Seth Ananda

thanks, but um, where is the article section?

Oh and I put the Cobra breath and Kundalini practices together in one spot, http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/18071-cobra-breath-kundalini-practices/

Wow, Thanks a lot, and I have a lot of respect for your opinion, so again, Wow. Thank you. Its good to know there are teachers like that still out there

Hundun or Creation, Mark Griffin sounds Very cool. Can you tell me more? Thanks Seth.

The practice of Surrender. Once you feel the 'Light' or the 'One' really learn/practice letting go whole bodily into it. The more you can allow Oneness access to your nervous system the more stresses, holdings and grasping traits, it will just Eliminate. Meditate on the One being, set up rhythmic, deep but relaxed breathing, and just start surrendering everything to it. If distractions or fears or blocks, on any level come up, then Offer them to the One. OM SHIVA SVAHA is a tantric way of doing this. Its an Offering mantra, usually used in Puja ceremony's. Shiva will take your stuckness as you are able to let it go and return it to you as Bliss. So Feel stuckness, breath in focusing your attention on it, breath out surrendering it, or using OM SHIVA SVAHA if that suits your philosophical outlook. There, thats the 'essential' core Kundalini practices that I teach. There are many other beneficial practices, and some which I will not teach online as they really are dangerous, buts that is a good solid Kundalini Sadhana with plenty of saftey valves.. Sat Chit Anand! Seth Ananda. P.S. If anyone is burning to share some cool K practices or insights, please do and feel free to ask any questions

Another very Important Saftey valve for K, is developing strong Spiritual aspirations. When you contemplate or meditate upon the Oneness, Divinity, the light... it stimulates the crown centre. When K activates, sometimes just Contemplating divinity is enough keep K 'on track' so to speak. This is where Bhakti Yoga is Incredibly useful. However you like to meditate on The One is good. Many people who have K problems were atheists or non spiritual, or just religious 'believers' [ooh, disgusting! lol] with no real activation or presence in their Crown chakra. Kundalini wants to go 'up' but an active Crown helps draw it up. To me a great meditation set would follow: 1. A shaking session, To remove blocks and Liberate energy. 2. Sensual integration, [gentle pelvic rocking and body undulations with soft voiced pleasure sounds, to increase pleasure conductivity and activate second chakra.] 3. Cobra breath, to start energy circulation and balance Ida & Pingala. 4. Om Namah Shivaya syllable/chakra meditation or something similar within shushumna itself 5. Sit contemplating Oneness, and surrender in Total, and whole-body/energy/mind let go, into it... Using the mantra 'OM SHIVA SVAHA!' to offer/return/let go, of anything that seems unnecessary or appropriate.

Sensual Intergration [my name for it] Lite pelvic rocking or circulating, while focusing on sexual/sensual second chakra region feelings. Yum. The movements can be a bit exaggerated or slow down to barley perceptible, as long as you move in a way that 'connects' to, or activates 'those' feelings. Sounding any pleasurable sensation is crucial, even if it is only sub-audible. "mmm, ooh, aaah, gurgle!" lol! As you do this, soften any holding you find, especially noticing the front of the body and keeping it soft. Let your body Undulate. This is to Increase your 'pleasure conductivity' and thus melt any body armouring you may have. As always, follow your self with this exersize. I usually do this as the second half of my shaking/spontaneous movement session.

Shaking practice. This is the ULTIMATE manager of K when/if things start getting hairy. It also vastly enhances the possibility K will rise, the longer you go. If possible use awesome inspiring music that travels through many 'terains' or atmosphere's of feeling. My Loose guidelines are: Follow your self. getting puffed means slow down [but not always] Try not to get stuck in movement patterns. If you notice that you are moving in a pattern test the edges by introducing a new movement, but be aware as the pattern may be what you really want or need to do, and if so just go back to it. Follow yourself. You do not need to be extreme, [unless you really need to] as mad flailing may pull muscles if you are not sufficiently warmed up and will probably tire you quickly. Often gentler shaking over much longer will penetrate far deeper than one short massive burst. Keep it fun but stay authentic. Occasionally it may not be fun, so enjoy as much as you can. It keeps you motivated to do it again. It is not all literally shaking, its also wobbling, sensuous undulating, wwavverring, pulsing, throbing, sexual, chaotic, still, flowing... Follow yourself. Keep making sound as much as possible, even if its just a mild humming. Sound is like a speaker attached to your feelings. Express the tones of boredom, exhilaration, rage, joy, Insanity... Unless you really feel to be quite. Follow your self. Blessings on your process! Seth

