Main concerns of simple yoga (5)
1 Intend to be the best person that you can be when you practice yoga.
2 Allow your breathing to be free and thorough.
3 Straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort.
4 Support your posterior (hips and the ends of
your thighs at your hips) seated firmly and support the ends of your shins as
near as possible to your knees firmly in a position that’s as near to a
completely developed cross-legged position as you can experience comfortably in
your present physical condition.
5 Stand your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your shins
at your knees downward then align your shoulders, arms, hands and head with the
position of your backbone as well as you can and hold your position still as
long as the position is comfortable.
Each concern supports the following concerns and each concern
helps to maintain the preceding concerns.
The priority of concerns that you need to follow to place your body in a
beneficial position is the same priority of concerns that you need to maintain
to ensure that remaining seated still will be beneficial. Although you might
experience any part of the method naturally before the others you need to maintain
each part of the method in this order to benefit reliably from the
position of your body while you remain seated still.
Chapter 1 describes how to combine these concerns to gather your legs,
hips and backbone into a comfortable position to remain seated still to benefit
from the position of your body. Chapter 1
contains enough information for you to begin and
progress in simple yoga without personal help from an instructor.
Intend to be the best person that you can be
when you practice yoga
The
first main concern of simple yoga
1 Intend that all of your thoughts and experience will be positive,
beneficial, while you remain seated still to benefit from the position of your
body. It’s sufficient to be
the best person that you can be as you understand it and as well as you can.
You need to intend to be the best person that
you can be for your breathing to be free and for the position that you hold
still to be reliably beneficial. If
you don’t intend to be the best person that you can be your breathing won’t be
free and the position that you hold still won’t be reliably beneficial.
You cannot practice the yoga that’s described
in this text when you’re concerned with thoughts that are negative as you
understand or experience them. Remaining seated still when you don’t intend
to be the best person that you can be reinforces emotionality and discursive
thinking.
2 Intending to be the best person that you can be and allowing your
breathing to be free and thorough and maintaining the best position of your
body that you can are mutually supporting. You naturally experience beneficial positions
of your body during many ordinary experiences. This text provides information
that can help you to maintain a reliably beneficial position nearly
effortlessly.
You need to be seated in a position that’s as
near to a completely developed cross-legged position as you can experience
comfortably in your present physical condition to benefit reliably from the
position of your body while you remain seated still. Your
potential to be seated in a beneficial position in your present physical
condition is due to the integrating potential of being seated on three firm
bases of support and maintaining the position of your backbone standing upright
and leaned slightly forward and the potential of your legs to be gathered
together into progressively more integrated positions.
You can use the method to be seated in a
beneficial position that’s not cross-legged. The text describes a rudimentary position of
being seated upright with your legs extended forward, not cross-legged, and a
beneficial position of being seated upright on a chair. When you use the method
of condensing the muscles of your abdomen to exhale so that the following
inhalation can be effortless you can experience many of the benefits of a
cross-legged position when you’re seated upright on a firm flat support with
your legs extended forward and when you’re seated upright on a firm chair with
your feet supported on the floor like when you’re standing.
3 Devote your attention to maintaining the best position that you can
maintain comfortably. Intend to be aware of your physical position.
Concern with your imagination, memory or discursive thinking can result in
becoming distracted by ideas or expectations and you might not perceive or
control your position as well as you do ordinarily.
A beneficial position is comfortable and easy
to hold still. When
you’re seated in the most integrated position that you can maintain comfortably
your position will be easy to hold still. A position of remaining seated still
that’s not comfortable and easy to hold still is not reliably beneficial.
Allow your breathing to be free and thorough
The
second main concern of simple yoga
1 Breathing is an experience that’s intangible like your mind and tangible,
material, like your body. Breathing shares all the qualities of your mind. Allowing
your breathing to be free joins the illuminating quality of your mind with the
integrating potential of straightening your backbone and standing your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward slightly on three firm bases of support.
Your breathing will become free immediately
when you allow your breathing to be free. Whenever you allow your breathing to be
free your breathing will become as free and thorough as it can be in your
present physical condition.
Your breathing will gradually become more
thorough. Your breathing might be shallow and fill only
a small part of your lungs when you begin to be seated still. When you remain
seated upright and still in a cross-legged position that’s as near to a
completely developed cross-legged position as you can experience comfortably in
your present physical condition and allow your
breathing to be free and thorough your breathing will gradually become more
thorough.
