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andinthepointbetweentheeyebrows.Thechinisthentilteddowntowardthethroatcavity.
Thehandsarejoinedwiththefingersinterlocked,palmsfacedownward,andthepadsofboth
thumbsaretouching.Omischanted100times(aroughestimateisfine)inthenavel
(umbilicus)eitheraloudormentally.ThethumbslightlypressthenavelforeachOm.While
doingthis,acalmenergyisperceivedgatheringinthelowermiddlepartoftheabdomen(the
PranacurrentthereiscalledSamana).OncethesechantsofOmarecompleted,thechinis
raised(themusclesatthebackoftheneckarecontracted.)Theconcentrationisfocusedfirst
onBinduandthenonthethirdChakra.(TheconcentrationshiftsfromBindutoManipurainan
instant,thereisnoenergeticcurrentconnectingthetwocentres.)Thehandsarekeptbehind
thebackandjoinedbyinterlockingthefingersandthepalmsfaceupwardwiththepadsof
boththumbstouching.Omischantedaloudormentallyapproximately25timesinthethird
Chakra.ForeveryOm,thethumbsapplyalightpressuretothelumbarvertebrae.Bynomeans
shouldthebreathbesynchronizedwiththechantingofOm.Thechin'snormalpositionisthen
resumed.Thetechniqueiscompletedinthesamewayasitbegan,butinthereverseway:Om
ismentallychantedinthedifferentChakras,fromthepointbetweentheeyebrowsto
Muladhara.ThisisoneNaviKriya(itlastsbetween140160seconds).AkriyabanpracticesNavi
Kriyafourtimesineachroutine
Ithasbeenawhilesincewehavelookedatanewpractice.Navikriyaisn'texactlynew,asitis
reallyadynamicexpansionofseveralmudrasandbandhaswealreadyknowfromprevious
lessons.
WehavereachedthestageinAYPwherewewillbefillinginmethods,practicesandpointsof
viewonspiritualprogressthatwehavesaidlittleaboutbeforenow.Theseaspectsofyoga
werepassedovereitherbecausetheywerenotconsideredtobeprimarycausesordatapoints
intheoverallprocessofhumanspiritualtransformation,oraresuchpowerfulstimulatorsthat
itwasfelttheywouldbestbepresentedlater.Navikriyaisinthe"powerfulandbestpresented
later"category.Andnowitislater,solet'stakealookatnavikriya.
Navimeans"navel,"asinthebellybutton.Interestingly,italsomeans,"boat,"whichiswhere
wegettheEnglishword"navy."Inyoga,bothmeaningsareused:1)Apracticeinvolvingthe
navel,and2)Aboatthatcarriesusoverthegreatseaofignorancetoenlightenment.
Well,we'dallliketobeinthatboat,andprudentlyappliedyogapracticesarethewaytodoit.
Navikriyaiscommonlybelievedtobeamentalexercise,andthisiswherethefunnyphrase,
"Contemplatingyournavel"comesfrom.Indeed,itcanbeandisdone,andwithmantrastoo.
ButthatisnotwhatwewillbepresentinghereinAYP.Wearealreadydoingafirstratemantra
baseddeepmeditationpractice,andwillnotbecomplicating(orwateringdown)that
importantaspectofourpracticehere.
Thenavikriyapracticewewillbediscussingbeginsasmostlyphysicalandgraduallygoes
inward,andisinthesamerealmasourcurrentmudrasandbandhas,takingthemallmuch
higherliterally.Andthis"takinghigher"iswherenavikriyaprovidesalotofextrapower,and
someextrarisk.Let'stalkaboutthepracticefirst,andthenlookattherisk.
Aneasywaytothinkofnavikriyaisasadynamicformofuddiyana,ortheabdominallift.You
willrecallthatuddiyanaisapullinginandupofthebelly,usingthediaphragmtodoit,usually
whenairisexpelledfromthelungs.Itcanalsobedonewithlungsfullinyonimudrakumbhaka
andchinpump.Seelessons#91and#129forareviewofuddiyana.
Navikriyaistheprocessofmakingtheabdominalliftdynamicbetweenthenavelandthearea
oftheinnerspinethatisrightbehindthesolarplexus(allthewaybackbehindthehollowatthe
bottom/centeroftheribs).Thediaphragmisinthisareatoo,sonavikriyacanalsobeviewedas
pullingthenavelrepeatedlyuptowardthebackofthediaphragminagentlerhythmiccycle.
Startingout,wecantrythiswithbreathexpelled,asinuddiyanaduringasanas.Lateronwewill
findwecandonavikriyaeitherwithairexpelled,orwhenfullwithairininternalkumbhaka,or
evenwhenwearebreathingnormally.Wheneverwedoit,itisagentlepullinginandupofthe
navelwiththediaphragm,overandover.Goodnavikriyawillfeellikeitisallgoingrightup
behindourheart,andbeyond.
