Fire on the Mountain

by Kristine Kaoverii Weber

The mountain – majestic, powerful, immovable. In a’sana practice, everything comes from the mountain pose, (tadasana in Sanskrit) – from a place of stillness and balance. The mountain pose is done by standing steady with feet close together and arms by the sides. While the instructions in this pose form the basis for instructions in all poses, aligning with the vibration of this pose delivers a sense of peaceful steadiness .

It can be easy to gloss over this pose in anticipation of other more challenging postures ahead. But the mountain can give us insight into a deeper part of ourselves that may go overlooked if we jump off it too quickly.

Mountains appear stalwart, but at their root, deep within the earth, there is the potential for powerful seismic activity. In mountain pose the body appears still, but it is actually striving towards active balance and consolidating energy. In order to experience the powerful potential of tada’sana, imagine yourself as a mountain — direct energy both downward from the waist through the legs and root into the earth, and upward from the solar plexus through the heart and the crown to expand into the infinite.

Think of the waist as the fulcrum of mountain pose. It contains, at the navel, the bindu (point of origin) of the third chakra — the manipura or City of Jewels. When meditated upon, it is said one will see the manipura like a brilliantly illumined city, which speaks of the energy and power of this chakra. The manipura is the home of the luminous factor – one of the five fundamental factors (tattvas) that make up the stuff of the universe (the other four being solid, liquid, aerial and ethereal – each situated in one of the other lower five chakras). The luminous factor of the navel is often referred to as our fire – the fire of digestion, the fire that fuels the physical strength of the body, the fire of willpower and of wanting to do something in the world. Fire is powerful and if well directed, helps us accomplish what we want in our lives. It gives us the guts to be able to forge our own individual path, as well as the ability to stomach the challenges that path presents us with. If the fire is smoldering and we have weak digestion, weak will, or a lot of fear, we can use mountain pose to strengthen ourselves by imagining we’re breathing fire into the chakra and strengthening our resolve. Conversely, if fire consumes us and we have a lot of anger, an acidic stomach or a bullying nature, we can breathe coolness into the posture to subdue the fire. A strong but controlled fire will give us the ability to do what we need to, and want to, in the world.

Stay in the mountain and explore the subtle energy flows. If we can take the fire of will and action with us as we ideate downwards, we can allow it to connect to the primordial fire at the center of the mountain. Directing the mind to go down through our physical body roots us to the earth and prepares the psyche and spirit for the inevitable challenges we face in our lives. Directing the energy down helps us to move deeper into the layers of our psyche and connects us with the shadow or the darkness within ourselves. By going through this darkness with fire, we light the shadows, we bring clarity and awareness to our inner issues. If we let our fire burn with confidence and determination, we can face the pain our searching reveals with fortitude. A strong, controlled fire helps us to move boldly into the darkness rather than shrinking away from it and leaving our unconscious obscured out of fear or inertia.

Taking the fire upward, we warm the air, which abides in the heart chakra. A strong fire, directed towards the heart, helps us develop our personalities and become warm -compassionate and understanding both towards individuals, and our universal human family. Fire helps the air of the heart chakra expand, expanding our connection to others and our world. The belly is strong, the diaphragm works well, respiration and circulation are assisted and strengthened. This is a literal expansion of self – mind and body. The field of the heart chakra expands in ever-increasing concentric spheres. With this expansion our field of compassion increases. If we strengthen the fire but keep it only in the belly, it can overwhelm us and lead to distortions of power, ego and anger. When we direct the fire of the belly to the heart and let it move out through our arms and hands, out through our actions, we become the alchemists of fire, smelting our lives through it rather than allowing it to consume us.

The fire moves up further through the throat chakra and third eye, it becomes rarified as it finds its way to the crown. The crown chakra represents the top of the mountain – which in many cultures are sacred spaces, places where prayer flags fly and temples are built. In mountain pose this sacred space can be meditated upon to strengthen our connection to the infinite.

While many strong active poses give our mind an out by their very nature, in mountain, we can not run away from ourselves. If an emotion emerges during an active pose, the mind can easily shift the focus to the physical in order to divert itself. Yoga used only in this way may lead to injury because the mind is quickly shifted away from checking in with the body. Likewise, if we continually avoid our unconscious issues, they will eventually manifest physically. A practitioner may pull a hamstring or injure a shoulder because s/he is not conscious of the mind’s effect on the body. Eventually one may even develop an illness. Of course this dynamic occurs regardless of whether or not you’re practicing yoga. By practicing yoga consciously, we can deepen awareness of ourselves – our bodies, minds and our place on this planet – and understand on a deeper level why we experience certain illnesses or negative emotional states.

