Hinduism | Pantha – Wanderer, seeker of knowledge.

Ummm I feel everything is coming together nicely! Arose at 6:30 this morn without need for an alarm, and enjoyed a lovely morning session. My times are already starting to gradually climb.

Spent the morning reading about Pratyahara, sense withdrawal, in Goswami Kriyananda ‘s wonderful work, The spiritual science of Kriya yoga, a vital ability in the yogis arsenal. Incorporating the four given experiments into my sitting asan has already improved my sitting time considerably. Up from a measly 13 minutes to 25 mins! Which however is still far from the 3 hour goal. My consciousness already seems subtly clearer somehow and I am feeling positive and happy.

After reading “The science of prananyama” by Sri Swami Sivananda, I have made some changes to my diet, mainly, cutting out passion exciting onions and garlic . He recommends cutting out all flesh including fish. This I may find a step to far as I really enjoy mackerel and salmon which are good sources of omega 3 and protein. He states that eggs are flesh and should not be eaten by the yogi. I really like eggs and as they are a good source of phospholipids which are very beneficial for brain functioning, I think I will continue to enjoy them for the time being. All other dietary recommendations I already practise, such as no added salt, no meat, no hot curries or spicy foods, no bitter or too strong-tasting foods etc. A balanced diet is the key. It is suggested that when first settling into a new pranayama routine one should be extremely careful in ones choice of foods.

I have been following Patrick Holfords advice on basic supplements for a few months now. Supplementing a good multi vitamin and mineral tablet as well as extra vitamin C, soya lecithin for phospholipids and omega 3,6 and 9. This is recommended for everyone. I am also taking chromium, zinc magnesium, and extra B vitamins. Because I smoked for a long time, I have also been taking some amino acids. Glutamine to restore the health of my intestinal tract. 5-HTP, phenylalanine and tyrosine to help restore depleted neurotransmitters. GABA to aid sleep and Sam-e to help the methylation process.

The most difficult part of the yogic diet for me will be Brahmacharya!

Sri Swami Sivananda suggests 6 months to a year is a good time period to save every single drop of semen. 12 full years is the optimal time period. Ok.

I shall strongly endeavour to attain this goal. (6 months – 1 year.)

Pratyahara (sense withdrawal) offers practical advice in how to conquer the evils of lust. And the lord knows I will need every technique available to help me in that department!

Sri Swami Sivananda suggests avoiding women all together. This technique may be possible if you are living in the Himalayas but in a modern city center it is impossible! The basic idea of retaining ones seminal fluid is to increase overall energy. Leaking energy simply will not do! The yogin can use the additional energy to reach higher states of consciousness. Sages contend the average person utilises less than 1% of cerebral matter. Cerebral matter is located all along the spine, in the major organs as well as the various ganglia.

When the eight limbs of yoga are practised intensely for a long period the brain eventually decides it is safe to start to wake up and the yogis system enables the ability to begin processing much higher amounts of energy. The yogi will then evolve the various siddhis described in, the bible for yoga, Patanjali‘s ‘Yoga sutras.’

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23-09-2010	Deep abdominal breath	Inhalation/Exhalation Extension	Easy breath	Bhastrika	Total sit time
6:00 am	X7	20/20 15/15 12/12	5in 5h 10ex x3 5 – 10 – 10 x4	30 30 30 30 30	5 min
12 noon	X7	15/15×2 17/17×2	5- 10-10 x7	40 20 30 30 30	13 min
6:00 pm	X7	17/17×2 15/15×2	5-10-10×7	25 30 30 35	13 min
12 midnight	X9	17/17×5	5-10-10×7	30 30 30 30 30	18 min
24-09-2010
6:00 am	X10	20/20 20/17 17/17×3	5-10-10×7	35 35 30 30	20 min
12 noon	X12	25/25 30/30 25/25 20/30 25/25	5-10-10×7	35 40 30 30	25 min
6:00 pm
12 midnight