Posts Tagged ‘Yoga’

Childlessness – 9

Yoga and Childbirth – Chapter 9

Looking at the conditions of some women who have been unable to have children, and who have never adopted any, one can see childlessness can have an extraordinary influence. The women may become prone to excessive worry and nervousness compulsive talking, health fears, owners of pampered dogs, and cut off from deep contact with others. Just as the lack of fulfilment in the sexual instinct can cause frustration and neurotic symptoms, so does the lack of fulfilment of the mothering instinct in some women cause similar conditions. A man or woman may find an acceptable means of expressing and fulfilling the emotions and energies that lie behind the sexual urge, other than in sexual intercourse. Likewise, some women express their tenderness and need to care and cherish in other ways than raising a baby. However, it is not only women who feel urged to parenthood. Many men also have very great inner drives to produce a baby.

Nevertheless, this chapter is more concerned with ways and means the childless couple can use to overcome their barrenness. Despite the fact that hope can be held out to a number of such couples, it is none the less a difficult subject to approach, this being due to the fact that there are so many possible causes of barrenness. Estimates show that one in ten couples in the US are unable to have children. Also, age has a great bearing on it. Before the age of 20, only 4 per cent of women remain childless. From 20 to 24, 6 per cent, 25 to 29,10 per cent, 30 to 34,16 per cent. One of the basic causes, even according to medical opinion, is poor health. Dr Guttmacher says that

sound health enhances fertility, and the fertility level of a couple can often be improved to the point where pregnancy will occur by improving nutrition, reducing the overweight and building op the underweight, relieving anaemia, changing conditions that may be causing fatigue or correcting glandular disturbance

He goes on to say that any means of relieving nervous tension may work miracles. Other causes can be mumps in male testicles, abdominal surgery, gonorrhoea, method of intercourse, sperm content, blocked fallopian tubes, or blocked tubules in the male, over-acidity in the female sex organ, lack of ovulation, thyroid problems, and too many others to list.

What are the practical things to do then?

1. Health. Be frank, are you in good health? Do you have much catarrh? In the woman, this rubbish in the system can block the passage in the sex organs, where the sperm should pass. Are you overweight, anaemic, generally depleted, overworked, on a poor diet high in starches, alcohol, and manufactured foods? Do you smoke too much? Even if you think you are healthy, your childlessness at least questions this. In your diet, exercise and rest, make sure you are more than adequate. Diet and exercise are dealt with more fully in other chapters. Sidney Rose-Neil, a well known naturopath, told me that of the women who come to him for treatment for childlessness nearly all of them are anaemic, and respond to diet therapy.

2. The sex act. Do you realise that the most fertile time for the woman is around the fourteenth day after the last period? If so, does intercourse coincide with this? Yoga sees the sex act as something far deeper than most medical philosophy, although the act itself is enough to precipitate pregnancy in most people. If it is directed by love and respect for each other, and climaxed by full orgasm, the results are inwardly different to the unfeeling sex act. We have already seen that nervous tension or psychological problems may cause barrenness. As the sexual act can be used as the barometer of one’s psychological health, it is worth looking more closely at it. For one’s inner tensions, fears guilts or phobias may be reflected in the sex act Reich says that full orgasm is the ‘capacity for surrender to the flow of biological energy without any inhibition.’ This results in involuntary pleasurable contractions of the body.

The typical course of fulfilling sexual intercourse he describes as first a pleasurable erection. In cases of long abstinence, premature ejaculation usually occurs, before proper orgasm can be achieved. Then in the male there is the urge to penetrate; in the female a desire to be penetrated. The man is naturally gentle through feelings of love, and not because he is covering up feelings of aggressiveness, sadism, or desires to bite or hurt. The woman feels she is drawing the man in, the man, that he is being drawn in. In the disturbed emotions, this may cause tensions or problems. From here the pleasure is intense, without causing rapid ejaculation. The movements become spontaneous, and should be allowed to occur quite outside of one s conscious will. This calls for an ability to surrender entirely, and talking or laughing show serious lack of surrender. Just as the heart beats without our conscious effort, so the movements of one’s body at this time occur even though one has completely ‘let go’. Now the pleasure, which was concentrated on and in the sexual organs, begins to spread to the whole body.

Then a sudden increase in excitation occurs. While one could have interfered with the spontaneous movements before, now it becomes impossible. Contractions of the whole pelvis occurs, with a wonderful melting feeling, and there is a tremendous relief of tension. During this there are spontaneous deep breaths or cries of pleasure, the head goes back, the mouth drops open as the orgasm is reached. This is followed by complete relaxation, without any feelings of guilt, disgust, hate, leaden exhaustion, repulsion or indifference. Rather there is a feeling of tenderness and desire to sleep. Only in disturbed satisfaction is there further desire for intercourse.

If this pattern is seriously disturbed, it is worth seeking advice from marriage guidance councillors, or a psychiatrist. Although one must not alight on this as the cause of barrenness. Many extremely sexually disturbed people have babies. I have mentioned it only as a possible clue to those whose childlessness is thought to be psychological.

Other causes of barrenness in the sex act may be too frequent or too infrequent intercourse. For those whose sperm count is low, a lapse of some time prior to the fertile period will help the sperm count increase. For those who only have intercourse very occasionally, the sperm ready to emerge sometimes lose their potency, and the second intercourse will contain more active sperm. Similarly, very hot baths, or some drugs, tend to kill the sperm. A hot bath, even some days prior to intercourse could mean an inactive batch of sperm. Certainly baths should only be comfortably hot. Smoking sometimes does the same thing. Vitamin E helps such conditions enormously.

Intercourse when one is tired also seems to be a cause of barrenness. It is best to wake in the early morning after some hours of sleep, and love each other, then sleep again until it is time to rise.

3. Dreams. Take notice of any dreams that suggest changes in diet, mental outlook, or habits.

4. Medical help. If none of the above things seem applicable, arrange an appointment at a clinic where thorough examination of both partners can be given. Do not be put off by one’s ordinary doctor. I have known such a doctor tell a woman to forget about it and go and buy some new clothes!

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Finding Wholeness

Yoga and Relaxation – Tony Crisp

Finding Wholeness – The Yoga of Finding the Seat – Chapter 4

The greatest Yoga teachings are spoken by those individuals who have realised the unconditional state. Because their ego is largely merged into That which forms the basis of their being, their words are to some extent, spoken by Life itself. This is possibly where the idea of Jesus and God being one arose, or why Jesus is reported as having said, “The Father and I are one.” What I wish to stress however, is that to some extent, such people are speaking things that arise beyond their own conscious personality. The biographies at the end of this book will tend to explain the feasibility of this a little further.

According to such teachings, the whole universe consists of two basic things, Prana and Akasha. These in turn arise from what remains, ever causeless, unknown, unconditional, formless and invisible.

The story is told of a student asking how he might obtain the knowledge and power of all things. The reply was that all things can be traced back to common sources. Understand the sources, and one can control the general. Reverting to the analogy of electricity again, through understanding the basic laws pertaining to electricity, we can produce light, heat, power, sound, vision etc. Such knowledge of the general allows us to produce many particular results. But the Yoga teachings state that there are general principles underlying all creation. To some extent we can see this with very little effort in the laws of polarity. That is, negative and positive. We see it in the working of magnets, electricity, the opposite sexes, cell structure, energy and inertia, light and darkness, atomic structure, cosmic bodies such as sun and earth, and so on. Here is a general principle that underlies all creation. If we really mastered the laws of polarity, we would have mastery over all the particulars or results of creation.

Prana and Akasha are, in fact, the basic polarities underlying all others. Akasha is the primal matter, or material of the universe, and Prana is the primal energy. When this primal energy, or Prana, acts upon the basic material, all known forms arise. A human being is an excellent example of the interplay of Prana and Akasha. But another way of describing this is to say that human life, as in fact cosmic life, is found in the opposites and opposition of chaos and order, light and darkness. The balance is the meeting of these opposites and not a fight agianst one or the other.

In some pictorial or symbolic philosophies or religions, these opposites are often expressed as the Divine Father and the Divine Mother. H. Spencer Lewis, in writing about these prime forces of the universe, said, “The negative is passive, static, receptive, and nurturing in contra-distinction to the positive, which is active, creative and dynamic. The negative registers a hunger for the positive, while the positive registers an urge, an impulse toward union with the negative, in order that it may, with the cooperation of the negative, cause a manifestation or creation. Neither can, of itself, produce any result, for one compliments the other, supplies what the other lacks.” (From “Rosicrucian Manual” AMORC.)

Looking around, we can see the truth of this in a thousand ways. Earth or matter is negative or receptive to light. Together they manifest colour. Electricity has a negative and positive polarity which only in unity produces a result. Movement, acting upon inert matter, also produces sound.

Taking light again into consideration we see that a luminous body projects light across the universe, as does the sun. While a receptive body such as earth receives it and manifests life thereby. Electricity, in its positive polarity, will leap across the sky as in lightning. While the negative conductor attracts and channels its expression. Even the shape of our sexual organs manifest perfectly the underlying law of polarity. The male organs project and give of themselves, while the female is negative, receptive, offering a fertile nurturing state which directs the expression of the positive.

The Yoga philosophy points out that this cannot help but be as it is, because all things arise from Prana and Akasha. All things are built in “their image.” For Prana and Akasha, intermingling and acting upon each other at a multitude of levels and variances, bring forth all form and experience.

We must also realise that latent in Prana is the ability to build form out of matter; to manifest sensation, feelings, emotion, intelligence and mind (in other words, Satchitananda). But just as light, heat and power cannot be realised while the two polarities of electricity are separate— so none of these can be manifest while Prana and Akasha are not married. This is why Yoga sometimes calls creation the “play of Brahm,” for life realises itself in its multifarious creatures.

What has all this got to do with Yoga and nerves? Well, because we are dealing with the underlying forces of our being, it has everything to do with it. For through seeing how the nervous or neurotic condition arises, we may come to see the validity of the Yoga methods used to cure it. Furthering our enquiry, we can say that our body and being are made “in the image” of the forces creating them, or at least, are an expression of those forces. In each cell of our body, we can see the “marriage” of Prana and Akasha. The body of the cell is made up of matter (Akasha) in various stages, while the nucleus pulsates and radiates energy (Prana) drawn from the atmosphere. If the nucleus no longer functions, the cell “dies”. In other words its shape breaks down, it no longer responds to stimuli, and it no longer expresses its usual characteristics. On the other hand, the Prana without the cell cannot manifest shape, energy, quality or characteristics such as displayed by liver, heart cells etc. Consciousness, emotions, sensation, memory, intelligence are the result of the collective unity of cells and Prana. Intelligence, memory, emotion, are all latent in the unity of Prana and Akasha even in a single cell. They are all latent, but they need a different organism, a different body, in order to manifest. Light, heat, power, sound are all latent in the unity of electrical polarities, but need different organisms, or machines to bring out these qualities. The same applies to the colours latent in the unit of light and matter. Particular surfaces, or chemical organic compounds, are necessary in order to manifest particular colour. In all things though, Earth is the Great Mother, Mater, or Matter. She nurtures and gives birth to the qualities of Prana.

“So God created man in his image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis

In our own beings, Mother constantly receives, nurtures, and brings forth the influx of Our Heavenly Father (Prana – life energy) as our energy, form, consciousness, and mind. Thus, when one prays to the Divine Mother, one prays to that part of one’s being, that is part of all beings, that is the eternal virgin, receiving and giving birth to the invisible Father, and providing Him with a form. In this light, many religious doctrines become quite logical expressions of fundamental laws, and we can even see for ourselves how “the Word became flesh.”

The great trial of existence, one which all conscious creatures experience to some extent, arises from the apparent individuality of consciousness. In other words, while with a little thought one can see that but for the constant activity of forces within and about us we would cease to exist, yet we cannot help but think of ourselves as distinct and separate from all other beings, even our parents. This distinctness and aloneness of self, gives rise to a feeling of “I” or “me” as distinct from “you.” It also makes possible personal decisions and actions, based on the illusion of being separate. Every day we do things, speak and plan with this “self” in mind. In our present state we cannot help but act thus. Yet this places an enormous strain upon us, and may throw us out of harmony with ourselves. For such decisions actions, words and thoughts, almost always arise out of ignorance of the forces that have brought us into being, and upon which we constantly depend. As we are an expression of these, we may thus be acting against ourselves. This causes conflict within us, and dis-ease throughout our system.

If on the other hand, we can conceive of a time in mankind’s history when he had no sense of “I”, or personal identity, such as many or most animals experience, we have an idea of a condition in which one does not act against oneself. As one does not decide one’s actions, they arise Spontaneously out of the needs and expressions of the creative forces in one.

Here we have the concept of the Garden of Eden expressed in Genesis. It is the Paradisical state where men do not deny or pervert the desires of the Father within them. While the original sin, a state into which we are now all born, is the first “individual” course of action that conflicts with one’s own being.

In the Christian doctrine we are thus told that man sets himself against God, and only by following the will of God can he regain Paradise. Yoga does not argue this, but merely re-phrases it, saying that while a man denies his own inborn nature, he cannot help but experience dis-ease or conflict. It can also now be seen with even greater clarity, why Yoga suggests quieting the surface individual self. Only in this way can the difference be seen between personal desires and pretensions, and those of one’s primal being, the Mother and Father.

There are dangers along the path, however, for all quests in search of real Father and Mother, take us back to the womb. We reach back to that state of being that existed before our birth. One of the classical subjects for meditation in Zen Buddhism is “What was my face before I was born?” While in the Bible we have a similar thing expressed in several places, one being “Before Abraham was, I am.” The unconditional consciousness is, after all, that state of being-consciousness-bliss that exists before we were born. Or, in other words, before we became aware as an individual.

It would appear, then, that life experience in the body is a coming to realisation of all that is latent in unity of the Mother and Father, or Prana and Akasha. The return to the womb, by itself, would not be a conscious taking part in the act of creation, which is a constant unfolding and unveiling and not a static existence in the unconditional.

Getting back to our Yoga and nerves, however, we have said that our existence as a conscious being depends upon, and is an outcome of, the unity between Prana and Akasha. The Prana on uniting with the organised structures of our body, divides into ten different types of manifestation. These are classified in the Yoga philosophy as the Vayus, namely, Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, Uyana, Naga, Kurma, Krkara, Devadatta and Dhanamjaya. Each of these control different functions in the body, such as sight, muscular activity, sensual impressions, consciousness and thought, digestion and assimilation, desires, etc.

Thus, according to these teachings, all the many and varied expressions of our life are due to the prana manifesting in our being. The nervous condition, sickness, madness, diseases of various types, are due to something upsetting the balance and relationship between one’s body and the vital force that gives it life. Through our actions, thoughts, desires, food or drink, we have added something to ourselves, causing Karma—the results of our actions out of harmony with our true nature. Christianity calls this sin.

We must be very careful in deciding just what is the action, or sin, causing our state of unhappiness or sickness. So many dogmas and fanatical preachers have decided just what one should not do. There are a thousand such opinions, while one only has one relationship with the creative forces. There is no greater thermometer of this relationship than one’s own happiness. If there are large gaps in this happiness, then there must be large gaps in one’s relationship with self. A great deal of self honesty, willingness to make and admit mistakes, is also necessary. Not that, in the deepest sense, one has the ability to cure oneself, but the creative forces can be allowed to balance themselves. All one strives at is a surrendering of one’s inharmonious activities to the Transforming Influence.

One of the methods of surrendering to this healing, or harmonising of our being, has already been described in the chapter on relaxation, but there are other methods to suit different temperaments, or to help one past difficult parts of the process of healing. At best there should be a balancing of all the main methods, involving as they do, the body, passions, emotions and mind. In practice, however, we often find that there grows out of us, the understanding and affinity for one or two of the paths.

From what has been said about Prana and our body, one can see with greater clarity just why relaxation can be healing. Another of the great healing methods used by Yoga is called “Pranayama.” This method will be explained next, as it is very helpful in difficult cases, or those that do not yield easily to relaxation.

A great deal of misunderstanding has grown up around the word Pranayama. Usually this word is taken to mean various breathing exercises. It can in fact be rightly used to refer to these, but if it is taken to mean breathing exercises alone, not only is the word misunderstood, but one might even practise the breathing exercises without really understanding their purposes. Using them without understanding them could also easily lead to misuse of them. Criticism of Yoga and its methods are, more often than not, built upon such misinformation.

We will, therefore, look more closely at the word. In the first chapter it was seen that the word “Yama” means restraint, control or discipline. Having just dealt with Prana, we can sum it up as the primary positive power in the universe which, in unity with Akasha, the primary matter, brings forth all form, awareness and mind.

As one cannot control something that is primal or unmanifest, one can only control, restrain or direct, those things that spring from it. Therefore, if the word suggests the control of Prana, it should be taken to mean the control of it as it manifests or directing what has arisen from it. So “Pranayama” means controlling, restraining or directing the prana as it manifests in the body. Therefore, by controlling a function of our being, Such as breathing, thinking, moving, feeling, heartbeat, digestion, sexuality, emotions, etc., we are practising a form of Pranayama. The value of this in a nervous condition will now become apparent.

The nervous or neurotic condition, shows itself in such symptoms as fear of people, the future, heights, going out, oneself, the dark, etc., palpitations of heart, irregular breathing, shallow chest breathing or inability to breathe properly (asthma, bronchitis), inability to find sexual satisfaction with the opposite sex—strong sex desires but apprehension—emotional turbulence, depression, suicidal tendencies, lack of feeling and so on. Whatever the intermediate causes, such as emotional and sexual shock during infancy, the underlying factor, as far as Yoga is concerned, is disturbed pranic harmony in the body. The reason for attempting to control one of the body functions in order to control or direct Prana, is equally simple and basic. Function and source of function are irrevocably locked together. If irregular nervous impulses or unbalanced glandular action are causing Sudden changes of emotion, migraine, heart pains or stomach ache; by controlling one of the functions of the nervous activity we control the nervous impulse. It follows then, that if we could easily control the heart beat, and make it regular and slow, we would also be altering the nervous impulses that control heartbeat. As all the nervous activity of the body is inter-meshed, by controlling one Such function we influence our whole being.

Yoga methods use control of heart, mind, emotions, posture, sensations and breathing. Of all these, possibly breathing is the one most convenient to control consciously. This is why Pranayama is usually linked with the idea of breathing exercises. By controlling or regulating one of the functions of our being, we influence the whole tone of our system, even down to the most basic levels of cell balance. We begin to calm and quiet the disorders of our nervous and organic systems, and alter our experience of living.

The Yogi, in his quest to realise union with his cosmic Mother and Father, and thus realise his true identity, uses breathing to gradually quieten his whole system, and thus go beyond ego into the unconditional. Just as it was said that the deepest aspect of the practice of Yama was not the restraint or discipline of emotions and passions, but the non-attachment to them, so also the deepest aspect of Pranayama is to become unattached to manifestation, that the potential or Prana may be fully released. Because in the end, it is not control and restraint of Prana that is aimed at, but a magnificent release and realisation of the hidden potentials in our own being.

This is where the aim of Pranayama must be reiterated. It is not the breathing exercise, or mental discipline, that by itself gives us relief from our inharmonious condition. The method or technique is only a vehicle, or means of transport. By its use one moves one’s centre of consciousness out from its usual abode of immersion in sense impressions, desires, fears and thoughts.

Thus far the method will take us by itself, but no further. By its use we may have found a quiet place within us, but this is not self-realisation. This is not a meeting with our Source. It is not a transformation of our life, for although a variety of methods may transport us to the quiet spot from whence a view of Satchitananda can take place, the great marriage only occurs when the right relationship between the conscious and unconscious comes about. This will be explained more fully later. Meanwhile, it is interesting to realise how fully our being is an expression of universal principles. It has already been pointed out how each cell in our body is a tiny union between Prana and Akasha. The nucleus of each cell acts as a receiving centre, a point of resonance, for the contact between the matter and the cosmic energy.

