Pranayama Results
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Yes
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@Jim Eshelman said
"As for the levitation, I'm sure that it's meant literally because (only one time) it happened to me. I only rose a few inches. My balance was bad (bad gyro" type of effect, and then my mind became excited and I dropped hard. "
Hrm, many of the comments on this thread have lead to some pondering...
I never paid much mind to it at the time, but a number of individuals claimed to see me "floating."
I say floating as opposed to levitation as I was not stationary. Instead this occurred while walking, as I am wont to do, and meditating as I do so. The meditation exercise involved synchronizing my walking along with my breathing, a cycle of mundras as well as a cycle of visualizations.
Two instances in particular stick out in my mind...
I was walking through a super-market. There was a woman working at the Customer Service desk that I am acquainted with. She is generally known to be a bitch (she has all ways been courteous and friendly with me) and seems to have a permanent look of distaste etched on her features.
Turning my head, to offer a friendly greeting I found her staring at me, mouth agape. I inquired as to what was wrong. A look of confusion over took her, as she began to say: "You... you do not walk. You just... you just kind of float across.. I mean.. your feet.. just.. " Laughing nervously, she wrote off the experience to having a rough day and has not mentioned it since.
The other instance that comes to mind involves a friend with a more interesting take on the phenomenon. He called it "the serial killer walk." Which took me rather aback, so I asked for him to go into more detail.
This was how he described it: "You know, like those killers in movies, where they all ways walk yet manage to overtake the person who is running. As, you look like you are taking a leisurely stroll, but you cover ground as if you were running. It even appears as if your feet are not even touching the ground, floating just above, free from the effects of gravity. "
He paused, shifting posture, indicating a level of discomfort. "You freak me out sometimes, lets just move on."
Blah! I was going to explore the 'teleporting' phenomenon mentioned by Dar but I must be off!
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@Uni_Verse said
"I never paid much mind to it at the time, but a number of individuals claimed to see me "floating."[/qiuote]
But... we know what they mean, right? I mean, many of the times I've run into you I thought you were floating.
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Just had a look at Liber Ru (Liber CCVI - RV vel Spiritus) for interests sake, saw the section now quoted:
"4. Second practice. Pranayama. --- This is outlined in Liber E. Further, let the Zelator accomplished in those practices endeavour to master a cycle of 10, 20, 40 or even 16, 32, 64. But let this be done gradually and with due caution. And when he is steady and easy both in Asana and Pranayama, let him still further increase the period.
Thus let him investigate these statements which follow: ---a. If Pranayama be properly performed, the body will first of all become covered with sweat. This sweat is different in character from that customarily induced by exertion. If the Practitioner rub this sweat thoroughly into his body, he will greatly strengthen it.
b. The tendency to perspiration will stoÿ as the practice is continued, and the body become automatically rigid.
Describe this rigidity with minute accuracy.
c. The state of automatic rigidity will develop into a state characterised by violent spasmodic movements of which the Practitioner is unconscious, but of whose result he is aware. This result is that the body hops gently from place to place. After the first two or three occurrences of this experience, Asana is not lost. The body appears (on another theory) to have lost its weight almost completely and to be moved by an unknown force.
d. As a development of this stage, the body rises into the air, and remains there for an appreciably long period, from a second to an hour or more.
"Seems to be exactly what you guys are talking about. 'The body hops gently from place to place,' especially that 'movements of which the Practitioner is unconscious' - seems very similar to what Jim was describing, and d. seems to be referring unambiguously to the so-described levitation. Crowley seems to suggest that the levitation is a direct result of the movement from place to place.
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@Laura Marx said
"Just had a look at Liber Ru (Liber CCVI - RV vel Spiritus) for interests sake, saw the section now quoted:
"4. Second practice. Pranayama. --- This is outlined in Liber E. Further, let the Zelator accomplished in those practices endeavour to master a cycle of 10, 20, 40 or even 16, 32, 64. But let this be done gradually and with due caution. And when he is steady and easy both in Asana and Pranayama, let him still further increase the period.
Thus let him investigate these statements which follow: ---a. If Pranayama be properly performed, the body will first of all become covered with sweat. This sweat is different in character from that customarily induced by exertion. If the Practitioner rub this sweat thoroughly into his body, he will greatly strengthen it.
b. The tendency to perspiration will stoÿ as the practice is continued, and the body become automatically rigid.
Describe this rigidity with minute accuracy.
c. The state of automatic rigidity will develop into a state characterised by violent spasmodic movements of which the Practitioner is unconscious, but of whose result he is aware. This result is that the body hops gently from place to place. After the first two or three occurrences of this experience, Asana is not lost. The body appears (on another theory) to have lost its weight almost completely and to be moved by an unknown force.
d. As a development of this stage, the body rises into the air, and remains there for an appreciably long period, from a second to an hour or more.
"Seems to be exactly what you guys are talking about. 'The body hops gently from place to place,' especially that 'movements of which the Practitioner is unconscious' - seems very similar to what Jim was describing, and d. seems to be referring unambiguously to the so-described levitation. Crowley seems to suggest that the levitation is a direct result of the movement from place to place."
Interesting explanation for that experience.
Also, very timely of you to bump this thread since I just recently started working on pranayama myself and actually looked at this thread just last night. Certainly not the easiest or most comfortable practice.
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Crowley mentions the possibility of experimenting with the effects of varying the breath cycle as well as noting the effects of certain gases--among which he includes carbon dioxide. This is interesting because oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood have everything to do with blood Ph levels--which can swing in either the direction of acidosis or alkalosis. Now, I do not wish to attribute every PY phenomenon to the acidosis/alkalosis ratios; however, given that PY techniques certainly, and quite quickly, alter blood Ph, we can at least think of the physiological phenomenon as the locus or "support" of certain PY effects. Thus, for example, acidosis, or blood Ph lower than 7.3, can produce tetany--which in a controlled state of PY and Dhyana can surely be understood to account for "automatic rigidity". It is fascinating, and needs to be explored further--if I recall, a small book on yoga by Ernest Woods has a chapter concerning these effects as well in physio terms.
www.mhhe.com/biosci/ap/foxhumphys/student/olc/u-reading1.html -
@kasper81 said
"The OP brings up a good point. Where to go after working hard on asana/pranayama. The end result?."
If you have not passed all the other exams for 2=9, then the next step would be those.
ordoaa.org/grade2.htmIf you have passed them, then it's the tasks of 3=9.
ordoaa.org/grade3.htm -
@kasper81 said
"Yes I meant ultimately why was he doing these paranayama sessions in the long term? The goal was to be able to build up magical force in ritual."
In the A.'.A.'. , the goal of all the practices of the first 6 grades (from Probationer, to Dominus Liminis) is to become well-equipped ans stable enough to attain K&C of the HGA.
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About automatic rigidity.
I have achieved it twice in corpse - I'm learning Dragon at the moment since I figured it was more 'portable'.
Now the difference seems to be , when in corpse the shaking and muscular spasms seem to be balanced against the floor in some way. The only 'movement' is a nice stretching of the spine vertically with relaxing neck pops, turning in and out of pain until all pain is gone and ridgidty paradoxically became utter relaxation while still remaining rigid.In Dragon, within five minutes the legs are alternately utterly relaxed AND twitching to such a degree they actually launch me into the air to a point where the feet themselves are almost leaving the floor. Last night I spent 3 minutes twitching up and down about twice a second. Like sitting on a jackhammer!
The more I practice, the sooner the jerking begins.
Wonder if that was part of the 'jumping around like a frog' early symptoms.**edit , after 2 days more practice , no it's not, it's just simply the thighs trying to relax through years of tenseness IMO.
