dragon" posture most closely resembles the female seiza.
In ancient Egyptian art, people are often depicted seated this way. If you look through a bunch of these pictures, you'll see that sometimes the toes are shown flat and sometimes curled (and sometimes you can't tell). So from antiquity it has apparently been a matter of personal preference.
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Does anyone here agree with the idea that you shouldn't eat before asana and that in the morning upon waking up is the best time for it? I have found the opposite to be true, when I'm not full my stomach hurts, I sweat a lot and I feel way more itchy and fidgety than when I have food in me. And also how straight should your back be in the God asana? If I straighten it to the point where it feels straight I get sharp pains through my back.
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I think it depends for me on the tyoes of asanas I will be doing, and the style. if i am working a flow like the sun salutation, or inversions like the wheel, I like to be pretty empty, even water sometimes gets to sloshy inside.
I like to eat some fruit and raw veggies a bit before doing leg postures such as the warriors, and most all balancing postures are more grounded when i have a bit of something in me, but just enough to keep my blood sugar level normal for a period of time.
I know though that the heavynes of food and the workings of digestion are not ideal for most people during asana, and that the emptier the beter in most situations.
Some postures are very stimulation and vigorius which makes them ideal for morning, while others are relaxing and soothing and are better for evening.
Fitting time into your day or night to be on the mat is beneficial, regardless.
If you are having pain in a posture you may need to examine your alignments and if they are off slowly work on relaxing those muscles, retraining the muscle to be in correct alignment for yiur body. Props can be very helpful to the body, a rolled blanket, a wooden block, or a chair can help compensate for our individual physical condtionings that are maki g postures difficult and painful.
You spine is not straight, btw. -
The whole difference between regular yoga, (posture, breathing, spine straight, silence of mind or one-pointedness of mind,) and advanced yoga which trains one for Magick, is that you must learn to hold your body still in geometric positions for long periods of time.
This forces you to have to hold a sometimes difficult position for a long time, all the while letting go of your ego, (which is what all the nothingness is about,) which builds extreme spiritual energy, and forces the learning of extreme spiritual patience.
You can imagine the advantages for Magick:
Being in a trance-like state, in K&C of your HGA whilst tracing pentagrams. Your mind and body must be in tandem, combining ego-loss for the K&C, raising kundalini and Magickal energy, then the control of the body and mind for directing that flow of energy.
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@TyDP11 said
"Does anyone here agree with the idea that you shouldn't eat before asana and that in the morning upon waking up is the best time for it? I have found the opposite to be true, when I'm not full my stomach hurts, I sweat a lot and I feel way more itchy and fidgety than when I have food in me. And also how straight should your back be in the God asana? If I straighten it to the point where it feels straight I get sharp pains through my back."
While i would agree the best time to perform asana is in the morning upon waking before eating...
But that is a general rule, a thing to be aimed for.I am in a similar situation as you.
I am very thin (borderline healthy) and sometimes it is more important that I eat a good breakfast and hydrate myself than perform 'proper magick ritual'Normally, I wake up, make some coffee, eat a little, drink some water.
This, I refer to as : "Ensuring the Temple is aright."
I then wait about an hour before doing my daily meditation and rituals.
If I do not "ensure the Temple is aright" most often I end up not eating at all...
Which is very unhealthy, as you might imagine.
EDIT:
I wanted to stress that it is best to wait at least 30-40 mins after eating before doing any meditation or ritual work. -
@Uni_Verse said
"
I am in a similar situation as you.
I am very thin (borderline healthy) and sometimes it is more important that I eat a good breakfast and hydrate myself than perform 'proper magick ritual'Normally, I wake up, make some coffee, eat a little, drink some water.
This, I refer to as : "Ensuring the Temple is aright."
I then wait about an hour before doing my daily meditation and rituals.
If I do not "ensure the Temple is aright" most often I end up not eating at all...
"I do the same. If I don't eat an hour or so beforehand, there's a good chance I'm going to go the entire day without eating anything at all.
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@00000 said
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@Uni_Verse said
"
I am in a similar situation as you.
I am very thin (borderline healthy) and sometimes it is more important that I eat a good breakfast and hydrate myself than perform 'proper magick ritual'Normally, I wake up, make some coffee, eat a little, drink some water.