As all things in the universe must also be expressions of the same fundamental principles, even the planets are great cells in another cosmic body. Our Earth, for instance, also has a nucleus, or molten core, which likewise pours out energy to the surface and beyond. However, the earth and the cells of our body are what might be called material cells. That is, the nucleus of radiating energy is surrounded by matter. While the energy still radiates it is conditioned by, married to, and directed by, its physical body. When the nucleus is no longer active—that is, when the physical body of the cell or planet can no longer harmoniously relate to the Prana, or cosmic energy, the cell or planet dies. Or, it no longer displays the qualities of life. In a cell, pulsations of energy no longer radiate from the centre, while the moon is possibly an example of a dead world.

These are material cells. There are, however, spiritual cells, or the other polarity of cell, for in life there are always opposites. So a Spiritual cell is one in which the nucleus is matter surrounded by Prana, instead of Prana surrounded by matter. As a cosmic example of this we have the sun of our own solar system, and the suns of other systems. Most of our own cosmic energy, or Prana, is radiated by our sun. As these positive radiations are the forces, are the very things that fructified the earth (mother), and together brought forth living forms, the sun can be thought of as the Father force. Yoga philosophy, sees the sun as a channel for the cosmic energies it dispenses, as the body cell is.

While the sun is a spiritual or positive cell in a macrocosmic sense, our own body is a positive cell in a microcosmic sense. It too is a material nucleus for cosmic energies from the depths of space. If we think of our body as a vehicle for the expression and realisation of energy, mind, and intelligence of cosmic vastness, we begin to understand the hidden potential in the latent human being that the Yogi attempts to realise. As man is born of cosmic parents, Sun and Earth, he is a child of the universe, an expression of vast powers, holding in himself the seeds of his own parents. That only a few realise anything of these possibilities is because only a few present the right “surface,” the right material for their own innate life. For just as the colours hidden in light cannot manifest until the right chemical compound is brought together, so the possibilities hidden in life are only able to express when the right state of physical, mental and emotional being is achieved. Thus, the physical evolution of mans form is entirely bound up with what he is enabled to express of his innate possibilities. Which again points to the need for careful consideration of our diet, exercise, rest and recreation in mental and emotional spheres. Also, the evolution of form and inner states necessary to the realisation of one’s innate possibilities is speeded up through the various Yoga methods.

These methods or paths are many, the most widely used being Hatha, Raja, Bhakti, Mantra, Gnana and Karma. Of these Hatha has already been mentioned. Raja, Bhakti and Karma will be dealt with later. All of them, however, are in some degree a practice of Pranayama. To quote from the Srimad Bhagavatam, “Seated in a secluded place, free from all disturbing thoughts of the world, one must first repeat in one’s mind the sacred word (OM), with understanding of its meaning. The word OM is one with God, and indeed is God. By this practice alone, one gains control of Prana and of the mind.”

Yet it is not the mere stilling of body and mind, the stilling of prana’s manifestations, that should be aimed at, but the going beyond even the duality of Prana and Akasha into the ALL, the absolute, where there are no opposites. This is one of the most important secrets of relaxation or meditation. Namely, not to hold on to, or become immersed in, any of the inner phenomena that occur. If one does, one immediately Stops at that point, or even loses what was reached. The inner only unfolds in proportion to the degree the outer self lets go its hold, as described in relaxation. While if the outer grasps what is being revealed, it either disappears, or the process of unveiling stops. This is a matter of experience, and can be seen for oneself as one passes through the stages of this self-revelation. These stages being listed in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as, “In all the Yogas there are four states:

(I) Arambha or the preliminary, (2) Ghata, or the state of a jar (i.e. empty, receptive) (3) Parichaya (knowledge—the unveiling) (4) Nispatti (consummation).” Such is the path of Yoga.

Link to Chapter Five – Link to List of Chapters

Breath Control

Yoga and Relaxation – Tony Crisp

Breath Control – Pranayama Chapter 5

Many writers on the subject of breath control start off by showing how breathing is linked with emotions, thought activity, heartbeat, even digestion. For instance, it is said that in states of high emotion one can easily notice that the breathing directly reflects the mood. Anger, passion, fear, affection, deep thought, even imagined situations, will each produce a particular type of breathing. This is all mentioned to try to impress upon the reader that there is something magical or particularly special between breathing and the rest of our being. Certainly there is such a special link, but there are also just as wonderful connections between the heart, digestion, circulation, brain and nervous systems, and even the tiny hairs and the rest of the body. Each cell, in fact, has a special relationship with the whole.

The relationship between body and psyche (i.e. mind, emotions, feeling), between the psyche and any organ, cell, or function, is nothing short of a revelation. So much is this so that an expert on any particular aspect of our body or mind, such as the way you walk, sexual activity, writing, breathing, stance, or features such as your skin, urine, hair, eyes, speech, liver, your shape, etc., can tell an enormous amount about you, even to the point, in some cases, of a minute description of personality. It is because this special relationship exists, that Yoga can take any of the aspects of your being, and through training, influence the whole self. Yoga also says that a similar relationship exists between an individual and the cosmos.

The Cleansing Breath

In using breathing techniques as a method to find liberation from ill health, nervous tension, unhappiness and futility, one has first to learn a natural breath rhythm. In doing this it must be remembered constantly that our sickness, our lack of harmony with ourselves, our fear and tension, is interwoven with the way we breath (and all our functions). When working with our breathing, or mind, etc., we are directly confronting our difficulties.

Wilhelm Reich, in his monumental work “The Function of the Orgasm,” says, “There is no neurotic individual who is capable of exhaling in one breath, deeply and evenly. The patients have developed all conceivable practices that prevent deep expiration. They exhale ‘jerkily’ or, as soon as the air is let out, they quickly bring their chest back into the inspiratory position.”

We must, therefore, approach any breathing exercises with the realisation that any difficulty we have in breathing easily and smoothly is a reflection of our inharmonious condition. In disciplining our breathing to right this, we are reaching deep into ourselves to the basic causes of our personality dis-ease. All sorts of excuses and fears will rise to the surface trying to dissuade us from continuing. It is only by gently but firmly persevering that we move through and beyond such problems.

Yoga also maintains that the breathing methods have a cleansing effect upon the system. It maintains that throughout our body are a series of non-physical pathways of energy that it calls “nadis.” These are not the nerves, although at certain key points the nadis and the nervous system relate through resonance of cells and energy. These points are at the base of the spine, the plexus that controls the sexual organs and bowels, the solar plexus, cardiac area, base of throat, centre of forehead and fontanel or crown.

You must realise that through controlling your breath you are gradually changing very deeply seated habits that have been with you a lifetime. Taking hold of the breath and controlling it is like taking hold of your nervous system, or body, and gradually altering the way it responds to events and thoughts. It is a bit like taking a wild animal and gently taming it. There should be no force or conflict involved. Gradually you will see that your way of dealing with, or responding to, difficult emotions, fears and stressful events, is changing. You feel more able to meet difficulties, allowing you to grow as a person, and be more creative.

Energy in us

It may be difficult for some of us to visualise or believe, that energy can have no physical channels, but we can see such energy at work when a magnet creates patterns in iron filings through the lines of its invisible force field. Crystals also “grow” in the pattern of these invisible lines of energy, thus having regular and beautiful shapes. But in ourselves we can feel such energy flow when we feel flows of pleasure or the variety of emotions. Such flows often flood the body with sensation.

The nadis are said to be clogged in the majority of people by very fine matter of an unclean nature in our system. This causes the body and mind to function far below its possible level. The breathing exercises, if done carefully and regularly, act upon the energy in the nadis in a stimulating manner, which circulates it and cleanses the dross. Phlegm, excess mucous, catarrh, clogged sinus, foul breath, odorous perspiration, constipation, are all signs that the body is badly clogged, and needs cleansing. Allied with a wholesome diet, the breathing methods will cleanse the whole system, and bring greater harmony.

Naturally, if you are going to practise Yoga seriously, it is best to choose one of the methods to use as your main practice, only using the others when necessary. If you are practising numerous postures, there will be little time left for breathing exercises of an extensive nature, or for meditation.

Each one of these if practised for results, needs at least fifteen to twenty minutes each day. Trying to do too many methods will result in failure in all. Better to stick to one that suits you – all will work.

Of course, deep breathing also has repercussions upon all the tissues in the body, not only the nadis. Thorough oxygenation of the system supplies each cell with sufficient oxygen to enliven its functioning, and to burn up waste products. This enables the body to utilise food more thoroughly and to repair itself. But Yoga does not use breathing techniques so much for their physical exercise value, as their value psychologically. If we understand this a little more, it will be seen what is meant, and the greater knowledge will enhance your practice.

The Breath of Life

Breathing is one of the most obvious movements of a living organism. When a baby takes its first breath it becomes capable of existing individually as a physical being; while death is often noticeable by a sudden stilling of breathing. The movement of breathing therefore has become synonymous with living, though this is only because it is so obvious, even in sleep. The other functions of the body such as heartbeat and digestion are also synonymous with life. The point is however, that the act or movement of breathing is an expression of life through the body. Like the heartbeat and digestion it is spontaneous. Like these also, it can be interfered with by the ego. That is, the moods and desires of the self-conscious part of you can interfere wish the natural response to movement and living. Thus, even while sitting still, in a position the heart would usually be slow and calm, palpitations may occur because of the way in which we have thought or spoken, or the events you are witnessing.

These spontaneous movements of breathing, when interfered with, represent self control. Therefore, controlling the breathing in any way through conscious decision, represents an intervention by the ego upon the natural or unnatural rhythms arising in the body. Reich and others, observing the breathing, also noted that holding the breath represents self-conscious, or ego control of emotions, and inhibition os frightening or anxiety producing sensations.

To control weeping or anger for instance, one usually holds the breath and grits the teeth. This also applies to sexual feelings, where, if one has feelings of guilt or fear about them, one tenses the abdomen, rectum, and holds the breath to restrain them. As all of these, along with feelings of joy, affection, pleasure etc., are expressions of spontaneous feelings, blocking them through tension or breath holding, represents an inharmonious condition between our conscious self and the source from which they arise.

The breathing, or body as a whole, can be influenced by several things, i.e., the breathing rhythm may be an expression of uninterrupted relationship between the internal development of energy, feelings and bodily expression. This may be interfered with by movement or outer activity, conscious decision, or latent tendencies such as unconscious fears, memories etc. The eventual aim of Yoga being a surrender of control to the balanced inter-relationship of all aspects of your nature. The breathing techniques, however, aims at taking control of the function from one’s unconscious conflicts that may be influencing breathing. Without conscious control, one can hardly surrender that which one does not have.

Stilling the Restless Sea of Mind

Sri Ramana says that “The source of the breath is the same as that of the mind; therefore the subsidence of either leads effortlessly to that of the other.” Therefore, to still the breath is to still the mind, which allows a glimpse of what lies beneath thoughts and the ever moving sea of emotions. It will be seen that this is very different from repression of an emotion through tension, for through discipline we have wrested the control of our breath away from fear and tension. In this way are we freeing ourselves from our negative Karma.

One other thing of importance to remember is that through any of the Yoga practices, one is awakening the Kundalini. This word can probably be used as synonymous with the Christian concept of the Holy Ghost. That is, it is the immense latent potential we each have. But it specifically refers to the potential that remains unexpressed. To put it in simpler terms, light is invisible, and always remains so. Yet colour is a manifestation of invisible light. It is only in its contact with matter that we see light. Either it is a luminous body of matter, or it makes some material object visible. If light were visible, we would see it in the night sky before it touched the moon. Therefore, Kundalini is the “colour” of the process of life within us. It is Prana manifesting within us. All our ability to sense, feel, respond, think or hope is Kundalini. That is, an expression of our psychological and biological energy.

Quoting Reich again, in talking about this energy, which he named “Orgone Energy,” he says it would have to have the following characteristics – “Contrary to galvanic electricity-it would function on organic material which is a non-conductor for electricity, and animal tissues. Its function would not be restricted to isolated nerve cells or cell groups, but would permeate and govern the total organism. It would have to explain, in a simple way, the pulsating basic function of the living, contraction and expansion, as it is expressed in respiration and orgasm.

It would express itself in the production of heat, a characteristic of most living organisms.-It would definitely explain the sexual function, i.e. it would make sexual attractions understandable. – It would explain what has been added to the chemically complicated protein in order to make it afire. – It would, finally, have to show us the mechanism of the symmetry of form development, and what is the function of form development in general.”

If one has followed what has been said about Prana so far, it will be seen that it explains all these points. It functions in the organic because of the affinity between them due to polarity, i.e. receptive and dynamic. Each cell is an expression of it, and pulsates, breathes, reproduces under its impact, producing heat. The sexual attractions and orgasm are expressions of its polarity, the receptive and dynamic, the orgasm being their unity. While form is an expression in the limitations of space, time and matter, of its innate nature.

Example: This led to me holding my breath for quite long periods and observing what I felt. In other sessions holding the breath had led to feelings of intense quietness or being merged in the one life. This time it was an experience of lifting my awareness beyond everyday thinking. An experience of expanding, of lifting beyond what had been everyday. But with it there was the feeling perhaps like a lighter than air balloon that rises, but after a short time it hits the ceiling or something preventing it rising or expanding further. So I felt as if I had hit a ceiling. I didn’t want to fall back, but hadn’t yet found a way to rise beyond the present ceiling. I want to break through into the next level.

With this experience came the observation that although the breath holding had brought this expanding or rising sense of myself, like so many other things, once the thing was seen clearly, one could achieve the same end by intention without the physically descriptive act of holding the breath. What I mean by this is that at some time one might have shifted from a mood of depression by dancing. One could believe that one could only make such a move by dancing. But in fact once one realises that a mood shift is possible, one can use other tools, or simply see how the shift occurs and use one’s will or intention to do the same thing.

Unfolding the Serpent Power

There is more to it even that this, and to explain Kundalini, the analogy provided by another living form, a flower, will be used. If we look at the seed of a rose, we realise that here is potentially a fully blown rose, but to realise its potential, the seed needs to be placed in the right conditions. Under these conditions it will first produce roots and stem. This is still not the rose bush, despite the fact the potential is expressing. Next leaves and stalk are produced and later, if allowed to mature, it brings forth bud, then flower, then seeds. As the final stage, root, leaves, seeds The developed out other so to speak. For the seed depends upon the whole cycle of seed, shoot, root, stem, leaves, bud, flower, pod. Thinking of the Prana acting upon the living matter of the seed’ in the case of the new seed, it has completed its cycle of expression as far as it could in the rose.

As a human being, we also start as a seed, planted in the fertile organic matter of the womb. A human being’s development goes beyond the growth of physical structure, into the realm of consciousness, feelings, mind. Yoga states, however, that virtually none of our race allow the Kundalini to complete its cycle of expression inns. In other words our growth is stunted to one of the first, second or third stages of unfoldment beyond the physical development. This is rather like a rose stopping at the formation of root, stem and leaves. The higher or further expressions remain latent.

Taking this explanation further, Yoga designates seven points on or in the body that act as physical centres for the possible stages of growth. It calls these CHAKRAS, or sometimes LOTUSES or CENTRES. These are: Root Chakra as the base of spine, between rectum and sex organs; Abdominal Chakra, just above sex organs; Navel Chakra at solar plexus; Hears Chakra mid-way between breasts; Throat Chakra at base of neck; Brow Chakra between the eyebrows, connected to centre of head. Lastly the Crown Chakra, on top of head. Just as the eyes are physical organs of sight, so these areas, and the plexuses and spinal nerve ganglia are the physical parts of us that correspond to the extensions of human consciousness. Each of these centres of human consciousness cannot properly awaken until the lower one has developed. If we could watch this growth of a human being to its completion we would witness something like the following.

In the beginning, beyond time, space and form, is the Satchitananda. This, through its manifestation of duality in Prana and Akasha, has built self-perpetuating forms after its own latent possibilities. The ovum and the sperm are only expressing a tiny part of the possibilities of the receptive and dynamic. when they meet under the right circumstance, a new level of possibility incarnates (i.e. becomes physically manifest) in them. This is the vegetative growth principle. As the form matures, still in the womb, yet a further possibility awakens or incarnates as the form becomes capable of expressing it. This is the dawn of awareness, for the baby becomes aware at a very basic level in the womb. This spark of awareness is like the seed, awakened into growth by the warmth, soil and moisture. Here there is only a point of awareness, not knowing shape or individuality, only a submersion and deep sharing with the mother.

At its birth, because of its individual breathing, and more direct awareness of form due to removal from the body-heat fluids surrounding it in the mother, yet another latent aspect incarnates. Here begins the possibility of relating to separate objects and people, and also with its own distinct form, along with a whole new world of sensation. These act upon the spark of consciousness, which is Satchitananda, plus sensations of separateness due body sensations.

The root chakra has to do with the basic “roots” of consciousness-the spark. The sense impressions at birth develop into what should be, for proper unfoldment, a wonderfully satisfying sensuality. Its mother’s breast, its bowel and wetting motions, the senses, tongue and whole body immerse the spark of awareness in sensations, in sensuality. Previous to incarnation Satchitananda was only pure being-consciousness-bliss, without sense impressions. Through the physical body the basic consciousness is polarised in expressing one part of its nature outwardly, although inwardly it is whole.

Thus, sensuality gradually develops into sexuality as the organs develop. Or rather, the organs develop as sexuality realises itself out of the inward growth. The abdominal chakra is the main centre dealing with this. Through the proper development of sexuality, the person begins to be able to relate to people in a new way. Not only does this mean that relationship of the body, but also a more extensive emotional awareness, giving them greater musical, artistic, social consciousness. Sexuality also makes possible a new type of love and creativeness, absent without this growth of the budding possibilities. Many of the race stop here in their development, because the ego does not know how to respond to the power of growth within itself, or else moral, political or social conditions have retarded the inner growth.

While the abdominal chakra represents the realisation of relatedness, sexual, emotional, intellectual, the naval chakra sees the development of the next logical stage interrelatedness. That is, the finer shades of understanding within a relationship. This shows in knowing how others will feel as a result of our words or actions.

Working like a very fine sense organ it informs us what affect our life is having upon people and things. This is the sense that allows us to feel atmospheres of joy or fear in people and places. Naturally it cannot exist consciously until relatedness has been developed out of sexuality and the spark of consciousness.

The centre above this, the heart chakra, carries the awakening consciousness a step further. Out of a finer awareness of relatedness, there arises an ability to sympathetically be aware of what others are feeling. Here is the first stage of supersensual awareness that some yogis, saints and seers have demonstrated. Thus one gradually becomes aware of other people’s emotions, desires, hopes, as if one were seeing them. All of us have such abilities in some -degree, but most people can only read the gross impressions of intense fear, anger, love or illness upon the face or form of others. When the heart centre develops, this ability becomes very marked. One does not necessarily have to see the person to know, for it shows in all they do. This organ of consciousness also puts us in touch with the “feelings” of the dead. This is why most of us cannot “see” the dead. We depend so much upon sight of the body, but even this does not tell us what people are feeling or experiencing within themselves. If that body is removed, leaving only the part that thinks and feels, how are we to be aware of it unless we have developed this deeper contact with living human beings in the body?

The last centre began to open the door to non-physical realms of experience. Now the throat chakra begins dealing with the thought life of others rather than their emotions, thus deepening our insight into the non-physical. As thought itself is a turning or transmutation of experience -and feelings into abstract ideas or principles, this centre also transmutes our experiences of life, physical and cosmic, into understanding or philosophy.

The brow chakra is related to the ability to sense form, colour and position in space. With this centre developed, one has visual impressions of natural forces such as heat, electricity, plant growth etc. These visual impressions relate directly to the way such things work. In other words, the impression translates what is seen, be it thought, emotion or a nesting bird, into symbols or images illustrating its inner nature. This centre is also the connecting link between the individual consciousness and the eternal Satchitananda. One’s experiences are here brought into con tact with the eternal wisdom of one’s Source.

