Awareness of Dan Tien -- Awareness in Yoga
I'm sorry Dasi, but that's why I think I should definitely practice Tai Chi together with yoga. Yoga is the best when it comes to meditation. Mindless meditation, in a way. But not in a bad sense. In Svaroopa Yoga I'm oh! so mindful of my body! In order to sit for 45 minutes meditation there is a whole pose that we learn that uses a tons blankets to make sure my tailbone is alligned precisely , knees are on the right level, my ankles don't hurt (the biggest challenge). After all this Body Mindfulness we just have a Meditation Party. We "party" away at the blissful feelings we have, OMmmmmm, Neva shivayaa, repeat it over and over and over again.
That's all fine and dandy. And I'm actually enjoying it, because once I figure out the blanket business after that I feel like I'm part of the Svaroopa Yoga Meditation community. I don't care any more who surrounds, I may be in a room full of teachers who has been meditating and doing yoga for years, but who cares! I've been meditating for years myself, only I've been meditating my own personal way, through months and months of deep depressions.
Well, when the party is over, I go home and everyday life continues. 20 minutes of Ujiya pranayama in the morning, 5 min of Ujiya in the afternoon, 5 min of Ujiya in the evening. This is no longer about the OMmmmm party, this is more serious business. What am I suppose to feel when I meditate? What's the point of my meditation? I know it's deep breathing, however, half of the time I can't concentrate on my breathing. Why am I loosing time then in those Ujiya pranayama that doesn't really give me what it should, pranayama.
What is pranayama anyway? where is it stored? how does it travel in our body?
I search for yoga and tai chi related words, concepts and articles on the web pretty often. I'm yet to see yogis get deep into this subject. Maybe they do, but only orally, when you practice yoga with masters in India. Maybe they do, in Sanskrit. But I need it for free, on my computer and in English.
That's why I turn to Tai Chi. It has a wealth of information. Lots of examples of articles from people. Here is a best one I found so far, it's called ~ Awareness of the Dan Tian ~ by Margaret Emerson
The Dan Tian in Sitting Meditation
Sitting meditation and moving meditation complement and reinforce each other. Sometimes I’m ready to sink directly into the dan tian almost as soon as I sit down. Other times I use breathing patterns and imagery to usher myself into a state of quiet that finally allows me to settle into the dan tian. This is the deepest state, the ultimate goal of my sitting.
=================================================
Yes! that's exactly what I've been asking myself for months now. No, at this point I have a very vague idea of what Margaret is talking about. However, I have some point of reference. At least, I know where and what I should feel. who knows, I may feel it too after some time passes and if I keep practicing diligently.
=================================================
Interesting things happen when I occupy that place (whether I’m sitting or practicing T’ai Chi). Emotions that I’ve been holding in that area-sometimes consciously suppressing or unconsciously repressing, pushing them downward in order to avoid-have to leave. They’re displaced. They rise upward, traveling through my heart (where I feel them) and through my brain (where I name them). Conscious and subconscious meet and are knitted together. I get to know myself. The process can bring tears or smiles. It’s often an unpleasant stage, but it doesn’t last. All that stuff keeps going-it evaporates through the crown of my head.
=================================
!!! that's an amazing explanation. Soooo much more precise and clear than the Western psychologist way of talking about emotions!
=================================
So residing in the dan tian triggers a clearing-out process. I become empty. What’s left is my essential self united with my essential self. There’s no room for the inessential. Yet the point that occupies no space is infinitely huge, encompassing the universe. If I sit in meditation or practice T’ai Chi while overlooking Crater Lake, I can contain all that water, all that blue, the rocks of the caldera and the trees clinging to its edges within my dan tian. Eventually what’s in that place is a radiant clarity and a transcendent, muscular peace.
==================================
essential self - that's what Svaroopa yoga talks about
nature, yes!!! So, at least I can relate to Margaret in this one thing, nature!! Nature is how I started practicing Tai Chi. After months and months of trying and failing I finally figured out that being outside helps me to start doing what monhs of trying indoor doesn't work. That's how I started practicing Tai Chi. Thanks to that experience, when the same thing happened to yoga and I just couldn't get myself to practice Ujiya every day, again, Nature helped.