2 When your breathing is free you can straighten your backbone with a
small muscular effort and hold a beneficial position nearly effortlessly. You need to allow
your breathing to be free during all of the time that you’re placing your body
in a position to remain seated still and also during all of the time that you
remain seated still to benefit from the position of your body.
You need to allow your
breathing to be free to straighten your backbone and stand your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward far enough so that when you condense the
muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale the following inhalation can be
effortless. You
can verify that the position of your backbone is beneficial by condensing the
muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale and then relaxing the muscles of your
abdomen to inhale as described in Chapter 1 and 8.
3 Don’t try to slow your breathing or hold your breathing still.
It’s not beneficial to try to slow your
breathing or hold your breathing still while you’re practicing simple yoga.
Your breathing might become still naturally while you remain seated
still. Your breathing becomes still naturally and
harmlessly during many kinds of ordinary experiences.
You might pause between exhaling and inhaling
and allow your breathing to be still for a while until you naturally begin to
breathe again. The benefits of breathing continue for a
while even when you’re not exerting any muscular effort to breathe.
4 Don’t hold your body still to help your breathing to be free.
Holding your body still can help your
breathing to be free after you’re seated comfortably on three firm bases of
support and standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far
enough so that the inhalations of your breathing to be effortless.
If you hold your body still before you’re maintaining
the concerns that combine to make the position of your body beneficial, the
position that you hold still might not be beneficial and might become
uncomfortable or numb.
5 Some influences that might not interfere with the beneficial motion and
rest of energy in your body while you’re moving can disrupt, block or spend the
energy in your body when you remain seated still. Those influences are described in Chapter 3.
Tight clothing or an elastic waistband, stretch fabric or any cloth
pressed in the fold of your knees interferes with the beneficial motion and
rest of energy in your body when you remain seated still. Elastic and stretch clothing exert constant
pressure on the surface of your body that confuse and frustrate the motion and
rest of energy in your body and cause conflicting muscular tensions in your
abdomen that interfere with free and thorough breathing and straightening your
backbone when you remain still.
Tensions in your abdomen and breathing that
are caused by wearing elastic or stretch fabric don’t diminish by remaining
still and might cause nausea, anxiety or drowsiness.
6 The support beneath your body should be firm when you remain seated
still to benefit from the position of your body. You
need to support your posterior firmly and support the ends of your shins as
near as possible to your knees firmly and stand your backbone upright and
curved or leaned forward far enough to press your knees downward to experience
the integrating potential of the three firm bases of your cross-legged
position.
If
the support beneath any part of your body is not firm when you remain seated
still your breathing won’t be free. Springs, sponge, elastic or
rubberized supports exert fluctuating pressures when they're condensed by the
weight of your body. The energy in your body moves continually to remedy the
instability of your position and the muscles of your abdomen and legs move continually to
adjust your balance. Even when the
position of your body is beneficial when you’re supported
on springs or
sponge or a rubberized surface your breathing won’t be free.
Tensions in your abdomen and breathing that
are caused by the support beneath your body not being firm don’t diminish by
remaining still and might cause nausea, anxiety or drowsiness.
7 Don’t rely on help from another person to maintain a beneficial
position of your body. Although another person can observe the
position of your body while you remain seated still and can tell you how your
position appears as they see it, if you rely on help from another person to
maintain a beneficial position of your body that will distract your attention
from allowing your breathing to be free and straightening your backbone and you
won’t be able to maintain a beneficial position.
Similarly if you engage in conversation or
eye-contact, or watch or listen to another person while you remain seated still
your breathing won’t be free, you won’t be able to straighten your backbone
with a small muscular effort and you won’t be able to maintain a beneficial
position.
8 When your thinking is confused or when you’re anxious or ill your
breathing might be obstructed or impeded. Maintaining the concerns of simple yoga can
help to remedy some confusion and anxiety and some causes and effects of illness.
Don’t concentrate on a difficulty of your
physical position. If you focus your attention on a difficulty
of your physical position any longer than you need to remedy it as well as you
can that will interfere with the natural remedy of simple yoga. Energy won’t
move and rest freely in your body and you won’t be able to maintain a
beneficial position.
9 You can verify that the angle that you’re curving or leaning
forward is beneficial by condensing the muscles of your abdomen inward to
exhale then relaxing those muscles so the following inhalation can be
effortless. If you’re not curving or leaning forward far
enough or if you’re leaning forward too far the following inhalation won’t be
effortless. When you’re seated in a beneficial cross-legged position and you
stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward slightly the muscles
beneath your thighs and hips and at the sides and back of your body exert more
effort to support your position upright than they exert ordinarily. This allows
the muscles at the front of your body to exert less effort to support your
position upright than they exert ordinarily. The comparative rest of the
muscles of your abdomen and chest allows your breathing to be more free and
thorough than you experience ordinarily.