This, I refer to as : "Ensuring the Temple is aright."
I then wait about an hour before doing my daily meditation and rituals.
If I do not "ensure the Temple is aright" most often I end up not eating at all...
"I do the same. If I don't eat an hour or so beforehand, there's a good chance I'm going to go the entire day without eating anything at all."
You two, if my awareness serves me correctly, are in a predicament I used to be in myself:
If you are the type of person to go a long time without eating if you do not eat in the morning, eat all of your food at night. This is how I do it --
About 10 or 11 o' the clock at night, I prepare a huge feast of rice, oats, potatoes, fruit, vegetables, and cayenne pepper on everything. I smoke a little herb, just a little to enhance my appetite. (I do not advocate anything illegal, nor do I mention anything illegal, and what I do is legal where I live.
) I have a glass of burgundy to help do the same, as well as settle my stomach and mind, then feast, study, write, drink a little, and by the time the 2 or 3 hour gradual feast is done, I've devoured maybe 3-5 pounds of food. (Rice and oats absorb a lot of water.)In the morning, I wake up without the need to eat, and I start my meditation right away. An interesting note, I do my night-time meditation before, or while my food is cooking. This helps me experience the "loathsomeness of food", one of the forty buddhist meditations, which happens to correspond to Luna. I slowly, (and admittedly, still), come to grips with being in need of food, smelling the food in the room as it is done or cooking, and knowing I have to finish my meditation beforehand.
The initial post sounds like you need to get your appetite, lust for food, and eating schedule balanced. There are plenty of herbs that can help you with this, (yes), but remember to never overdo anything, especially food. You can always come off a natural herb harmlessly, (physically anyways.. we learn that pain is an illusion), but you can never replace long-term overweight-ness by going back in time and undoing the damage to your body.
Continue your meditation and try to work it around you not being reliant on food. This works, as we know, all powers of the mind and spirit are greater and can overcome all the weight and drag of the mundane physical body. 'Tis all in your mind, you can train your body to eat less and keep the same weight. I also suggest excercise, natural excercise like walking, running, hiking through the woods, climbing trees/hills/mountains/etc. This will train your mind to be in a natural state with nature when you meditate, having gone through physical "labor" around nature. You will think less of food and more of air, heartbeat, breathing, etc..
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Ah! Thank you for your concern.
I have some issues with the process, the idea of eating.
You might call it a personal Ordeal.
In addition to that I am recovering from a period of horribly abusing my body.
Up on days for end, doing all kinds of things, mainly dancing.
Dancing dancing dancingAs I mentioned, it is a ritual.
A personal yoga.
To remind my self I am an incarnate being.
And the body is my Temple.
To be loved and cared for.
Not told what to do.
"Living life at my own pace"
A heart beat rhythm
Oh! I am tempted to reveal the plate!
I instead once again
Re take ones vow
(Silence) -
@TyDP11 said
"Does anyone here agree with the idea that you shouldn't eat before asana and that in the morning upon waking up is the best time for it? I have found the opposite to be true, when I'm not full my stomach hurts, I sweat a lot and I feel way more itchy and fidgety than when I have food in me. And also how straight should your back be in the God asana? If I straighten it to the point where it feels straight I get sharp pains through my back."
I'll give you one tip that it seems to me a crazy amount of magick-practitioners somehow misunderstand about Asana (for many years, myself included): its not actually the "point" of Asana to be in pain while doing it. In fact, its not in any way helpful.
Sometimes, its not avoidable; but its never actually necessary. And yet for some reason a great many magicians seem to believe that the more asana hurts, the "better" you're doing it or the more hardcore you are, or something. That's counterproductive nonsense.
93!
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@Dar es Allarah said
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@Swamiji said
"That's counterproductive nonsense."I agree."
If a posture is causing pain it is helpful to use props. The science of body work, and our understanding of anatonmy and physiology has made tremendous srides in yoga.
An Iyengar studio could be mistaken for some sort of s & m chamber, with all the props, but they are all used to help the body compensate for its current limitations.
i learned not to long ago, if it hurts...back off, breathe and hold where you are comfortable.