The crown chakra is often seen illustrated in the pictures of saints as a halo. Those with brow chakra operating would see the active crown chakra much as depicted. It is the aspect of developing consciousness, where the individual merges again with the ALL that one has always been, though not realised. Thus, in the most profound Yoga, the basic expressions of life (Kundalini) within us such as awareness, sensuality, are transmuted into suprasensual awareness and an individual surrenders to union with the whole.

All this may have seemed something of a diversion from breathing exercises, but these and the other Yoga methods often precipitate unexpected glimpses into the further reaches of awareness. Coming without explanation, these can be very frightening, and sometimes make one reject the whole practice. Having said this, the breathing methods themselves will now be dealt with. Remember that these methods, in the order given, are particularly helpful in dealing with nervous tension, emotional disturbance, or inability to quieten one’s mental activity. If one is afflicted with these, then these breathing techniques should be practised before the method of relaxation. In general, however, they should be a -natural follow-on of relaxation, and a deepening of it.

Do not practise them hastily or forcefully. As with the Asanas, our own latent violence and haste will damage us. It is best to practise one method at least three months regularly, in the order given, before going on to the next. Remember that we never heal ourselves, we never produce our own growth, we only find a way of opening ourselves to the healing force, of allowing the power of growth to act upon us.

Traditionally, Pranayama in the form of breath control, should be started only in winter or spring. Unfortunately, the traditional teachings do not explain why this is so. Neither can the present author throw light on this, except to say that there is usually a perfectly good reason behind such suggestions. It is simply taught that less problems will be encountered in this way.

The Full Breath

The very first step of therapeutic Pranayama is to learn how to breathe fully and easily. There must be no blocks in our out-breathing and no difficulties on breathing in. Also, the breathing must fill our whole chest, not just part of it. One of the common difficulties in regard to this is the -inability to breathe abdominally. To see whether you can breathe abdominally, place one hand on the chest, and one on the abdomen. Breathe right out as far as possible, noticing whether this is a smooth or jerky exhalation. Then, breathe in as far as possible without moving the chest. Thus, in the beginning of this inhalation, the hand on the chest should not rise, only the one on the abdomen. Only then, with further inhalation, should the hand on the chest rise. For many people, at first try, this may seem almost impossible. The strange thing is that one is not in this way practising a breathing discipline, only trying to breathe naturally. Those who cannot do this will see for themselves, how tensions and inbuilt Karma have influenced their bodies.

If this is difficult it should be practised daily for five minutes at first, gradually working up to twenty or thirty minutes. The time should only be increased when a sense of ease is experienced at the present length of practice. On the other hand, the five minutes should not be given up because of difficulties. Even if it is easy, it should be gradually worked up to thirty minutes (provided you are using just Pranayama), doing it in an upright seated position, or seated cross legged on the floor. Naturally one can dispense with hand on chest and stomach as soon as one has the idea of it.

The Slow Breath

When this has been mastered, one can pass on to the next method, which is simply to breathe very slowly without strain. Do not feel that any breathing exercise is more advanced than another, and therefore try to practise the “advanced” methods. Each one grows out of the other, or -should. Again start at five minutes and slowly increase, also in a seated posture. This is quite different to the last, The aim is to breathe naturally-abdominally-but to breathe as slowly as comfort allows. It must be comfortable, however, as the aim is to induce quiet of mind and emotions, and if one is struggling with the method it defeats its own purpose. So there must be no gasping for breath because you are breathing too slowly. Find a rhythm that is slow but not making you out of breath.

Therefore, slowly breathe in counting to see how long this takes. Then exhale to the same count. There is no need to concentrate on anything except the beautiful slowness of the breath. If one has not already practised the previous method however, this may be difficult to experience.

With practice, one should begin to experience a dropping away of tension, emotions and thoughts. Sometimes it will feel as if something has literally fallen away from one, or as if the bottom of the spine is opening as the tensions there drop away. Eventually one will glimpse something that can only be described as a void or absence of all personal activity. There is a quiet peace and bliss in this, but it will at first only be flashes, secondary glimpses, growing gradually longer. This is achieved when all efforts and desires drop away-never by striving after it. Surrendering to this void one is cleansed by it first-then it acts upon one producing growth of inner awareness.

The result upon our nervous or emotional conflicts is one of gradual calming, cleansing and leading towards the peace that passeth understanding. Such personality growths in this practice, while we may find ease from tensions

within months, should be hoped for only in the sense of years. Like trees, we grow slowly, but there is beauty in it. See: The Slow Breath.

Controlled Breath

The third and last breathing method given here, is one of the oldest and most often used of traditional Pranayama. This one aims at not only quieting the mind and releasing the Kundalini, but also of cleansing the nadis. This also should be done cross-legged, or sitting upright. Start with ten repetitions, slowly working up, over a period of many months, to eighty-four or less, according to ability. It is done as follows.

Place the first and second finger of the right hand down on the palm. Place the thumb on the right nostril, closing it, and breathe slowly in the left nostril to a count of five. Now hold the breath for a count of twenty, pushing the chin down hard on the chest. Then, lifting the chin, and closing the left nostril with the last two fingers, while opening the right nostril, breathe out the right nostril to a count of ten. Breathe in the right nostril to a count of five, hold it twenty, then out the left nostril to a count of ten. Each in-breath counts as a repetition.

It should be noted that the breathing is done to a 1-4-2 count. So whatever one’s in-breathing, one holds it for four times the length, then out for half that. Therefore, if the 5-20-10 count is too low it can be moved up 6-24-12 or 10-40-20 etc. But it is the repetitions that matter, not struggling to hold the breath for a long time. Therefore, find a count that is comfortable, and slowly build up the repetitions. Once one has got the hang of this, then use a meditation practice with it. As the inhalation is taken, imagine the whole body is being filled with Prana, the invisible force behind life. As the breath is held imagine that all the blockages in oneself that prevent the greater manifestation of Prana, are dropping away. This is a matter of experience during the practice, for after a while one feels parts of one’s tension or personality “letting go” and a release taking place within. This release, and the changes it makes upon the body, emotions and mind, and thus upon our whole relationship with the world, is called Kundalini.

The practice of Pranayama always aims at the release of Kundalini and, or, the quieting of the mind. While the quieting of mind and release of Kundalini is to reach union (Yoga) with being, consciousness, bliss. Practising with this ever before us, realising that despite our practice, the bliss is not produced or created by the practice, only by itself, we will not go far wrong.

We can practise Pranayama for the sake of health, to overcome asthma, bronchitis and catarrh, to find release from nervous or emotional tension and fears, or, most important of all, to find Yoga. In any event, it is a very powerful method enabling us to find that part of our being that is beyond all our fears, emotions, opinions, passions and desires. Seeing this, the whole universe begins to appear differently to us. For, after all, the vital part of us lies beyond change and circumstance in the eternal.

Link to Chapter Six – Link to List of Chapters

 

 

 

Helpful Yoga Books

Yoga and Relaxation – Tony Crisp

Helpful Yoga Books – Chapter 12

The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James

Zen in the Art of Archery, Eugen Herrigel

Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill

Search in Secret India. Paul Brunton

Ramana Maharshi, Arthur Osborne

The Incredible Sai Baba, Arthur Osborne

Politics of Experience, R. D. Laing

Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation, Jess Stearn

The Sleeping Prophet, Jess Stearn

There is a River, Thomas Sugrue

The Man Who Talked with the Flowers, Clark

Function of the Orgasm, Wilhelm Reich

Organism of the Mind, G. Heyer

The Way Within, Rawson

Experiment in Depth, P.W. Martin

The Way of the White Clouds, Anagarika Govinda

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Wilhelm-Jung

The Perfect Way, Kingsford & Maitland

Raja Yoga, Vivekananda

Cosmic Consciousness, R. M. Bucke

Memories Dreams Reflections, Carl Jung

The Wheel of Rebirth, H. K. Challoner

The Life of Ramakrishna, R. Rolland

The Path of Subud, H. Rofe

The Secret Doctrines of Jesus, H. S. Lewis

Everyman’s Mission, Rebecca Beard

The Initiate, His Pupil

Siddartha, H. Hesse

Many Mansions, Gina Cerminara

The Practice of Zen, Chang Chen Chi

Link to Chapter List

God and Dreams

God in a dream can depict several things: it can point to a set of emotions you use to deal with anxiety – i.e. our own belief that a higher power is in charge, so therefore you are okay in the world and are not responsible – maybe a way to lessen self responsibility. God can represent a parent image from early infancy, or a set of moral or philosophical beliefs you hold. In some dreams, because of personal feelings or beliefs, God depicts self judgement on your behavior or value – or something/someone you worship. In dreams of positive and uplifting experience, God can indicate a feeling of connection with humanity, an expression of the fundamental creative/destructive process in yourself, or an experience of your living interaction or relationship with all beings and the universe.

So to dream of God might be an expression of your religious feelings or emotional feelings about God. But it is helpful to remember that if you have strong feelings for a friend, or think about them and feel uplifted or moved, the feelings in no way are that friend. They are only about that friend. So in most cases, when someone tells us they were moved by God, they are usually meaning they were moved by feelings or ideas they experienced about God.

Jung says that while the Catholic Church admits of dreams sent by God, most theologians make little attempt to understand dreams in relationship to God.

God can also depict processes in you that can be enormously transformative. Seen in a very practical way, if a person believes there is nothing in life that stands beyond their present situation and weakness, they might never open to the possibility of healing change. Even if God is only an idea, opening to the influence of that idea allows the action within oneself of an enormous enlargement of functions such as self-healing, widening of awareness, and reaching beyond ones previous limitations and boundaries.

In some dreams however, one has an experience almost as if there is no separation between what is sensed as God, and oneself. This formless, often emotionless experience, may be thought of as an opening to your fundamental and core self. The following dream illustrates this full experience of God as ones fundamental self.

Example: I thought about the dream that I had about L., the dream was that L. had a very red face and told me that she was pregnant. But I didn’t think that I could have made her pregnant and I told her so. She then changed her mind and said, ‘OK then I’m not pregnant’.

In working on the dream I imagined becoming L. I entered into her pregnant body and felt her sexuality and understood the dream. She had offered herself to me, her sexuality and her body but I hadn’t recognised it, I didn’t see it and so she withdrew. L. wants another child and she had offered herself to me but I couldn’t give myself to her. I had never given myself before. In the dream I felt I was not responsible for her pregnancy, and that represents the denial of my own sexuality and of all that results from it.

This is when I entered into the house of God. At first I saw the image of a huge cathedral or church with a magnificent domed roof and I knew that I was in the house of God. I felt the utopia. I felt like I have never felt before, so very good, so excellent. I knew all things. I didn’t have to read the bible or any kind of teachings because the answers are all here in the presence of God. In this state I could ask any question and know the answer. I knew God, yet I was God because there was no separation. Neal C.

The archetypal image of God, when investigated as in the above dream, often reveals itself to be an underlying sense that our core self is in some way life itself, the creative impulse of life. We find that the mystery that created the universe is at the core of us. This unconscious realisation that within us is the Creator, that the holy essense of life itself is expressing through us as our own being, is often so difficult to accept that it is usually projected outward to form an external God. We approach this external God as if it is something distinct from us. Yet again and again, when people delve deeply into themselves they arrive at the realisation – I AM THAT I AM.

Of course this doesn’t refer to ones personality, but to the essence of life that causes you to exist and can flow out into what you do and who you are. If it is taken personally then it can become a sort of mental confusion.

Also, the powerful emotions we sometimes experience about God may well be connected with our tremendous childhood need for love and approval from parents. But equally as likely is that the immense feelings we have about meeting God in a dream, may express the wonder and perhaps terror we experience in meeting the enormity of realising that our fundamental self is the Creator. As the ego melts and realises itself as the One Great Life, undifferentiated, there can no longer be a sense of real separation.

However, the dream God can be many things, and the next exploration of God in dreams shows a very different aspect of it.

When I explored the emotions that had surfaced in recent dreams about God, I came across something totally unexpected. I had decided I would treat the image of God like a dream image, and ‘get inside it’, find out what was behind it. When I managed to do this I found with amazement that my desperate need for my father’s love, a love he found difficult to express, had been transported into my internal sense of God.

At this point I suddenly saw that my urge for God is actually the urge for my father’s love. My unsatisfied urge to receive love from my father, became a power to create an image of a loving God, an image of a cosmic father who can love – and from this inner creation I can get the love I need. I created a loving God because that was my need. But others may create an avenging God to deal with their feelings of guilt; or a mysterious beautiful ever present God to deal with a sense of parental loss, and so on. The image takes the place of real human love – a second best. I saw also that it is much more honest to say – not God loves me – but I am touching the love within myself. I have become the father. I am the God. I have dared to take on the role of father and God.

This makes sense and links with what has been said about the fundamental creative core in ourselves when we express it in a different way. You are always the hero of your own life. You are the central character of your own drama of experience. You are the one facing life and death, love and despair. As such you are the deed doer, the hero or fallen god, especially when the dream is portraying dramatic life events.

To make what has been said about God clearer in practical language we can look at the universe we exist in. Without the universe we do not exist. We can therefore say all we experience, all that we are, has arisen out of the processes of the universe.

Taken a step further, the universe as we experience it, as far as we understand through scientific investigation, did not originally exist in its present form. Originally there existed something very difficult to reason about because there was no time or space or physical matter as we now know it. Time and space, and the material universe came about after the big bang. So originally there was, or still is according to quantum physics, a timeless and spaceless existence.

An aspect of this that is often overlooked is that one condition died to give rise to another. This death and birth are repeated everywhere in what we can see in our universe. The sun is dying as it radiates its energy, and this allows life on our planet.

However we conceive of it, the coming into being of the universe was an incredibly creative process. If we consider what we know about the universe, this creativity, this death and rebirth is still going on everywhere. It is an everyday human experience. It is what underlies every aspect of our own existence.

Example: I witnessed a conversation between a man and a woman, and the man says, “Religion; that’s surely a direction for failures and people who can’t really cope with facing reality.”

And the woman he is accusing of this inability to face reality says, “You poor person! Is your mind or awareness so tiny that you have never realised the forces and processes of your own body are beyond anything you understand? Can’t you see that your very existence is brought about by things so far beyond your knowledge that it is only a statement of your impoverishment to suggest religion is an expression of some sort of smallness and failure. Have you never understood that? Have you not seen that religion is not only an acknowledgement of what we fail to understand and yet depend upon, but it is also an opening to it, a willingness to relate to it? It can also be something far more even than that. It is can be an active loving relationship. And such love is an exchange, a sharing, a way of merging one with another. It is an exchange – a sharing of bodily fluids – the very substance of life. Is that something you are afraid of?”

As expressions of the universe, that creativity, that creative leap into being from a timeless and spaceless existence is fundamantal in your own life. You and I are an expression of it. And what is found in dreams and in deep self enquiry is that if you dig deep enough into yourself, you come to an encounter with that timeless and spaceless core. You discover that what created the universe, whatever name you want to give it, is at the core of you too. And that core is eternal and enormously creative. You are enormously creative – if you touch your core.

Below are two more examples of dreaming about God, or ones core self.

I felt myself to be a primitive tribal male. Suddenly I encountered a force – or what I saw as an immense being. This being I felt was a god or God, but looking back it wasn’t an all encompassing being, so was more like a god, or an aspect of God. My visual impression of it though, was of something so huge yet visible, that I was at first terrified of it, and so were my ‘people’. If one can imagine an immense skyscraper rising into the clouds and beyond, yet not a building but a living being, that was my view of it. This being I knew as the All Shaper. It was the power that gave form or shape to everything. As such it could influence the shape one had become through the errors of history or the deeds of ones family or oneself. The pristine shape or matrix which guides the cells to form organs could be restored.

There was a problem however. This being was terrifying and beyond the gods of my people. To stand before it or acknowledge it was akin to transgressing all the lore of the tribe, all its customs. So not only was the All Shaper something more than we had known before and so threatening to our – and my – world view, but also to take it as ones god was to break with all the tribal traditions and to stand apart and different to ones whole tribe. Christopher.

Before I went to sleep that night I focused on the question -Who am I, really?

The dream was vivid, and still gives me shivers to this day. I dreamed that I looked up and there was this incredible star that was emanating points of light in the sky. It got brighter and brighter and the bottom-most point reached down to where I was and transported me up to the star. The points of light came out from the centre in all directions, and I found myself on the end of one of the horizontal points.

A wonderful (female) voice spoke to me and said this is who you are, and I had the strong sense of being located at the end of the horizontal light bar. Then she said and this is who you are and carried (transported in some way) me to the next bar of light, where I saw another version (incarnation?) of myself (in a different time and place, although I knew that the essence of this version of me was really me). She continued transporting me from bar to bar where I experienced myself in many different versions in the past, present, and future. I had different skills and interests that were the focal point of each version of myself–a musician in one, a farmer in another.

Some of the versions were females, although I experienced the same sense of self in all of them. Then she returned me to the horizontal bar of my current self and said to me that all of this is who I am, but that now she was going to show me who I really am. Then she drew me into the centre of the star (light, energy source) where I merged with her and could see each of the emanating points of light as manifestations of a single source or spirit. It was one of the most incredible feelings of being integrated and whole that I’ve ever experienced, and I basked in the feeling for a while just absorbing and soaking it in. Then she returned me to myself (with a cosmic wink) and I slept peacefully for the rest of the night. Ever since then I haven’t felt the need to ask who or what I am, and I’ve seen my various abilities and struggles in life in a totally new way. C.A.

When Einstein gave lectures at numerous US universities, the recurring question that students asked him was:

– Do you believe in God?

And he always answered:

– I believe in the God of Spinoza.

I hope this gem of history, serves you as much as it does me:

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalists of the 17th century philosophy, along with the French Descartes.

Here’s some of him.

This is the God of nature of Spinoza:

God would have said:

Stop praying and punching yourself in the chest!

What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life.

I want you to enjoy, sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve made for you.

Stop going to those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and say they are my house!

My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That’s where I live and there I express my love for you.

Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing!

Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don’t blame me for everything they made you believe.

Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can’t read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son’s eyes…

➤ you will find me in no book!

Trust me and stop asking me. Will you tell me how to do my job?

Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you, or criticize you, nor get angry, or bother, or punishment. I am pure love.

Stop asking for forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive. If I made you… I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies… free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I’m the one who made you Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity?

What kind of god can do that?

Forget any kind of commandments, any kind of laws; those are wiles to manipulate you, to control you, that only create guilt in you.

Respect your peers and don’t do what you don’t want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that your alert is your guide.

My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step, not a step in the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and all you need.

I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.

You are absolutely free to create in your life heaven or hell.

➤ I could tell you if there’s anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is no. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.

So, if there’s nothing, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won’t ask if you behaved right or wrong, I’ll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?…

Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don’t want you to believe in me, I want you to feel in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.

Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?

I’m bored being praised, I’m tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of you, your health, your relationships, the world. Feeling looked at, shocked?… Express your joy! That’s the way to praise me.

Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you’ve been taught about me.

The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.

What do you need more miracles for? Why so many explanations?

➤ I you look for me outside, you won’t find me. Find me inside… there I am beating on you.

Spinoza.

See: the archetype of the self; bible -dreams and symbols; religion and dreams. See also: individuation.

Relaxation and You

Replace Tension with Relaxation

A mother of two children once told me the fascinating story of her youngest son’s birth. The birth was proving to be very difficult, so much so that she felt she could not go on any longer. Her contractions were such agony that she could bear it no more, and, as it were she inwardly collapsed. To her amazement, what had been pain become a feeling of great bliss. She said that a most wild and wonderful emotion came upon her. No longer any pain, but like the mounting pleasure of sexual abandon during intercourse, and her son was born in her ecstasy of orgasm.

Think upon this deeply and often, for here is surely the birthright of every woman. Such a moment of creation should not be one of pain, or of discomfort, but of ecstasy. Yet why has it so often been otherwise? Is the answer not in the mother’s own description? Only when she collapsed into relaxation, and had thus totally surrendered herself to the process of life taking place, did the ecstasy occur. The previous pain had been due to her unconscious resistance. Yoga, Taoism, Christian mysticism Zen, Sufism, Judo, and many other schools, have taught for thousands of years that most of man’s pain is because he resists Life, resists his own nature, destroys his own natural relationship with his own being.