Condensing the muscles of your abdomen inward
to exhale then relaxing those muscles so that the following inhalation can be
effortless can be as free and thorough as breathing spontaneously.
Although exerting effort to exhale and inhaling effortlessly can help you to
verify that the position of your backbone is beneficial you don't need to be
concerned with your breathing any other way than to allow your breathing to be
free and thorough.
10 When the muscles that support your body upright become too tired to
support your position nearly effortlessly you might need to exert more muscular
effort to breathe. If your breathing becomes more difficult when
you become tired then then you should rest.
Don’t remain still if your position is not comfortable. You won't benefit
reliably from remaining seated still when your position is not comfortable. If you cannot stand your backbone upright nearly
effortlessly or if your breathing is not nearly effortless then any position
that you hold still might become uncomfortable or numb.
You
can practice simple yoga beneficially for as brief a duration of time as one
cycle of inhaling and exhaling your breathing. You don’t need to remain seated still for a
long time to experience the benefits of an integrated position of your body.
Even a moment of experiencing an integrated position of your body is
beneficial.
Straighten your backbone as well as you can
with a small muscular
effort
The
third main concern of simple yoga
1 Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort
is natural and nearly effortless. You straighten your backbone as well as you can
with a small muscular effort during many of the actions you
do ordinarily.
Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular
effort for even a moment is beneficial.
Straightening your backbone as well as you
can with a small muscular effort draws your energy into alignment with your
entire spine between the lowest level of your backbone
to the top of your head. The spaces between the individual vertebrae expand minutely
where any vertebrae were pressed together excessively. Each vertebrae separates
minutely from the vertebrae above and below it. This allows energy to
flow more freely through the vertebrae and vitalizes your backbone.
2 Your backbone remains flexible and you can move any part of your
body while you’re straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small
muscular effort. Straightening your backbone as well as you can
with a small muscular effort does not interfere with your freedom to curve or lean forward as far as
you need and move however you want to place your body in a position to remain
seated still. The straightening is internal, an intention that you sustain as well
as you can as well as you can remember. Most of the time you don’t remember
although you maintain your intention to be actively straightening your backbone
as well as you can with a small muscular effort. Being seated
in a beneficial cross-legged position and standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned
forward slightly ensures that your backbone is straightening continually.
You don’t need to support your weight firmly
first or stand your backbone upright first to straighten your backbone. Straightening your backbone does not depend on
exerting effort in most of the muscles that support your weight. Many of the
muscles that support your weight don’t exert more effort when you straighten
your backbone.
Don’t think that you need to be still to straighten your
backbone. You can straighten your backbone with a small
muscular effort while you’re moving as easily as you can straighten your
backbone with
a small muscular effort when you remain still. You naturally straighten your
backbone with a small muscular effort within every integrated motion.
You don’t need to straighten your backbone
for a long time before you’re ready to place your body in a beneficial seated
position. Intending to be the best person that you can
be and allowing your breathing
to be free and straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small
muscular effort are enough preparation for you to place your body in a
beneficial seated position.
Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort
helps you to place your body in a beneficial cross-legged position more easily.
3 Pressure on the surface of your body caused
by tight or elastic clothing confuses the motion of energy in your body and
distracts your energy from straightening your backbone as well as you can with
a small muscular effort while you remain seated still.
When you’re wearing tight or elastic clothing it’s possible that when
you intend to straighten your backbone the muscles that need to exert effort to
straighten your backbone won’t exert any effort at all.
Don’t rely on a stimulant
to straighten your backbone because you cannot reliably control the energy that
you experience by depending on a material influence to maintain an integrated
position of your body. The harmful effects of tight or elastic
clothing and relying on a stimulant are described in
Chapter 3.
4 Straighten your entire backbone when you straighten your backbone as well
as you can with a small muscular effort. Straighten all the levels
of your backbone as well as you can. Don’t try to improve the straightness of
any particular level of your backbone. Straightening a particular level of your
backbone is not necessary. When you’re seated firmly in a beneficial
cross-legged position then standing your backbone upright and curved or
leaned forward slightly will gradually straighten all the excessive curves of
your backbone.
Any
level of your backbone might straighten spontaneously before the other levels.
