How Does Yoga Help (Part-10)

This hub is an answer to Josiah's & RDIndia's request.

It gives me immense pleasure to see the overwhelming response I’ve had in respect of my earlier series on Chakras and Kundalini Shakti. I keep getting e-mails / feedback regularly from my visitors / readers seeking clarification on several issues which do come up as one progresses to the highest level of Yoga, the ‘Kundalini awakening’. I realized that most of them were somewhat confused as to the nexus between basic Yoga (Hatha Yoga) and Kundalini Yoga; they were treating both as the same which is not completely true. Hence, I thought of putting a hub together for addressing their concerns and mitigating their doubts, instead of replying to all those e-mails separately.

Whether we call it Yoga or Hatha Yoga, both these terms deal with actual physical exercises in which we make use of our limbs and muscles in certain designated ways as stated in ‘Yoga Shashtra’ (Science of Yoga). The objective here is to release the knots and tense points in the body. Yoga helps in treating the body ailments / diseases on a physical level which ultimately benefits the mental aspect also. Yogic exercises help to combat certain common forms of body ‘dis-ease’ which manifest in our daily lives in the form of tightness or stiffness in the neck region, chronic headaches, cervical spondylitis, muscle pains, breathing difficulties, asthma etc. It has been considered by far the best alternate therapy for diseases like asthma, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, digestive disorders and other chronic ailments. A direct benefit of Yoga is the release of dormant energy as a result of which body becomes full of vitality and strength and the mind becomes light, creative, blissful and balanced. It puts some stress on the body in a beneficial manner which goes a long way in making the bones and muscles strong and helps the body in absorbing more oxygen.

The difference between Yoga and Yogasana is that while the former deals with rigorous physical exercises, the latter constitutes techniques which place the body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation and concentration. The word ‘Asana’ means to sit in a particular posture and as such ‘Yogasana’ means yogic postures. During Yogasanas, respiration and metabolism rate slows down whereas the converse is true for Yoga. Yogasana arrests catabolism whereas Yoga promotes it.

Whether it is Yoga or Yogasana, the purpose of both is the same; both make the body strong and stable so as to make it ready for handling enormous changes in energy levels, experienced during Kundalini awakening ,which in itself is the highest level of Yoga. Therefore, it is advisable to start the spiritual advancement process with basic yoga (Hatha yoga and yogasanas) in order to make the body strong enough to withstand meditation posture up to 2-3 hours.

1.      Beginners group---which should be performed by first timers / novices, weak, sick or those who are in any way unable to perform the difficult forms of Yoga. This group consists of elementary techniques designed to prepare the body and mind for higher forms of meditation asanas.

2.      Intermediate group---consists of asanas which are relatively difficult and are recommended for those who master the first category with considerable ease. These asanas require a great deal of steadiness, stability, concentration and coordination with breath.

  3. Advanced Group----consists of asanas designed for people who have extensive control over their muscles and nervous system and have already mastered the first two levels. These asanas, in particular, should be necessarily practiced under the supervision of a master / guide, at least for first few months.

It is quite common (during the process of Kundalini awakening) that the practitioner sees things or has visions which might scare him a bit first. However, as the psychic network gets free from blockages and the mind opens its doors for the new (unseen) world, the experiences which might have seemed unusual in the beginning, gradually become a valuable resource of knowledge and emancipation. One just needs to show a lot of perseverance and consistence. Just like anything else, spiritual awakening does not come easily; one needs to work for that. Even for those, who are graced with awakened kundalini since birth (as a result of accumulated Karma), also have to work for developing their abilities and taking it to the advanced stage; the only difference being that in their case, the journey might not take that long.