The Paradox of Prana & Citta

One of the fundamental principles of Yoga/Qigong practice is that prana (energy, life-force, qi) follows citta (mind, intention, focus). You can experiment with this, right now, by closing your eyes (after you read the rest of this paragraph!), and then placing as much of your attention/focus into one of your hands (say, your left hand) as you can: as you inhale and exhale, think of sending waves of love or kindness or joy (or some other up-lifting quality) into your left hand. Breathe and focus in this way, on your left hand, for a minute or two, or longer ? and notice what happens, notice how the feeling in that hand begins to transform, as it ?fills? with love/joy/kindness. Perhaps you?ll notice it feeling a bit warmer, or notice a tingling sensation, or a feeling of heaviness, or a feeling of the fingers being a bit swollen. Perhaps that hand will begin to sweat, or feel cold or clammy. Each person?s experience will be different. But what our various experiences will likely have in common is that we?ll notice that our left hand has become, almost magically, more ?alive? ~ we?re able to feel it in a more clear and immediate way.

What we?ve just experienced is ?prana following citta?: we placed our mind/attention/focus (citta) on our left hand, which generated a flow of energy (prana) into that hand, creating new and more potent sensation, of some sort. We see this principle at work in every aspect of our lives: when we?re focused on something (a project, our work, a relationship), our energy flows into that activity, and it tends to grow ?

Part of the process of a Yoga/Qigong practice, then, is to become more & more conscious of this mechanism ~ of prana following citta ~ so we?re able to use it in ways that are supportive of our practice. One aspect of the ?paradox? of prana & citta is that while this relationship can serve us in powerful & pleasant ways, it can also ~ when it?s operating unconsciously ~ be our greatest nemesis. For energy flows not only into fields/patterns that we consciously choose to focus on, but also into fields/patterns of mind/citta which we are unconsciously ?focused? on, and hence perpetuating/giving energy to. These are the samskaras (past-life tendencies) which we work/play to unravel (make conscious) within the context of our practice.

Another paradoxical aspect of this relationship is that the inverse of the original ?formula? can also be true, i.e. not only can ?prana follow citta? (the basis, for one, of Yuen Method work), but it?s also the case that citta/mind can follow (be influenced or shaped by) prana/energy. Which is why asana practice, as well as any form of energy-body ?healing? (e.g. acupuncture or Reiki), can work not only to transform our physical & pranic bodies, but can also, in the process, transform mental patterns ~ can shift our whole outlook or ?attitude? in a way which then (cycling back to the original formula) has new effects on our energy-bodies ?

So once we?re able, as practitioners, to bring body, mind & breath (like a beautiful golden braid) into a conscious relationship, what is the most skillful way to use this yogic axiom: prana follows citta (and citta follows prana)? And here, once again, we find paradox ? On the one hand, wouldn?t we want to choose, always, to focus on and therefore support/?feed? only the ?positive,? only what is ?good? or balanced or healthy? ?Keep your mind focused on the positive? is advice that forms the core of many a yogi/yogini?s daily life and practice. Yet if this is our only technique, how will those ?negative? patterns (that are wreaking havoc from the unconscious planes of our existence) ever be transformed?

The Vietanmese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh gives the following advice to his students, on this point ? When we?re beginners, he says, it?s most skillful for us to give energy to, to nourish & support, what is healthy & balanced within us. Especially valuable to cultivate is what in Buddhist language is called the ?energy of mindfulness? ~ a spacious, vibrant ?awakeness? (a fully-awakened citta). We use this energy of mindfulness, then, to ?touch? or nourish (to pay loving attention to) those ?positive? qualities which we wish to augment. And if, on a regular basis, we?re able to focus our attention on the positive, what we?ll notice happening also is that many of our ?negative? qualities will ~ simply by not being given our attention, not being ?fed? ~ quite naturally dissolve ?

