Yoga, Physiology, Psychosomatics and Bioenergetics. by Andrey Safronov - HTML preview

not good, looks for another, again something doesn’t work. While the

problem lies inside — he has no right for a complete pleasure. Some-

times this contraction is motivated by a wish to «show himself» in the

bed, to prove his men potency. The result is the same — prostatitis.

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Fibromas, cysts and similar diseases are caused by the fact, that

some men get obsessed about a woman, sometimes there is a delusion,

which can be of two types — of oneself and of a man. In one case a

man gets obsessed, in another — a woman pretends that she is alright.

Muladhara

We have already naturally come to it, because infertility problems

have to do with Muladhara, not with Svadhisthana. Muladhara relates

to the coccyx, prostate gland, pelvis, large intestines, rectum. The typi-

cal disease from Muladhara is haemorrhoids. Usually it’s caused by

greediness. Greediness is overemanating one’s energy on things. What

is emanating of Muladhara? A person lets his energy field out and be-

lieves, that a thing belongs to him. He spreads his field and is holding

all things by it. I have one friend who suffers from haemorrhoids. He

says that as soon as he gets a new attack of haemorrhoids, he throws

something away, and immediately feels better. Greediness causes vari-

ous problems with intestines, sometimes to constipations.

And vice versa, not holding the function of Muladhara, problems

with this chakra can cause diarrhoea, although usually the reason is in

Manipura. It’s the incapacity of Manipura to «digest» energies. Mulad-

hara is responsible for material things, the element of Earth. To Mu-

ladhara relate problems of bad teeth, fragile bones, sometimes arthritis,

arthrosis etc. Arthritis, arthrosis is a joint tissue involvement, caused by

such a purely Muladhara feature as stubbornness — a person can’t give

in his principles.

Muladhara is responsible for trombophlebitis and other diseases

of dense blood, which is an excess of Earth in the body. Muladhara is

responsible for hypersensitivity. It can be the opposite — you point at

someone, and he’s feeling, where exactly you pointed. This is Mulad-

hara’s weakness. The element of Earth stabilises physical, etheric and as-

tral bodies. Earth element is present on the physical, etheric and astral

planes.

I had patients — yogins, who were practicing for a long time

and frustrated themselves Muladharas. Muladhara needs material pos-

sessions, safety. «My home is my fortress» is the image of Muladhara

person. Instead they said «We are yogins, we don’t need anything, the

material world is not for us» and threw away everything from their

homes, stopped taking care of their lives. In other words, a person has

completely refused all Muladhara emanations. First they got a syn-

drome of hypersensitivity, and then started losing their teeth.

NOTE. That I always say about reasons causing illnesses, as about possible

ones. With every person you must look for his particular reasons.

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Rehabilitation of field’s

integrity and chakra

stabilisation

Therapeutic complexes of asanas

Basing on the chakra conception of diseases described above, we

can understand the principle of building a therapeutic complex. Such

complex has for a goal «smoothing» of the field, energizing depressed

chakras and sadation (removing the excess of energy) of the excited

ones. If a chakra is excited because of its rigidity and the accumulated

non-realized energy, one have also to work with the situation on the

astral plane, i.e. to use astral techniques in asanas — to moan, to re-

act one’s pain and so on. The next step is to cleanse channels in the

etheric plane. The criteria of successful practice are various sensations:

pricking, a feeling like numbness, vibration, feeling of the energy, lib-

erating from the respective zone. After that you can start working di-

rectly with chakras.

Note that, if chakra is depressed, at the respective level of the

etheric plane there will be a «hole» ahead and a «bump» on the back.

This means, you need exercises that work with both of them. The gen-

eral principle of pumping the hole to a bump is the same that we used

in common complexes: the energy moves from the strained zone to the

stretched one. In order to change a hole into a bump you need some

stretchings in the zone of the hole and some muscle strains in the zone

of the bump.

If a chakra is depressed, to stimulate it, i.e. to fill it from the front,

you should do some anterior-stretching exercises for this chakra. It can

be Bhujangasana or Ushtrasana with an accent on the needed chakra.

If your chakra is excited, you have a «hole» on the back and a

«bump» ahead, so you have to do some bending exercises, «squeezing»

the excited etheric zone.

As it was already said in the chapter about strengthening poses,

overworked chakra becomes loose, i.e. it easily loses energy. Especially,

if a person didn’t work on his behavioural reasons of the illness, didn’t

take off his «tails». In order to make energy stay in the, pumped «hole» —

no matter, in the front or back part of the body, — it should be fixed by

strengthening asanas for this zone.

