Alternative method in utthan padasana

If maha mudra is practised in utthan padasana, then it must be done as follows: Place your hands on your bent knee, exhale completely and bend your head forward, eyes open. Repeat mentally, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”. Inhale with ujjayi through the frontal passage from mooladhara to bindu, raising your head while moving from vishuddhi to bindu. Repeat “bindu, bindu, bindu”, and then exhale with ujjayi through the spinal passage, doing unmani mudra and being aware of the chakras en route. Hold the breath outside and bend forward to grasp the big toe of your extended foot to form utthan padasana. Press your chin against the chest to form jalandhara bandha. Practise moola bandha, uddiyana bandha and nasikagra drishti while still retaining the breath outside. Repeat mentally, “nasikagra - uddiyana - mool”, while simultaneously placing your awareness at the seats of these practices in turn. Repeat this cycle of awareness 3 times if you are a beginner, or up to 12 times if you are experienced. Then release nasikagra drishti, moola bandha and uddiyana bandha. Bring your hands to your knees and sit up straight. Release jalandhara but keep your head bent down. Bring your awareness back to mooladhara. Repeat the mantra “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”, and then ascend the frontal passage with ujjayi inhalation. Practise in this way for 4 full rounds or breaths with your right leg extended, then practise 4 times with the left leg extended, and finally 4 times with both legs extended. After the fourth time in each position, ascend once to bindu with ujjayi inhalation. Repeat the bindu mantra, descend to mooladhara and repeat its mantra, relax and then change legs.

Note: The rotation of awareness through nasikagra, uddiyana and mool is done with outside retention of the breath at mooladhara. You are advised to practise only 3 rotations at first, slowly increasing one rotation per week until you can complete 12 rotations.

• Make sure that all the bandhas are performed correctly and in the right sequence. At first you will have to pay special attention to this, but with regular practice the bandhas will lock and tighten automatically, without effort and at the right stages of the kriya.
• Nosetip gazing helps to tighten the lock of the bandhas. Make sure that nasikagra drishti and the bandhas are practised simultaneously and that you do not omit any of them while rotating awareness through the centers. Do not strain.
• If you are feeling pain or discomfort in the eyes, stop nasikagra drishti but continue the bandhas and rotation of awareness. Slowly increase the duration of nasikagra as the eye muscles adapt to the practice.
• You can repeat the “mooladhara” mantra 3 times before applying the bandhas as well as repeating ‘mooladhara’ з times at the beginning of a new round.
• Also, the names of the chakras and kshetram can be mentally repeated as you ascend and descend arohan and awarohan.

No. 8: Manduki kriya (the frog attitude)

Sit in bhadrasana, the gentleman’s pose. Your eyes should remain open. The area of your body below mooiadhara chakra must touch the ground. If it doesn’t, then use a cushion to exert pressure on this point. Place your hands on your knees and practise nasikagra drishti. Become aware of your natural breath flowing in and out of your nostrils. With inhalation the breath flows through both nostrils and merges at the eyebrow center. As you exhale the two flows diverge from the eyebrow center and move out through both nostrils. The breath follows a conical or inverted V-shaped pathway. Feel this. Simultaneously, be aware of all smells. The point of this kriya is to smell the aroma of the astral body which has a scent like that of sandalwood. If your eyes become tired, close them for some time and then resume nasikagra drishti. Practise this kriya until it becomes intoxicating. Do not carry it so far that you become totally absorbed in it and do not wish to end the practice.

No. 9: Tadan kriya (beating the kundalini)

Sit in padmasana with the eyes open. Place your palms on the floor at the sides of your body, next to your hips, with the fingers pointing forward. Tilt your head slightly backward and practise shambhavi mudra. Inhale through your mouth in audible ujjayi pranayama. As you inhale, feel the breath travelling downward through a tube connecting the mouth to mooiadhara chakra. The breath will collect at mooladhara chakra. Hold the breath, keep your awareness at mooladhara and practise moola bandha. Using your hands, lift your body off the ground. Then drop your body lightly so that mooladhara is gently beaten. Repeat this beating a few times. Do not practise this quickly or harshly. After the third beating, exhale gently through the nose with ujjayi pranayama.The breath will seem to diffuse in all directions from its storehouse at mooladhara. Practise this kriya a total of 7 times. The number of beatings practised per round can be gradually increased from 3 to a maximum of 11.