Howmanytimesdowedonavikriyainasession?Notmanystartingout.Navikriyaisa
powerfulkundalinistimulator,especiallywithfeaturesabouttobementioned,sogoveryeasy
withitstartingoutmaybe1020cycles,asecondortwoindurationeach.
Thereismore.
Witheachinwardliftofthenavelinnavikriya,wecanperformagentleflexandliftoftheanal
sphincterthisismulabandha/asvini.Withalittlepracticewewillfindthatthemovementsin
theabdominalareaandthepelvicareaarebothpartsofthesameliftingprocessupthrough
themiddle.
Atthesametime,wecanaddagentle"flex"ofsambhavi(withboththeeyesandthecenter
brow)witheachliftofnavikriya.Kecharicanbeincorporatedaswellatwhateverlevelweare
doing.Thesealsowillbefoundtobeneurologicallypartofthesamemovementweare
initiatingwiththenavel.Thisisassumingwehavesomeecstaticconductivity.
Finally,withourattention,wecantracetheenergyupanddownthespinalnervebetween
browandrootwitheachliftandrelease,muchthewaywedoinspinalbreathing.Infact,navi
kriyacanbedoneduringspinalbreathinginjustthisway,verysubtly,invisibly,withthe
slightestintention,withmultipletinyliftsonthewayupthespineandmultipletinyliftsonthe
waydownthespine.Thissubtleintentionofnavikriyaisactuallytheriseofthewholebody
mudrawehavediscussedinpreviouslessons(#143Ô).Navikriyapromotesthewhole
bodymudrabyworkingfromthecenter.Thatiswhyitiscalled"themiddleway."
Whenisthebesttimetodonavikriya?Itisagoodquestion.Itcanbeincorporatedinour
uddiyanapracticeduringasanas.Itcanbebuiltintoourspinalbreathing(muchmoresubtly).It
canbepartofyonimudra.Itcanbepartofchinpump.Itcanbesomethingwearedoingatthe
endofourroutinewhilewearelyingdownresting.Navikriyaisawaytopromotethewhole
bodymudrabeginningasgrossmovementandlaterbecominganimperceptiblebodywide
micromovementinournervoussystembarelyanintentioninitsadvancedstages,likethe
neuralenergyflowingthroughusrightnowthatwedonotevennotice.Yet,theflowofneural
energy(prana)definestheexperienceofourexistence,innerandouter.Withthewholebody
mudraoccurringspontaneously,ourdailyexperiencespontaneouslybecomesoneofecstatic
radiance.Thisistheecstaticcomponentoftheenlightenmentprofilementionedofteninthese
lessonsunshakableinnersilence,ecstaticblissandoutpouringdivinelove.
Nowlet'stalkabouttherisks.Thehealthrisksinnavikriyaarethesamethatwehavereviewed
inthelessonsonyonimudrakumbhaka(#91)andotherpracticesinvolvingbreathretention
andmanipulatingtheinternalorgans.Ifyouhavebloodpressure,heartorabdominalhealth
issues,oranyotherdoubtsaboutyourfitnessfornavikriya,pleaseconsultadoctor.
Ontheinternalenergy(kundalini)risksideIfwejumpinatthestartdoingnavikriyawith
gustoduringuddiyanainasanas,spinalbreathing,yonimudra,chinpumpandotherpartsof
ourpractice,andifwehaveanyecstaticconductivityoccurring,itwilllikelyleadtoaninternal
energyexcess.SomeoneintheAYPforumsrecentlyusedthephrase"gettingasunburnfrom
theinside."Thatiswhatnavikriyawilldoiftakentoexcess.Itcanalsoleadtosomeemotional
imbalancethewholekundaliniexcessthing,youknow.Sopleasebeverycarefulwithnavi
kriya.Ifyouhaveatendencytowardenergyimbalances,navikriyawilllikelyexaggerateit.On
theotherhand,thosewhoarelookingtoexpandonstableecstaticconductivitywillfindnavi
kriyatobejusttherightthing.Itisveryimportantthatyouknowwhereyouareinyourenergy
unfoldmentasyouconsiderundertakingnavikriya.Ifyouarenotsure,thenpleaseerronthe
sideofless,notmore.Maybealittleinuddiyanaduringasanas.Seehowthatgoesbeforeyou
considertryingitinalongerpracticelikespinalbreathing,oramoreintensepracticelikeyoni
mudrakumbhakaorchinpump.