But not all of them! Which is why as we become more advanced in the practice, and our energy of mindfulness becomes strong, it is appropriate to begin to use our energy of mindfulness to ?touch? (or invite into our conscious mind) not only the ?positive? within us, but also the more ?negative? or ?stuck? aspects of our bodyminds. So, for instance, at this point ~ once our ?mindfulness? is strong ~ we could choose to embrace, with our mindfulness, the mental/emotional pattern called ?anger? ? And to the extent that our mindfulness is strong, its energy will begin to transform, unwind, release those ?anger? patterns. Eventually, when our mindfulness is quite bright ? merely shining its light onto these dark/stuck patterns will be enough to ?liberate? them, instantaneously. (Much like the ?darkness? of a room is gone completely once we turn on a light!)

And as our practice becomes quite advanced ~ our energy of mindfulness very bright, the braid of body, mind & breath quite coherent, fluid & fluent ~ our Presence (awakened prana/citta) will begin to have affects not only on our ?own? bodymind, but also the bodyminds of those with whom we interact ? a wonderful (though not always immediately ?pleasant?) gift we?re able to give to ?others? ~ a lovely form of service ? Grown out of the resolved & un-resolved paradoxes of ?.

prana follows citta

Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Eva Wong and Mingyur Rinpoche. For more yoga-related essays (and other wonderful things!) please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger

Yoga in Practice: Train Your Mind for Empowerment, Part 3

Sometimes, the pause in time, between intention and action, is the best time for Yoga practice. This gives you time to rationally focus on your intention. Of course, if this is an emergency, there will be no gap in time, and your action will most likely be reaction. Therefore, our reactions are not always rational, or positive, but with regular Yoga practice, that will change.

Earlier, I mentioned that you should ?eat, sleep, and drink? positive energy. However, with the practice of meditation, and/ or Yoga, you can always develop a state of tranquility (Santosha). There are many reasons for this, but one of the first among them is non-attachment to the outcome of your plans.

This does not mean you should give up, but the best laid plans are subject to change, at any moment. We cannot control nature, or the universe, so we have to ?roll with the punches.? Whether the outcome is good or bad, we have to adapt to this life the best we can, and we should be creative along the road of life.

Life is a journey, but we are not entirely in control of it. When we learn to accept what we cannot control - that is also Santosha. This state of acceptance is also a form of surrender to a ?higher authority; but to some people, this causes a feeling of helplessness. You should always maintain the frame of mind that -success is ?just around the corner.? Coincidentally, many students have this same positive feeling of hope and aspiration about their lives after a Yoga session.

If you are not in total control, how can success be so close? Life has ?ups and downs,? but innovators become achievers - when they recognize opportunities within their grasp. This is why you train your mind to react instantly to situations with sound solutions. There will be situations where you have control over the outcome, and this is the time when a trained mind has an advantage.

In order to second guess yourself about a decision, you need to have time. While you have that time for ?soul searching,? practice Yoga, meditate, pray, and come up with the best rational decision possible. When you have applied logical thought to the outcome, you cannot look back at decisions with regret.

Lastly, instant decisions depend upon how we have previously trained our mind. Yoga and meditation help you train your mind at all times. When you train your mind for empowerment, you will be able to make the most rational decision in an emergency. You will also be able to help those you love most.

? Copyright 2006 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Spiritual Dedication-A Commentary on the Katha Upanishad

In very ancient times a man named Vajrabasa decided to perform a rite intended to give the performer great merit. The rite entailed the giving away of all the performer?s possessions. However he had no such intention, and instead was going to give away only his cattle?and of them only the useless ones: the old, the barren, the blind, and the lame. His son, Nachiketa, observing this, came to his father and said: ?Father, do not repent thy vow! Consider how it has been with those that have gone before, and how it will be with those that now live. Like corn, a man ripens and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.? (Katha Upanishad 1:1:6)

There is no use denying it: we all follow in the path of Vajrabasa on occasion, though some do it more exuberantly. This is especially deadly in the realm of spiritual life.

I well remember when two newly-made Indian friends from South India asked me wonderingly: ?What is an ?Indian giver??? When I said it meant someone who promised but did not deliver, or who gave and then took back, they were really bewildered. But when I explained that it was not the Indians who were the ?givers? but the deceitful white men, they understood?and to my confusion thought it was very funny. (When I told them about ?Honest Injun?? and ?The only good Indian is a dead Indian? they laughed till they cried, and thereafter frequently asked: ?Honest Injun?? when I told them something.) It is not funny when we are ?Indian givers? in spiritual life, just as double-tongued and devious with God and our own spirit as the politicians were with the Native Americans.

