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Sample Top-Down Yoga Exercises
TOP DOWN YOGA EXERISES from Lorin Kiely
Here are a few isometric exercises for releasing tension in the deep muscles of the neck - the scalenes and sub-occipitals - thereby relieving irritation on the vagal nerve. Then, a subtle adaptation in spinal movement while breathing enhances the flow of CSF while inhibiting the acitivation of the sympathetics, thus generating a new central algorhythm that I call Loving Love. It is consistent with completion stage yogic practice in Dzog chen and Mahamudra.
Exercise 1, 2 and 3 are for releasing tension in the deep muscles of the neck. This will create more open space for the head to naturally remain more aligned with the entire spine in its dynamic balance with the gravitational axis. It will also relieve pressure on the Xth cranial nerve, the vagus.
1) Sitting near the edge of the chair, spine upright, feet flat on the floor. Inhale, turning he head to the left as far as comfortably possible without creating a stressful sensation. When you have reached that point, rotate the face up toward the ceiling by putting isometric pressure in the sub-occipital muscles at the base of the skull.
Gently tip the chin up. Hold it up and turn the head, with micrmovements, a tiny bit further toward the shoulder WITHOUT the head loosing its upward rotation. Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds.
Come out of the position and rest, either sitting or lying down for a Few minutes. Simply be aware of the felt sense of your organism as a whole.
Then repeat the process on the other side.
2) Sitting near the edge of the chair, spine upright, feet flat on the floor. Inhale turn the head to the right as in the first exercise. Lift
the top of the head-up and draw the chin-in toward the spine thereby rotating the face toward the floor. Refine the position of the head with micromovements as in the first exercise. Hold the posture for 20 to 30 seconds.
Come out of the position and rest either sitting upright or lying down for a short while. Simply be aware of the felt sense of your organism as a
whole.
3) Sitting near the edge of the chair, spine uprught, feet flat on the floor. Inhaling turn the head to the right as far as it is comfortable. Keep the chin-in and raise the top of and sides of the head-up. Keeping the top of the head up, look over the right shoulder and hold the eye muscles without moving. As you continue to lift the top of the head-up, hold the eyes and eye muscles in immobilization with awareness and relaxation for 30 seconds.
Close the eyes and slowly turn the head back forward. Rest for a few minutes either sitting upright or lying down. Then repeat the process on the other side.
4)Oceaning breathing - Riding the Tides, does not engage the arms and legs, or the sympathetic nervous systems. It is based on an adaptation
of spinal movement while breathing which generates an optimal condition of rest, relaxation and regeneration of the organism as a whole.
Gently lifting the soft palate of the roof of the mouth while INHALING into the lower belly and subtly drawing the throat back. Imagine that you are making a curved bow, straight. Continue inhaling raising the top of the head-up and flattening-down the back. The sitz bones will roll-back.
At the top of the breath the spine, from the crown to the tip of the coccyx is aligned with the gravitational axis of the earth. Pause there and gently hold the breath at the navel.
Release the throat while maintaining the your vertical axis EXHALE, as You roll forward on the sitz bones.
Simply cultivate mindful participation, synchronizing and timing the motor behaviors which facilitate the circulation of conscious awareness in the unbroken sphere of total present awaeness, over and over again.
THE BIG DRAW
Ah, Ah, Ah
Once having liberated the vagal and deep muscles of the neck, and
adapted to the renewed sine wave of spinal undulation, tried them all sitting, standing and lying down the, bring your awareness into the muscles which regulate the movement of the eyes. Spread it evenly throughout and observe the heart rate and breathing. With the spherical cavity of the eyes totally relaxed, very subtlly and sensuously, gentle draw the eye muscles back just slightly, and hold them-in, in a state of i m m o b i l i z a t i o n, with awareness and relaxation for 30 - 60 seconds.
This activates neuropeptide intercommunication via the smart vagus - vagal brake -in the sinoatrial node, pacemaker in the heart. I believe that this is the master switch by which organismic intelligence decouples from time and space, and attains a biological state of quintessential rest.
Hold and observe the increase in radiance radiating from the still point that has no localization. Afterwards, for a few minutes DO NOTHING, not even observe. Remain no where at all. Do not even fixate on the bliss.
OM AH HUNG GURU PEMA BENZAR SATO
DHARMAKAYA SIDDHI HUNG
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