Rather than being a passive place to anticipate your practice, standing in mountain, being with yourself, allowing the pose to reveal your strengths and weaknesses, is a deep practice in and of itself. While active poses and vinyasa flows provide fuel for the fire of the manipura, the still poses like mountain teach us much about our inner landscape. We can use the fire of the belly to forge a clear path forward.

Kristine Kaoverii Weber, MA, e-RYT lives in Asheville, NC where she teaches yoga and conducts Subtle Yoga Teacher Trainings. She is also a shiatsu practitioner and has recently published her first book, Healing Self-Massage. Visit her website at subtleyoga.com.

3 detox tips for those cold months ahead:

January 16, 2012
by Ramesh Bjonnes

Tantra as Perennial Practice

by Ramesh Bjonnes

Tantra As Perrenial Practice

P.R. Sarkar defines the practice of Tantra as the process of transforming one’s latent divinity into Supreme Divinity. “A person who, irrespective of caste, creed or religion aspires for [such] spiritual expansion…is a Tantric,” he writes. (Discourses on Tantra, Vol II, p. 22) Moreover, Tantra is neither a religion nor an ism. Tantra represents humanity’s orginal spiritual science; humanity’s fundamental perrenial quest for God-realization.

Tantra and Yoga

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written around 200CE, are commonly referred to as Classical Yoga and the origin of the yoga taught and practiced by millions of Westerners in thousands of yoga studios today. It is also commonly understood that Tantra is either some form of esoteric sexual practice or simply one amongst many schools of yoga–often referred to as Raja Yoga or Kundalini Yoga. The teachings of Tantra, however, originated in prehistoric times and were, according to Sarkar and some Tantric scholars, systematized by Shiva around 5000 BC, thousands of years before the Yoga Sutras were written. Tantra can thus be considered the original tree from where all the other branches of yoga have grown.

Tantra and Sex

Wilber’s sophisticated understanding of Tantric teachings and its influence throughout the world’s great wisdom traditions is something of an anomaly. This ancient and refined philosophy, this practical path of self-realization has often been misunderstood and misrepresented. In ancient India, for example, Tantra was often practiced at night in secret by Vedic priests who were bound by dogma not to admit to its powerful transformative effects. And, according to noted yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein, in the West Tantra has most commonly been reduced to “a mere discipline of ritualized or sacred sex. In the popular mind, Tantra has become the equivalent to sex. Nothing could be farther from the truth!” writes this scholar of Indology and author of more than 3O books on yoga and Tantra, including the acclaimed The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga. (Feuerstein, Georg, Tantra: The Path Of Ecstasy, Shambhala, Boston, 1998)

It is indeed inaccurate to equate the transcendental bliss achieved in Tantric samadhi (Oneness with the Supreme Consciousness) with the physical pleasure of sex. The reason for this misunderstanding in the West has mainly arisen from a lopsided interpretation of the so-called Pancamakaras or Five M’s. “It is so called,” writes Feuerstein, “because the names of the five ‘ingredients’ or ‘substances’ (draya) in the ritual all start with the letter m: madya (wine or liquor), matsya (fish), mamsa (meat), mudra (parched grain) and maithuna (sexual intercourse). These are also referred to as the ‘five principles’ (panca tattva).” (Feuerstein, Tantra, p 239) Feuerstein then continues to decribe how the first four ingredients of this so-called left-hand path of Tantra are “all thought to have an aphrodisiacal effect,” although “scholars have speculated a great deal” about the fourth ingredient. “The final ritual ‘ingredient,’ maithuna,” he writes, “epitomizes the entire Tantric program… The sexual union between male and female practitioner… the utterly blissful transcendental identity of Shiva and Shakti, God and Goddess.”

The spirit of Tantra implies that ordinary activities and enjoyments such as eating, playing, writing, and sex are seen as relative expressions of the Absolute. They are imbued with sacredness and spirituality. However, this does not mean that eating large amounts of certain kinds of food or having excessive sexual activity will automatically intensify one’s spiritual vision. Tantra sees nothing wrong with seeking pleasure as this indeed is the underlying reason for our quest for the ultimate spiritual pleasure, or ananda (bliss). But these mundane pleasures, according to Tantra, are miniscule and temporary replicas of the ultimate spiritual union with Brahma. Moreover, practiced in excess, they tend to turn us into compulsive slaves rather than liberated souls. Thus the common misconception in Western New Age circles that sexual Tantra is the pathway toward salvation is contrary to the inner essence of this ancient and sublime practice.

