45 YOGINI FEA By stimulating the inner fire in the temple of the body, the earth is activated so that the air, the HA THA (solar and lunar breathes), may flow through unimpeded. Who is Yogini? She is the Dakini who brings the wonders of yoga practice. Yoga means ‘To yoke, to join,’ and the range of yoga practices are basically designed to provide means of joining the individual with the Divine, the Universal. We are generally more familiar with Hatha Yoga, with its array of physical yoga positions, but Yoga covers a range of practices designed to open up body, mind and spirit to connection with Divine energies, higher source. There are a number of different kinds of Yoga practice in Hindu philosophy. Patanjali (8th century) who is said to have been the founder of formal yoga philosophy, defined yoga in this way, ‘Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind’. His system of Raja Yoga has ‘8 limbs’ which cover one’s approach to life and a series of meditation techniques. The Bhagavad Gita introduces three types of Yoga - Karma Yoga, the yoga of action, Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, and Jnana Yoga, the yoga of knowledge. Tantra Yoga, Kriya Yoga and Kundalini Yoga evolved later. Kundalini Yoga aims at awakening and channeling the kundalini energy (your inner Goddess) to activate your full potential. Kriya Yoga, introduced to the west by Yogananda, (‘Autobiography of a Yogi’) focuses on removing blockages to the energy centers of the body and their activation through breath, posture and meditation. Tantra Yoga blends the discipline of detachment of yoga with the total engagement of Tantra. Tantra Yoga is the yoga of non duality for it embraces and empowers both spirit and embodiment, celebrating their union in the marriage of Shiva and Shakti, the male and female cosmic archetypes representing these principles. 64DakiniOracle.org © Penny Slinger 2010 Yoga practice and philosophy is most associated with India, but similar forms can be found in a number of other cultures, including ancient Egypt, Tibet and in indigenous shamanism all over the world. The system from which this Oracle was inspired created temples dedicated to the 64 Yoginis. In this context, the term Yogini refers to a female practitioner who has achieved a level of attainment, a form of the Goddess and/or an attendant to the Goddess. The Yoginis were considered capable of bestowing magical powers and boons on both the material and the spiritual planes. Location/Sphere of Influence The body. Allies Animals and how they move and meditate. Nature & Description of Dakini Yogini’s pictogram is a rendition of one of the most renowned yantras (diagrams or forms which hold a particular ‘cosmic signature’) in esoteric Tantra. Called the Sri Yantra, its combination of four sets of upward pointing triangles with five sets of downward pointing triangles is the basis of the whole diagram. This represents the male and female energies of creation in perfect balance and harmony. This is why it is the basis of Yogini’s yoga yantra. Yogini seeks to find the balance of the elements within her own being with those of universal principles. The ‘male’ and ‘female’ functions of being can also be seen as action and inaction, doing and being, extroversion and introversion or meditation. The term ‘asana’ literally means seat. It refers to the position, any of the postures, in which the body ‘seats itself’ in order to enter into meditation, into a state of divine resonance. Many of the yoga positions were derived from yogis studying how animals move and stretch. Knowing the animal kingdom to be in a state of natural alignment, unimpeded by the constricts of the artificial structures, values and inhibitions of human society, this is where they looked for guidance and inspiration. Yogini’s body is like burnished copper or bronze, to show that when she brings consciousness to the form of her body by yogic means, she becomes a living work of art, a sculpture fit for a temple wall. The body is formed into various antennae to conduct divine electricity down to earth. The metallic nature of this offering plaque reflects this. In the center a large image of Yogini fills the yantra, underlying all the other postures. It shows her in a simple pose of devotion and prayer, representing that at the core of Yoga practice is the human being connecting with divine energy, higher self, and humbly requesting attunement and guidance. Divinatory Meaning Insight into the inner meaning of yoga. 64DakiniOracle.org © Penny Slinger 2010 Taking a yogic position in life. Yogini explains that the position of the Yogi or Yogini in relation to the plane of reality is one of detached engagement. The meditation practices are designed to still the machinations of ‘normal’ mental activity, opening up the mind itself to abide in its own true nature. Once the mind discovers its essence, it is no longer attached to the things of the world to bring it satisfaction. This is the state of ‘inner abiding’ sought by the meditating Yogi or Yogini. The yogic approach does entail bringing certain disciplines into one’s way of being. Although discipline may sound a bit like a dirty word, the fact is that inner discipline, discipline that is self - imposed, is of a different nature and has a different effect than discipline imposed from outside yourself. The latter is often connected with having you comply with a set of rules or conditions that are not of your own making. You need to conform to the disciplines of others in order to abide by the status quo. The disciplines of yoga, on the other hand, are designed to constrict or limit in order to liberate. Are you a slave to your habits? Yogini says time to break free by disciplined change. It is healthy to shift any habit you have grown accustomed to so that you will be able to view its dynamics and effect. While you are immersed in the activity of the habit, mental or physical, it ‘has’ you and you are unable to view your situation and the workings of cause and effect with any kind of objectivity. Habits around food and eating patterns are a good example and often a good place to start in bringing a yogic approach to your life. Some kind of fast or temporary radical shift in what you ingest helps to bring a new sensibility to this activity, for what we eat and drink is baseline survival for our life in the body. Once you bring your consciousness to bear in this arena and make choices guided by criteria beyond just your wants, needs and cravings (and pocketbook too, of course) which have often been established by habit, you are back in the driver’s seat of your own bio-computer. Yogis helped establish the principles of the Auryvedic system of medicine by only ingesting certain foods for a period so that they could clearly ascertain their effects in the body. So you see how a Yogic approach is one where, once you remove yourself from the ‘knee jerk’ reaction to any given situation (as with the approach to food just discussed) then you have the opportunity of treating this body, this mind, this set of senses and sensibilities, as a living laboratory in which you can conduct experiments with your own living being. Apply this approach to any aspect of your life. The essence of Hatha Yoga is in the control of the breath, the basic automatic activity that goes on all the time for you to be alive. Work with your breath. See how stabilizing, slowing your breathing, can help stabilize your emotions. Yogic meditation and contemplation disciplines allow the mind to dis-engage from habitual patterns of thought. One of the strongest habitual addictions is the identification with the ego. The ego has its role, but in service of the higher self, not as the boss. Yoga practices bring clarity to the relationship and help keep the ego in its place. Yogic lifestyle, which abandons possessions and property, frees from the bondage of ownership and the yogi reverts to all anyone can ever really lay claim to, their own consciousness and the naked body they were born with. There is a body of wisdom and knowledge acquired by Yogis through direct experience that you 64DakiniOracle.org © Penny Slinger 2010 can tap into to help guide and reflect your own process. A living tradition of beings who have chosen their own sovereignty, secure in the knowledge that they are part of a living tradition, where their choice means something. Where the crystal of consciousness they develop has a place in the great prayer necklace of yogic consciousness which is made as an offering from the humans to the Divine. Yogini reveals that Hatha Yoga is not a way of keeping in shape (though that could be a good side effect) but a way of creating the body/mind into a focused channel for divine downloads, with no postural blockage in body and/or mind, getting in the way. This is the inner secret of the yoga asanas (postures). Seen in this way, Yoga is union with one’s fully potentialised self. The postures of Hatha Yoga have many self healing benefits too, putting appropriate pressures onto certain organs and glands to stimulate the release of healing biochemical compounds into the body. The benefits of acupressure and acupuncture in Chinese healing are of a related nature. Treat your body as a work of art. Understand that your body is the living temple of your consciousness.