SPECIAL FEATURE The yogic force Hatha yoga is more effective in unblocking prana than regular exercises as it works at a subtler level by balancing your nadis, says Charles Shahar, a yoga teacher on the occasion of International Yoga Day
t is instructive to recognise how much tension our bodies hang on to when we experience stress in our daily lives. For instance, we may be so tight around the shoulders or neck that it will feel almost like we are wearing a suit of armour. Pressing or gently pinching theseI muscles will feel painful. Such tensions can occur anywhere in the body, from head to toe, but tight muscles are only the most superficial level of blockage related to stress. Constriction occurs not only at the level of the physical body but in the subtle body as well. Tensions can block the vital energy or prana.
Yogis describe subtle nerve channels or nadis that criss-cross the body and maintain the flow of vital fluid throughout the organism. There are tensof thousands of these nerve currents. When these channels get blocked or become constricted, prana is impeded or prevented from freely circulating. Aside from simple muscular tension, all major health issues related to common diseases have at their root, disturbances in the pranic sheath, the subtle body that animates and underpins the physical organism, what the Hindu scriptures call the pranamaya kosha.
Ways to release energy First, let’s look specifically at muscular tension due to stress since this is the most obvious manifestation of blocked prana. There are many ways to free the vital energy that gets stuck in the pranic sheath, but some methods are more effective than others. I will make two assumptions in the following analysis that I am speaking to readers who lead a more refined or spiritual lifestyle, or at
56 LifePositive | JUNE 2018
Yoga special.indd 56 19/05/18 11:38 AM Practising hatha yoga is a holistic approach to bring in balance and wellness in one’s life as its benefits extend well beyond the physical level
least are interested in doing so; and that they subtler energy level. Moreover, although are also more refined in their sensibilities, for exercise will release prana, it may also deplete example, by avoiding extremes in environments one’s vital store if taken too far. or people. Intensive aerobic exercises, like the classes Any physical movement, including exercises offered at any local gym, certainly have the such as vigorous walking, jogging, swimming, effect of liberating prana, but they also have and so on, will have the effect of liberating some other consequences that a more refined of the vital energy that gets bound in areas of sensibility may find undesirable. If you are used tension. This is why people often feel refreshed to gentler activities, certain types of frenetic, after such activities. They seem to have more high-impact exercises have a jarring effect physical energy and exuberance. Interestingly, on the subtle body. From an esoteric point of exercise is a completely haphazard way of view, the consciousness becomes more body releasing prana, simply because it does not and sense oriented. The loud music and bright take into account what is happening on a lights add to the harshness of the experience.
Special Feature 57
Yoga special.indd 57 19/05/18 11:38 AM This might not mean much to someone who In general, athletes are a healthier group than is not practising a spiritual lifestyle, but for a the overall population. Their auras are brighter refined soul, such an atmosphere will make and they certainly have physical vigour and them nervous or unsettled. stamina. But it is instructive to note that like most people, they have pranic blockages Activities such as intensive body-building and areas of physical tension, and of course, can likewise be detrimental from a pranic certain mental and emotional factors also play perspective. The muscles are trained to a part. Therefore, exercises, while effective remain tense, creating further pranic knotting. in unblocking some pranic knots, are not the On the other hand, anything that keeps the last word on the subject, although their benefit physical body flexible will maintain fluidity of is certainly important in terms of keeping the prana. To this end, stretching exercises are body toned and fit. important, particularly before any rigorous exercise. Swimming is also beneficial; also, How blockages get built brisk walking is a fine way to keep fit. In my experience of teaching yoga over many years, I was sometimes amazed to see how Joggers often say that there is a point in stiff participants were. Some were in good their activity when they reach a mindless shape, had great muscle definition, yet they and euphoric state. Brain chemicals aside, struggled to follow the class. I was many years on a subtler level, energy is getting liberated older than most of them but more supple. I also in the vital nerve currents. Not only that, but taught yoga to nursery school children and the kundalini energy, or life force, described noted that not all were necessarily flexible. by the yogis, rises up the spine, hitting subtle So it is clear that pranic blocking can happen channels which trigger a high. No wonder at any age; and physical exercise, although people get addicted! However, this high soon having certain advantages, is not necessarily dissipates and no expansion of consciousness the most efficient way of promoting pranic takes place, as happens when the kundalini circulation in the body. rises during meditation.