The left-handed path as decribed by Feuerstein above, was, according to Sarkar, prescribed as a path of moderation, not excess, as is often the case at expensive seminars promoting what Feuerstein calls Neo-Tantrism, and others humorously refer to as California Tantra. The main idea behind the practice of the left-handed path is to practice spirituality (sadhana) while in the midst of enjoyments. It was both prescribed as a means of reducing one’s intake of wine and meat and, at the same time, to harbour Divine feelings while relishing their delights, and ultimately to rise above the transient nature of these earthly pleasures alltogther. Thus the Five M’s also had a different, more subtle meaning. As Feuerstein writes: “In the right-hand schools [the Five M’s] are understood symbolically and are completely internalized.” (Tantra, p240)

Here is a brief overview–based on ancient Tantric slokas (aphorisms)–of how Sarkar interprets the right-hand path of Tantra:

Madhya–to enjoy the sudha or somadhara, which, while in deep meditation, is a hormonal secretion from the pineal gland. A second meaning is that it refers to the spiritual aspirant’s ecstatic or intoxicated love of God.

Mamsa–one who has control over his or her speech, or one who surrenders all actions–good, bad, sinful, righteous, or wicked–to God, is said to be a practitioner of mamsa sadhana.

Matsya–refers to the subtle science of pranayama (breathing exercises), and also to the feeling of deep compassion arising in a spiritual person’s heart.

Mudra–avoidance of bad company, as bad company leads to bondage and good company leads to liberation.

Maethuna–the purpose of maethuna sadhana is to raise the Daevii Shakti (divine energy, also called kundalini ), located at the lowest vertebra of the spine, and unite it with Shiva in the spiritual energy center at the top of the head, near the pineal gland. (Discourses on Tantra p. 46-51)

It is thus more exact to describe Tantra as a comprehensive spiritual science, which is what the word Tantra itself implies. Sarkar writes that the etymological meaning of Tantra is as follows: tan means to expand and tra means to liberate. (Discourses on Tantra Vol 1, p 76) Thus Tantra is the spiritual science which liberates the spiritual practitioner or yogi from all limitations, be they physical, mental or spiritual. Moreover, although historically it appears this science originated in ancient India, its influene is vast and it cannot be confined to simply one religion or one set of practices. Sarkar writes that “Every sadhana [spiritual practice] that aims at the attainment of the Supreme, irrespective of its religious affiliation, is definitely Tantra; for Tantra is not a religion, Tantra is simply the science of sadhana–it is a principle.”

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Ramesh Bjonnes has a book coming out on the history of Tantra. Stay tuned!

I don’t want to know what you are grateful for…What I want to know is how gratitude makes you feel

by Kristine Kaoverii Weber
When I get asked to think about what I’m grateful for in a yoga class, it makes me feel like a naughty 5 year old. I don’t want to think about what I’m grateful for, it makes me feel like I did something wrong and I have to atone for it by being good and pleasant.

So another season of gratitude is upon us and what I’ve learned from yoga is this: I don’t think it matters much what you’re grateful for, what I’d rather be asked is “How does it feel to be in a state of gratitude?”

I would request that you take a moment, close or lower your eyes, breathe deeply and sink into a state of gratitude. It doesn’t even have to have an object – just a feeling state of gratitude. And then when you get in that state ask yourself any of the following: How does it feel in your body? How does your breath feel? How does your heart feel? How does your face feel? How do your hands feel? How does your neck feel? How does your belly feel? What does your energy body feel like?

I asked the question on my Facebook page and got lots of amazing responses.

I assure you you’ll get much more out of this exercise than you will out of writing lengthy lists of people and things you are grateful for – not that that’s a bad idea – it just doesn’t get underneath it all to the feeling state.

And why get to the feeling state? Because from there you can make healthy grounded decisions – which you may need to make over the next couple of days. Perhaps the decision not to have that third piece of pecan pie, or not to drink another bottle of wine, or not to trash Glenn Beck to your obnoxious brother-in-law. Why not ask him how he feels when he’s in a state of gratitude? He might get it, I dare you!

We are acculturated to ignore the feelings in our bodies – it keeps us in a state of dis-ease where we are likely to consume more (fill in the blank) – so it works well for the status quo and the economy. But yoga helps us reclaim the body and own our feelings. And when we are aware of the body and of our feelings, we are more likely to trust and nurture ourselves, to be compassionate to others and to take positive, transformative action in the world. We are less likely to act from a place of reactivity and more likely to move from a place of centeredness, energy, passion, and love.

I would suggest this holiday season to not only give thanks, but also to feel thanks.

Om shanti.

Kaoverii’s blog can be found at www.subtleyoga.com.

Can We Be Spiritual Without Inner Transformation? A Tantric Perspective.

by Ramesh Bjonnes

Some on the spiritual path, especially some Buddhists and nondualists, say that we do not need to transform, do not need to change in order to be spiritual. According to Tantra, change is natural to the human self, the body-mind.

Change is life.