One of the funniest and most typical examples is found in the comic motion picture, The End. In one scene Burt Reynolds is swimming in the ocean about to drown. He starts shouting out to God how much of his income he vows to give if he survives. The percentage goes up and up to the total amount. But then he sees that there is a chance he may make it back to shore. So the percentage starts dropping in proportion to how near he gets to the land! Finally he is telling God that he will be giving nothing, and if God does not like it, that is just too bad. We are very much (often exactly) like that ourselves. When we think we are not going to have something, or will have no use for it, we generously offer it to God or renounce it. But the moment we see a need or a use for it, then we announce to ourselves that God would not expect us to hand it over or renounce it.

Many people start out spiritual life with great enthusiasm, ready to dedicate and sacrifice in order to attain liberation. But as time goes by the sands in the hourglass of will and interest grow less and less, shifting back to the bottom level of ego and the material life until what remains is so feeble and negligible it would be better if it, too, were eliminated in honesty.

The principle that we reap only and exactly what we sow is an absolute in spiritual life. Here are Saint Paul?s words on the subject: ?Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.?(Galatians 6:7-9) Fainting is a very real possibility for all of us, and that is why these warning words of Nachiketa were written in the upanishad: ?Father, do not repent thy vow! Consider how it has been with those that have gone before, and how it will be with those that now live. Like corn, a man ripens and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.?

The law of reaping what has been sown?and conversely not reaping what has not been sown?is to be taken most seriously in all aspects of life, but especially in spiritual matters. Solomon cautions us: ?When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for?better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.? (Ecclesiastes 5:4) The question here is not that of God being angry or sad at our non-payment, but the negative effect our own perfidy will have on us directly. It is not God that rewards and punishes, but our own self, and its justice is inexorable. So asking God to release us or forgive us means positively nothing?it is our own self we are dealing with and it cannot be gotten around in any degree whatsoever.

Sad to say, there are many examples of ?those that have gone before? who foolishly reneged on their own selves and suffered the consequences, from simple unhappiness to abject and long-lasting misery, and even death. This latter is no exaggeration, I know of examples myself. If you will excuse me, I will not cite any examples at all, for it is simply too bleak. Just do not be one yourself! But I will tell you the principle I have seen demonstrated over and over again: Whatever a person abandons his spiritual life to keep or to gain will be (usually abruptly or even violently) taken away from him and he will never regain or restart his spiritual life in this incarnation. I have never seen an exception. Never. (I am, however, not speaking of merely risking or retarding the personal spiritual life?we all do that just from making mistakes or from silly foibles?but of the actual giving up and turning from, even rejecting of, one?s spiritual life and obligations. This is fatal.)

At every step of our spiritual life we must keep in mind the law of cause and effect and ?consider how it has been with those that have gone before, and how it will be with those that now live.? And lest we think that if we escape the karmic reaction in this life we are ?home free,? Nachiketa added: ?Like corn, a man ripens and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.? So there are future live in which our neglect can come to fruition in many forms?all inimical to our further progress.

Of course, the words of Nachiketa only have meaning to the wise. As Krishna told Arjuna: ?Even a wise man acts according to the tendencies of his own nature. All living creatures follow their tendencies. What use is any external restraint? If a man keeps following my teaching with faith in his heart, and does not make mental reservations, he will be released from the bondage of his karma. But those who scorn my teaching, and do not follow it, are lost. They are without spiritual discrimination. All their knowledge is a delusion.? (Bhagavad Gita 3:33, 31,32)

Swami Nirmalananda Giri is the abbot of Atma Jyoti Ashram, a traditional
Hindu monastery in the small desert town of Borrego Springs in southern
California. He has written extensively on spiritual subjects, especially about
meditation.
Read more of his Commentary on the Upanishads on our Hindu writings page.