The effect from asanas is fixed by rhythmic breathing and by oth-

er pranayamas. In the case of depressed chakras pranayamas should

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Yogatherapy. Some principles of building therapeutic complexes

be done before the therapeutic complex to attract additional energy to

the body. It’s good to do such toning pranayamas as Bhastrikas. Ide-

ally, breathing you involve muscles of the problem zone. If you work

with the excited chakra, it makes sense to do a full yoga breath in the

relaxed state after a complex.

Thus a minimum therapeutic complex, aiming stabilisation of

chakra, contains three exercises: stretching, firming and pranayama.

This set should be repeated several times in the row at one pace.

The effect from this set can be slightly increased, if you add a piv-

oted pose accenting on the zone, you are working with. Pivoting poses

enhance the energy flow, that’s why they can be useful for both de-

pressed and excited chakras.

In general all possible illnesses, caused by osteochondrosis, in

the neck, thorax or lower back (radiculitis), mostly are cured by Artha-

matsiendrasana and other pivoted poses (on conditions that the spine

keeps the right posture).

WARNING! The contrary is also true. Arthamatsiendrasana with the

stooping back causes osteochondrosis. And that is very quickly. It’s ex-

plained by traumatising of intervertebral disks by the simultaneous pivot-

ing and pressing (physically), and by energy stuck in the stooping area

(energy level). In less serious cases, with the chakra rigid or loose, but yet

neither depressed nor excited, less exercises can be enough. In this case the

minimum complex is as follows. For a loose chakra: a strengthening pose

and an intensive pranayama (Bhastrika) — to calm down the excessive

tension (if you succeeded in achieving it). For a rigid chakra — a stretch-

ing pose with the deep (with Muladhara set-up) rhythmical breathing with

emotional reacting (moaning) and a smooth breathing to redistribute the

energy, liberated from the block.

Chakras stabilisation by breathing

Chakra’s depression or excitation influence on how intensively we

inhale and exhale by the respective zone. Thus, if a chakra is depressed,

the person has a tendency to make a deeper exhalation — as if he

were getting rid of the air. The example of it can be someone, sighing

with his chest, when he has a breached Anahata (i.e. being in depres-

sion). This point of view is proved by the opinion of Anatoliy Petrovich

Zilber, professor, MD: «...the most of «breathing chronics» especial-

ly with prevailing obstructive1 disorders (hampering the air pass —

comment of Safronov) have a breathing pattern with an active inhalation,

whereas it needs to be passivated».

1 Such diseases, like bronchial asthma, are usually caused by chakra’s depression.

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On the contrary a person with the excited chakra has a tendency

to a deeper inhalation, as if he didn’t want to let the air go.

The contrary is also true: chakra can be stabilised by changing the

habitual breathing pattern, i.e. by activising the inhalation and passiv-

ating the exhalation for a depressed chakra and passivating inhalation

and making more active the exhalation for an excited one. Of course,

the most significant effect will be achieved, if you work with breathing

muscles at the level of the problem chakra.

The easiest way to use this method is by practicing rhythmic

breathing, but it can also be done with any pranayama, including in-

tensive ones.

Affecting

meridian system

by yoga exercises

How it was already said, asanas influence not only on our vis-

cera, but also on the system of musculotendinous meridians (see Ap-

pendix 1). The localisation of meridians is so that they often come

quite far from zones, on which they influence. That’s why many asa-

nas make an indirect impact on organs, physically not involved in

them. For example, sarpasana stretches the stomach meridian, pada-

hastasana — the one of the bladder, all pivoted poses — meridians

of gall-bladder.

Like chakras, every meridian can be in an «excessive» (excited)

and «insufficient» (depressed) state1. In the first case the pain symptom

appears when you squeeze the meridian, in the second — when you

stretch it.

Stretching meridians, we stimulate them. Basing on this fact and

knowing main principles of acupuncture, you can make complexes for

a precise treating of chosen organs.

1 For more details about excessive and insufficient aspects of meridians and organs see a

classic monograph of Tabeeva D. M. «Manual of reflex acupuncture». Of course this theory

is a view of Chinese classic doctors of the balance of ANS branches, while tables given by

Tabeeva is a detailed and more ancient variation of Wein tables.