However, let us be frank with each other. I am a man. I have never given birth to a child except in a dream. I am only passing on to you the experience of other women. On the other hand, I have used these principles in my own life and seen what were pains in my emotional life become pleasures. I have not found perfect bliss, only an emerging maturity and pleasure in life. You who are reading this book are undoubtedly as much of an imperfect woman as I am an imperfect man. You too must have fears and tensions that create problems and unhappiness in your life as much as I have in mine – maybe less, maybe more. No doubt such inbuilt parts of one’s personality may not change overnight, and you may recognise that. You therefore say to yourself, ‘What point is there in me practising these methods? How much good will they do me in such a short time?’

You have to bring these questions to the surface and deal with them. Because if you do not they will undoubtedly be there inside you, interfering with the definite benefit you can obtain. My answers to these questions are quite simple. As I have said, I have not found perfect happiness, but I have found a degree of change that is satisfying. Even if a PERFECT childbirth did not result, at least you can achieve satisfying benefits, even in a short time.

On the other hand, I wish to lay particular importance on one thing. The woman I mentioned had practised no preparatory method at all, yet she experienced the secret wonder of birth. I am trying to impress you with the fact that you cannot know beforehand just how wonderfully successful you may be when the actual event occurs. Why? Because there is something in men and women which directs their conscious life. You can call it your Source, God, Superconscious, Self – but these are only words. Nevertheless, it has been the experience of people in all races and times that if they but relaxed their own will, fears, and desires, and gave themselves to this unknown factor in their life with open arms and heart, their faltering efforts were often made magnificent.

Co-operate with Life working in you

We have already, step by step, outlined the various blockages, such as in your breathing or genital tension, and shown how habits of relaxed and spontaneous feeling and activity can be cultivated. What I have said about resisting Life’s processes active in our being resulting as pain, and co-operation resulting as pleasure, shows once more how necessary these habits are for pleasurable childbirth. Earlier, in dealing with yoga postures, it was said that it is the uterus itself, not the abdominal muscles, which expel the baby. It was also said that we cannot directly exercise the muscles of the uterus as we can exercise the other muscles of our body. However, the Life processes we mentioned above do this for us in two ways. Firstly, when our body is well nourished and exercised generally, the tone and quality of muscles that are not directly used in the exercise is increased. This is because any single part of the body cannot help but partake of the standard of health of the body as a whole. Secondly, as the pregnancy advances, the uterus begins to ‘practise’ for the event. It does this by subtle contractions during the latter part of pregnancy. Many women do not notice these contractions, but if you watch carefully they will soon become obvious. One of the signs is that the abdomen becomes hard and taut. Another is the actual sensation of the uterus flexing itself.

It is around this natural fact that our method of relaxation during the actual birth will be built. For this reason I will point out certain things about it necessary to understand. A method called the ‘psycho-prophylactic’ technique of childbirth has been developed around becoming conscious of these pre-birth contractions. This was originated in Russia, became popular in France, and is now used by many practitioners. The aim is to have the woman realise that these contractions, which are exactly like birth contractions, are not painful. Of course, these contractions are not as frequent as those at birth, nor are they pushing the baby out through the birth canal. But through becoming aware of them, you can become assured that the contractions are not painful. The pain arises from resistance to the passing of the baby through the passage out of the uterus commonly known as the birth canal; or through muscular cramp due to insufficient calcium. Such resistance is called ‘genital tension’ during the actual contraction. This naturally stops the baby passing out quickly and easily. Here is a classical example of how our own tensions and fears can interfere with or block a ‘Life process’, thus causing pain. Therefore, our relaxation method will be entirely aimed at making you capable of relaxation during contraction, and developing the ability to cooperate with Life working in you. 

Replace tension with relaxation

You are already learning this during the practices used with the postures. Now, during the relaxation we will take it much deeper. Therefore, after finishing your postures and any breathing practice, lie on your exercise blanket, arms at sides, knees drawn up. Make sure you are warm enough and out of any draught. The idea is to get used to the feeling of muscular contraction, and to build the habit of ‘going along with’ spontaneous body processes. As this is done, relaxation of all muscles and emotions not involved in the contraction or movement has to take place. Therefore we have to first learn what relaxation is. Technically it is the letting-go of all tension. In practice it is also the dropping of all personal conscious effort and resistance. It can be summed up in the words surrender and co-operation. Like anything else, if we do not have the ability to relax as a natural talent, we have to learn it, and some people are better at it than others.

Not only do we have to learn what relaxation is, but we also have to learn what tension is. By this I mean that very often we have not learnt to recognise the sensation of tension or relaxation in our body. Not being aware of these states, we may not realise that parts of our body are always tense, or how to drop this tension. Therefore our first step is to practise producing tension and relaxation at will. So, as you are resting on your blanket, with a small pillow under the hollow of your back if necessary, tense as much of your body as you can. You may find it helps to press your feet on the floor, clench your fists, bite your teeth together, and wrinkle your forehead. But make your body as tense as possible. This is muscular tension. Become aware of how it feels. Then slowly drop all the effort and allow your whole body to become loose and limp. Quickly pass your attention up your body to make sure all parts have dropped their effort. Particularly notice genitals, abdomen, neck, jaw, and forehead. Notice the feeling of relaxation.

Now tense your whole body again, but this time only half as much as before. Then slowly relax, passing the attention quickly over the body. Tense again, but this time so that there is only the feeling of tension; hardly a muscle moving. Drop the feeling of tension so the feeling of relaxation can replace it. Pass your attention once more over the body, making sure it is relaxed, and then bring your attention to your arms. Bring your hands up, fists clenched, to touch your shoulders, and tense all the muscles in your arms as hard as you can; but not so hard you cannot hold it for some time. (If your muscles cramp while you are tensing them it is probably because you need more calcium in your diet.

So increase your intake of milk, yoghurt, or bone meal tablets or kelp or calcium tablets. Calcium is best absorbed if vitamin D is present, either in the tablet or as cod liver oil.)

Now, while your arms are tense, pass your attention quickly over the rest of the body making sure it is all relaxed. Include the face and neck in this survey. If you have just begun the practice of this relaxation, include the breathing method described at the end of the last chapter. That is, practising breathing in the three levels. Then slowly relax the arms, rest for a while and repeat it twice more. If you have reached the point in pregnancy where you are aware of uterine contractions, then practise your relaxation while such a contraction occurs using the three breathing levels. Become as aware of it as possible, and relax all other parts of the body. The arms are being used as a substitute for contractions of the uterus, to enable you to relax all other -parts of the body during contractions. Contraction of one part of the body should not involve contraction of other parts not being used, but with many of us it does.

The next and final stage of the relaxation is a difficult one to induce artificially. As you can see, the first stage was to learn relaxation and tension; the second stage to enable you to maintain relaxation during contraction; and this third stage is an attempt to learn surrender or co-operation with a spontaneous movement or Life process, such as birth is. One of the few ways in which we can learn this outside of the actual event, apart from going along with pre-birth contractions, is as follows: After tensing the arms, rest for a moment until the arms feel normal, and then concentrate your attention on your breathing. Notice the rise and fall of your chest, but do not let your attention interfere with the natural cycle and movement of your breathing. If your attention wanders, bring it back, if necessary, time and time again. After about a minute, just as your inhalation has reached its peak, consciously interfere with your breathing by holding your breath. As you are doing this, watch your sensations intently. Soon an urge or desire to breathe out will arise. Resist it and see the feelings of discomfort begin to increase. If you continued this resistance the feelings of discomfort would soon become acute pain. When the discomfort is obvious, relax your resistance and let the breathing become normal. Make sure once more that your body is relaxed and return your attention to your breathing. This time, as you have breathed out, hold your breath again for a time, then continue breathing; relax the body and return attention to breathing.

In doing this, it can be directly seen that discomfort and then pain is a direct result of interfering with a Life process. We are of course, here interfering consciously and on purpose. In many cases where we interfere with the innate processes of our being, it is done unintentionally and without realising it. It can also be seen that when we drop our interference, the discomfort disappears and the process continues. In childbirth most discomfort and pain is the result of a similar process.

Unconscious tension interferes with the birth process. Or else, the feeling of internal stretching, which would have been only discomfort, has become a pain because the discomfort was resisted by tension and fear. This method of relaxation is to make you very aware of (a) interfering with a natural process, and (6) relaxing the interference and allowing the process to continue. But we have to take this a stage farther, the reason for this next stage being that most tension in childbirth is due to unconscious fears or habits of tense reaction to discomfort. But what exactly do I mean by that? I have already mentioned my wife’s experience of being nearly drowned, and the fact that she now dislikes water. Some people may dread going on boats, or in water, and not know why. If the dread was caused by a babyhood experience of being submerged in bath water, which incident they cannot remember, this is an example of an unconscious fear. It is a fear that arises from factors outside of our present remembrance.

As for ‘tense reaction to discomfort’, this is like the person with a rotten and painful tooth being unwilling to pass through the discomfort and suffering of having the tooth removed. They thus endure the more prolonged pain of its aching. So it is that sometimes, by withholding or tensing against the discomfort of stretching, it is turned into a pain. Therefore our relaxation aims at developing the ability to let go of our fears and habits, and so allow the process to continue unhampered. To do this we have to be able to surrender, or relax, our whole being. This process has been started in your practice of the postures.

The Life process which causes you to be

Our next step, after interfering with our breathing and then dropping this interference, should thus be as follows. Keep your attention concentrated on the process of your breathing without any interference whatsoever. Realise that something’ of which you are not aware is causing this activity of your chest. We will simply call this the Life process which causes you to be in short, Life.

If this is to be successful, you must make such thoughts very clear and real to yourself. Really think about the subject. Realise now that your heartbeat, digestion, and recuperation are all expressions of this same Life. While relaxing, dwell for a few moments on the thought that your whole body, and the forming body of the baby, is due to Life.

These realisations have to be thought out slowly at first, and step by step, to lead us where we wish to get. The next step after considering your body and its functions as an expression of Life is to turn your attention away from your breathing, to your self your own awareness. Despite the fact that nothing seems as real as our own existence, when we actually attempt to look at self, nothing is more difficult, or seems more obscure. However, we are not attempting higher metaphysical analysis here, we are dealing with the very practical subject of spontaneous childbirth the healthy, happy process of all your being working harmoniously And pleasurably together to produce your baby. So in looking at self, all I am asking is for you to realise that your very awareness as a conscious being is also the result of Life, just as your breathing and digestion are.

Having seen that you would not exist outside of this something, this process we have called Life, realise that it holds within itself the very wisdom of what you are. It is you. Therefore, not only does it have the wisdom but also the fantastic power that has caused us to exist. Yet this wisdom, this power, may be quite unknown to us quite unconscious. In fact, it may only become conscious as we become aware of it, or discover it in our own life and being.

Don’t worry if this seems very complex at present. Do not be concerned if you cannot understand some of it. Take what you can grasp, and pass on. The rest should be allowed to rise gradually. Meanwhile simply put it to one side if it does not make sense to you.

Despite the fact that your body and awareness of yourself, all your functions in fact, have been brought into existence by the unconscious power and wisdom of Life, and thus you are totally dependent upon it, yet you have a relationship with it, not being merely a puppet. You have already seen how you can interfere with your breathing. This is a simple example indeed of how you can impose your will upon Life. But everything you do is influencing what is, after all, your innate being. Your actions either enhance or subdue, aid to unfold or repress its qualities, conflict or co-operate with your own being. F9r instance, what you eat either supplies or denies the needs of this process you are. What we think or feel either express and satisfy its energies and wisdom, or twist them into dissatisfaction and pain – and so on through our whole life. Religion presents you with the question: ‘Are you for or against God?’ Yoga asks a different question: ‘Are you for or against yourself?’ For if we live in conflict with the very process which is our own being, we are against ourselves and suffer the consequences. 

What is Life?

Having come this far we are near the end of our journey. We have seen something of Life and our relationship with it. But what is it?

This is a very important question for a number of reasons. It is obvious from what has already been said that our aim is to not only surrender but to actively co-operate with the process of Life in the search for a spontaneous childbirth. (The term ‘spontaneous childbirth’ is used to denote a pleasurable birth due to all parts of one’s being co-operating.) Therefore we have to know what we are co-operating with. Many people give up their relaxation practice in discouragement because they have never been able to define this very question. This discouragement is undoubtedly due to their expectation of the wrong things. The resulting disappointment is a natural deterrent. Therefore, to avoid the disappointment, let us make sure you are on firm ground, in firm contact, with that which constitutes you. Or at least, let us make sure your expectations are aimed at practical issues.

Basically there are just two ways of realising Life. One is by realising the results of its activity. Thus, when we experience our spontaneous breathing or the forming of a infant body within a woman, or observing our consciousness, we are knowing the results of its working. The other way is by being it. That is, by realising that there is no differentiation between consciousness and that which produces it. This is union between Life and that which arises from it.

For the practical purposes of our relaxation, however, the method of knowing it through its results is sufficient. The last stage of our relaxation therefore resolves itself as follows: Having watched your breathing, held it in, and then relaxed your interference and body; having watched your breathing and seen it as an expression of Life, and realised that you would not exist without it; having seen that nevertheless you have a relationship with it of co-operation or denial then decide to surrender your whole being to its own natural processes, so that any unconscious or conscious interferences may be smoothed away and harmony result. Do this by letting go, by dropping any ideas, attitudes, prejudices, you may have. While doing this hold the attention on your face and head. Allow any facial tensions or expressions to slip away. Bringing the attention to the chest, let go of any emotions of fear, anger, hate, worry, or in fact any emotions, even of affection, love. Let go of all. Now relax the genitals and let go of your hold on your sexual feelings.

Simply rest now for some minutes in the general feeling of relaxation. make a mental picture of the line of light passing through your body and irradiating every part of it. Let yourself go into this light which is a symbol of Life, meanwhile repeating mentally, surrender to Life.’ Say it over and over, bring your attention back if it wanders, time and time again. If restlessness, emotions tremblings, crying, or worries come up, do not attempt to push them aside or resist them. This only leads to struggle and internal fight. Just let them happen. On the other hand, do not let them stop the period of relaxation. Let them come up and out, but watch them as if you were standing to one side watching somebody else struggle. Realise that they are things happening to you they are not you! The real you is the thing that experiences all this multitude of changing thoughts and feelings. If you believe your emotions are you, they will carry you away like a twig in a swirling stream. But if you see them simply as events you are experiencing, they lose their control of you. 

The relaxation should be practised every day. It may be best done just before getting into bed, or as you get into bed, as this is the one time of day there is always opportunity to do it, as you can always go to bed a few minutes later. The aim is to get the habit so established t hat you can easily use the ‘handing over’ or relaxation during the baby’s birth. The frequent practice will also help to free you of’ inbuilt tensions and problems before the big event occurs. As I have already said, do not expect perfection of yourself. Even our perfect handing over can still allow that wisdom and power which creates us to help us and lead us harmoniously through the birth. You learn to notice whether you are interfering or co-operating with the activities that arise from Life, which readies you for spontaneous childbirth, wherein your conscious self co-operates with the unknown forces of your being in this wonder of creation. 

The method of relaxation

For easy reference we will list the method of relaxation point by point:

1. Make yourself comfortable on your exercise blanket, or in an easy chair. Make sure you are warm enough.
2. Tense your whole body as hard as possible. Slowly relax. Pass your attention over your body relaxing each part, particularly the forehead, jaw, neck, abdomen and genitals.
3. Tense your whole body once more, but this time only half as much as before. Slowly relax and pass the attention over the body as before.
4. Tense the whole body once more, but so slightly that there is only the feeling of tension. Release it until there is the feeling of relaxation. Again pass the attention over the body.
5. Bring the attention to the arms. Clench the fists and bring the hands to the shoulders, tensing all the muscles in the arms. As you hold this tension in the arms relax all the other parts of the body, and practice the breathing method of using the breath levels. If you are near the end of term and have a uterine contraction, use this instead of the arms. That is, relax the whole body while the uterus contracts.
6. Concentrate your attention on your breathing without interfering. After about a minute, hold your breath in until it becomes uncomfortable. Release it and let the breathing become normal. Make sure your body is relaxed, then do the same, holding the breath out. When uncomfortable, allow normal breathing to continue.
7. As you watch your breathing, realise it is an expression of the Life process that causes you to be.
8. Realise that your whole being, body, and mind, and forming baby, are entirely results of Life, and your relationship with it.
9. Realise that you relate to Life either in a co-operative or negative manner.
10. Decide to co-operate with your own innate being – and surrender thinking, emotions, and passions, by letting go of them. Then visualise the light filling your body, and you handing over to it, meanwhile repeating mentally: ‘Surrender to Life’
11. This needs to be done daily for at least a couple of months so that it becomes a habit to be relaxed.

	Relaxation is more than just a practice of lying and tensing one’s body and then dropping the tension. I believe this becomes obvious from what has already been said. Relaxation is also living and acting in accordance with one’s own being. But before we leave this subject, I would like to go a little farther into some of the issues raised.
This leopard looks as if it is simply hanging loose

We have postulated for instance that whatever it is, whatever factor or factors causes us to exist, we depend upon it. We have also said that this results in something of an innate being. As an example, a rose seed would find it difficult to grow into a dandelion. It is innately a rose. All the forces in the seed conspire to produce a rose. Similarly, we have certain innate directions, and if. we frustrate them we suffer inner conflict and dissatisfaction. We cannot say, however, that everybody’s inner directions are the same. So we cannot form a set of rules all must follow, and create a new religious dogma. We can only say that it seems necessary to discover one’s own innate needs and direction and attempt to comply with them. It appears as a logical conclusion that this is the only way we can be whole people, at peace with ourselves and the world. For if we are at odds with our own nature, we are more than likely to be at odds with others. The method we have given of relaxation is just one of the ways we can attempt to find unity within ourselves. As a mother-to-be it is essential to seek this unity between the known and unknown parts of your nature; between the voluntary and involuntary parts of your being, because much of birth depends upon the efficient working of involuntary muscles, on chemical changes, glandular activity, and so on. These are all parts of your being you may be at odds with due to tensions, fears, personality traits, and attitudes. As parenthood is also a creative process, an expression of forces that have exteriorised your own body, you can similarly co-operate or disrupt these creative processes

Needs and deprivations

You may consider such points arguable, and I am not denying you the right to disagree. One thing, however, that I believe most of us have to accept is the innate needs of the body, even if we will not admit the innate needs of the soul and spirit. Our experience with holding the breath is an immediate demonstration of the body’s innate need for air. But some of the body’s needs are not as immediately noticeable as this. The same applies of course to our innate emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Our needs in these directions, unless they cry out to us as savagely as our need for air, may easily be ignored. But it is true that some of these subtle needs do cry out. After all, our need for air is barely noticeable during the day and night unless we interfere, or are placed in conditions halting this supply. Then we may experience struggle, pain, even terror, as in drowning. Similarly, these other needs are also barely noticeable until we, or circumstances, place us in positions of deprivation. Then it is that physical, mental or emotional pain, or terror, may assert themselves, as in nervous breakdown’ or depression. For these are the voices of our being telling us of needs, of deprivation. Such a need may be as simple as taking more relaxation, or as complex as unlocking our love, that it may pour into our marriage.

As this book attempts to be a practical one, the question therefore has to be asked: ‘How can we recognise our innate needs of body, soul and spirit before they become symptoms of pain?’