Therearealsodegreesofintensityofnavikriyapracticeitselfveryslightphysicalmovement
versusalotofphysicalmovement,withthelatterbeingthegreaterstimulator.And,ofcourse,
thenumberofcycleswillhaveabigeffectontheoutcome.Bemeasuredineverythingyoudo
withnavikriya.Thatwayyoucanmakeadjustmentsinpracticeasnecessary.
Ifyoufindyourselfgoingoverthelineintoexcessiveinnerenergyflows,thenjuststopusing
navikriyacompletelyforafewdaysatleast.Youmayfindyouhavetostopsomeofyourother
practicesforawhileaswelltofindastablelevelofpracticeagain.Itisveryimportantto
understandthefinepointsofselfpacingwhenconsideringnavikriya.Itiscertainyouwillneed
goodselfpacing,sobeprepared.Anditisalsolikelythatyoucangreatlyacceleratethepositive
riseofecstaticconductivityinyournervoussystemwithnavikriyaaswell,butonlyifyouare
readyandcanhandleit.Itisarazor'sedge.
Thestimulationofkundalinienergyprovidedwithnavikriyaissimilartothestimulation
occurringincrownpracticesonlywithamuchquickerrecoverytimeifthereisanexcessdue
tonavikriya.Recoveryfromaprematurecrownopeningcantakealotlongeryears!You
knowhowwehaveaddressedcrownpracticesinAYPavoidthemuntilveryfardownthe
road,andthentestcarefully(lesson#199).Itissimilarwithnavikriya,onlywithnotquiteas
muchriskaswhenapproachingthecrown.Makesureyouarewellestablishedwithallthe
practiceswehavediscussedthusfarbeforeyouconsidernavikriya.Thentestcarefullytofind
outifthispowerfulprocedurecanbegraduallyblendedintoyourpractice.Ifyouarereadyand
candothat,intimeyouwillfindthesubtlewholebodymovementoccurringindailyactivityas
anaturalecstaticresponse,withoutanyinnerenergyimbalancesjustunendinginnerecstasy.
Andifyouarenotreadyyet,youwillfindoutsoonenough.Thenjustleaveitaloneuntillater.It
willbeherewhenyouneedit.
Ifoneisabeginnerinyogaandtriesnavikriya,notmuchmayhappen.Don'tbefooledbythis
andstartgoingatitwithrecklessabandon.Usingnavikriyatotryand"breakthrough"energy
blockagesisagoodwaytogetintotrouble.Assoonasthereissomeecstaticconductivityinthe
nervoussystem,navikriyawillexpanditwithgreatpower.Beforeecstaticconductivitycomes
up,notmuchmayseemtohappenwithnavikriya.Itwillbelikesittinginafastracingcarwith
nofuelinit.Assoonasthereissomefuel(someecstaticconductivityrisinginthenervous
system)thecarwillbereadytoblastoff.Ifwehaveourfootpressingthegaspedaltothefloor
whenthishappens,aspatulawillbeneededtoscrapeusupoffthepavement.Let'sbesure
andknowwhatwearedoingwhenweundertakenavikriya.Thebestwayistobeestablished
indeepmeditation,spinalbreathing,samyama,mudrasandbandhas,etc.Everythingwehave
coveredupuntilnow.Bythetimewebuildupwithallthat,wewillhavesomegoodinner
silenceand,likely,thebeginningsofecstaticconductivityverysafeandverystable.Thenwe
canstartoffveryslowwithsomenavikriya...likethat.Itisuptothepractitioner.Navikriya
requiresmuchmoreskilltoapplysuccessfullythanmostoftheAYPpractices.Itdoesnotlend
itselfeasilytoa"cookbook"approach.Thatisonereasonwhyithasbeenheldoffuntilnow.
Yet,itcanbeveryuseful.Sonowyouhaveit.
Onemightask,"Whatistherelationshipbetweennavikriyaandnauli?"
Nauli(whichmeans"tochurn")isaclosecousinofuddiyanaandnavikriya.Thedifferenceis
thatnauliisgearedmoretowardpurificationandecstaticactivationofprocessesintheGItract,
animportantelementintheoverallriseofthespiritualneurobiologythroughoutthebody.
Nauliispartofthe"shatkarmas,"orcleansingtechniques.Wewillbediscussingthoseinalater
lesson.Uddiyanaandnavikriyaaremoreverticalinthebody,affectingthespinalnervein
particular,liftingfromroottothirdeye.Uddiyanameans,"toflyup."Navikriyaisaboutflying
upmuchmore,andintegratingupperandlowerbodymudrasandbandhasintoasinglewhole
bodymudra.Theresultsofthisupwardflyinginnerenergywillbefeltineveryaspectofour
practiceanddailylife.
Practicewisely,andenjoy!