Straightening your backbone as well as you
can with a small muscular effort straightens your entire backbone to some
degree and in time straightens any excessive curves of your backbone naturally
and nearly effortlessly.
5 Straightening your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort should
always be comfortable. If your experience of straightening your backbone is not
comfortable move your body for your position to become
comfortable or rest for a while.
Don’t imagine lifting your backbone or being lifted or suspended. Imagining lifting your backbone
or being lifted or suspended does not help
to straighten your backbone when you’re seated. Imagining lifting your backbone
or being lifted or suspended will cause you to
exert confused muscular effort or no effort at all and you won't
be able to be still.
Don’t expect that your
backbone will straighten spontaneously without you needing to exert a small
muscular effort to straighten it. If you don’t straighten your backbone as well
as you can you might not exert enough muscular effort to support your body
upright with normal strength and stability. You might not straighten your
backbone as well as you do ordinarily.
6 You need only a little energy or strength in the muscles that adjoin
your backbone to straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small
muscular effort.
Don’t exert more muscular effort than you
need to straighten your backbone. Exerting excessive muscular effort to
straighten your backbone is a common mistake and reason for not continuing to
practice yoga.
If
you exert excessive muscular effort to support your body while you remain
seated still the energy in your body won’t move and rest beneficially. The
hazards of exerting excessive muscular effort while you remain seated still are
described in Chapter 3.
Exerting too much muscular effort does not
reliably diminish any other way than by exerting less effort and improving your
position. If you perceive that you’re exerting too much muscular effort, exert
less effort and improve the position of your body as well as you can. If you don't
exert less effort and improve your position you might continue
to exert too much effort and your position won't be comfortable or beneficial.
7 Your backbone will move and become straighter when you straighten
your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort.
Your backbone will become as straight as it can be in your present
physical condition within the natural range of your
strength and flexibility
at the present time.
Straightening your backbone as well as you can might not change your
position immediately as you perceive the position of your body.
The physical
change that will occur in the straightness of your backbone might be very
small. The position of your
backbone might seem to not change because the change might be small or because you might not
perceive the change.
8 The apparent straightness of your backbone as you might imagine
that your position would appear to another person is not relevant to this
description of straightening your backbone.
Straightening your backbone as described here is an
internal action and experience and is not defined by how
your position might appear to another person if another person were observing the
external appearance of your body.
A position of your backbone that you
straightened as well as you can might not appear straight or even nearly
straight to another person. Straightening your backbone as well
as you can might not straighten your backbone enough so that another person
observing your position would know that you straightened it.
Support
your posterior (hips and the ends of your thighs at your hips) seated firmly
and support the ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees firmly in
a position that’s as near to a completely developed cross-legged position as
you can experience comfortably in your present physical condition
The
fourth main concern of simple yoga
1 The ability to sit cross-legged comfortably is natural but we normally
sit on a chair when we’re going to talk with another person for a while or eat
a meal and to read and do things with our hands and travel in a motor vehicle
and even to relax.
If
you don’t already sit cross-legged sometimes don’t expect that you’ll be able to
sit cross-legged comfortably unless you support your shins as near as possible
to your knees on firm cushions or rolls of cotton towels. If the joints of your legs are too stiff for
a cross-legged position to be comfortable you might be experiencing inflammation
of the joints of your legs that causes swelling and limited flexibility.
Consuming excessive salt, processed oils and refined sugar are causes of inflammation.
Additionally eating between meals does not allow your digestive system to rest
and is a cause of inflammation. Reducing consuming those products and eating
only during your meal times can remove the inflammation.
Because
you sit on chairs ordinarily and don’t sit cross-legged you will need to extend
the length of some of the ligaments of your legs by sitting in a beneficial cross-legged
position for a short time nearly every day for several weeks or months. Even when the ligaments of your legs are already
extended enough for you to sit cross-legged comfortably without supporting your
shins on firm cushions or rolls of cloth your legs might not be relaxed enough
for you to sit cross-legged comfortably without supporting your shins on firm
cushions or rolls of cloth when you have recently travelled in a motor vehicle
or rushed or felt hurried. Even when you can sit cross-legged comfortably don’t
expect that your legs will be relaxed enough for you to sit cross-legged
comfortably when you’re concerned with something that’s occurring in your
external environment.
2 To be seated in a beneficial cross-legged position you need to
distribute the support of your weight on three firm bases.
You need to support your posterior firmly and
you need to support your shins as near as possible to your knees firmly. When you gather your ankles and feet together
as near to your hips and abdomen as you can support them firmly and comfortably
your knees will naturally press downward toward the upper sides of your ankles
and feet.