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Harmonisation

of ANS balance

by asymmetric types

of breathing and asanas

Almost all basic asanas and pranayamas equally influence on Ida

and Pingala, are symmetric in their kind and presume that a practitio-

ner is also symmetric, though most of people are not (remember your

last visit to photographer: «Sit straighter, you shoulder up, your chin

up...»).

The disbalance of ANS branches is also seen in body’s asymmetry.

Because sympathetic and parasympathetic ANS branches are related to

Ida and Pingala, which are projected on the right and left nostril, their

disbalance at the level of any chakra results in the fact, that people uncon-

sciously take asymmetric poses, thinking that they sit still and straight.

The main principle of how subtle bodies project on the physical is

that a person are usually closing the zone, which is breached and lacks

energy. It concerns not only bending ahead (stooping in the respective

zone), but also all possible unconscious lateral bendings. For example, if

a person lacks for energy in the left channel at the level of Vishuddha,

he’ll be always looking a little bit to the left, and the same with the right

side; lacking for energy in one of the channels in Anahata, he’ll slightly

drop one shoulder; in Svadhisthana — he’ll throw ahead one hip etc.

The uneven distribution of energy can be seen by asymmetry of

the feet. There is a law of «accumulation of mistakes»: the further from

the source, the better you see all initial mistakes. Ida and Pingala go

from the top down, so the more down, the more obvious is the asym-

metry. It explains, for example, why some people can easily sit in one-

sided half-lotus, and can’t change the leg for another side.

The most common problem is an unconscious turning of the head,

which has to do with the excessive «kha» (right) and «tkha» (left) pet-

al of Ajna. Once more, a person himself thinks he’s sitting still and

straight.

The contrary is also true: this or another ANS branch can be acti-

vated by changing the symmetry of the pose and by changing the bal-

ance of breathing intensity by different nostrils. For examples, sympat-

ics can be recommended to do breathing exercises not in a common

position, but turning their head slightly to the right, i.e. activating the

left channel. They can also make longer stays in right-sided poses (where

the head is turned to the right), like sarpasana, Arthamatsiendrasana etc.

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Pivoting our body at the level of a chakra, we can influence

quite precisely on our body. Doing asymmetric pranayamas, like Aka-

palabhati, you can breathe with just one nostril.

Some Indian sources recommend activating the needed type of

breathing by putting a cotton tampon in one nostril, doing exercises,

but I personally think, this method is too extreme and can be hardly

recommended as therapeutic.

The asymmetry principle can also be used in doing asanas. For

example, if a person has an active left channel, he can be advised to do

yoga-mudra not straight, but with a slight (10–15º) turning of the body

on the left side. Although even a conscious straightening in asanas, dis-

torted by the pathologic asymmetry of the channels, already gives a cer-

tain harmonising effect.

Awareness is the main clue to yoga and it’s even more true for

yoga-therapy.

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YOGA

AND NUTRITION

Probably there is no other subject that would be so intricate

and contradictory, as the healthy nutrition. On the one hand (and it

can be proved by one’s own experience), nutrition influences great-

ly on our physical and emotional state. On the other, it would take

many pages just to enumerate all existing «healthy diets». The sad-

dest thing is that most of them are contradictory. Moreover I know

many cases, when a diet which was good for one person, bringing

him health and strength, turned out to be very harmful for another.

Apparently, people are indeed different and should eat differently.

So a single universal system of nutrition for everyone doesn’t exist.

However there are some principles, basing on which one can build

his own diet.

Principles of nutrition

of all bodies

As it was already said, yoga distinguished eight human bodies,

four of them being «mortal», collapsing after human’s death, have to

be fed.

Physical body lives on fats, proteins, carbohydrates, microelements,

vitamins and on other substances, which must be well-balanced.

Etheric body lives on the etheric energy, in particular, from

food. To be rich in etheric energy, food must be «alive», i.e. as natu-

ral as possible, being as less processed and stored as possible. For

example, greens, grown in one’s own garden without chemicals, are

more alive, than «hydroponics» ones. Fresh meat is more alive, that

the one that’s been frozen, and even more than the canned one (abso-

lutely dead product). The degree of «life» in a product can be defined

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by seeing the size and quality of its etheric — alive products usually

have it bigger and denser. There is an easier way to see it. Alive

products go bad slower, than the same dead ones (if they weren’t

specially processed — in which case they can’t be taken at all). For

example, greens, picked from one’s own garden can stay fresh for

2–3 days, while «hydroponics» look faded by the same night —

because they don’t have much etheric.