Our chapter on diet dealt with general dietary needs; the chapter on postures with general means of satisfying the need for exercise. But we each may have very personal needs. In the practice of relaxation some of these needs may be met. For instance, you may have had too tight a hold on your feelings and the relaxation can release them. Or else tears of grief or loneliness may have been bottled up, and the relaxation allows them expression. Relaxation also is a time of quiet when Life can act upon us and balance our nature, gradually realign emotions and attitudes, and work on us generally in innumerable ways. At such times things we have left undone, such as words of encouragement to a friend, the dropping of anger that has caused conflict between ourselves and another person, a promise unkept, may arise to consciousness to remind us that we cannot find peace, we cannot relax, while such things exist in our life. Sometimes it is like an inner voice, often very real; or an inner realisation of some clarity, that helps us to see our innate needs. Such things occur far more frequently during relaxation simply because our attention is not immersed in outer impressions and activities. Other people have vivid mental pictures or daydreams often of a symbolical nature, that advise them of their inner nature. These are all means by which Life may express its needs to our awareness. The fact that it sometimes appears as a voice, or pictures, or as a teacher, is simply because of the way the mind works. Just as our feelings may clothe themselves in words when we express them, so these unconscious forces may clothe themselves in images; symbols, colours or words, which arise from within us. This is why dreams are such a helpful way of discovering our inner nature if we go to the trouble of learning their symbolical language.

Thus, in saying that relaxation and peace in life arise from living in harmony with our own complete nature to the best of our capability, we can already begin to see ways of aiding this process. As this book has to keep closely to the aim of dealing only with what can be used with practical advantage by the mother-to-be, I will deal but briefly with what we have covered.

Relaxation. Having already covered this, nothing more will be said. For those with a religious temperament, however, prayer, meditation and worship are also means of what we have called ‘relaxation’. That is, the way of growing unity between what has caused us to be, and what we are. Whether we call our cause, God, or Source, or Life, or anything else, matters not at all, for it remains what it is whatever we call it or think of it. As the voice said to Moses: ‘I am that I am.

Pain. Whether this is physical, emotional or mental, it is a signal that something is ‘not well’ in our being. When it becomes severe physical illness, mental breakdown or emotional agony we have been misapplying our life for a long period. It is far better to take notice of the little pain than press on regardless towards our own sickness. Pain is a message. Sometimes it is easy to understand if we but stop and listen to it and attempt to see what is causing it. At other times it is more difficult to interpret or understand its meaning, in which case we should seek professional help wherever possible. For the doctor has been trained to interpret the messages of physical pain; and the counsellor or psychiatrist to interpret the emotional and mental ones. For some people these are not their chosen source of help, but at least they should go to their own chosen ones.

Appetites. These are another way in which our being, physical and mental, announces its needs. In a very real sense the unrest or desire to breathe is an expression of our ‘appetite’ for air. Appetites express themselves in numerous different ways, announcing needs such as hunger for food, desire for sexual intercourse, thirst for water, tiredness for rest, search for knowledge, longing for love, wanting to play. All these announce needs we must be careful to fulfil, but also careful not to glut. Fortunately, feelings within us quickly tell us what is enough or too much, if we but listen.

The inner voice. The action of an inner voice’ becomes far less of a mystery if we but understand something of our own being. Most of us realise for instance that we can only recall a very small part of the information stored in our memory. The other enormous mass of facts, insights, experiences, lessons, nevertheless still exists ready to respond in times of need. Such response may be subtle, but it is still clear enough if we listen. As an adult we probably cannot remember the first time we burnt our fingers on something hot. But even though we cannot recall the event, or events, the voice of experience still speaks to us clearly through the urge to avoid heat. Similarly, the mass of our experience will talk to us not in a logical process or memory, but as an urge, or seemingly irrational feeling or impulse. While, through our reasoning, we may decide that our car is fit for a long journey, we may have an irrational feeling it is going to break down. If we attempted to listen to this feeling and discover where it has arisen from, we might, for the sake of argument, find that it centres around an engine noise we had not been conscious of. Now we realise it indicates a similar fault that caused a breakdown in the past.

Sometimes this intuitive voice becomes so defined in action that it seems as if our total experience actually talks to us. This is undoubtedly the inner voice that Socrates spoke of. Not only does it arise from our total past experience, but also from a contact with the unconscious processes of our being.

If we consider for a moment, there is nothing at all strange about this process of inner guidance or direction. Virtually every moment of the day we are being moved or influenced by subtle feelings of desire for pleasure, security, longing for love, food, comfort, need for assurance, encouragement, urge to know, and so on and on. If you analysed a day’s activities, even such simple acts as going out with a friend, going to the toilet, being late for work, choosing a book from the library, you would find all of them were influenced by particular feelings or urges pushing you to comply. It is only because some people train themselves to listen intently to themselves, or have a particular type of make-up, that the voice becomes so clear. If it is mental images we see instead of a voice, these are best understood as dreams due to their often symbolical nature.

It is folly, however, to think of such a voice as an all-seeing oracle. The urges that arise in us may be the voice of our fear or ambition, or sexual desire. So we have to use some discrimination in deciding whether the voice is representative of our whole being, or just an urge from a split-off energy such as some sexuality is. Also, the voice should only be a guide, never a master. Cautious experiment with following its advice will soon decide its source. For its results are its best judge. ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’

Even so, thousands of ordinary and extraordinary men and women have discovered wise counsel in their own inner voice. It can guide us in every department of our life, from diet to religion, sexual relationship to business details. Examples will be mentioned under ‘Dreams’.

Dreams. All the things I have mentioned above are ways in which we may come to a closer awareness of Life, its wisdom, power and love. (As the faculties of our nature emerge from Life, not only intelligence and energy are expressions of its nature, but love also.) In this way we may meet pregnancy, and in fact life, more fully and satisfyingly. Dreams have been used as a means of self-help and self-understanding throughout all known history. They were also used for the same purpose by some branches of yoga. Patanjali, in his Yoga Aphorisms, which is one of the accepted yoga classics, mentions them as such.

It is obvious that I cannot go into a lengthy discussion of dreams, but possibly enough can be given to help you understand some of the most useful dreams that occur during pregnancy.

Often, the most immediately practical or useful dreams are in fact easily understood. For instance, during pregnancy my wife dreamed that she should take iron and calcium tablets. There was nothing symbolic about the dream, although many people would overlook it or ignore it. She took the tablets and her health greatly improved. She later dreamed she should do certain of the yoga postures. Again nothing mysterious or symbolic. Again she followed the advice. It is interesting that the birth of the baby took only two hours.

Other women dream that they should eat particular foods, or ease up on certain activities, take a particular vitamin, and so on. In many cases these dreams are not at all symbolical, but straight statements. Other dreams, equally practical, may be slightly or wholly symbolical. Such dreams may still deal with the basis of diet, exercise, rest, work, and so on, but in most cases will probably be concerned with our relationships with others and our own inner condition of emotions, attitudes, or else in some cases how you can best ready yourself as a parent, to bring in to the world a beautiful child. Or else who the child is that is being born, and even what sex.

Influencing Your Unborn Child

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother’s womb. During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr.Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon’s finger. Dr.Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

Chapter two of Yoga and Childbirth

In 1962 most authorities did not believe that the unborn child could be influenced by the activities of the mother. In that year a shocked world witnessed the birth of growing numbers of malformed thalidomide babies. Yet for generations, those who had listened to their intuition had warned the public time and again that a tragedy could occur if they were not more careful in their use of medical drugs and diet. The world is still being warned that drug use during pregnancy is only part of the problem. In a world rushing headlong into the ever greater use of manufactured, synthetic and preserved foods, any number of further catastrophes still promise to mature.

Prior to 1962, it was generally believed that the placenta acted as a barrier to harmful substances ingested by the mother, or circulating in her blood. To damage a baby without killing the mother too was thought impossible. To quote from a recent scientific statement, however, ‘We now know that nothing could be further from the truth. There are a number of substances which can damage a baby profoundly, particularly during the early weeks of pregnancy, probably even before the mother knows she is pregnant.’ The harmful influences are listed as radiation, chemicals, notably drugs, and some infections. There is as yet no detailed knowledge of exactly what changes most drugs, such as aspirin, codeine, and the host of other medical chemicals, cause in the unborn child. But in animal experiments it has been found that almost any drug can damage the foetus.

Dr Guttmacher, in his book, Pregnancy and Birth, gives possible causes of damage as: German measles during early pregnancy; the transfusion of Rh positive blood to Rh negative girls or women; excessive insulin during pregnancy for the diabetic mother; poor standard of physical, nutritive or reproductive health in the parents at conception, and in the mother during pregnancy; X-ray during pregnancy, especially to the pelvic area, general anaesthesia in pregnancy during dental and surgical procedures; air travel in un-pressurised cabins before the twelfth week; children born to aged parents; medical and social drugs (smoking and alcohol, for instance).

Obviously, such statements need some comments in balancing our understanding. Despite the fact that the unborn baby can be hurt by so many factors virtually all of them due to the unnatural things men and women subject their bodies to – the foetus is, nevertheless, fantastically resourceful in meeting difficulties, especially in healthy parents. This naturally applies to elderly parents also.

Quoting once more from a reasonably conservative authority, we find the statement:

Only in recent years have we come to recognise the importance of foetal life. Its quality has a profound effect on everything that happens later to the individual. The growth and health of the foetus is influenced to some extent by its own inherited make-up, but this is profoundly influenced and -modified by its environment, probably from the very moment of conception. . . . The uterus itself must be a suitable bed and container for the baby. . . . It can only do this if the mother herself is in good health, and, ideally, the mother should be free from disease and extremely well nourished throughout her pregnancy. In general, the better the health and nutrition of the mother the better will be the baby’s chances of a healthy nine months in the womb and a robust delivery and survival.

Why drugs can be harmful

Having said this much, let us look in greater detail at the statements already made. For instance, why can drugs and unnatural procedures harm the unborn baby? What is meant by ‘a poor standard of physical, nutritive and reproductive health’? And what is a chemical?

As yet, very little is known as to exactly why drugs and some unnatural procedures cause the results they do. Perhaps we can gain a little insight by understanding what drugs do, and why we use them, or at least why they are used.

There are many types of drugs. Some are derived from plants or trees, such as opium, quinine, and digitalis. Although found in plants they are nearly always simply one part of the plant’s chemical compound, which is extracted and concentrated. Other drugs are chemicals that are produced almost entirely artificially, either through the refining processes as in oil derivatives, or through other chemical procedures. Now drugs have entered yet another area, that of the antibiotic type, which are not inert chemicals but living moulds, as with penicillin. One can state fairly confidently that all drugs are used either to produce changes in the body, or to stop changes taking place. These are the reasons for drug use.

It seems that these are also the reasons why they are dangerous, especially during pregnancy. We need little imagination or understanding of natural processes to see why. Anything, whether plant or human, that is full grown, is difficult to alter in size, build, and basic characteristics. But the further back we go in the process of growth, the greater ability we have to direct and influence the development that will follow. In pregnancy as a whole, and in the first three months in particular, the most fantastic, even miraculous, changes are taking place. Apart from anything else, the sperm and ovum increase their weight millions of times. During these very intricate and delicate changes, any chemical or drug, which after all is specifically designed to either induce change or interfere with it, can influence the development radically.

The medical practice uses drugs because they influence the body’s nervous system, functions, cells, etc., in major ways. As adults, or established children, we can sometimes survive such drugs without too violent side-effects, because our body and its processes have reached a point of stasis that protects it. The foetus has not by any means reached this stability; its whole life is fantastic change and growth.

We have seen that drugs are either synthetic substances, or chemicals taken from plants and concentrated in order to have more profound or ‘concentrated’ results. But the statements made by doctors say that drugs and chemicals may injure the unborn baby. Therefore, what is the difference between a drug and a chemical? Basically, most drugs are chemical substances that are used for medicinal purposes. Whereas a chemical, as the word is used above, is a chemical substance (i.e. a substance artificially produced) used for non-medical purposes. The word therefore covers a variety of chemicals used, for instance, in agriculture as fertilisers and pesticides; in the home as pesticides, food additives, flavourings, sweeteners to food and drink; as fumes, gases, water additives, etc.

Many chemicals are therefore taken into our body in the air we breathe, fluids we drink, foods we eat, and household -appliances we use. At first sight these do not appear as dangerous as the use of drugs during pregnancy. It is certainly true that most of them produce nothing like the changes of, for instance, thalidomide. But at the beginning of this chapter I said -that the intuitive are still warning us of coming catastrophes. It is in this area they feel one of the greatest dangers lies. This is because of several fairly logical reasons. Most of these chemicals are taken quite unconsciously. They are taken in very large amounts. Neither is there a feeling of reserve about them as with the use of drugs.

To take but two of the most commonly used chemicals, we have white sugar, whie rice and white flour. Many people will feel shocked that I have named these as chemicals, yet neither of them occur naturally. Both are produced by complex procedures. Both are concentrated extracts of plants. Both produce marked changes in the body, and so could almost be called drugs. Certainly both are dangerous influences on the unborn, and the born. Why?

Some years ago, a dental expert, Dr Price, became interested in the causes of tooth decay, and also dental malformations that is, misplaced, cramped teeth, and narrow mouth. He began to investigate, and during many years research gradually uncovered far more than he had ever expected, or even looked for. He found that the causes were due to our change of diet, particularly white flour and white sugar. This may seem an interesting little snippet of information, one to be smiled over and forgotten, until we pause one moment in -thought. Remember, I did not just say dental decay; I also said dental and mouth malformation.

Is it not a sobering thought to realise that more and more of our race, through its growing diet of chemicals, are being born with malformations? Joan Grant, during an archaeological dig in the Middle East, collected forty sets of teeth. She says that “there were ‘children’s teeth, middle-aged teeth, teeth of men who were so old that the surface of the molars was ground almost smooth and in none of the forty sets I collected was there a single decayed tooth, nor a jaw abscess, nor a wisdom tooth that had not grown in exact alignment with the rest.”

Please do not think that I feel white flour, white rice, white sugar, and the other chemicals we absorb are simply causing malformations in increasing numbers of unborn babies. No, it is even worse than that. What is happening is that the drugs and chemicals are doing exactly the job they were designed for – namely, producing changes in our body. In particular, on one of the most sensitive parts of our body, the genes in our sperm and ova.

Dr. Noakes is an advocate of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, often referred to in South Africa as the “Noakes” or “Banting” diet. Noakes has characterised mainstream dietary advice as “genocide”. He stated publically that many of his patients were eating themselves to death by eating their ‘normal’ diet of manufactured foods.  

In February 2014 a registered dietician complained to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) that Noakes tweeted to a mother that she should wean her baby onto low-carbohydrate, high-fat foods, which he described as real foods. The HPCSA held a hearing about the allegation against Noakes over the next few years. Controversially, on 28 October 2016, the HPSCA incorrectly released a statement announcing that Noakes had been found guilty of misconduct. In a second press release issued over three hours later, the HPSCA apologised for the mistake.^[14] Noakes was cleared of misconduct in April 2017.^[15][16] The HPSCA lost its appeal in June 2018.^[17]

In August 2014, Noakes sent a tweet to his 46,000 twitter followers which said: “Dishonest science. Proven link between autism and early immunisation covered up?”.^[18] The tweet included a link to a video from the disgraced ex-doctor and anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield, in which Wakefield was repeating the conspiracy theory that the CDC is covering-up a link between vaccination and autism.^[18] Subsequently challenged on twitter, Noakes responded that he personally had “no opinion” on the matter.^[18]

During the 1930’s, Sir Robert McCarrison, a world-famous nutritionist and scientist, carried out an experiment in diet using rats. He fed groups of rats diets common among a variety of different races. The diseases suffered in each race were startlingly reproduced among the rats. But possibly an even more important experiment, in considering the results of refined and synthetic foods, was that done by Bernasek in Prague. One group of rats was fed on wheat grain, dried lucerne, margarine cod liver oil, dried full milk, casein, calcium carbonate and salt. The other group was fed on a diet where all natural fats had been replaced by margarine, with all known vitamins, minerals and trace elements added synthetically. Thus this diet was the chemical equivalent of the natural one. All of these rats, from an original 120, in four generations had died out entirely. Quoting from an article by Michael Allaby in Here’s Health, he describes the fourth generation as follows:

From the two females remaining, two litters were produced; one litter of two young, the other of five. These seven new-born rats formed the fourth generation. Three of them died straight after birth and the other four died between the sixteenth and twenty-second days, though at first they seemed to develop normally. So, by the fourth generation the experiment came to an end the subjects were all dead.

From the autopsies performed on all the dead rats it was learned that the females which had appeared to be sterile had, in fact, conceived, but had reabsorbed their foetuses. The young who died all suffered from disorders arising from inadequate development of myelin, the fatty substance, containing protein, which forms a sheath to the larger nerve fibres, together with degenerative changes in the nerve cells themselves.

Considering the huge influx of processed and synthetic foodstuffs, this would suggest increasing sterility in humans, and growing abnormalities at birth.

Nutrition and health

This brings us to another of the medical statements, that a poor standard of physical, nutritive or reproductive health may contribute towards malformations. All that we do, all that we are, and how we live, influences our genes, and thus contributes towards the characteristics we pass on to our children. As may be seen later in this book, the genes are not the be-all and end-all of the child’s possibilities. They may be best likened to the building material which the developing baby uses. Present scientific attitude may prefer to think of them as the master plan that controls the whole development. As we have already seen, however, thalidomide can throw even the best genes to the devil. There are also other factors. Nevertheless, it depends very much upon the mothers of this era as to how our race develops in the next few generations.

It has always been recognised by animal breeders that the quality of the offspring is mostly due to the quality of the parents. It is important that the parents be in top form when they mate, as this too has a great influence on offspring. It has for long amazed me that people will go to such lengths and effort to bring their animals to top condition, regulate their diet carefully, see they are exercised, happy and content, to produce beautiful offspring, yet they themselves couldn’t give a damn when producing offspring. They rest inadequately, eat rubbish they would never feed to their animals, mate even in the middle of an illness, and generally act as if they had not a degree of intelligence. The same people walk about saying, Isn’t it terrible the number of babies born with cancer now.’

It is the opinion of many nutritionists that most, if not all, cases of children born dead, sick, malformed, or who die shortly after birth, could be avoided by correct diet and living. In America today, the most civilised’ and therefore the most badly fed country due to enormous food refinement, it is estimated that one in six men cannot father a child, 1 in 200 babies is born deformed, 600,000 have cerebral palsy, and, 1 out of 100 babies is mentally retarded.

The adults are in an even worse state as their impoverished diet leads to further degeneration of health. One in ten is likely to become a patient of a mental hospital. Sixteen million have heart defects. Nearly a million are being treated for cancer. There are eight million arthritics, and three million diabetics. Also multiple sclerosis adds another 250,000; muscular dystrophy 200,000, and TB another 400,000. Obviously, the unnamed sicknesses would take the total into fear-raising numbers. If you believe that this is the fate of mankind, to suffer and die, then it reflects the sickness of mind our society lives in. Investigations carried out by Sir Robert McCarrison, on the Hunzas of the Himalayas, showed a race to shame our ‘civilised’ races. There were no kidney diseases, no cancer no heart conditions, no ulcers, tooth decay, digestive illnesses, arthritis, malformations, or other illnesses. Neither were there any criminals, mental illness, homosexuality, alcoholism, drug addiction, delinquency, or social disturbances. They live to a great old age with all faculties, and death is usually quick and painless; a laying aside of the body. Adelle Davis, in her book Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit, also mentions the researches of Dr Price as reported in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

He tells of a people with erect postures, unbelievable endurance, and cheerful even dispositions. These people had excellent bone structure; their faces and jaws were so wide and well developed that their teeth were not crowded together, and stayed free from decay just as their bodies stayed free from disease. The statistics concerning the incidence of cancer, ulcers, high blood pressure, tuberculosis, heart and kidney diseases, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy were zero, zero, zero in every case. Names for these diseases were unknown and unneeded. Dr Price found no physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, no crime, no prisons, no mental illness and no institutions for the insane, feeble-minded, alcoholics, drug addicts; no child delinquency, no homosexuality. Every mother nursed her babies; a non-functional breast was unheard of. Mental, moral and emotional health accompanied physical health.

Many other studies of so-called ‘primitives’ revealed groups in Africa, South America, and elsewhere, having the same health and well-being. These investigations, in similar studies of such communities who had been influenced by the ‘civilised’ races even though living in the same area, but now eating civilised foods such as white sugar and white flour, found tooth decay, faulty bone structures, crime, sexual immorality, perversions, ulcers, colitis, and so on through the list of civilised sickness.

