Nickolay

Yeah I guess we should all just use our own balls. EDIT: But what I actually came here to say is that I answered your question incorrectly. By my own logic, I don't in fact do anything that I don't want. I do whatever works, which is exactly what I want to do.

So are you saying that cause and effect in an objective sense play no role, or rather that subjective expectation is the only true cause while the apparent objective manifestations of the effects of one's activities are just illusory? Or that there exist an objective cause and effect but I only have a subjective and prejudiced view of them, causing me to make actions which I think benefit me but which in fact do not? EDIT: But it doesn't even matter either way really, because if my self-fulfilling crystal ball of prophecy helps free me from egoism then I would rather hold on to it. Unless you really don't have one and would like to use mine, in which case here you go.

I think it's impossible to generalize about spiritual teachers in general. Whether or not they use scriptures is of secondary importance, I think. For me what it comes down to is whether or not they speak from experience and whether or not they live what they teach. If they do, and if they have the student's progress in mind, instead of their own profit (whether in terms of money or reputation), then yes, I think a person can gain something from associating with them.

My reason for doing the things I don't want to do is that my aversion is just a temporary reaction to something that I know will benefit me in the long run, although it may seem unpleasant now. The smart part of me knows that I actually do want to do these things, it's the dumbass in me that tries to rebel.

Yeah I usually find that when I'm mindful of a certain part of the body, that part immediately tends to relax. I guess the key is to shift the focus more towards mindfulness and let the relaxation follow as a consequence. Easier said than done though.

I have personally had this cat napping problem during shavasana for as long as I've practiced it, admittedly less so recently. There were times when I'd fall into this half-sleeping state but as I'd come out of it I'd find myself extremely relaxed and focused for some time, before falling back in.It was like bouncing from one extreme to the other, from almost non-awareness into an extremely sharp and light awareness. I could never sustain it for very long though, I always fall back in. This is probably my biggest obstacle in meditation right now. I realize that shavasana isn't strictly meditation but it still involves a focusing of awareness on various parts of the body so I don't think it's a stretch to call it a meditational practice. I've tried cold showers before practice, no effect. I've tried suggesting to myself to be aware rather than to relax. I've heard (and I think I agree) that if you do a practice with the intent of relaxation, sleep is far more likely to follow than if you do the practice with the intent of staying aware. Still, this might yet prove to be effective since it's generally considered more of a long term strategy and it hasn't been that long since I first tried it. On the bright side, I rarely fall asleep during sitting meditational practices and I guess that's more important. Still, I feel like shavasana has serious potential for a kind of relaxed awareness that's much more difficult to attain in a sitting position because your body still has to hold itself up to some extent.

I just recently managed to get the tongue into the nasal pharynx. I've been practicing the basic form loosely since this January, and every day during pranayama and meditation since April, so about 3 months of regular practice. I havent cut at all and wasn't even expecting to get so far this fast as the book I've been practicing from only gives the basic form (not going further back than the uvula) only briefly mentioning that theres an advanced form that involves surgical techniques and should only be done under supervision. After getting comfortable in the basic form I started reading around to see if I could go further without cutting when I came across a tip on Yogani's AYP site where he suggests to use a finger to push the tongue further back to the left or right side of the uvula because it is very difficult to get it behind the uvula for the first time if you go straight through the middle. This worked and got my tongue just past the uvula at which point I was able to stretch the soft palate far enough to where the tongue could enter the nasal pharynx easily, no longer needing to go around the uvula and without finger help. I didnt find the septum or nostrils to be as sensitive as Yogani cautioned they might be, likely because I've been doing jala neti daily for the last year and a half and so maybe my sensitivity in that area is a bit less than what it was. Or maybe thats not the reason but I don't see any other obvious explanation. As far as its effects on my practice, I would say that it almost instantly became rather easy to sit in siddhasana for the 45 minutes of pranayama and meditation, something I couldnt do without a break in between with the basic form of khechari. Also, during alternate nostril breathing I used to have some trouble taking 12 seconds on each inhale and 24 on the exhale with 5 seconds inner breath retention. Now I can keep it going almost effortlessly. Ujjayi breathing helps enormously with this also and, as far as I understand, khechari and ujjayi go hand in hand. I also find it interesting that I can now check which nostril is more blocked with my tongue by feeling the erectile tissue in the pharynx. And I find it doubly interesting that both stay equally open 95% of the time during pranayama practice if I'm in khechari, although I'm sure siddhasana helps in no small way with this. Having a blocked nostril even after neti used to be a huge annoyance for me during pranayama for the last year or so. Ujjayi breathing helped a lot by making it easier to breathe through a blocked nostril but this has taken it a step further by opening them up somehow, and I'm not even sure how the mechanism works because I only touch the septum with my tongue and never the nostrils directly. Sorry if I'm talking too much about Indian yoga on a Taoist forum but I find most of the practices intersect at certain points anyhow.

Im trying to just go as long as possible, on day 10. EDIT: Im pretty unfamiliar with Kunlun and how the 100 days of celibacy relates. I looked on their website but found nothing relating to retention, can anyone elaborate/post a link to more info?

Nice forum you guys have going, been looking for something like this. Look forward to posting here.