Suggestions on mixing up practice

[wakeupneo]

Practice has been very stale lately. There is an intense feeling of apathy when it comes to practice. The last few days sadhana has been a grind. Bhakti hasn't been this low in years. Perhaps it time to make some modifications.

This is my current practice: 15 minutes of SBP and 40 mins of DM, twice daily. Been at this current practice for about 2 years now.

Feeling Im ready to take on the "full plate routine" that Yogani talks about.

Asanas – 10 min
Spinal breathing – 10 min
Chin pump – 5 min
Spinal bastrika – 5 min
Meditation – 20 min
Samyama – 10 min
Yoni mudra – 5 minutes
Targeted or crown bastrika (optional) – 5 min
Rest – 5 min (or more)

is this the correct order however? Remember reading that Yoni mudra should be done directly after spinal breathing and before meditation, this isn't the sequence in the lessons.

Is this a sequence? Or is a a list? Anyone recommend a sequence using these various techniques?

love,
j

[AYPforum]

Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement

[Chiron]

Can only advise from a limited perspective that may not be applicable for you.  But here goes..

What you've proposed seems to be a salad add-on of practices which will likely be unsustainable in the long term.  Since it has been a grind lately, so many new changes could make it worse.

If you are adding new practices to your routine, it is better done scientifically, one by one.  That way you will be able to feel the results of the add-on, fueling your bhakti.  Plus it has self-pacing benefits incase you notice a negative effect or a downside somewhere and will be able to take a small step back, instead of dropping the whole routine.

i also feel that meditation should be at least equal in length to all the other practices combined if not longer than the rest of them, but that is a personal feeling which may not hold true for all.

Why not add some nada and tantra yoga to spice things up abit and fuel that bhakti? (unless you're already into it)  A barefoot walk on the beach or through a forest can do wonders for inspiration as well.. A good book is nice too, if one hasn't developed an aversion to reading yet, heh.

wishing you well friend



PS. this video is for inspiration :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDDl-6vrmww

[CarsonZi]

Hi J...

Let me see if I get this straight....

Problem  -------> Practice feels stale, bhakti is low.

Solution -------> Ratchet up practices by about 300%



Personally, I would suggest that it may  be more effective for you to do a little inquiry into why you feel that practice should not be dull, and perhaps even scale back on the practices a little.  Maybe just go with a nice easy 10 minutes of SBP, 20 minutes of DM, 5-10 minutes of Samyama, then take a nice 10 minute rest and spend the extra time doing slip-and-slide on your front lawn and/or chasing the neighbor hood kids around on your skateboard.

Just a suggestion.

Love!

[wakeupneo]

Chiron... not sure that video inspired me, but is sure made me laugh.

Carson... I hear you man. Guess the logic behind it is to chop it up into little pieces so it becomes more digestible. Kinda like when your cutting up your daughter's food:)

It's interesting to see how the personality gets invested in this whole notion of enlightenment, gets attached to states of peace, bliss and transcendence and then craves it.

This whole process is a dance. Perhaps the lesson here is to let the dance unfold, rather than to insist on constantly leading.  

Thanks for all the feedback.

love,
j

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by wakeupneo


This whole process is a dance. Perhaps the lesson here is to let the dance unfold, rather than to insist on constantly leading.  

Amen to that.

[CarsonZi]

Hey J...

quote:Originally posted by wakeupneo

This whole process is a dance. Perhaps the lesson here is to let the dance unfold, rather than to insist on constantly leading.

Yeah, you're picking up what I'm putting down.

quote:Originally posted by wakeupneo

Guess the logic behind it is to chop it up into little pieces so it becomes more digestible. Kinda like when your cutting up your daughter's food:)

 We don't cut up her food... we just let her mash it into her face.... usually some of it makes it into her mouth.

quote:Originally posted by wakeupneo

It's interesting to see how the personality gets invested in this whole notion of enlightenment, gets attached to states of peace, bliss and transcendence and then craves it.

Oh yeah... I've been a bit of a "scenery" addict myself.  But, paradoxically, it was only when I relaxed around feeling the need for more scenery that things really started to open up.  They didn't necessarily get more "exciting," but things certainly started to change!

It's also really easy to get trapped in the whole "I'm special cause I do 3 hours of hardcore yoga practice everyday" kinda thing.  Been there.    Just be aware that that feeling of separation can occur under the surface sometimes when we get involved in twice daily advanced practices like we are.  What I've found to be really effective in instances like this, is to try and isolate the motivation behind ramping up practices and take a good hard look at that.  What comes to the surface may not always be pretty, but it often seems to shift things a bit.

Best of luck my brother!

Love!

[Hussey01]

It is hard to mix up such huge work out and routine but It has been nice learning and new idea to get into the mind.So what is final decision.

[nearoanoke]

Neo,

Full set of practices:

http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=10424

- Near