Medical and social research have also uncovered a mass of information the public knows little or nothing about. A few snippets of such information that refer to pregnancy, childlessness, and malformations are as follows.

Studies have shown that smoking not only results in a smaller baby, but in some cases in infertility. Males have shown dead sperm due to smoking. Tests on rats given nicotine resulted in decreased fertility. A German study revealed its influence on sexual hormones generally, resulting in greater incidence of sterility, frigidity, miscarriage and menstrual disturbance amongst smokers. Animals absorbing the equivalent of twenty cigarettes daily had a ten times higher rate of still-births than usual.

The Lancet and British Medical Journal both draw notice to the fact that cortisone taken during pregnancy can cause cleft palate in the baby. Other factors have also been found to cause the same results. Vitamin A and the B vitamins, especially B6, when withheld in animal diets, caused harelip in progeny. Experimenters could cause this at will simply by withholding these nutrients. Similar results have been noted in humans.

Dr Kugelman states that the increase in mental backwardness or illness in the new-born is often due to insufficient nutrition in pregnancy. The results of a seven-year test were given in the 1955 March issue of Time. 2,400 women took part in the test. They were from working-class families with poor diets. Some were given pills of no nutritional value. The others received nutritional supplements during their pregnancies. It was shown that the children from those women on supplemental nutrition were indeed of higher intelligence generally than those on the placebo.

A fascinating story is told by Dr Anna Szasz of Budapest. She has worked for many years on the treatment of Downs Syndrome children, and has discovered that vitamin E supplement given from birth causes gradual but very definite positive development to take place. One of her patients, a woman of middle age, gave birth to three Downs Syndrome children, each one worse than the last.

She then became pregnant again, but this time Dr Szasz put her on a high protein diet with plenty of vegetables and liver. She was also given full vitamin supplementation with an emphasis on vitamin E. Her baby was born at the right time, perfectly sound and healthy.

Still on the subject of Downs Syndrome, Dr Rapaport researched into the incidence of Downs Syndrome births in areas with fluoridated water supplies. He found that in areas with only up to 0.2 mlg of fluorine per litre of water, 34.15 Down’s syndrome per 100,000 births occurred. But in areas where the fluorine level was 1.0 to 2.6 mlg per litre, 71.59 Down’s syndrome were born per 100,000 births.

As pointed out elsewhere, Dr Carlton Fredericks (Ph.D.) reports that still-births rose 150 per cent in areas that became fluoridated. And animal research has shown fluoride dissolves forming heart tissue in embryos.

Experiments have shown that animals eating only proteins that have been cooked die out by the fourth generation. Considering how little uncooked foods people now eat, this naturally suggests a threat to correct reproduction. The animals developed malfunction increasingly in each generation. The same is happening to thousands of people in our society now. Our very babies, fed on a ‘formula’ instead of at their mothers’ breasts, are literally initiated into the death-dealing process at birth. Because the difficulties do not show immediately is no sign that the changes are not occurring in the baby’s body. If the baby has to have a formula preparation, the threat can be offset by feeding living protein as soon as possible. Pasteurised milk, killed as it is by heat, is not among the living protein class.

During the years 1924-29, 20,061 babies were investigated at the Chicago Infant Welfare Centre. To quote from Alan Moyle’s book About Nature Cure, the facts arising from this investigation showed the enormous difference in death rates between breast-fed and bottle-fed babies.

Infants ———– ——–Deaths –Percentage

Entirely breast-fed 9,794 — 15 —- 0.15

Partially breast-fed 8,605 —59 —- 0.7

Artificially fed 1,707 ——–144 — 8.4

Reaching a high standard of health

Having looked at some of the negative aspects of how the unborn baby can be influenced, we may turn our attention to more constructive features. If we consider what can cause detrimental results, we can begin to see clearly what will cause beneficial results. To summarise, we said that virtually all artificial and unnatural influences can cause injury to the development. This is because, being unnatural, the mother’s and the baby’s body have to attempt an adjustment to it, or normal functions are interfered with. This applies to all drugs and those chemicals which induce harmful changes, including such as ‘the pill’, and those taken as food. The prospective parents, and the pregnant mother especially, should attempt to reach a high standard of -health, on a whole-food, and as far as possible raw-food, diet.

This will be explained in greater detail in the chapter on diet. All influences that interfere with natural processes should be avoided. Great attention should be given to the body’s needs, such as sufficient exercise, rest, social relaxation, breathing, toilet, self-expression and reception of love and affection, and so on. Undoubtedly, with many of us, it will be the loving and disciplined work of several generations attempting to live in the right way, before the bodies produced are the completely beautiful and radiantly healthy temples of the soul they should be.

There is then the other side to influencing the unborn child that is at present still smiled upon as superstition by most doctors and scientists. This is the influence upon how it will look, and specifically upon the nature of its personality. Obviously, nearly all that is written about this subject has been by those I have called the intuitive section of society. Just as these were the first to point out the physical dangers of pre-natal influence, they are also the first to point out the possibilities of psychological influence. So far, it is only the physical influence that science can see for itself. Also, much rubbish has been said and written in the name of the intuitives concerning this subject. Nevertheless, there does seem to be some very serious evidence and statements worthy of consideration. To understand these statements, we have to understand how the intuitive mind works. It does not reach its conclusions by reasoning from revealed ‘facts’. It appears, in its highest form, to directly experience things, or perceive directly without the use of intellect. The difficulty then lies in attempting to express what has been experienced. It is as difficult as a scientist attempting to explain to a layman the complex relationships of biochemical activity. Fortunately, many of these intuitive realisations are to a small extent now observed scientifically.

For instance, one of the intuitive statements is that the unborn baby has, from the start, an aware relationship with the mother. This is where we begin to have difficulty in explaining intuitive terms, simply because such issues are not common knowledge. But by ‘awareness’ is not meant thought. Nevertheless, the baby is not a dead thing. All living things have awareness in some degree, and the unborn baby is certainly not a piece of rock, but has a high level of awareness. Just as a bad relationship with the mother can cause psychological difficulties in the child, and later the adult, simply because the adult develops from the child, so can problems experienced by the unborn baby cause difficulties in the child. I have noticed in one of my own sons that from the earliest part of his life, in fact from birth, he has been far more cautious and in need of security than my other children. From the time he could speak he would never allow a fire to be left on in his room; he did not walk until three due to fear of falling. Babies are often born with psychological problems. In the case of my son, this is possibly due to the difficulty of his breech birth, and its shock and strain. In others, there is evidence to show that it has preceded birth.

Meanwhile, taking it as an unproved possibility, what can we do about it? The whole force about much that has been said in regard to pre-natal influence is its inference that one can put it on’ like a regime for slimming. This influence, from the scanty information at hand so far, is not a thing we can switch on or off. It lies in the whole realm of how the woman reacts to the fact there is another being developing within her. It lies in whether she feels resentment, fear, fulfilment, love, guilt, desire to abort, and the infinity of other human feelings. Is the baby wanted? Why is it wanted, or not wanted? Is the relationship with the coming baby a mature, problem-facing one? Some have a baby as one might have a doll, others in an attempt to cement a marriage, or through family or social pressure. All these attitudes constitute a form of relationship with the unborn, and of course the born, baby, and have tremendous influence upon it. Any pressing psychological problems we may have, such as frigidity, feelings of uncleanness in regard to sex, great insecurity, deep depressions, and so on, also constitute a relationship that influences the baby, even prior to birth. Ideally, one should attempt to resolve such problems prior to pregnancy.

As nobody is perfect however, we cannot, and indeed it is unrealistic and itself a problem to aim at human perfection. What we can aim at is the admittance of our weaknesses and problems, and the attempt to recognise them as difficult areas that should not control the important decisions in our life. What -we can do is to see our life as a field of amazing possibilities that can be worked on, gradually moulded and released. What we can do is to attempt self-understanding, and through it growth to greater maturity and self-expression.

Let us face facts. What influences the baby most, whether born or unborn, is the whole structure of the mother and father’s personality, and all the actions and interactions that arise from this. It is unrealistic to think we can suddenly change this pattern of our moods, fears, preferences, hates and morals, just because a baby is planned or on its way. But it is not unrealistic either before or during pregnancy, to look upon oneself as a problem that can be gradually worked on and understood. We therefore have to admit that one of the greatest factors in influencing our children is what we have already done with our life. How much ability, patience, understanding, perseverance, gentleness, lovingness, co-operation, and insight we have cultivated. History proves it as at least a general fact that an Abraham Lincoln is not born from the womb of a hateful vengeful woman. It is also now recognised that any long discipline of mind, emotion or body can alter our genetic makeup. In his book Raja Yoga, Yesudian, talking on this subject, gives the example of Nijinsky, the great ballet dancer. For several generations his family had been dancers; now, the very bone structure of his foot had altered from the normal, enabling him to leap quite extraordinarily.

Special efforts during pregnancy, whether of diet, exercise, or mind, do seem to count for a lot, however. Obviously one does not have to be a great musician to give birth to a musical prodigy, or a great runner to give birth to an athlete. It helps if it is ‘in the family’, but it is by no means necessary. Again, it is the relationships between parents and child that count for most; the depth, discipline, sincerity, encouragement, example of love, that help or hinder the expression of what the child is. We do not create the child, but as parents we do hand over much in the way of physique and health, attitudes, emotions, understanding, that are the building materials, the foundation of the child’s future life as an independent being. The special discipline during pregnancy can play a very real part in this. One could, of course, quote cases like that of Amy Johnson’s mother who, during pregnancy, thought of little else except aeroplanes and flying. But such cases are unusual. What can be done is to attempt to live in as great a harmony with ourselves as possible. That is, attempt to supply what our body needs in the way of nutrition, exercise and rest. Also we can indulge in our special interests, or those things that bring great pleasure and happiness. Read again the books that have moved you, or opened depths of realisation and feeling. Listen to the music you love. Rest often. Indulge your desire to talk or cuddle or swim, or whatever it is that brings lasting fulfilment and a sense of well-being. Avoid stress as much as possible. But not in the negative sense of avoiding challenges, problems, or running away from difficulties which, if only you faced up to them, would begin to be resolved. In other words, as much as possible be yourself, your real self, the self you have always longed to be deep down, but which fears and pressures have prevented you from realising. This is all your baby requires of you. Undoubtedly though, the offering of self to Life, or God, as a channel for the expression of Life’s hidden splendour, has more influence in creating a beautiful baby than any other single factor.

If you are a praying person, pray with all your feelings for a baby that will bring great Light to the world.

Gayelord Hauser tells us, in his book The New Diet Does It, of an interesting approach to this question. He says:

Once when I was in Paris, I stood in a museum admiring ‘The Thinker’ by Rodin. Beside me was a young American woman, an acquaintance, attractive enough by ordinary standards. On close scrutiny, however, her face showed lines of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. She had told me her story; how the children had been ill all winter; there had been a siege of pneumonia besides continuous colds; and a small son had been operated on for mastoid. The winter had left her so fatigued from worry and sleepless nights and hard physical work that her husband had insisted on the holiday in Paris and had arranged for his mother to stay with the children. Extract from The New Diet Does 

Such stories are common enough, but invariably sad to anyone who holds the conviction that these illnesses are needless and can be prevented.

‘How I wish I might be an artist,’ she exclaimed wistfully. ‘It must be wonderful to be able to create such beauty for others to see. I spend my life cooking, shopping and nursing the children. I’m nothing, really, just a Hausfrau. It makes one seem so useless.’

She had touched on one of my deepest convictions: that every mother can be an artist, a sculptor, that she has it in her power to create and help develop live, vital beings.

‘Don’t you see that you can create beauty in building beautiful children?’ I asked her. ‘Rodin first worked in clay, then in bronze; you work with living flesh. Just as he moulded his works of art, so you are moulding the bodies and spirits of your children. Just as he spent hours in shaping and reshaping clay, you spend hours in shopping and cooking. When the cooking is done with care, and foods which build health are purchased, when those foods are prepared to save their vital elements to build beauty, then the kitchen has dignity as great as the studio of any famous artist.’’ See Vitamins – Little Wonders

Gradually I could see her wistfulness and dissatisfaction disappear; her attitude toward housework and child care changed.

Years later when I met her at a lecture I was giving in Philadelphia she showed me three wonderful, glowing children. She had created three works of art which were beautiful not only in body, but in mind and spirit.

Link to chapter three

Breathing In and Out of Labour

Everything that we do involves our whole being. But of course different activities alter the balance between the parts of our total self. For instance, if I am swimming, some of the blood may have been taken away from the digestive tract to be circulated in the voluntary muscles. Thus the rate of digestion may be slowed but the activity of the muscles, heart, and lungs greatly increased. While swimming I am probably not thinking deeply, or aware of finer emotional feelings not connected with the physical sensations of the water. On the other hand, if I am sitting reading, my digestion can go ahead undisturbed, I am probably little aware of my physical sensations if the book is interesting, but am much more alive to the world of thought, memory, emotion and comparison. In fact, different activities concentrate our awareness on the various parts of our being; as in sleep, where what remains of consciousness contacts parts of self usually right outside our range of awareness.
Unconscious tensions and fears

If we carry this illustration farther, it also becomes obvious that habits we have formed in the past, often quite unconsciously, largely control situations in the present. For instance, my wife was nearly drowned as a young girl, and now has a dread of swimming. Because of this her emotional reaction to the water creates physical tension and timidness, making it difficult to trust her body to it. Of course, such habit patterns can be changed and gradually replaced by new ones. To do this,however, often requires us to become very conscious of the old habit and what it is doing to our body and emotions. A friend who once broke a bone in his foot, because of the pain, learnt to walk on the side of his foot, and still carried on walking this way years later, even though the break had healed perfectly. But many of the things that hurt us are not physical. As a child or even as an adult, someone we love and trust may have badly hurt us, and without realising it we withdraw our feelings in order not to be hurt again. Just as my wife cannot trust her body to water because of her original terror, so we, if hurt in love, may also find it difficult to once again trust our own feelings to the intimate relationship of sharing ourselves deeply with someone else. I wish to stress again that we may be quite unaware of this.

We have already seen how such unconscious tensions or fears may cause us to take on a posture of withdrawal or tenseness during intercourse or childbirth. If you are now wondering what all this has got to do with breathing and giving birth, it is simply that 1 am trying to show how all these different aspects of life are linked. Also, just as when the actual birth occurs, all that we have done in the way of exercises, diet, relaxation and development of helpful habit patterns, is all brought together in the one event, so in our actual study and practice I do not wish you to lose sight of the unity of these different things. After all, while you are having the baby, you obviously do not want to have the bother of directing attention from relaxing the back, to correct breathing, to surrendering, to relaxing the face, and so on. Better to have one routine that covers the lot, than a method so complex it becomes impractical. In describing it however a chapter is devoted to each aspect of the one routine to explain it more adequately. In any case, in our hurried world, who is going to have time to practise all these different techniques? Therefore we must attempt to incorporate each with the other.
The need for air

Before such incorporation can take place, we have to be breathing correctly. The habits arising out of emotional tension influence many people’s breathing patterns and have to be corrected before proceeding on to further methods. This is important, as faulty breathing cannot help but place a strain on the body, especially that of the pregnant woman. Many people tend to forget the body’s enormous need for oxygen, and that the baby breathes through the mother’s lungs. To indicate the importance of air to the body and soul (for breathing influences consciousness), there is an ancient and much quoted yoga statement, which says that while we can go without food for weeks and yet remain alive, or without water for days, we can only go without air for a few minutes. In another way we can get a similar picture of the need for air. During each day we may drink about a quart or more of liquid; we may eat several pounds in weight of food; but in the same period we breathe in about 375 cubic feet of air.

As far as science is concerned, oxygen combines with carbon in the body cells and forms carbon dioxide. This union produces heat and energy. If the supply of oxygen is cut off to particular cells, the flame of life literally goes out in them. If it is reduced below their needs, they are made to function inadequately. Yoga, and some aspects of modern research, such as that done by Dr Reich, also see the breathing rhythm as an expression of life itself. Reich has postulated a cosmic energy radiating from the sun, which he named ‘orgone’, which when acting upon matter expresses its innate qualities by producing our form, movement, and consciousness. One of the basic movements expressed when this cosmic energy activates a physical form is pulsation, or contraction and expansion, tension and relaxation. This we see in the spontaneous sexual movements already discussed; also in breathing, and childbirth. Every spontaneous movement is in fact an expression of this relationship between what yoga calls prana, and Reich calls orgone, and the body. Heartbeats and breathing are particularly good examples of this.

If this idea is difficult to grasp, and it seems hard to understand how an energy can cause spontaneous physical movements, insight might be gained by thinking about a simple example. I believe everybody must have had the experience of hearing a pin, or other small object, vibrate in a vase or on a shelf, when a particular note or sound is made either on the television or by passing traffic. Particles of sand on a piece of stretched cellophane will also vibrate when we sing or speak near it. This is how the telephone works. If we realise that our body is a very complex receiving instrument, and can be made to respond in the most amazing ways to the sea of energy in which we live, this is a very basic idea of the yoga philosophy regarding the cause of existence. But while the example of a pin bathed in the sea of energy we call sound, and sometimes moved by it when there is resonance between pin and sound, helps us to understand the resonance between our physical form and the energy which enlivens it, yet something remains unexplained. It is that the pin has no choice as to whether it will surrender to the spontaneous movement, or fight against it through fear, habit, or self will. As, in our case, consciousness and decision, or will, are produced by energy interacting with matter, we can interfere with the instinctive patterns of expression that arise in us.

It is strange that the thing created, even though it depends utterly upon its source, can yet interfere with that which creates it. This opens up the possibility of seriously injuring the natural function of creative on created. In other words, it is like a car destroying some of its wiring or turning the ignition control, and thus advancing or retarding the ignition, and putting the engine out of tune. As far as yoga is concerned, this is the major cause of misery in our life. Knowingly or unknowingly our will has been directed against that which creates us, causing it to malfunction in our being. (I would like to point out for those who are thinkers with scientific background, this explanation is only analogical. Yoga does not separate matter and energy, or matter, energy, and mind. It does see that what we call energy interacts with what we call matter, but it points out that these are merely polarities of a single thing just as the left hand can interact with the right hand, yet are one and the same body.)

As I hope you will begin to see, the golden thread of this book is to give methods which will help you to find your natural, spontaneous source of health, love and life. Throughout the book the attempt is made to let go of those habits and fears that are acting against your own innate nature. This chapter on breathing follows the same aim. Although in theory it is sufficient to surrender our will, habits and fears to the natural and spontaneous workings of our being, in practice we often need to help the process along. We do not need to look for the reason. It is that many of our fears or habits are so deep rooted or unconscious, that we cannot let go of them even when we decide to. This is because we no longer have hold of Them – they have hold of us. Thus, a man who, despite the fact he loves his wife and has decided to be faithful, yet allies with several other women, does so because despite his decision, his passions have too strong a hold on him.

Analysis of our breathing pattern

Therefore, before we can integrate our breathing practice into the exercise routine already given, we need to view the overall pattern of our breathing, and maybe help it into line a little. To analyse our own breathing pattern, a simple method can be used. Sit in a chair, or kneel on a yoga blanket, hips on heels, back straight. Put one hand on chest, one on solar plexus, just breathe in as far as possible without letting the chest rise. If this is successful the hand on the solar plexus will rise, without the one on the chest moving much at all. A point will be reached in the inhalation where your cannot breathe in any more without moving the hand on the chest. At this point allow the chest to rise until full inhalation is reached. As this happens the hand on the solar plexus will probably drop back a little. This is quite normal. If your pregnancy is fairly well advanced there will be less ability to raise the solar plexus hand first, but there should still be some ability to do so.