Cobra breath moves in the front and back chanel of the spine, which are more 'secret' versions of Ida and Pingala. The next part is to move deeper into the spine, Into shushumna, Kundalinis channel. It goes with OM NAMAH SHIVAYA which some may know is an elemental purifier. This entire process except at the Tip of spine, happens withinin the hollow juicy part of the spine and brain. It Basicly breaks OM NAMAH SHIVIYA up into its syllables, and mentally sounds them at the chakra points, going up and then down and so on... Deep full breaths please mentally sounding the mantra for the entire period of focus [the limit of the breath] OM... - mid brain - exhale NA... - coccyx - Inhale MA... - sacrum - exhale SHI... - behind navel - inhale VAI... - back of heart - exhale YA... - throat, mid way between cv7 and atlas - Inhale OM... - mid brain- Exhale Just keep going, And so on... This is amazing, especially if you have a fondness for this mantra. Your spine will begin to glow! Use after some good cobra breaths. Respek!

Yes, 'Excessive' time spent is a guaranteed way to fire it up. lol Although I did not use these exercises to Awaken K, I did use them to manage it over the years, and to help other students in our school awaken K safely over time.

Another very Important Saftey valve for K, is developing strong Spiritual aspirations. When you contemplate or meditate upon the Oneness, Divinity, the light... it stimulates the crown centre. When K activates, sometimes just Contemplating divinity is enough keep K 'on track' so to speak. Many people who have K problems were atheists or non spiritual, or just religious 'believers' [ooh, disgusting! lol] with no real activation or presence in their Crown chakra. Kundalini wants to go 'up' but an active Crown helps draw it up. To me a great meditation set would follow: 1. A shaking session, To remove blocks and Liberate energy. 2. Sensual integration, [gentle pelvic rocking and body undulations with soft voiced pleasure sounds, to increase pleasure conductivity and activate second chakra.] 3. Cobra breath, to start energy circulation and balance Ida & Pingala. 4. Om Namah Shivaya syllable/chakra meditation or something similar within shushumna itself 5. Sit contemplating Oneness, and surrender in Total, and whole-body/energy/mind let go, into it... Using the mantra 'OM SHIVA SVAHA!' to offer/return/let go, of anything that seems unnecessary or appropriate. One of the really good points that Alwayson pointed out within Robert Bruce's stuff is also just meditating on the base chakra for long periods to massively energise. This is strong, but I would want to have my spine humming along, and spend equal time contemplating the One, to keep things safe. Peace out!

The one and the same I got a lot of mileage out of that exercise over the years, and still consider it to be one of the great circulation practices.

No problem And no, my awakening was 'accidental' and caused by MCO, long Tantric sex sessions, and 4 hours a day of Drunvalo's pranic breathing, also in there was daily 'Middle pillar' exercises and Lesser banishing ritual.

Thanks also, Songs. Blessings.

Hi John Zen Ideally for as long as possible, but the key is no strain and the key to that is relaxation. The more relaxed you can do the whole breath, the longer you will be able to hold without strain. Also your breath retention will increase over time with practice.

Wow! Thanks Cat I am glad you are getting something out of it.

I would argue that Feeling is actually touch so its really one of the 5. Also I would add that feeling is not Limited to the body, and we can feel any object that we put our attention on. This is a big part of the ancient science of Impressions. Feeling has 'massive' potential and is generally atrophied as a sense in our society, due to our collective fear of negative emotions. We 'feel' touch, texture, hot and cold, emotions, environmental sensations, Impressions of people, Chi or energy, plants in nature, spirits and the sense of Oneness. Seth.

