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Ramakrishna practise hatha yoga? Did he do trataka?" Well, they may have done it in their previous lives, they must have done it. Love and prem are the results of several lives of asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, mantra, trataka practice, etc. The love and prem of Mirabai was the high state, the sublime state of emotion. Therefore, she did not have to practise the other aspects of yoga. How many of us have that quality of love and prem? It is rare to find this type of love. Therefore, as a doctor and also as an enjoyer of life, I would say that almost all the people on this planet should practise asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, mantra, trataka and some yogic kriyas so as to become individuals who enjoy life and earn money with better health, with better states of mind, with harmony and with more sensitive feelings. Life is full of problems and short periods of enjoyment, so you need something to cope better with life's problems. This something is yoga.
Let us examine the practice of asanas. I look upon asana practice as a physical meditation. Asanas have an effect on your body, on your mind, on your emotions, bhaavanaa, and they go further than that although you can't feel it. They have an effect on your deeper subtle bodies. These multiple effects give you spiritual benefits. People tend to underestimate asanas. Even the simple practices of pawanmuktasana, which are designed to remove energy blocks and generate energy, have an effect on your ajna chakra. When you do them and if you can feel them, then you will think like me, that asana practice is a physical meditation. Asanas are usually done with pranayama. You inhale and you move the body from the base position into the posture and hold the breath for three seconds, five seconds, eight seconds. Next you slowly breathe out and return the body to the base position. Then you repeat this process, this cycle. This is the physical process.
But what is happening at the pranic level? When you breathe in, there is a movement of prana. When you hold the breath, there is something very powerful taking place in the chakras, in the kundalini. What is this powerful process? A reaction is taking place whereby dormant energy is being activated, ignited and inflamed, and being released into the body, into the organs. It is similar to a generator producing electricity. Now this reaction is more important than the bending of your body. You cannot feel it but it is taking place. It is this energy that is going to improve the functions of your
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