Support your hips elevated nearly as high as your knees or even a short
distance higher than your knees whenever you can. Supporting your hips
a short distance higher than your knees helps to energize your position and
helps to promote the minute forward rotation of the ends of your shins at your
ankles that occurs whenever you’re seated in a beneficial cross-legged
position.
The
firm support beneath your posterior and beneath the ends of your shins as near
as possible to your knees forms a triangular base beneath your hips and beneath
both of your knees. Your posterior and your knees are located
relatively equally far apart when you’re seated cross-legged.
A strong tripod is formed inside your body
based on the firm supports beneath your posterior and beneath the ends of both
of your shins as near as possible to your knees.
3 Chapter 1 describes how you can be seated in a comfortable cross-legged
position to benefit from the position of your body.
Chapter 2 describes a beginner’s cross-legged position in detail and Chapter 4
describes how a cross-legged position develops.
Chapter 1 is the only
chapter that describes how you can experience each one of the main concerns of
simple yoga combined with all of the other main concerns.
This section describes some features of the architecture
of your legs, hips and backbone when they’re gathered together in the most
integrated cross-legged position that you can experience in your present
physical condition.
4 Your posterior and the ends of your shins as
near as possible to your knees might be already supported firmly and comfortably
in a beneficial cross-legged position before you allow your breathing to be
free and before you straighten your backbone as well as you can.
You don’t need to be concerned with how your
weight is supported to allow your breathing to be free
or to straighten your backbone as well as you can with a small muscular effort.
5 You need to feel or appreciate the weight of your body pressing
down as equally as you can distribute it on the support beneath your posterior
and on the supports beneath the ends of your shins as near as possible to your
knees during all of the time that you remain seated in a cross-legged position
to benefit from the position of your body.
It’s not helpful to imagine that you’re
weightless or suspended when you’re seated cross-legged. If you imagine that you’re weightless or
suspended when you’re seated cross-legged you might not exert enough muscular
effort to straighten your backbone and your position might become uncomfortable
or numb.
6 Supporting your hips elevated nearly as high
as your knees or even a short distance higher than your knees when you can and
standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press
your knees downward –
Causes the muscles
beneath your thighs and posterior and at the sides and back of your body to
exert more effort than they exert ordinarily to support your position upright. That allows the muscles at the upper sides of
your shins and thighs and at the front of your body to exert less effort than
they exert ordinarily to support your position upright.
Your cross-legged
position will progress gradually from needing to support the ends of your shins
as near as possible to your knees on firm cushions to being able to support the
ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees on the upper side of your
ankles and feet beneath them. The support of your weight
will move forward gradually from being supported most of all beneath your
posterior to being supported more beneath the ends of your shins as near as
possible to your knees and your legs, hips and backbone will be supported more
firmly and comfortably in each more developed cross-legged position.
Your ankles and the ends
of your shins at your ankles will rotate minutely, the upper side forward,
lower side backward, and your legs tend to fold inward nearer to your abdomen. Your ankles and the ends of your shins at
your ankles will feel more comfortable if you rotate them, upper side forward lower
side backward, minutely with your hands and lift them up to support them slightly
higher on the shin or thigh of your opposite leg and slightly nearer to your
hips and abdomen. Your developing ability to rotate your ankles forward minutely
with your hands and support them slightly higher on the shin or thigh of your
opposite leg and nearer to your hips and abdomen will show that your
cross-legged position is developing.
7 When you maintain these concerns as well as you can the positions of
your legs, hips and backbone will be mutually supporting and agile and your
legs, hips and backbone will move minutely toward a more developed cross-legged
position while you remain seated still. These developments of a beneficial cross-legged
position are described in Chapters 1, 2 and 4.
You can experience all of the events
described here while you remain seated still in a cross-legged position that’s
as near to a completely developed cross-legged position as you can experience
in your present physical condition. All of the events described here are natural
and will result in your position becoming more firm and comfortable while you
remain seated still.
8 Don’t support your foot excessively high on the shin or thigh of your
opposite leg to place your legs in the most developed cross-legged position
that you can. Chapter 4 parts 5 and 14 describe the injury
that you might experience if you support your foot excessively high on your
opposite leg or too near to your abdomen when you’re seated cross-legged.
9 Being seated in a cross-legged position and standing your backbone
upright and leaned backward is harmful.