DHARANA PRACTICES

No. 10: Naumukhi mudra (closing the nine gates)

Sit in siddhasana, siddha yoni asana or padmasana. Your eyes should remain closed throughout. If necessary, use a cushion to ensure that mooladhara is compressed. Do khechari mudra and bend your head slightly forward (not jaiandhara bandha). Repeat mentally, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”. Then inhale with ujjayi up the frontal passage to bindu. Raise your head as you pass from vishuddhi to bindu, practise yoni mudra by closing your ears with the thumbs, the eyes with both forefingers, the nostrils with your middle fingers, the upper lip with the ring fingers and your lower lip with the small fingers (do not apply too much pressure). Practise moola bandha and vajroli mudra. The nine gates of the body are now closed (eyes, cars, nostrils, mouth, anus and sexual organ). Become aware of the spinal passage and bindu. Now visualize a shining copper trident (trishul), rooted in mooladhara with its stem in the spinal cord and the prongs extending upward from vishuddhi. The prongs are very sharp. The trishul will slightly rise a number of times of its own accord and it will pierce bindu with its central prong. As it pierces bindu, repeat the mantra ‘bindu bhedan’, which means ‘bindu piercing’. After some times release vajroli mudra and moola bandha. Open the upper gates and bring your hands down to your knees. Exhale with ujjayi through the spinal passage from bindu to mooladhara.

Mentally repeat “mooladhara” 3 times. Then inhale through the frontal passage up to bindu to repeat the kriya. Practise 5 full rounds or breaths, and after the fifth round, end the practice after exhalation.

Note: It is extremely important that the back be held perfectly straight throughout this kriya. If the spine is not straight, the sensation that follows the piercing of bindu will not be perceived.

• It is important that vajroli mudra be correctly performed for it also heightens the sensations experienced during this practice. When vajroli mudra is perfected, the contraction of vajra nadi can be achieved without contracting the anal sphincter muscles. The sensation is like an electric current running the full length of vajra nadi to the brain. Try to sensitize your awareness to the point where you actually feel the piercing of bindu like an electric shock.

• As you ascend and descend arohan and awarohan, you can mentally repeat the names of the chakras and kshetram if you want. No. 11: Shakti chalini (conduction of the thought force) Sit in siddhasana, siddha yoni asana or padmasana. Your eyes should remain closed throughout. Practise khechari mudra. Exhale completely and bring your awareness to mooladhara. Bend your head forward. Repeat mentally, “mooladhara, mooladhara, mooladhara”, and then ascend the frontal passage to bindu with ujjayi inhalation, raising your head as you approach bindu. Retain the breath inside, and then practise yoni mudra, closing your ears, eyes, nostrils and lips with the fingers. Allow your consciousness to rotate in a continuous cycle, descending the spinal passage to mooladhara and rising up the frontal passage to bindu in an unbroken loop, while you keep the breath retained inside. Visualize a thin green snake moving through the psychic passageways. The tail of this serpent is at bindu, and the body extends down through mooladhara and up the frontal passage. The head is also at bindu, with the mouth biting the end of the tail. If you watch this snake, it will start to move in a circle in the psychic passages, or it may even go off this track and follow a new one of its own. Just watch this snake, whatever it does. When your retention of breath is becoming exhausted, release yoni mudra, return your hands to the knees and bring your awareness to bindu. Then descend to mooladhara through the spinal passage with ujjayi exhalation. At mooladhara., lower your head, repeat ‘mooladhara’ 3 times, and ascend the frontal passage. Practise this kriya 5 times without a break, or for the duration of 5 breaths. Note: Vajroli mudra and moola bandha can also be simultaneously performed with yoni mudra.

No. 12: Shambhavi (Parvati’s lotus)

Sit in siddhasana, siddha yoni asana or padmasana. Close your eyes and practise khechari mudra. Visualize a lotus flower with a long thin stem extending downward. The roots of the lotus are white or transparent green. They spread out from mooladhara chakra. The thin green lotus stem is in your spinal passage. The lotus flower is at sahasrara, and it is closed like a bud. At the bottom of the bud are a few light green immature petals. The main petals of the flower are pink with fine red veins. Try to see this lotus clearly. You visualize it in chidakasha, but you feel it in your body. Exhale and take your awareness to the root of the lotus at mooladhara. Inhale with ujjayi pranayama and allow your awareness to rise slowly through the center of the lotus stem, within the spinal passage. At the end of inhalation, you will reach the closed bud at the top of the stem. Your ascent will be like that of a caterpillar, climbing up inside the thin stem. Hold your awareness at sahasrara with the breath retained inside. You are inside the lotus, but you can also see it from outside. It will begin to open very slowly. As the bud opens out into a beautiful lotus flower, you will see the yellow pollen-tipped stamens in its center. Then it will slowly close again, to open again almost immediately. After the lotus has ceased to open and close, and it remains sealed, then slowly descend through the stem to mooladhara, drifting down on the wave of your ujjayi exhalation. Remain at mooladhara for a few seconds, visualizing the roots spreading out in all directions. Then once again, ascend the stem with ujjayi inhalation. Ascend and descend 11 times and then end this kriya.