=====================================
++++++++++++++++++
Awareness of the Dan Tian (https://margaretemerson.com/awareness-dan-tian/) by Margaret Emerson Published in Qi Journal, Winter 2012-2013
That's all fine and dandy. And I'm actually enjoying it, because once I figure out the blanket business after that I feel like I'm part of the Svaroopa Yoga Meditation community. I don't care any more who surrounds, I may be in a room full of teachers who has been meditating and doing yoga for years, but who cares! I've been meditating for years myself, only I've been meditating my own personal way, through months and months of deep depressions.
Well, when the party is over, I go home and everyday life continues. 20 minutes of Ujiya pranayama in the morning, 5 min of Ujiya in the afternoon, 5 min of Ujiya in the evening. This is no longer about the OMmmmm party, this is more serious business. What am I suppose to feel when I meditate? What's the point of my meditation? I know it's deep breathing, however, half of the time I can't concentrate on my breathing. Why am I loosing time then in those Ujiya pranayama that doesn't really give me what it should, pranayama.
What is pranayama anyway? where is it stored? how does it travel in our body?
I search for yoga and tai chi related words, concepts and articles on the web pretty often. I'm yet to see yogis get deep into this subject. Maybe they do, but only orally, when you practice yoga with masters in India. Maybe they do, in Sanskrit. But I need it for free, on my computer and in English.
That's why I turn to Tai Chi. It has a wealth of information. Lots of examples of articles from people. Here is a best one I found so far, it's called ~ Awareness of the Dan Tian ~ by Margaret Emerson
The Dan Tian in Sitting Meditation
Sitting meditation and moving meditation complement and reinforce each other. Sometimes I’m ready to sink directly into the dan tian almost as soon as I sit down. Other times I use breathing patterns and imagery to usher myself into a state of quiet that finally allows me to settle into the dan tian. This is the deepest state, the ultimate goal of my sitting.
=================================================
Yes! that's exactly what I've been asking myself for months now. No, at this point I have a very vague idea of what Margaret is talking about. However, I have some point of reference. At least, I know where and what I should feel. who knows, I may feel it too after some time passes and if I keep practicing diligently.
=================================================
Interesting things happen when I occupy that place (whether I’m sitting or practicing T’ai Chi). Emotions that I’ve been holding in that area-sometimes consciously suppressing or unconsciously repressing, pushing them downward in order to avoid-have to leave. They’re displaced. They rise upward, traveling through my heart (where I feel them) and through my brain (where I name them). Conscious and subconscious meet and are knitted together. I get to know myself. The process can bring tears or smiles. It’s often an unpleasant stage, but it doesn’t last. All that stuff keeps going-it evaporates through the crown of my head.
=================================
!!! that's an amazing explanation. Soooo much more precise and clear than the Western psychologist way of talking about emotions!
=================================
So residing in the dan tian triggers a clearing-out process. I become empty. What’s left is my essential self united with my essential self. There’s no room for the inessential. Yet the point that occupies no space is infinitely huge, encompassing the universe. If I sit in meditation or practice T’ai Chi while overlooking Crater Lake, I can contain all that water, all that blue, the rocks of the caldera and the trees clinging to its edges within my dan tian. Eventually what’s in that place is a radiant clarity and a transcendent, muscular peace.
==================================
essential self - that's what Svaroopa yoga talks about
nature, yes!!! So, at least I can relate to Margaret in this one thing, nature!! Nature is how I started practicing Tai Chi. After months and months of trying and failing I finally figured out that being outside helps me to start doing what monhs of trying indoor doesn't work. That's how I started practicing Tai Chi. Thanks to that experience, when the same thing happened to yoga and I just couldn't get myself to practice Ujiya every day, again, Nature helped.
=====================================
++++++++++++++++++
Awareness of the Dan Tian (https://margaretemerson.com/awareness-dan-tian/) by Margaret Emerson Published in Qi Journal, Winter 2012-2013