Question On Self-Pacing

[Hunter]

Hello everyone,
               It is only recently that I am finally beginning to understand the need and the great results of self-pacing. I feel that I did not properly perform the best steps when first utilizing the techniques of AYP. Specifically, I am referring to the gradual stabilization of newly added practices to the basic deep meditation.

Anyway, I am trying to get a feel for what I should be practicing.
This is the question: Should I just start over and practice only deep meditation and then go from there?

Right now I practice 5 minutes of spinal breathing and 10 minutes of deep meditation with 10 minutes of rest afterwards.(Twice daily) During the spinal breathing, sambhavi and mulabandha has become automated/habit(it became habit previous to AYP). The reason I am looking to self-pace is because I am getting too much crown and third eye activity during spinal breathing and I feel burnt out afterwards.
This is another question I have and my main interest in self-pacing: Does over-purification impede or slow down the way back to God?

Thank you.

Love, Hunter

[weaver]

Hi Hunter,

Self-pacing is one of the most important considerations in AYP, so it's good that you bring it up.

How long did you do just deep meditation before you started to add spinal breathing? The reason I ask is that it's important that there is a foundation of inner silence before we start to possibly stir up energies with spinal breathing etc.

In your situation, if feeling burnt out, I would first ease up sambhavi to possibly alleviate the 3rd eye and crown activity. Then if needed as a next step cut down spinal breathing to maybe 2 minutes first, then if that doesn't help, skip it temporarily and see if it makes a difference.

To your question: Yes, over-purification can impede or slow down the way back to God if it makes us feel too bad in daily life or out of balance or creates too much energy flow so we may have to drastically cut down practices. It can then become a roller coaster, and that will make the path back to God slower than if we can do a steady drive with a very gradual and stable increase of practices.

[Hunter]

Hi Weaver,
           I don't remember how long I practiced just deep meditation for; recalling by stubborness at the time, I would guess that it was only for a couple of weeks or so.

Hunter

[weaver]

Well, a couple of weeks seems like a very short time to really settle into the practice. That could be one possible reason for the symptoms you experience. I meditated about 4 months before adding spinal breathing. But it could of course vary for every person.

[Hunter]

Whoops! I suppose that I should have searched previous topics and lessons before posting. I just read Shweta's topic 'Tips for Managing Practices' and that directed me to lesson 219 which is a perfect help.

Weaver, nevertheless, thank you for your advice. I am going to try it out and I am sure it will work well.

Hunter

[weaver]

Well, they should ask everyone who has posted in the topic then if they agree to have it deleted...

[sadhak]

Hi Hunter,
This is a topic of which nobody can have enough, because it is the spine of self-directed practices at AYP.

I too, was pretty obdurate at different times, and went on with a nice overload, even though symptoms told me otherwise.

"Do not be deceived by the seeming simplicity" Yogani warns in his lessons... these practices are pretty powerful. But even so, we are likely to overdo something or the other because of various reasons.... And what Weaver says is true. Each person has to find his/her own pace of adding practices, duration, and so forth. Total self-responsibility here. Tools are here, I found, but you've to figure out how they work for you.

[Shanti]

Hi Hunter,
I agree with Sadhak.. there can never be too many posts on self pacing...
You dont have to delete this. I like Weavers answers.. will be a good ref. post for the future..
I will just add the link to 'Tips for Managing Practices' here.. and we should be fine..

Sadhak said:"I too, was pretty obdurate at different times, and went on with a nice overload, even though symptoms told me otherwise."
Heh Heh Heh... haven't we all...

[Hunter]

This morning, I stopped being a chicken and stubborn as a mule and I have started from step one again. I practiced 20 minutes of deep meditation and rested for 10 minutes. The activity in my crown and pituitary area is still great but this is a good re-start.

It feels great, even liberating. Somehow my mindset changed as well; my longing is still there but simultaneously I do not feel as if I am in a rush to catch God. I can just let it be, let it alone. Why should I make battle when there is no war being fought?

I never knew that we have an infinite amount of chances to start over, how freeing and wonderful. I did not know that every single day, I can be born once again just as a new babe. Every moment, born again.

I am going to do it right this time. Building steadily and gradually on top of the deep mediation practice only when everything is completely stabilized. It does not matter how long it takes.
This is going to be fun now.

[weaver]

Glad to hear this Hunter.

On the long way back to God Jesus said "In your patience possess ye your souls..." (Luke 21:19)

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by Hunter

I am going to do it right this time. Building steadily and gradually on top of the deep mediation practice only when everything is completely stabilized. It does not matter how long it takes.
This is going to be fun now.

Great Hunter..
I will quote Yogani from lesson 118

quote:The first order of business is to get comfortable in your routine,
and that could mean backing off temporarily on the things mentioned,
until you get through this bump in the road. It is up to you.

Real yogis and yoginis are hungry to stay on the leading edge of
their journey, and I admire you for it. Your bhakti is terrific. But
we want to avoid having it become the "bleeding edge." It should be
fun. In time it becomes much more than fun. It becomes infinite joy!

[sadhak]

quote:Originally posted by Hunter

I never knew that we have an infinite amount of chances to start over, how freeing and wonderful. I did not know that every single day, I can be born once again just as a new babe. Every moment, born again.

Why, thanks, Hunter. Hope that makes me think and act... I think I'm still a mule... when I tell people things I should be doing, their responses inspire me to get on the road again. It's a great comfort to think that I have an infinite amount of chances to start over.

[Hunter]

Self-pacing update: Doing well here.

I have been practicing 5 minutes of pranayama and 10 minutes of deep meditation twice-daily since about December of 2006. I have not been able to do more than this.

Everything has settled down and is quite smooth. 5 days ago I increased my deep meditation to 15 minutes and kept my pranayama at 5 minutes. I have resumed kechari as well.

[Hunter]

I am pulling back from 15 minutes of deep meditation back to 10 minutes. It is just too much for me right now and all that I want is stability in my daily life.

[Anthem]

Hi Hunter,

It occurred to me, from reading your post, to suggest not changing the length of your meditation so dramatically if you want to increase it in the future. A 5 minutes increase would certainly leave me with some emotional instability, but a 1 minute increase once a week or even only once a month, until you reached a 5 minute increase, might be easier for the body to adapt to.

Of course when going in the opposite direction, cutting out 5 minutes when going through a period of self-pacing is not a problem and sometimes essential to get back on track more quickly.

Last year some time, I came to the conclusion that "self-pacing", which I have always had challenges with,[:I] was not just about me anymore. I started to feel that I owed it to my environment and those around me to do it properly. I started to realize that when I went over, that life wasn't as smooth for me and as a result not as smooth for others. It can be a subtle thing the way we act when we are over in practices, for example not being as patient with others, making more selfish decisions, not handling "negative" (so called) emotions as well etc. Clearly it's more obvious when we're very much past the balancing point in practices, as irritability and other emotions can spill into our actions and affect others.

Long story short, I'm often guilty of slow pattern recognition, but I feel like I owe it to myself (life is too short to not enjoy) and the world (more me) to self-pace my practices accordingly.

Just thought I would throw it out there.