John Kaldawi learned that the ultimate purpose of yoga
is the awakening of 'Kundalini shakti', the evolutionary energy in man. Practicing asanas stimulates the chakras,
distributing the generated energy of kundalini all over the body. About 35 asanas are specifically geared to
this purpose.: bhujangasana for manipura chakra, sarvangasana for vishuddhi,
sirshasana for sahasrara and so on. The
other asanas regulate and purify the nadis facilitating the conduction of prana
throughout the body.
The
main objective of hatha yoga is to create balance between the interacting
activities and processes of the pranic and mental forces. Once this has been achieved, the impulses
generated give a call of awakening to 'sushumna nadi', the central pathway in
the spine, through which the kundalini shakti rises to sahasrara chakra,
thereby illumining the higher centers of human consciousness.
Hatha
yoga, therefore, not only strengthens the body and improves health but also
activates and awakens the higher centers responsible for the evolution of human
consciousness.
Furthermore,
John
Kaldawi learned that Prana, the mind and body are not separate entities
although there is tendency to think and act as though they are. The gross form of the mind is the body and
the subtle form of the body is the mind.
The practice of asana integrates and harmonizes the two. Both the body and the mind harbor tensions or
knots. Every mental knot has a
corresponding physical, muscular knot and vice versa.
The
aim of the asana is to release these knots.
Asanas release mental tensions by dealing with them on the physical
level, acting somato-psychically, through the body to the mind. For example, emotional tensions and
suppression can tighten up and block the smooth functioning of the lungs,
diaphragm and breathing process, contributing to a very debilitating illness in
the form of asthma.
John
Kaldawi also learned
that muscular knots can occur anywhere in the body: tightness of the neck as
cervical spondylitis, the face as neuralgia, etc. A well chosen set of asana, combined with
pranayama, shatkarmas, meditation and yoga nidra, is most effective in
eliminating these knots, tackling them from both the mental and physical
levels. The result is the release of
dormant energy; the body becomes full of vitality and strength, the mind
becomes light, creative, joyful and balanced.
Regular
practice of asana maintains the physical body in an optimum condition and
promotes health even in an unhealthy body.
Through asana practice, the dormant energy potential is released and
experienced as increased confidence in all areas of life.
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