Feeling lethargic?

Here's a technique for those days when you are feeling lethargic that you may or may not have heard of.  It's beginning to incorporate the Bhandhas throughout your day.

 

These are the internal locks applied similar to valves to direct the prana upward through the subtle energy system (nadis, chakras, meridians).

 

The bhandhas are mulabhandha (root lock), uddiyana bhandha (belly button lock) and jalandhara bhandha (neck or throat lock).

 

Like the breath they can be illusive as our focus slips away from them. Give it a try to see what I mean.  Begin to breathe deeply and evenly and allow the breath to be your sole focus for a least a minute.  If this practice is new to you it will be challenging as every 30 seconds or so we have a new thought to take our focus away. 

 

Traditionally they are used in a yoga practice which can deepen if the bhandhas are utilized. Apply them as you move through the asanas (physical postures).  However you need not be on the mat to apply them to your life.

 

Here’s how to apply the lower two:

At the end of the exhalation apply mulabhandha by drawing up on the muscles between the perineum and the anus. These are the same muscles that stop the flow of urination. Keep holding it.

Take a full breath at the end of the exhalation come to the belly button lock by drawing the abdomen in and up thereby applying uddiyana bhandha. It’s not a hard holding or crunch of the core, but rather a lifting … concentrated holding the abdomen up and in.

Here we’ll skip Jalandhara, but know it is mostly used for pranayama (loosely described breathing) practice. The bhandhas can significantly shift and change your yoga practice taking you to entirely new levels of concentration, focus and present moment awareness.

Give it a go even off the mat and see, sense and feel how your energy can & will change!

Let’ s begin to use them today. Here is link to a video I did awhile ago explaining locks further:
http://tinyurl.com/energylocks

Thanks for watching & reading!
Namaste,
Tammy






PS.  Joining in the energy today to honour our soldiers and give thanks for our freedom.  Lest we forget.

PPS.  Please subscribe to the youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ganesharocks
 & follow on twitter @tllc

The cage is the body

Here's a story a friend sent me from yogamates.com; it is definitely one that reverberates for me

The cage is the body

A traveler from India went to Africa to acquire some local products and animals, and while in the jungle he saw thousands of beautiful multicolored talking parrots. He decided to capture a talking parrot and take it back as a pet.

At home he kept his parrot in a cage and fed him wonderful seeds and honey, played music for his pet, and generally treated him well. When it was time for the man to return to Africa 2 years later, he asked his parrot if there was any message he could deliver to the parrot's friends back in the jungle. The parrot told his master to say that he was very happy in his cage and that he was enjoying each day and to convey his love.

When the traveler arrived back in Africa he delivered the message to the parrots in the jungle. Just as he finished his story, a parrot with tears welling up in his eyes fell over dead. The man was alarmed and decided that the parrot must have been very close to the parrot in the cage and that was the reason for his sadness and demise.

When the traveler returned to India, he told his pet what had happened. As he finished his story, the pet parrot's eyes welled up with tears and he kneeled over dead in his cage. The man was astounded, but figured that his pet died from the despair of hearing of the death of his close friend back in the jungle.

The trader opened up the cage and tossed the dead bird outside onto the trash heap. Immediately his pet parrot flew up to a branch on the tree outside.

The trader said to him, "So, you are not dead after all. Why did you do that?"

The parrot answered, "Because that bird back in Africa sent me a very important message."

"What was the message?" the trader inquired impatiently.

"He told me that if you want to escape from your cage, you must die while you are alive."