58 LifePositive | JUNE 2018
Yoga special.indd 58 19/05/18 11:38 AM For the person who sits at the job all day and is exposed to high levels of stress, the cumulative effect of tension can be devastating. Some type of physical activity, even regularly going out for short walks or doing small stretching routines, is important for getting prana circulating again. I am thinking particularly of people who use computers a lot and build up a certain amount of frustration, without the possibility of release. There is tremendous pranic clogging in their systems, which may manifest anywhere in the body, not just in the neck, shoulders, or back.
Physical movement is important for freeing up prana. The activity shifts the energy so that it does not become stuck or stagnant. This is why active people tend to be more replete with prana than inactive people. An athlete will have more vitality Physical than a desk clerk because sedentary work can result in much movement is blocked energy. However, as I implied, physical movement is not important for nearly sufficient for maximising pranic circulation. If this was freeing up prana. the case, active people would have perfectly healthy systems, free from nervous tension. I am talking about a much more Unblocking prana subtle energy here, which is connected to spiritual development means unblocking and not merely to physical activity. the mind; the two are inseparable How hatha yoga helps realities. Perhaps the most sophisticated system for unblocking prana was developed by the ancient yogis. Hatha yoga involves a series of postures which are specifically designed to release the subtle energy currents. Each posture targets specific areas and releases pranic knots that get built up in the body. Hatha yoga represents a holistic approach for promoting balance and wellness, and its benefits extend well beyond the physical level. I am always amazed at how people look after they experience a yoga class. They seem to emanate a sheen, a soft light. The subtle body has become so expanded and energised that this is visible even with physical sight.
Contrary to what some Western practitioners believe, Hatha yoga is not just a way of achieving physical relaxation and
Special Feature 59
Yoga special.indd 59 19/05/18 11:38 AM When we balance Ida and Pingala, the two fundamental undercurrents of prana, through pranayama, the dormant Kundalini Shakti gets aroused
flexibility. Every posture is an exercise in channels—the Ida and the Pingala. In the concentration, a focussing of prana or energy. ancient yogic texts, they are referred to as Hatha yoga itself is ultimately a technique chandra nadi or the channel of the moon, to promote meditation and to help the mind and surya nadi or the channel of the sun, achieve shanti or inner peace. The ancient respectively. They have an opposite effect on yogis realised long ago that the body temple the organism. The flow of prana through the needs to be purified if the mind is to reach a Pingala is activating, whereas that through state of transcendence. Unblocking prana the Ida can be thought of as a dampening means unblocking the mind; the two are force. Through certain breathing exercises inseparable realities. or pranayama, we can balance these two fundamental currents of prana. Alternate The two nadis and peak experience nostril breathing, for instance, is highly What do I mean by that? The yogis distinguished effective in reaching this equilibrium. between two major nadis, or subtle nerve
60 LifePositive | JUNE 2018
Yoga special.indd 60 19/05/18 11:38 AM When an optimal state of balance is attained, the mind becomes suspended, and the thoughts recede into the background of one’s attention. This is the first stage of deep meditation, when the mind enters into a calm, yet highly aware state. One experiences a profound lucidity in such moments. Note that this state is very unlike sleep, in which the Ida nadi is dominant. It is also not at all like the typical waking state, throughout which, under the influence of the Pingala nadi, the mind remains restless and fidgety.
How it works When the flows of the Ida and Pingala are perfectly balanced, the kundalini energy, which was previously lying dormant and coiled at the base of the spine, is aroused. As the kundalini energy gets opened, its ascent begins up the spinal pranic channel or Sushumna, the third major nadi, described in the yogic texts. As it rises, it pierces the chakras or energy centres, each of which represent a different loka or plane of awareness. When the kundalini finally blows through the seventh chakra or Sahasrara, the consciousness transcends space and time, and the sense of individuality dissolves.
This type of peak experience cannot be attained simply by engaging in physical activities, and it goes far beyond the question of freeing the body from physical tension. Although people do get high at times performing exercises such as jogging—and this might be due to a certain ‘kundalini rush’—it is still tied to the pleasure centres of the lower chakras. It does not nearly approach the transcendental experience that deep meditation can provide. The more that yoga and pranayama are practised, the more purified the subtle nerve channels become and the deeper the meditative states attained.
We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article. Mail us at [email protected]
Special Feature 61
Yoga special.indd 61 19/05/18 11:38 AM