Standing your backbone upright and leaned backward in a cross-legged
position causes the muscles at the upper sides of your thighs and at the front
of your body to exert more effort to support your position upright than they
exert ordinarily and causes tensions in your legs, abdomen and chest.
If you lean backward when you’re seated cross-legged that will press the
vertebrae together at the lowest level of your backbone, the joints of your
knees and hips will twist unnaturally and your legs will become uncomfortable
or numb.
The
tensions at the upper sides of your thighs and in your abdomen will pull your
knees upward so that the ends of your shins at your knees won’t press down on
the upper sides of your ankles and feet or cushions beneath them.
The ends of your shins at your knees will be suspended above your ankles and
feet or cushions by the muscles at the upper sides of your thighs and the front
of your body.
The
weight of your crossed legs that’s not suspended above your ankles and feet by
the muscles of the upper sides of your thighs and the front of your body will
press downward on the outer sides of your ankles and feet. That
pressure will pull the outer sides of your ankles apart and will press the
inner sides of your ankles together.
The
upright position of your backbone won’t be supported by the muscles at the
sides and back of your body so the position that you hold upright won’t be
stable and will tend to fall toward one side.
The positions of your legs, hips and backbone
won’t be mutually supporting and won’t improve.
10
The positions of your legs, hips and backbone are more beneficial when
you’re seated cross-legged compared to when you’re seated on a chair with your
feet supported on the floor like when you’re standing.
When you’re seated on a chair with your feet supported on the floor like
when you’re standing only few of the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior
and at the sides and back of your body exert effort to support your position
upright. Similarly when you’re kneeling only few of
the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the sides and back of your
body exert effort to support your position upright.
When you’re seated on a chair your weight does not become
distributed progressively more equally beneath your posterior and beneath the
ends of your shins at your knees. Similarly when you’re kneeling your weight
does not become distributed progressively more equally beneath your posterior
and beneath the ends of your shins at your knees.
When you’re seated on a chair you can maintain your position
upright comparatively less easily and for a shorter time comfortably than you
can when you’re seated cross-legged. Similarly when you’re kneeling you can
maintain your position upright comparatively less easily and for a shorter time
comfortably than you can when you’re seated cross-legged.
11 Don’t take longer than one or two minutes to place your body in the
position that you intend to hold still. If you
take longer than one or two minutes to place your body in the position that you
intend to hold still your breathing won’t be free and you won’t be able to
straighten your backbone with a small muscular effort and the position that you
hold still won’t be beneficial.
12 You can be seated in a rudimentary position on a firm, flat support with your legs extended forward, standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward.
The muscles beneath your shins, thighs and posterior and at the back of your body will exert effort or stretch to stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward slightly - And the muscles at the upper sides of your shins and thighs and at the front of your body will rest.
When you have been
seated in a rudimentary position for at least a few minutes nearly every day
for several months the ends of your shins at your ankles will tend to rotate,
the upper side toward the right, lower side toward the left -
And your ankles will
tend to gather closer together and will feel more comfortable crossed, one
ankle over the other. You
can support one ankle on the other ankle whenever you can cross your ankles
comfortably.
Being seated in
rudimentary position can help you to become able to be seated in a beginner’s
cross-legged position with the ends of both of your shins as near as possible
to your knees supported on the upper side of your ankles and feet of your
opposite leg or supported on small firm cushions.
13 When you’re seated in a beneficial cross-legged position supporting your posterior elevated higher than your knees on a firm cushion or stack of folded cloth -
Supporting one foot,
ankle, shin and knee entirely on a rug or mat beneath them -
And supporting the shin
as near as possible to the knee of your other leg on the upper side of your
partly upturned foot of your leg that remains supported entirely on the rug or
mat beneath it -
And supporting the ankle
of your leg that’s uppermost as high on the shin or thigh of your opposite leg
and as near to your abdomen as you can support it comfortably with only small
downward pressure;
Then standing your
backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of
both of your thighs at your knees downward -
And curving or leaning
your backbone toward the side where the end of your shin as near as possible to
your knee is supported on the partly upturned foot –between the ankle and heel-
of your opposite leg beneath it -
Presses the end of your
shin at that knee downward on the partly upturned foot of your opposite leg
beneath it -
And the end of your shin at your ankle of your leg that’s uppermost rotates significantly, the upper side forward, lower side backward while you remain seated still. When you have remained seated still in a beneficial cross-legged position, standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward for at least a few minutes nearly every day for several months - The end of your shin at your ankle of your leg that’s uppermost will rotate easily, the upper side forward, lower side backward -
And will press downward
less on the shin or thigh of your opposite leg beneath it.