Hi Creation. Sure, I do not know. In my awakening Most of my meditations apart from daily mco, were central channel. But when that started widening, it made my spine Vibrate and then BOOM! I have met many people who had it start with one, the other, or both like me. I feel there is a deep resonance with the two paths... up the middle of the spine or up the middle of the body does not seem to make much difference. And yes I know its Swami Lakshman Joo, and I ask in return did you see Swami in front of Vasagupta, Ksemaraja or Aghinivagupta names? No because its a Tantric tradition and is not celibate or world denying. Lakshman Joo [as far as I have been told] only became a swami to get respect in the yogic world, so he could bring Kashmir Shavism back into the Yogic spotlight. My Kashmiri teacher is named Varendra Qazi, and he is a great Shavite, although he would never claim that, he is very humble... He is also Lakkshman Joo's cousin and has learned from the same people as LJ. Anyway Have fun everyone... Seth.

Cool Sean and others, so ayp is in the spine column? Cobra breath is there to balance the solar and lunar chanels, so its not related to shushumna, until of course that enough balanced energy is generated and then starts to flow into the shushumna. There are further practices that move into the spinal cavity or tube. Here is one of my favourites... It goes with OM NAMAH SHIVAYA which some may know is an elemental purifier. This entire process except at the Tip of spine and the crown point, happens in the hollow juicy part of the spine and brain. It Basicly breaks OM NAMAH SHIVIYA up into its syllables, and mentally sounds them at the chakra points, going up and then down and so on... Deep full breaths please mentally sounding the mantra for the entire period of focus [the limit of the breath] OM... - Coccyx - Inhale then exhale NA... - Sacrum - Inhale MA... - point behind navel - exhale SHI... - heart - inhale VAI... - throat, mid way between cv7 and atlas - exhale YA... - Central brain cavity, - Inhale OM... - Crown - Exhale and then Inhale NA... - Mid brain again - exhale MA... - throat - inhale SHI... - heart - exhale VAI... - behind navel - inhale YA... - sacrum - exhale OM... - Coccyx - Inhale, and then exhale... And so on... So two breaths at crown and base, one at the chakras in between. This is amazing, especially if you have a fondness for this mantra. Your spine will begin to glow! Use after some good cobra breaths. Respek!

Hi Hundun I agree, and I Love Muktananda. I guess in some ways though I feel that If Muktananda had had a better understanding of the in's and out's of the tradition he would have had far more High level students and got himself into far less trouble. You mean He was Highly Sexual with 'many' of his female students and Kashmir Shavism is a Blatantly Tantric tradition, yet he was pretending to be celibate and pushing all the old Vedic repression. All I can say is the skillful means that are present within Kashmir Shavism, are missing in Siddha Yoga. Anyway lol at me, I still get frustrated.

I have had the pleasure of Learning several versions all with slight variations and only some 'under oath' so to speak so here goes... [my favourite and the version I teach] Inhale, ujay or that slight rasping restricted epiglottis, darth vader breath: Mind - at beginning of inhale start at tip of Tail bone, move mind during Inhale up the back of your spine [towards the skin] over the head, [just under the skull on top of the brain] and finish Inhale at Brow centre. Body - at start of Inhale squeez pc [moolabhanda][and hold till exhale], when the energy passes abdomen draw in stomach muscles[udiyanabhanda] {navel toward spine} [hold till exhale], when energy reaches skull, pull chin towards chest [jalnabhanda] put tongue back into soft palate [kechari mudra], point eyes up and in at ajna, and focus there, take an extra sniff of air [to be full] and focus and hold without strain. Exhale, ssss kind of soft serpent noise, so obviously your tongue moves forward. Mind - At start of exhale, it passes from brow, in along the underside of the brain to brainstem, and over the rest of the exhale it passes down the smooth front side of the spine [towards the organs] and ends with the exhale at the tip of the spine. Body - just before you start the exhale, tip your head slightly back opening the throat lock, then as soon as you start the exhale relax all the Bhanda's completly. towards the end of the exhale, as the energy is sinking down, let your head return to a normal straight position on your shoulders. You may notice thats its path is a bit like the MCO's but around the spine and brain instead. The front and back chanel of the spine are a 'secret' version of Ida and Pingala. Its a lot to get at once at first. Try remembering 'Inhale 123' The 123 are the locks in succession over the course of the Inhale. 1Base, 2stomach, 3neck/tounge And the whole thing should be done in a gentle way, without tension, or relaxed as possible. I may end up in a shit storm for putting this online, but I have not betrayed any groups secrets by teaching this version of the Cobra Breath. Thanks for asking Cat, I have been annoyed that this wonderful technique can not be found on line. That said, do be careful with it. At least at first do not do more that 20 - 30 breaths a session [unless you really feel you should, lol] while you are getting used to it. Once you are used to it, you can add devotional mantra's or visualisations, especially as you come to a point where your relaxation lets you hold your breath [easily] for a long time. Students usually start with brow center as the focus, but the crown is Introduced later. The 3rd eye gets used to connect to specific deity's or Guru's, or to create worldly events by visualising them strongly. The Crown gets used to merge with the One. Blessings on your practice! Seth.