This little test shows us whether we have the natural cycle of abdominal breathing. If you cannot breathe in and raise the solar plexus hand first, then wrong habits or tensions are interfering with normal breathing. The fact that the abdomen does not rise shows that your breathing is also inadequate, and the lungs are not being sufficiently filled with air. This will obviously decrease the amount of oxygen available within the lungs – and, just as important, the waste products that pass out of the body via the lungs will not be properly eliminated. This is a sort of thoracic constipation. During pregnancy it is more important than ever to make sure that our elimination from the lungs is sufficient, as the baby also eliminates some of its own poisons through the mother’s lungs. We do not have to be fanatical about this; but we do have a goal in view, that of helping nature’ to produce a beautiful and healthy child. Efficient breathing is part of the activities that together mould and form the baby.
Another test for tensions

Another test to determine how much our own breathing pattern is controlled or disrupted by tension is as follows: Sit or kneel as before. Take a slow deep breath in. Now breathe out rapidly until the lungs are as empty as possible. If this out-breathing is in one unbroken stream from ‘full’ to ’empty’, then all is well. Many people will find however, that try as they may, they cannot exhale in an unbroken stream. There will be ‘catches’ where they stop for a moment and then continue. Clinical work done by a number of therapists has shown that this disturbed exhalation is a sign that the person is controlled by a fear, resulting in tension. Such tension not only influences the breathing of the person, but also the relationship with other people, and events in life. This usually produces unsatisfactory sex life, and other emotional or life problems. Because we are concentrating here only on yoga as it directly relates to pregnancy we cannot go into a long description of how to deal with such problems in detail. But at least a general method must be given because such tensions usually cause unnecessary difficulties during confinement.

The following breathing methods are not necessary for those whose breathing cycle is normal. They are recommended for those who, in the above tests, found that their natural breathing was interfered with. If you found that you could not breathe abdominally and move the solar plexus hand, it is sufficient to frequently practise the movement until it is attained. The aim is to make proper abdominal breathing into a habit. This will require persistence and patience. Our ingrained habits arise because we have performed the activity hour after hour. In the attempt to breathe correctly we not only have to instil in ourselves the correct pattern, but we also have to eradicate the old method.
Methods

Therefore, if you do not breathe abdominally, for ten minutes after the postures sit or lie comfortably, one hand on the chest, one on the solar plexus. Breathing slowly and fully, try to breathe raising the lower hand first as already described. Keep steadily at this for ten minutes, and keep at it each day until you eventually learn how to do it. Once you get the hang of it, you can naturally dispense with the use of the hands. Also, once the method is established, concentrate on it at odd moments of the day, such as while out walking. In this case breathe in and out in time with your strides. For instance three strides breathing in, three strides breathing out – or whatever is easiest for you. By concentrating on it frequently like this, it will quickly become a habit.

If you are unable to breathe out in one smooth flow, the recommended exercise is as follows: Sit upright in a chair, or cross-legged on the floor, or kneel on the floor with the hips on the heels. Breathe in slowly and deeply, hold for a moment and breathe out quickly with a rush through the nose. Breath slowly in again and repeat. The aim is to gradually break down the resistance that stops the smooth exhalation. This resistance may be an emotional one. For instance, crying causes us to breathe out fully, and if the suppress ion of grief has caused us this tension then if we break through we will release a lot of grief and weeping. Of course, it may be other fears or suppressed emotions that are behind the faulty breathing. If these arise during the breathing we have to have the courage to let them out and express them.

This is a very stimulating exercise, and it is difficult to give a -general length of time to practise it. This is because some people may become slightly dizzy due to the amount of oxygen absorbed. Therefore, you will have to experiment to find your own level. I would suggest at least fifteen repetitions, and not more than one hundred. Practise it daily until the breakthrough to normal expiration occurs. Then, if abdominal breathing is possible, pass on to the ordinary breathing practices mentioned later. Otherwise practise abdominal breathing. If your breathing is abdominal, with a steady exhalation, only general breathing methods need be practised. I stress particularly the importance of deep rhythmic breathing while walking as already described.

For hundreds of years yoga has taught a variety of breathing practices. Some of these are aimed at calming and stilling the mind, others at cleansing the body, others at oxygenating the cells. During childbirth one of the greatest needs is to keep the muscles of the uterus well supplied with oxygen so that it does not become exhausted under the pressure of work. Also, the baby itself may develop an enormous oxygen debt unless the breathing is sufficient during the birth. I am indebted to Erna Wright’s description of how psycho-prophylaxis uses breathing methods during childbirth. I have attempted to describe here how to use the traditional yoga methods however, although it must be admitted that as far as I can see it is psycho-prophylaxis that has had the genius to pioneer the use of these practices.

Just as a man who is walking and suddenly starts running will immediately need more oxygen, so in childbirth there are different levels of needs as the body contracts and relaxes. If we completely expressed our instincts, we might pant as a dog does, when contraction occurs. However, being often out of harmony with our instincts it is a wise insurance to prepare ourselves through training, to meet the need as it arises. The following breathing practice should therefore be done every day while relaxing. This should be done whether you have perfected abdominal breathing or not.

Take up your position of relaxation. Begin your relaxation as described in the chapter dealing with it. When you reach the point of tensing parts of the body and at the same time relaxing the rest of the body, incorporate the following: Before you begin the contraction breathe fully but slowly as in the abdominal breathing method. After three or four breaths say to yourself mentally ‘contraction beginning’. Now gently contract both arms, relaxing all the rest of the body. As you do this begin the following breathing method. Breathe in through the nose as in the abdominal breathing, but when it comes to breathing out, blow out through the mouth just strongly enough to make a blowing noise. Take three breaths in this way, then tense the arms as hard as possible by, bringing the hands to the shoulders as when tensing the biceps. As you do this go into the next stage of breathing. Imagine you are a dog panting. Breathe in and out through the mouth, blowing as you breathe out, to make the characteristic panting noise. This is approximately one out breath per second. Hold the tension and carry on breathing in this way for ten seconds, which is stage three breathing. The others are stage one and stage two, respectively.

At the end of the ten breaths in stage three, relax the arm tension slightly and drop into stage two breathing for three breaths. After this relax the arms and entire body, and drop into stage one breathing, at the same time saying mentally, contraction finished’.

It is fairly obvious that what is being attempted here is to perfect the ability to change the breathing rate at will according to the need of the moment, and at the same time be able to relax all of the body not being contracted. This will undoubtedly seem extraordinarily complicated at first, but practising each session will gradually perfect it so that ‘on the day’ you will be adept at it. When you have taken three or four breaths in stage one go through the whole procedure again, but this time tense the right arm and left leg instead of both arms. Obviously, at the same time you must keep all the rest of the body relaxed.

After having repeated the cycle using right arm and left leg, go through it one more time using left arm and right leg. When this is finished carry on with the relaxation as described.

When you first start this practice of relaxation and breathing, not only will it seem very complicated, as already said, but it will also take a long time to pass through the various stages of relaxation as described. After a few weeks, however, you will find that the strange ideas are becoming meaningful, the routine is becoming second nature and the whole thing will take far less time. But as a whole it should take at least half an hour.

Erna Wright gives a much more complex method, which I am sure in general is very necessary to achieve the pain-free birth aimed at. Noting the tremendous difference that diet and supplementation makes on the length and progress of birth it is unnecessary to go to such lengths, if the diet given is followed. Many women have a problem-free birth simply through taking the dietary supplements of C, E and calcium. My own wife, during her last pregnancy and eating largely a raw-food diet, practising the yoga postures and taking vitamin supplements, was only three-quarters of an hour in labour. Therefore, as long as the diet suggested is being used, far less discipline need be applied in these other ways, as the vitamin E alone aids oxygenation of tissues, the calcium decreases pain, and the C increases energy level and recuperation. In a later chapter, more details will be given as to how you use the breathing stages on the actual day. Meanwhile, once you have really established the breathing method, after about two months of practice, they need only be practised once each week.

Movements to Aid in Pregnancy

Chapter one of Yoga and Childbirth

Being Movement

Despite having taught yoga postures for a number of years, I nevertheless feel that the best exercise is that which expresses our functions. There is nothing more fulfilling and satisfying than movements in which, and through which, we express our feelings, our longings, our needs and our life. Stop for a moment and consider the hundreds of movements you make each day, whereby you fulfill yourself, provide your needs, express your feelings or vent your anger. Take some of the most basic movements and postures such as going to the toilet, eating, breathing, working to provide your needs, loving each other, holding hands, having a baby. Without going any further than these few basic movements, let us look at them and see what a wonder of satisfaction or frustration can lie behind them.

Going to the toilet, for instance; what is it about as a movement? It is obvious in this that we fulfil a need on the part of our body to be rid of waste. In fulfilling this need fully we have a sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Something has triggered off a movement in the muscles of the colon, and if this urge to move is not allowed expression, then this part of our being is not allowed to satisfy itself. In that degree we are unsatisfied.

Similarly, eating requires movements of the body, some gross, some subtle. The way we perform these movements, the quality or poverty of being we bring to this activity, largely controls, once again, the degree of pleasure and satisfaction we harvest from the whole process of eating and digestion. Many people have seen in their own experience that to eat in the relaxed company of friends produces in them quite a different state of digestion and well-being than to eat alone. It is also well known that to eat while emotionally upset very often leads to vomiting, or at least to impoverished digestion and absorption. So it is not only the movement, but the quality, emotional tone, and fullness of expression that we bring to it that largely controls the degree of satisfaction we reap from eating.

In our breathing this is particularly noticeable, as it is a process we can watch more easily. In doing so we can see that our breathing intimately mirrors not only our physical activity, but also the state of our soul. Not only does our breathing quicken or slow as we exert ourselves or rest, but also, while sitting reading a book, or when absorbed in a play, our breathing reflects our emotional state, either being long and slow in peace, or agitated in emotional turbulence. So much is this so that psychological problems can literally be diagnosed by an examination of one’s breathing.

Work should be fulfilling

When we come to the movements we make in our work, in a general sense, the man or woman who works hours in a garden, planting and hoeing, to grow food to fulfil their needs, is having a far more fulfilling exercise than a person who goes to a gymnasium simply to ‘get enough exercise.

This undoubtedly needs further comment lest it be misunderstood. I am not saying that the gardener will be healthier, stronger, or more exercised. I am saying that in general there will be more satisfaction and fulfilment in it when there is a direct connection between a fulfilment of a need or love, and the activity performed. If the person in question sees that the produce grown fulfils the need for food; if he likes this form of activity and is also expressing his sense of pleasure; if he is also intellectually interested in the technical side of the garden – then he is literally fulfilling himself in innumerable ways. Not only does he use his physical energy to provide for his physical needs, but in doing so he experiences pleasure, satisfies the need of the mind to occupy itself in learning, study and application; and besides all this, the need for fresh air and sunlight is fulfilled; and possibly in some cases, especially in flower gardening, his sense of beauty also.

Obviously I have used gardening merely as an example. What I am trying to emphasise is the need, in our activities, to satisfy ourselves as fully as we can. If we do not recognise our needs then we may easily overlook them and feel incomplete. If we do not find activities which satisfy several parts of our being in the one action3 as in the above example, then we may either be rushing around trying to fit in innumerable different activities to satisfy different needs, or remain largely frustrated.

We can see more of these needs in the act of love, and its movements; or just in cuddling. Likewise, the birth of the baby expresses definite movements, a reflection of Life itself. We can therefore begin to see that our life is largely a matter of being ourselves as fully as we can, and in this, finding the reward of pleasure and satisfaction. Having a baby falls into a similar category. Margaret Brady, in her book Having a Baby Easily, says, ‘It is a CREATIVE function. It is an ATHLETIC function. It is a SPIRITUAL function.’ This is a very helpful definition, because it aids us to see that, being an ‘athletic’ function, or at least involving as it does muscular activity of a strenuous kind, it therefore requires the mother to be capable of such activity.

I do feel, however, that this definition may make us overlook the fact that in being a mother it is not just parts of our life that are involved. Really, our whole being is involved, from heights to depths – body, soul, and spirit. This is why I believe yoga has such a lot to teach us about childbirth. But Margaret Brady is certainly right when she says, ‘Since it is also an ATHLETIC function, she must have the NECESSARY ATHLETIC TRAINING for the event.’ But, as we have seen, the quality and fulfilment of this ‘athletic event’ is conditioned by the emotions we bring to bear on it; our intellectual interest and involvement, which is shown in the very act of reading this book; our relationship with our source of life, and the way we link up our other interests with pregnancy.

Movement is essential to life

Looking at exercise from a slightly different viewpoint, the medical or physiological, we can see that movement is essential to life. In fact, movement is the very expression of life. One of the most obvious differences between the living and the dead is movement, for while we live, movement never ceases. Whereas machines wear out through use, the body literally thrives on being made to exercise its systems and possibilities. It comes to the peak of its efficiency through being used. This is so obvious to us that it needs no argument. Our joints become stiff with inactivity, supple with use; our muscles small and flabby with disuse, large and sleek with activity. Great activity and deep relaxation are laws of the universe, as we 11 as of our body.

Recent research has proved that much of what we call ageing is due not to ‘natural’ processes, but to lack of correct nutrition, exercise and rest. People like Hauser, Kordel and Bragg are proof of their own philosophy in regard to diet, exercise and rest. They are all ‘elderly’, but each has little or no sign of ageing. Modern medical research has uncovered many of the processes which cause this, but in general the inadequacy of diet and exercise can be summed up in its results by seeing what it does to our bones. Bones are not dead structures, but are made of living bone cells, called osteocytes. As in all other cellular structures, there is a continuous process of breakdown and repair. In many people, especially in the aged, the process of building up does not keep pace with the process of breakdown. This produces weak, fragile bones. One often hears of old people falling and breaking a thigh or hip. In fact, what usually happens is that the bone has become so weakened it has broken and caused them to fall. It is now realised that such fragility in the bones is not a process of age but is due to the lack of sex hormones in the blood and inadequate exercise. The sex hormones stimulate production of osteocytes. Similarly, muscular activity puts strains on the skeleton, and this stimulates not only the flow of blood but also the production of bone cells. These bone cells use proteins, calcium salts, and vitamins C and D in building fresh ‘bone Thus it becomes obvious that lack of sufficient exercise and nutrients can cause degenerative changes in the body. The degeneration of the bones is but one example of such changes throughout the whole body.

17. Be an oyster. Deep in the sea, oysters silently grow their lovely pearls. Be an oyster, hinged at the waist. Your baby is your pearl, and you are closing your shell around it. As with other postures, hold it until the feeling fades. But as you do it, feel the hard shell formed by legs, trunk and arms. All your life is enclosed by the shell. When you have finished, slowly open again.

18. Be an earthquake. Lastly, be an earthquake. Do it in any position you like, lying or standing. Imagine tremendous tensions and pressures slowly building up deep inside you. These are the anger and violence of the earth. Gradually feel them build up, and then maybe just a twitch as the first sign of the enormous release hits the surface. Then the whole earth shakes and vibrates as the wonderful release is accomplished. Let yourself go into it as fully as you are capable. Shout, groan, bang with the arms and legs, roll about, or whatever is in you to do. Don’t be held back in any of these ‘Being Movements by a sense of foolishness. These things are tremendously helpful, and we are not just playing for the sake of it. A whole chapter could be written on just what happens psychologically, physically and spiritually when we really involve ourselves in being these movements. But find out for yourself. Do them and see how wonderful they are; how relaxed and fulfilled you feel afterwards.

19. The birth position. After the last relaxation of the previous series, put a pillow under your head, draw the knees up, feet apart, hands by the side. The feet should be about a yard apart, knees fairly high. This is the birth position used almost exclusively throughout the civilised world. One of the few -disadvantages of this posture, as against the squat, is that there is an inclination to arch the back and tense the genital and rectal area during contractions. This was why we practised the tensions and relaxing in the squat position. Therefore try to tense the abdominal muscles while keeping the lower back relaxed and genital area untensed. In a sense, as will be explained later, the process of birth is not unlike certain parts of the spontaneous movements that occur during orgasm. This may seem far-fetched when compared with the average woman’s experience of birth. Nevertheless, there is some evidence to support the idea that birth should be as wild and wonderful as complete orgasm. That in most cases it is not, may simply point to the probability that most of us cannot fully surrender to spontaneous emotion and movements, and that the muscles of most women are not sufficiently well exercised or well nourished enough in the sense of present nutritional research. But it is hoped that these outlines of exercise and diet will go a long way to remedying this.

Earlier we talked about natural or instinctive postures the body assumes. it was said that because we often deny or prevent our instinctive drives we often fail to be able to assume these spontaneous postures and thus cannot experience the sense of pleasure and fulfilment arising with them. This is very true in the sex act, and also in childbirth. Virtually everyone recognises, even though they may not be very conscious of it, that during labour the contractions are spontaneous. Just as a deeper level of our being controls digestion and heartbeat, which we can interfere with or modify according to our emotions and tensions so also this deeper instinctive, or bio-energetic level, causes contractions and the process of birth. If our habits of tension or emotional reaction interfere with the natural development of such processes, pain and dissatisfaction can occur.

Thanks to the amazing work of Wilhelm Reich as expressed in his book The Function of the Orgasm, it is easy to see how much habits interfere with instinctive drives, which subsequently become painful instead of blissful. For instance, in the sex act spontaneous movements cause the abdominal muscles to contract, swivelling the pelvis forward and upwards. In the man this causes deeper penetration; in the woman a relaxation and ‘giving’ of the genitals. When lying on the floor, this movement causes a rising of the hips, but not of the lumbar region. In fact the hollow in the small of the back disappears, bringing that part of the back flat on to the floor. Also the head drops back and the mouth usually opens. When habits of emotional tension interfere with this spontaneous movement, it often happens that due to unconscious fear of genital pleasure, the hips draw hack instead of swivelling up. This makes the hollow in the back more pronounced. Or else genital tension causes the body to arch stiffly up causing the lower back to lift off the floor. Such tensions, which do not allow the genital pleasure to develop into the bliss of orgasm, instead cause such feelings to be experienced as disgusting, frightening, hateful, repugnant, or painful. We can learn an enormous amount from this in regard to childbirth. In a similar way, unconscious fears or tension can cause either a drawing back of the genitals during contractions, or an arching of the body upwards. The instinctive ecstasy of childbirth is also in the same way stopped from developing.

The following advice may cause shock in some quarters; it is nevertheless time that people know the details of this method based on modern psychology and ancient yoga. If some people doubt that such methods have ever been a part of yoga, I would agree that in this form, probably not. But any study of Tantric yoga, its principles and practices, will assure the reader that the method is developed from yoga principles, where the study of sexual relationship as an inner and outer fact are used. It is a bad reflection on our society that I should even feel the need to apologise, for the following are but natural expressions of our feelings.

Of course, it is all very well talking about this, but is there anything we can do that will be of practical help? Well, we can watch our sexual intercourse to see whether we allow the spontaneous movements to possess us without fear. If we observe the tensions that result in pulling back the hips or arching the back, we can attempt to relax them and face the fears that underlie them. For if the tension is caused by a feeling of guilt, sin, and dirtiness in regard to intercourse, then we will certainly have to face these feelings in relaxing the tension. You can also practise the movement and feeling of sexual ‘giving’ and surrender -in this posture.

In this technique, use your imagination freely. Hold in mind what has already been said about the spontaneous posture. Now imagine your response to intercourse. Allow your imagination to express itself in movement, letting the hips curve up, the head drop back quite loose and free to move, and the breath come in quick panting. Let all tension in the genitals drop away and the feeling of delight arising in the genitals develop. The aim is to let genital pleasure happen so that it relaxes all but the abdominal contraction that pulls the hips up. We also aim to become very conscious of the emotional and physical feeling of genital ‘giving’ and sexual surrender, or surrender to sexual feelings without sense of sin, guilt, or tension.

When this is achieved, allow any spontaneous movements of the hips to continue, although at first this may be jerky. Now realise that the contractions in this case are not to give your love -and being more deeply to your partner, but to give your love and being to the world in the form of your baby. Nevertheless, the movement is the same, and if successful, the joy is the same also. Please realise that you are practising this movement and giving so that at childbirth it will be habitual. That is, the hips up without hollowing the back; the genitals relaxed, surrendered to spontaneous movement.