The muscles inside the fold
of your leg that is uppermost will exert effort and pull the end of your shin
at your ankle upward higher on the shin or thigh of your opposite leg beneath
it while you remain seated still.
The end of your shin at
the ankle of your leg that is supported entirely on the rug or mat beneath it
will rotate also, the upper side forward, lower side backward, but will rotate
comparatively less.
14 When you’re seated in a completely developed cross-legged position your legs, hips and backbone are gathered together in the most integrated position that you can experience and you maintain the best position of your body that you can as long as the position is comfortable.
The ends of your shins at your ankles have rotated, the upper side forward, lower side backward, as far you need to support them on the shin or thigh of your opposite leg beneath them with only small downward pressure - And the muscles inside the fold of your shins and thighs have exerted effort and pulled the ends of your shins at your ankles upward and nearer to your abdomen. You add to the rotations of the ends of your shins at your ankles and their tendency to move upward by lifting your ankles with your hands to place them as high on the shin or thigh of your opposite leg beneath them and as near to your abdomen as you can support them comfortably.
15 All of the concerns for maintaining a beneficial cross-legged
position that are described in this text improve the mutual support and
stability of the gathered
positions of your legs, hips and backbone.
When you’re seated in
each more developed cross-legged position you’ll be able to stand your backbone
upright and curved or leaned forward slightly more easily and each improved
position will be more comfortable and vital.
You’ll be able to remain
seated still and alert for a longer time in every position of your body that’s
nearer to a completely developed cross-legged position.
At whatever stage of
progress toward a completely developed cross-legged position your physical
position might be whenever you practice simple yoga as well as you can you
experience all the benefits.
Stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward
far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees downward
then align your shoulders, arms, hands and head
with the position of
your backbone as well as you can
and hold those parts of your position still as long as the position
is comfortable
The
fifth main concern of simple yoga
1 Chapter 1 describes how
to stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward beneficially and
how to align your shoulders, arms, hands and head with the position of your
backbone in the context of all of the other main concerns of simple yoga.
This section describes
some features of the mechanical structure of your backbone -
Then describes how the
position of your backbone strengthens, tires and improves while you remain
seated still.
Then this section
describes some common conditions of weakness in the muscles that support your
backbone upright and excessive curves between some of the vertebrae and how
maintaining a beneficial position can help to remedy those conditions.
Chapter 6 describes why
you need to curve or lean forward slightly and how to verify that the position
of your backbone is beneficial.
Chapter 7 is a detailed
description of beneficial positions, muscular effort and rest of your
shoulders, arms, hands and head.
2 To understand and
control your experience of standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned
forward beneficially it can be helpful to appreciate that your weight presses
downward through all the levels of your backbone during all of the time that
you’re standing, walking or seated. Standing your backbone upright
and curved or leaned forward slightly occurs within the condition
of all of your weight pressing downward through your backbone onto the support beneath
your body.
Your backbone is a
relatively straight and naturally curving tower of bones (vertebrae) that are
larger at the lower and middle levels and that taper gradually to be smaller at
the lowest and highest ends. The
word backbone refers to your entire spine including the lowest levels, the
levels adjoining your hips, waist and shoulders and all the levels of your neck.
Although the position of your backbone is relatively straight when you're
walking, standing and seated upright your backbone curves forward and backward
naturally at some levels.
The lower and upper
surfaces of each vertebrae are relatively flat and socket-shaped where each
vertebrae is connected to the adjoining vertebrae below and above it. Each vertebrae is
separated slightly from the adjoining vertebrae below and above it by a
relatively flat compressible cushion of cartilage.
Both sides of the lower
levels of your backbone where the vertebrae are thick and strong are connected
to your hips.
Your entire backbone is
supported by your hips. All of the weight of your body above the
level of your hips is supported by your backbone.
Each individual
vertebrae above the level of your hips supports all of the weight of your body
above it.
Each vertebrae is held
in position and moves because it’s connected by ligaments and muscles to the
vertebrae below and above it.
The vertebrae at specific
levels of your backbone are affected by the motions of your legs, hips,
shoulders, arms, hands and head.
3 You might not have sufficient energy to stand your backbone upright
and curved or leaned forward slightly to benefit from the position of your body
as described in this text. Experiencing energy, effort, tiring and rest
in the muscles that support your body upright while you remain seated still to
benefit from the position of your body is described in Chapter 3.