If etheric body is underfed, it gets exhausted, its vitality falls,

and the person becomes sickly. In my opinion, such problems of the

modern civilisation as the chronic fatigue syndrome, allergy — are all

results of underfeeding etheric body.

Astral body is nourished by impressions, i.e. by tastes. Once

dieticians made a test: feeding a person by a well balanced, but

one-taste food. So the volunteer became ill, because his astral body

wasn’t nourished. That is why mankind throughout its history was

paying so much attention to the taste of the food. That’s why the

restaurant food, filled with astral bodies of the personnel, specifi-

cally decorated, costs more, than the home one (although the home

one tastes better).

There is food with just an astral component and no physical and

etheric one, like for example, spices, flavour additives, beverages like

«Coca-Cola», derived chemically.

Understanding principles of nutrition of the bodies explains one

of the roots of another serious problem of nowadays — the obesity. An

average city dweller has no bright and various impressions, so he is

emotionally hungry. One of the ways to satisfy this hunger is food, but

it turns out that food has not only astral, but also a physical compo-

nent... From this we can conclude that one of the ways to fight obe-

sity is to fill one’s life with good and diverse impressions. Better not

«canned» (from TV).

Mental body lives on thoughts and ideas. «Knowledge is food»

says «Siva sutra». That’s why humanity continuously creates new dish-

es (as if the old ones weren’t enough), and the most expensive one in

the restaurant is «the chef’s special». These dishes contain mental ener-

gy, the energy of creativity. Nevertheless mental body nourishes mostly

not by food, but with ideas and information.

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Yoga and nutrition

The principle of food’s cor-

respondence to the consti-

tutional type

As it was already said, different people should eat differently.

Already the laws of Manu, representatives of different casts were ad-

vised to have different diets and restrictions in eating. One of the sys-

tems, helping to choose one’s own diet is the Ayurvedic system of

three doshas.

Dosha — is one of the basic principles of Indo-Tibetan medi-

cine. Vata, pita, kapha — Wind, Bile and Phlegm — are three basics

of the human body. The balance of these doshas determines the con-

stitutional type of a person. Knowing one’s type you can adjust your

way of life, your diet, individual practice, in order to achieve a per-

fect balance. Indo-Tibetan medicine believes that vata appeared due

to the merging of Wing (vayiu) and the Ether (akasha), pita — from

Fire (agni) and Water (apo), kapha — from Water (apo) and Earth

(pritkhvi). The prevalence of dosha, up to the percent ratio, can be

determined by person’s constitutional type. Ayurveda has specific diet

recommendations for every prevailing dosha.

The principle

of using gunas

It’s well known, that Indian tradition was using three basic states

(gunas), in which every system, including a man, can be. These states

are called sattva, rajas and tamas.

Sattvic are fresh fruit, vegetables, greens, couched grain, fresh

natural dairy products, natural (not chemical) sweets.

Rajas are spices and flavours, spicy food, fresh steamed meat,

some types of alcohol (high quality cognac, tequila).

Tamastic are all canned products, roots (like potato), meat, fat, al-

cohol like beer etc.

Eating products from either group puts you in a state, corre-

sponding to a guna. Some Indian texts, especially religious ones, recom-

mend only sattvic food, but there can be life situations, where not sat-

tva should be prevailing. For example, active efforts need a lot of rajas.

Sometimes after too intensive spiritual practices and physical activity

one needs to «get back to Earth», and this can be done by tamas.

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You should also remember, that person’s belonging to a certain

varna also determines his best diet. Thus the prevailing guna in brah-

min’s nutrition (meaning that he has an occupation, corresponding his

caste), should be sattva, for kshatriya — rajas, for vaishya — rajas and

tamas and for shudra — tamas.

The structure of nutrition also differs by castes. Hence, brahmin

should eat a little, but various food, while shudra should eat a lot.

The principle

of time and place

Our body is a result of many millions of evolution. In this evolu-

tion we adapted ourselves to eat according to seasons of the natural

Sun cycle. Hundred years ago refrigerators were invented along with

other advanced methods of storage, and for the first time the diet has

become independent from the season, but our body is still used to it.

That’s why it’s better to take for a basis of your nutrition products, that

nature of your region is giving at the present season. If it’s spring, you

should eat greens, if it’s summer — berries, vegetables, fruit, autumn —

grains and roots, winter — meat dishes. It’s also important, because

«alive» products that you eat are directly connected to their «rela