I was far from abstinent when I awoke mine, but I was practising retention. But sure Abstinence may help, I just like sexual Tantra. Most of the students I have worked with over the years were either Tantra practitioners, or spontaneous awakener's. I Think shaking Is a superb practice, and a brilliant safety manager for solo practice. Especially if you do extended sessions. I feel funny about adding more 'powerful' details. If you really want them, they are out there to dig up. Kriya yoga's cobra breath is an example of a K practice worth learning, in fact all the Kriya yoga is good. Ignore all the typical Infighting, and Ignore marshal govindan all together, if there are less delusional teachers available to learn the system from. lol. I am working slowly towards having top quality articles on specific practices up on my web site [for free] but I want to have it all together in context of safe awakening, so sorry to just punt you over to Kriya Yoga for now. Blessings.

Yes, If you are able to really let go and drop any Inhibitions that would stop you expressing your blocks... Then again, even if you can't, It still may work. Sometimes it is good to approach shaking as an investigation, that is to spend the entire session exploring a particular block or subject, with the Intent of discovering its root and releasing it... I am always slightly uncomfortable giving K advise to someone who I cant personally help, but seeing a teacher can be really good for someone with a re routed K. Do you Live near Hundun? He does shaking stuff... Shaktimama is probably another option. And have you explored all options medically? If you are still Injured shaking could be not so good, till you are better..? If you do feel up to it, put aside 3 hours, make a vibrant uplifting playlist, and shake as slowly or as fast as you need to. My Loose guidelines are: Follow your self. getting puffed means slow down [but not always] Try not to get stuck in movement patterns. If you notice that you are moving in a pattern test the edges by introducing a new movement, but be aware as the pattern may be what you really want or need to do, and if so just go back to it. Follow yourself. You do not need to be extreme, [unless you really need to] as mad flailing may pull muscles if you are not sufficiently warmed up and will probably tire you quickly. Often gentler shaking over much longer will penetrate far deeper than one short massive burst. Keep it fun but stay authentic. Occasionally it may not be fun, so enjoy as much as you can. It keeps you motivated to do it again. It is not all literally shaking, its also wobbling, sensuous undulating, wwavverring, pulsing, throbing, sexual, chaotic, still, flowing... Follow yourself. Keep making sound as much as possible, even if its just a mild humming. Sound is like a speaker attached to your feelings. Express the tones of boredom, exhilaration, rage, joy, Insanity... Unless you really feel to be quite. Follow your self. Blessings on your process! Seth

Interesting, Pietro, can you describe the process gave?

Hi Creation. No Nityananda was a fairly typical vedantic style yogi in his teaching methods, not typical at all in his skill though lol . I do not think he had a particular tradition that he pledged allegiance to, but his style tells. [i may be wrong there] Muktananda Found Kashmir Shavite teachings after his awakening, and was thrilled to find a system that so paralleled his experiences of Kundalini, Consciousness and the like. So he began studying it. He did a lot to popularise Kashmir Shavism and was a great Yogi, despite his faults. His knowledge of KS came through book learning so in a way misses elements of the Awesomeness of that tradition. It also means much of the Vedantic tradition is tied within his teachings. KS does not normally have Swami's, Brahamacharya and other vedantic style elements. And no, my teacher lives in Delhi and is not very well known yet. I know Shankarananda, and love his teachings. His book 'Consciousness is Everything' is one of the greatest books on the subject for a westerner... Shiva process, is a group/partner meditation where you feel through your chakras looking for an issue. when you find, you speak of it to the group. Then the group reflects back 'a statments' meaning 'actual' in turns, which you repeat back to them. That can put your stuff in better perspective. Then B and G statements, which are differing degree's of healing or integrative statements. You repeat those back as well. Its an effective process. Have Fun!