4 Exerting excessive effort in the muscles that support your body upright
while you’re remaining seated still to benefit from the position of your body
is harmful. Exerting excessive effort to maintain even a
beneficial position still is harmful.
5 The muscles that exert
effort support your position upright will tire after some time has passed. Tiring as the word is used in this text
refers to the natural tiring that occurs in the muscles that exert effort to
support your position upright.
6 You experience rest in
some parts of your position immediately when you place your legs, hips and
backbone in a beneficial position to remain seated still, and you will
experience rest in some parts of your position after some time has passed. When you
support your posterior firmly and support the ends of your shins as near as
possible to your knees firmly, and stand your backbone upright and curved or
leaned forward far enough to press the ends of your thighs at your knees
downward, the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and at the sides and
back of your body exert more effort than they exert ordinarily -or stretch to
support your position upright, and the muscles of your abdomen and chest to
rest more than they rest ordinarily when you’re supporting your body upright.
The muscles at the upper
sides of your thighs and shins rest and your ankles press downward less on the
support beneath them. The ends of your shins at your ankles rotate
minutely, the upper side forward, lower side backward, and tend to rise upward
to become more comfortable.
7 You can experience the integrating potential of your body when you’re seated in the best cross-legged position that you can maintain comfortably in your present physical condition and you stand your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward far enough so that when you contract the muscles of your abdomen inward to exhale the following inhalation can be effortless.
A strong tripod inside your body formed by your legs, hips and backbone based on the supports beneath your posterior and the ends of your shins as near as possible to your knees supports your backbone on three firm bases. Each more developed cross-legged position gathers your ankles together slightly nearer to your hips and abdomen and supports slightly more of your weight beneath the ends of your shins progressively nearer to your knees developing a pyramidal structure of the combined positions, muscular effort and rest of your legs, hips and backbone that supports your backbone progressively more thoroughly.
8 The tiring and rest that occur after some time has passed help to
improve the position of your body. When you’re seated on three firm bases of
support comparatively more of the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior and
at the sides and back of your body exert effort to support your position
upright than exert effort to support your position when you’re standing,
walking or seated on a chair.
When the muscles that
support your position upright tire some of those muscles will rest and
alternative sets of muscles will exert effort to support your position upright
until they tire. Then the muscles that rested will exert
effort again to support your position upright.
When the most of muscles that support your position upright tire
so much that they cannot support your position any longer many of those muscles
will rest at the same time, and parts of the combined positions of your legs,
hips and the lower levels of your backbone will loosen and fall downward
minutely into an improved position. Some of the muscles and ligaments that
support your legs, hips and backbone will stretch minutely beneficially and the
combined positions of your legs, hips and backbone will become more flexible
and vital.
You’ll be able to
perceive and control the improved position of your body more easily and
precisely than you could when you began to be seated still and you’ll be able
to remain seated upright and still for a longer time comfortably than you can
ordinarily.
9 If your habitual postures of walking, standing and being seated on
a chair don’t engage enough of the muscles beneath your thighs and posterior
and at the sides and back of your body to exert effort to support your
position, some of the muscles adjoining your backbone might become weak or
dormant and an excessive curve or stiffness might develop between some of your
vertebrae even though you exercise a lot. The strength of some of the muscles
adjoining your backbone might diminish so severely that they don’t exert any effort at all, not
even when you do everything that you can to make
those muscles exert effort. Some of the muscles that adjoin
your backbone might be dormant, inert.
The space and
flexibility between some of your vertebrae might diminish and an excessive
curve might develop between some of your vertebrae so acutely that you cannot
straighten the excessive curve even when you do everything that you can to
straighten it. That level of your backbone might
be stiff, rigid. The
conditions described here might be effects of injury, illness or aging. Then
the muscles that support even your ordinary postures of standing, walking
and being seated on a chair might become tired unnaturally soon.
If some of the muscles
adjoining your backbone are weak or dormant, or if there’s an excessive curve
or stiffness between some of your vertebrae, you might be able to stand your
backbone upright and curved or leaned forward slightly for only a few cycles of
inhaling and exhaling your breathing or only a few minutes, before you need to
move and rest from being seated upright to benefit from the position of your
body.
If you maintain a
beneficial position of your body seated upright for at least a few minutes
nearly every day for several weeks or months, in time the muscles that adjoin
your backbone will become stronger and your backbone will become more flexible
and straighter. You
don't need to wait until your position becomes stronger, more flexible or straighter to experience the benefits of
yoga. Whenever you practice simple yoga as well as you can you experience all
the benefits.