20. Toning-up movements. While the above ways of ‘Being -Movement’ are quite different to the ‘yoga postures’ we usually read about, such postures are only a tiny part of yoga methods. Such ways of exercising as I have given have been used for centuries, but are little known. Likewise, there are some consciously motivated movements also used by various yogis, which are a great help in toning up our body. These are very simple, but have quite a profound influence on the body. When you first use them, do so very gently and for only about thirty seconds. But as you become accustomed to them, gradually lengthen the time of practice to five or even ten minutes. At first they may cause great discomfort inside the body because they massage the internal organs. This is why you must do them gently and only for a short period. If you patiently persist, however, these discomforts will gradually disappear, and sometimes even illnesses are cured.

The first of these movements is done by standing with feet slightly apart, body relaxed, knees free to move, and not stiff. Then slowly start circling the shoulders forward, up to the ears and back and down. Let the head move as it wishes. When you are doing this easily, slightly bend the knees and let the bottom jut back a little. Do this very slowly at first to get the feel of the movement. Now begin to straighten the knees and bring the hips forward and up. In other words, in time with the shoulder circling, let a wavelike movement occur with the hips. Eventually the hips are going backwards and forwards as the knees are bending and straightening.

The next movement is very simple, yet again it has profound results. Stand upright and relaxed. Very slowly begin to circle the hips in a clockwise direction. The feet need to be apart to help balance, and at first the head stays more or less in one place, just the hips circling sideways right, backwards, left and forwards. As you get the feel of it, let the circling become wider and wider, even bending slightly forward and back as the hips swing round. In the first movement the hips were going backwards and forwards. In this one they are going round and round. After circling clockwise, then circle anti-clockwise.

The last of these movements takes a bit more energy, but is again very simple. Stand with feet apart and bend the knees slightly, taking up a position skiers or skaters take – trunk forward, bottom back. Then begin to move the hips from side to side while remaining in the position. At first keep the trunk and arms still until you get used to the movement; then move your arms as if running or skating in time with the hip movements, but do not move the feet. So in fact it is like skating standing still.

Considering that it is advisable to also practise daily relaxation and breathing, the above complete exercises may need too much time. It is therefore suggested that through personal experiment you work out a routine for yourself which fits your timetable and abilities. I would suggest rather than cut out any of the postures or exercises, they should be practised a few on one day, a few another, until you have done them all, and then -start again. Or at least incorporate all the series over a period of several sessions. But if you have the energy and the time, practise them all daily. Always rest for some minutes after the postures.

Another point is that although the routine is directly designed for the already pregnant, it is nevertheless important to realise that whenever possible parenthood should be taken very -.seriously, seriously enough to prepare before conception in as many ways as possible. Endeavouring to get one’s body in tiptop condition is basic to all such preparation. Osteopathic adjustment to the spine; attempts to cure any digestive problems as indicted by acidity, coated tongue, etc.; treatment of any anaemia or weakness; and general all-round fitness; these should all be part of any such regime. This may sound like too much to ask. But frankly, the more you put into parenthood, the more you will get out of it. Certainly it will be more of a personally creative event.

Link to chapter two

Yoga and Japan Part 2

A Japanese Yoga Class

Taking part in the yoga class, my wife Hyone and I could easily have mistaken it for a class in Birmingham or London. The same leotards or jeans being worn by the women in the class; the same postures being practised: the same situation of teacher leading a group, and the same quiet, centred stretching and relaxation. Yet we were in Japan, and all the people, apart from ourselves, were brown skinned Orientals. A small shrine to the gods of Shinto was fixed high on the wall in one corner, the custom for all large rooms and each house. Also, something that fascinated me in the room was an extraordinary 2ft square paraffin heater fired by electricity, giving no smell whatsoever. It heated the large room to the sort of warmth needed for conformable yoga.

KOSEI MORI, the teacher, is short compared with Europeans. He is 40 years old, married, with three children. The hall in which the class is being taken is not simply a hired hall, but Kosei’s HOME and yoga centre. The hall is on the first floor of a building that does not appear very large from the outside, but has a small shop front displaying goods and signs to do with the classes Kosei takes. Although there were only a few people in the class we attended, being in the afternoon, Kosei estimated there were 5 to 6 hundred members associated with the centre, which is his full time work.

Because the centre has to support him and his family, Kosei charges about £1.70 per person. He also advertises, and we had first seen mention of the centre on a bus poster. In Japan, buses are full of advertisements.

From our point of view, Kosei’s approach to yoga is very modern. He does not attempt to be a guru, but has the pupil teacher relationship common in the West. The classes themselves also have to fulfil the popular demand for a situation where a group of people can practise exercises and stretches to keep physically fit and, in the case of the ladies, attractive. The centre also has treatment rooms, sells health aids such as vitamins, and is geared to peoples self help needs regarding health. So on the surface anyway, there is very little oriental mystery about the centre. Like most of the many full-time yoga centres in Japan, it caters for the practical needs of people in a large town.

However, Kosei does see his work as being something more than altering the surface shape and flexibility of people. He has travelled to India, and tries to keep his class presentation firmly based on yogic traditions. His own teacher is a Japanese man named Sahoda, who is well known in Japan for his teachings and writings on yoga. But Kosei also has links with the Sivananda Divine Life Society in India. His great ambition is to enable many people to experience the change yoga can make in their life. His statement is that “being healthy is being happy.”

Before his full time involvement with yoga Kosei was a successful fashion designer. His interest in yoga developed out of seeing that many people were beautiful on the exterior, few had the same sort of beauty within themselves. Even with most of the forms of keeping healthy, he feels they are geared only to growth and health of body, not to mind and insight into life also. His particular love of yoga arises out of his certainty that it deals with the whole person, and leads to an inner growth. “You know,” he said “that when you are using yoga something inside as well as outside is changing. This change leads toward a wider love; love to all life.”

The inner change Kosei spoke of, he felt was something of prime importance. Because of the increasing amount of individual and social breakdown, he believes a harmonious relationship with ones own being can be the most important factor in survival.

The postures Kosei used in the class were all classic postures, such as the Bow, The Triangle, The Cobra, The Plough. This, more than anything else, shows his adherence to Indian traditions. After every series of three or four stretches he led the class into one or two minutes of relaxation in the Corpse posture. At the end of the postures he used five minutes of gentle breath control, then a longer relaxation. He stresses the teaching of relaxation, during, between and after the postures. At no time during his demonstration of the postures did his face or body show any signs of strain. The actual techniques of relaxation he uses are the well know intentional relaxation by tensing and relaxing each part of the body.

Kosei has been involved in yoga for nine years and his centre open for three. Visiting his centre, in the midst of a large and busy city – Kanazawa – the most powerful impression for me was the universality of yoga in the world today. The postures, the approach, the aims, were so much the same as classes on the other side of the world, one cannot help but see the same spirit, the same breath of life in them all.

When we left the centre over an hour after we arrived, we were confronted by something I can’t imagine finding elsewhere. We had taken a taxi to the centre, and on emerging from the building, there was the same taxi waiting nearby in the busy road. As soon as he saw us he hurried out of his car to present us with an umbrella we had left in the car. For over an hour he had gone backwards and forwards in the hope of finding us again. But that is part of the yoga of Japan.

Buddhist yoga in Japan

The friends who had invited me to teach in Japan had arranged for me to meet Buddhist monks, and some teachers and practitioners of traditional Japanese techniques of health and harmony. As my visit was comparatively short these meetings could not continue to the depth I would have liked, but are nevertheless worth sharing. Just as Japan took Buddhism and developed particular facets of it in an extraordinary way, such as in Zen; so I believe other spiritual teachings and practical therapeutic techniques have been developed by the Japanese into their own forms of ‘yoga’ or ways to harmony.

The first Buddhist ‘monk’ I was taken to meet was in charge of a fairly modern sect. The monk was old but alert, completely shaven head, many gold teeth, and with a feeling of sureness and calm which is found in some old people who have come to terms with themselves and life. I was surprised and interested when Tomiko, my friend and interpreter, told me the ‘monk’ was a women. She had adopted a son who was training to be the monk of the temple when she died. Squatting on our heels we were served clear green tea and small wrapped sweets. Apparently most Buddhist sects do not have weekly or frequent services in which worshippers take part. The public only visit a temple on special occasions, such as marriage, or certain festivals during the year. This temple was different. Those who supported the temple visited frequently.

As I did not have time to gradually learn from these two monks I soon asked what particular techniques of meditation, healing or consciousness expansion they taught. Their response was very guarded and I was told the traditional Buddhist teaching that you could not find anything through the efforts of the mind or rigorous use of ‘techniques’. Several questions I asked were thrown back to me in that way, and I began to despair that I would be allowed a glimpse into the inner life of these two human beings who had devoted their lives to one of the forms of Buddhism.

Ritual instruments

I then tried a different approach. The temple had many symbolic statues and pieces of equipment very similar in appearance to Tibetan ritualistic implements. So I asked the meaning and function of some of them. At this the young male monk suddenly came alive and with much enthusiasm explained their use in the rituals. Most of them, such as the horsehair fly whisk, the bell, the incense, were used to call the notice of the spiritual world to the monk/priest, and to ward off evil influences. It seemed, from what was being said, this aspect of Buddhism saw human consciousness moved, uplifted or dashed by the forces of mind, emotion and instinct. The ritual implements focused and directed attention in ways to helpfully deal with fears and disruptive attitudes. The subtle forces of mind could thereby be led through innate difficulties and dangers to transcendence.

The cleansing breathe

I was then shown a breath technique which seems to be widely used in Japan, and preceded the practice of meditation or prayer. Sitting on ones heels, or in a cross-legged posture one takes a deep breath and imagines all the evils and sickness or darkness leaving the body as one expels the air. As one breathes in, one imagines breathing in infinity, or, breathing in from infinity. A cleaner feeling of this may arise if we imagine we are taking in some part or feeling of all things. The outbreath and in-breath, with the images of expelling darkness and inhaling all things, are repeated twice more.

By the end of the meeting we were sharing real warmth and enthusiastic contact. As I was going the young monk pointed to his fairly long hair and said “I have stopped shaving my head, for a while at least, because I have recently married.” We both shared laughter when I replied that I had already had my hair long for some time, and I was now beginning to shorten it.”

A Japanese yoga teacher

Toward the end of my stay I met two people who added much to my experience of yoga in Japan. The first was Masaharu Iwasaki, a young man who acted as my interpreter during my days in Kyoto. He works as an acupuncturist and yoga teacher. He described his yoga class as having little to do with postures, mostly taking as its theme breath control and meditations. He explained to me that one of the oldest forms of therapeutic yoga in Japan was still used by some Buddhist monks. It consisted of the patient recounting to the monk the story of their life starting from the present and moving backwards. Masaharu San stressed that particular attention was given to relationships, and the person was encouraged and helped to feel any anger, tears or pain they still had in connection with past events or people.

Later I met Yuzuru Katagiri, who is a lecturer at Kyoto Seika College. Yuzuru San taught me and explained many details of another traditional form of Japanese yoga called Seitai (pron. sayt-eye). This technique has similarities to an ancient form of yoga still taught in India called Shaktipat or Kriya yoga. Actually the roots or meaning of the word Seitai and Shakti are similar. Both words are to do with the release and direction of the biological or potential energy in our being.

The magic of Seitai

Seitai was brought up to date in recent time’s by Noguchi San, who taught it in the form I am going to describe. Also, Seitai has three forms. These are:

a) Katsugen Undo. This is the form of Seitai in which a person practises alone, or separately in a group.

b) Yuki. In this form two people work together, communicating by touch.

c) Soho. This is used only by, for instance, a doctor who is trained in Seitai. The word means operation or treatment, and the therapist does something to the body of the client.

Noguchi San taught that by the regular use of Seitai many illnesses or despondent feelings could he healed. This was done through the release of the self regulatory healing energies in ones system expressing as spontaneous movements. These energies or functions are particularly at work during sleep. They lead to movements during sleeping and dreaming. But through Seitai they are released into conscious action and increased in effectiveness. In Japan, the Katsugen Undo form of Seitai is very popular, and is often to be seen in women’s magazines and the general press. But it also has its deeply philosophical side, because Seitai can lead to personal experience of what religion and spiritual teachings speak of.

Outwardly the practise of Seitai appears to be very simple. Here are the basic movements of Katsugen Undo.

1. Kneeling on the floor without shoes or restricting or tight clothing, sit on the heels. With awareness and quiet place fingertips on solar plexus. This is to help oneself test or be aware of whether this area is relaxed.

When ready, breathe in, and as the breath is released allow the head and trunk to relax forward to the floor. Also, imagine breathing out evil, ill health or inner darkness.

While the head is down, relax until ready to come up. Then repeat the process until a deeper feeling of relaxation comes. Noguchi taught that it is permissible during this to yawn. In fact yawning is the sign relaxation deepening.

2) This movement is much more dynamic. Sitting on heels turn head and shoulders to the right. At the same time lift hips from heels slightly, perhaps three or four inches, and breathe in. Hold the position for a moment then suddenly let the breath out powerfully and drop back on to the heel’s bringing head and trunk to centre again.

Repeat this to alternate sides until you feel you have satisfied yourself in the movement. If one side feels more difficult than the other do the last twist to that side.

3) Now place thumbs in the palms of hands and hold down tightly with fingers. Raise the arms so the upper arms are horizontal, with hands up, still sitting on heels. On a slow out-breath gather tension or strength to the base of the back of the neck by pulling head and arms slightly back. Then suddenly relax and drop arms. This is to be done no more than three times.

4) As soon as the last movement is finished take on a relaxed and allowing state of body and mind. Let the body, breathe, voice and feelings move as spontaneous impulse suggests. Do not attempt to think what to do, but allow your being to move or relax from its own sensations and feelings. Any movement is permissible, so one does not have to stay in the kneeling position. This is the most important part of Katsugen Undo and Seitai as a whole, and half an hour or more can be given to the movements arising. As one learns to put the mind into a watching, non interfering state, ones being can be allowed to doodle freely, and perform its healing, releasing and balancing action. Perhaps gradually or very soon, it will be seen that although the movements and feelings are non volitional or irrational, a theme of action arises, sometimes very creatively. But beware of trying to direct what occurs into making sense. That simply limits the action. Be content to leave this space of time open for ones being to do whatever occurs, even if it is quite meaningless.

Noguchi San wrote, “There are some who try to force difficult thoughts into the heads of little children. Soon having enough the children will only tire and yawn. Some try to force nutrients into sickly persons. But a living creature only takes into itself what meets its own ability.”

Japanese Landscapes

Everywhere I went in Japan I saw forest covered mountains. I was told they could not be cleared of trees to be farmed because the soil is so sandy the rains would soon erode them. The tree covered peaks became for me a symbol of the spiritual life. While in Japan I experienced a great sense of liberation, my spirit free from clinging, and seeing the mountains, being near to them increased this feeling, lifting it up. I imagined pilgrims of the past walking into the mountains as they let go of the worldly life; climbing into a joy with their staff and robe. 

The God of the Jungle

So on one of my last evenings in Kyoto a friend and I left the town and climbed into the hills. We sat among trees on one slope, looking across a small valley to the brooding presence of the mountains opposite. Sitting huddled together against the evening cold and the occasional rain the darkness came as we talked and watched.

Some time past eleven we decided to walk down to look at some of the Temples and shrines on the lower hillside. We knew the path quite well because we had been along it in daylight on another occasion. Picking our way in single file through the jungle we came to a clearing. We both knew two stone monuments stood at the far edge of the clearing, we had examined them in detail the day before. But suddenly both of us were stopped by the sense of a powerful presence. She reached out for my hand, and we stood experiencing but not seeing, something immense over and around the stones. I felt as if I had been privileged to stumble upon a jungle clearing in which a god dwelt, and it was around such the ancients built temples. This was a jungle god of death, related to the forces of the earth and the decay of vegetation and life amidst the trees. It seemed to me I was standing near something akin to a humming cable carrying enormous electricity, and I felt the same care and respect one would have in that situation.

The stone represents two of the great and venerated forces of nature – the Negative and Positive; the Female and the Male. The base bears the lotus blossom in the centre of which a phallic symbols pushes forth. My friend later wrote: “As a wickerwork of light and shadows, as a life death place.” But it can also  be a wickerwork of Female and Male in which the paradox of the unity of both sexes is experience as one amazing enlightenment.

“Sitting before the mountain, listening, I heard you saying all was just a feather blowing in the wind. This sentence came over me as a strong feeling. I looked up at the hills along the valley through the night, and I knew in that moment –

You are not held by any arms.

No arms of final answers.

No arms of any beginning.

From shell to shell to shell.

Through a corridor, but without walls,

This is your destiny, but without path

You are going along a valley

Through the night

That is endlessly transparent.

Then we met the stones, who faced me without face. I was terrified and could not answer. But beside, in the small tree, I heard the voice of a bird, and what it was singing was life-death; twisted together in the same breath. Why this bird goes on singing? Why are we born? Feel it.”

The eternal decaying spirit of life

For me, as I stood and felt the impact of this eternal yet decaying spirit of Life, I understood that in some way it was created out of the energies of nature by the collective life experience and veneration of generations of Japanese men and women. It was the essence of their experience in regard to death and eternity, collected through the long years of human life in the jungles of Asia. To touch this god with consciousness as we were doing was to have the honour of sharing the collective wisdom of the Japanese spirit.

My friend goes on to say – “we went on, and before we came to the abandoned door, we saw the jungle in the twilight. It was the same place we saw at noon in the daylight; but now it was all changed. I felt it as the voice of the bird: as a wickerwork of light and shadows, as a life death place. Then in the morning beside you I heard the same bird singing before the window; but now so beautifully, so life-fully as I had never heard a bird singing before. It was the counterpoint to the night-bird voice.

“Back in Kanazawa I stayed writing nearly day and night for not to burst, because the experience of that night exploded in me like a volcano. When I had almost written all out of me I recognised this was like an inner experience of the beginning of the Ten Ox herding Pictures: searching for the ox…. lost in the jungle… seeing the traces….. by the stream and under the tree….. seeing the ox….. and, on yonder branch a nightingale was cheerfully singing. What we heard actually the Japanese nightingale called uginsa.” See Ox Herding

Impending sense of death

My own next day was full also. It was spent alone, my only companion being the most powerful sense of impending death I had ever experienced. I recognised this as an almost certain consequence of coming so near to such a powerful archetype, but I still felt death would arrive soon. Yet I made peace with death, and felt ready and willing if it came. Then in the late afternoon I had an urge to enter the mountain jungle again, to find the greater feeling of liberation. I walked up out of a suburb of Kyoto, along a quiet pathway by the side of a canal. No people were about. Houses were set back distant from the canal. And as I walked by, my feet quiet in the dust, the dogs barked. In my being I felt they knew that death had passed near, and had called out. But I could find no path into the jungle, it was fenced, only one to a Buddhist Temple graveyard. Eventually I turned back, feeling the loneliness and sadness of my journey. Then suddenly the presence was gone. Perhaps for a while I had taken a closer walk with the spirit of death and renewal. We had become more fully acquainted, and it had passed on into the jungle I was not yet to enter again.

It is worth realising the the Japanese do not have anything that can be thought of as religion with a God separated from human awareness. Buddhism is not a religion and denies the exists of God. In my own attempt to understand, I see their belief system as, “Created out of the energies of nature by the collective life experience and veneration of generations of Japanese men and women.” The Japanese see the wonder in nature and natural phenomena which are often approached with great reverence. 

 

The photo shows a Japanese woman with her shopping bag in front of her showing reverence for the stone statue. At another meeting my wife and I were sitting outside of a place to eat, and I saw just a couple of shops away an open fronted temple. A woman who had no difficulty in going through movements in public view of what seemed worship, so I said to our female Japanese translator, “Your people are very religious,” indicating the woman outside the temple. The translator, Hiroko I believe her name was looked very puzzled at my question and said no it was not religious. So I see their actions as maybe a way of working with obvious laws of nature, not an invisible God – the rising Sun, the giver of all life.

The next day I journeyed across Japan and from a lifting jet plane I said a sincere Sayonara – Goodbye, feeling showered by blessings.