|
Hatha Yoga is the form most people
consider to be yoga. It consists of physical
postures and movements designed to stimulate and rejuvenate
the physical cells of our being.
It involves a detailed knowledge of our physiology
taking us in to look at body chemistry, and brings us
to an understanding of how the glands and organs function
and what causes them to malfunction sometimes.
We learn how to influence the glands & organs in
a positive and stimulating way, what to feed the body,
how to detoxify, strengthen, etc.,. All of this information
and more is part of the first phase of yoga. We include
some of the little known Dhandal techniques that were
classically used for body building and power development
in the warrior tradition of the Kshatriyas.
This form of yoga empowers the 1st Chakra: Muladhara.
The element of the EARTH is that which is solid and
resistant in you.
Muladhara literally means the root support system,
this is where you are connected to the earth. In the
energies it is the force of gravity, that pulling in
power that holds things together. At the molecular level
it is the power that holds the atom together. At the
planetary level it is the more obvious gravitational
field. Obvious to us intellectually, yet invisible.
This is an energy we cannot deny .
Mentally we find ourselves rooted in the actual feelings
of our bodies at this level. The perception of physical
feelings, right down to the cellular level.
Endocrine glands related are the sex glands. Both the
testicles and ovaries are egg shaped, following a cosmic
pattern of reproduction, and serve the function of condensing
the best of our being into a microscopic seed. Both
of these put out a substance known as testosterone.
This fine organic chemical has as its essence the force
of gravity, and serves as the vehicle for this energy
to move to various parts of the body. For example, when
you do certain body building exercises, the hormone
goes to the muscles and creates a gravitational field
which then pulls in the nutrients required for growth.
Muscles are the part of our organism connected while
the feet are directly linked to this center. These also
operate on the same force. Each cell of the muscle actually
contracts and pulls itself together when you use it,
each one going from a long stretched out shape to a
tight ball.
The sense of smell is the input that has the most powerful
influence on the realm of the first chakra. It either
pulls us towards something that smells very good or
makes us walk away from very bad odors.
Red is the color associated with this chakra. In the
spectrum of colors it has the lowest frequency of vibration,
the slowest speed. The energies in our being all vibrate
at different speeds, and this energy center has such
a slow speed of vibration that you would almost think
it is not moving at all. Solid like a rock is one of
the illusions of this energy.
Psychologically this is a very self centered place.
You are concerned with your own thoughts and feelings
here, sometimes to the exclusion of or indifferent to
those of others. Your survival and your possessions
come first and it is best if no one gets in your way.
Mentally you see the world as a solid reality to be
conquered and accumulated. |