But also according to Tantra, there is a changeless Self, which never changes, to which the changing self wakes up, discovers, embraces, and is absorbed into through transformative expansion. Thus there is both transformation and no-transformation. Change and no-change.

According to Tantric Yoga the spiritual realm is the one changeless Being, or Brahman. This changeless realm, this Brahman, from which everything originates, from which everything is preserved and from within which everything dies and is destroyed, consists of two polarities: Shiva (Consciousness) and Shakti (Energy).

Shiva is that aspect of Brahman which is changeless, pure, subtle, the deep within, the deep inner world of all manifest beings, the deep inner space of the outer world, of matter, of the atomic world and beyond.

Shiva is pure Consciousness, pure Intelligence, from which even some quantum physicists now believe everything originates. Shiva is that oceanic space within, that cave in the cosmic heart, that which we experience while deep-diving the conscious and subconscious monkey-minds and enter the super-conscious mind of revelation and peace in our meditation.

In other words, in order to be awed by and to experience the inner thrill of Shiva Consciousness, we undergo a shift in awareness, an inner transformation with the help of Shakti energy, with the help of our will power, our emotions, and our sexual energy.

Because Shakti is pure Energy, that which creates, that which binds consciousness into form, into life, creativity and finally into death. By riding the energy of Shakti, the kundalini of transformation and creativity, we embrace Shiva, the Changeless.

“Tantra is the process of transforming one’s latent divinity into Supreme Divinity. A person who, irrespective of caste, creed or religion aspires for [such] spiritual expansion…is a Tantric.” —Anandamurti

Tantric Yoga teaches us that if this unchanging reality, this Shiva is close to our heart, close to our inner mind in daily contemplation, in daily practice, then it is much easier to accept and welcome and challenge the turbulence of change—the pain of physical and mental suffering that also is an inevitable part of life. Hence, Tantra is to live in the balance of these two realms.

By meditating on that changeless Entity, that deep inner space of the cosmos, we embrace change, we accept change, we thrive on change in the form of Shakti, the Goddess of transformation, creativity, destruction, and death.

By meditating on that Changelss Entity, we associate with the wave of breath that is always connected to the deep spiritual ocean within. And we know, we realize, from experience, when we become less agitated, angry, or irritated, that both Shiva (the changeless) and Shakti (that which always changes), these twin archetypes, are always alive within us.

“Contemplate life as infinite, undivided, ever present, ever active, until you realize yourself as one with it.” —Nisargadatta Maharaj

We know that when death strikes, when sickness strikes, that this change is inevitable, that it is Shakti’s nature to change form, to transform, but that Shiva always remains, formless and deeply whole within and beyond.

We know that beyond duality there is nonduality—that beyond both the deep subjective I of consciousness within and the objective yogic energy body that is healthy one day and sick the next, that beyond those polarities of our being there is only Brahman, only Consciousness.

So, what is Tantric yoga, Tantric meditation? To shift our attention toward Shiva, toward Purusha, toward Consciousness, by embracing the energy of Shakti, the energy of Prakriti, the energy of transformation and change.

Shiva in us never changes, but the Shakti in us always undergoes transformation. And it is our choice to use our Shakti energy wisely or to use it destructively. In other words, we practice yoga, we meditate in order to bypass distraction and destruction and to experience wholeness and unity—the subtle, changeless aspects of our soul, of our spirit.

“Ecstatic devotion to the Divine Mother [Shakti] alternated with serene absorption in the ocean of Absolute Unity[Shiva]. He thus bridged the gulf between the personal and impersonal, the immanent and transcendent aspects of reality.” –Swami Nikhilananda describing the Tantric spirituality of Shri Ramakrishna

And here’s the secret, the beauty of this transformation: by becoming more like the changeless, we can constantly undergo change more gracefully. We embrace change as pain and suffering and joy more peacefully, more ego-lessly.

In other words, we do change, we do transform when we perform spiritual practice. Otherwise why bother to practice or to read and be moved by the great spiritual masterpieces, such as the Gita? Otherwise why do Buddhists practice tonglen, mindfulness, ethics if not to gracefully transform that in us which needs to undergo change in order to be awestruck by and perceive the changeless?

We do the practice, the asanas, the deep breathing, the counting of beads, the mantra repetition, to calm down the choppy winds of the mind, so that we may move into silence, flow toward the breath within the breath, toward the changeless nature of Spirit, toward Shiva, that unfathomable void that never undergoes any change.

We do this practice, sometimes painfully, and sometimes gracefully. But we do it to generate change. And we are transformed by this arousal of Shakti energy in our body and in our mind. In turn, we are changed by it, except that part of us, that inner witness, that Shiva, that great cosmic I, that nondual awareness which never undergoes any change; that quiet breath within our breath, that witnessing I in the quiet hurricane of our life.