Night Birds Swami Veda Bharati Disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas Bha : The Light of Knowledge  Rati : A lover who is absorbed in it Contemplative Walking

 Introduction : In Yoga, one of the central goals in development of personality and the states of consciousness is sthiti, stability. One may learn the ways and means to establish oneself in a stable state. On a stable pedestal, sthiiti-pada, and how this stability, as it were, may be fastened, sthiti-ni-bandhana, so as not to shake loose.  Controlled and Guided Walking :  Habit of walking  Often when people walk their senses are not coordinated  The active and cognitive senses go in different directions  No co-ordination between the mind, breath, cognitive senses and active senses  Habit of proper walking  In yoga one learns to coordinate that all four move in harmony  Improve ordinary walking into controlled and self guided walking  The practice of walking requires three elements to consider, train and observe  Body  Breath  Mind When you walk it should be like you are dancing

Contemplative Walking  Body and Breath :  Step 1  Coordinate the movement of the feet, the hands and the eyes  Walk with the spine straight  Be mindful and aware, smrti  Observe the coordination  Step 2  During the walk, establish diaphragmatic breathing  The breathing should be even  All breaths should be equal in volume and force  Breath flows smoothly, without jerk or pause Learning to walk comes after one has improved the way one breathes

Contemplative Walking  Body and Breath :  Step 3  The walking movement remains the same but the breath rhythm is 1 to 2  Length of inhalation to be 1, the exhalation 2. e.g. inhalation to the count of 4, exhalation to the count of 8  Count the numbers mentally to establish the rhythm. You may choose  Count in sequence – inhalation 1,2,3,4 & exhalation 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8  Count – inhalation 1,1,1,1 & exhalation 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 (needs and gives more concentration)  One should not attempt this breathing unless  Breathing is diaphragmatic, without jerks, flowing smoothly  One has mastered diaphragmatic breathing sitting down  No strain is felt in the chest in attempting this breath rhythm  One is not having to gasp to maintain the rhythm  One increases the number as one’s capacity grows No strain should be felt when breathing with any of the counting systems

Contemplative Walking  The Mind :  One - Counting  With either of the breath counting system, the mental factor has already been introduced. But only as a concentration  Two - Mantra  Move on to the mantra both in even breathing and in 1:2 breathing  Instead of number 1,2,3,4 or 1,1,1,1 use mantra.  Keep one’s personal mantra at the same speed and rhythm all the way through  Three - Problem Solving  Move towards more refined mental applications in walking  Use method of internal dialogue. This is a very fine art One who has mastered the art of internal dialogue need not fear any life problems

Contemplative Walking  The Mind :  Four – Contemplation  Problem solving through Philosophy  One learns to walk with philosophical contemplation  Walking with just the life problem – solve the matter pragmatically  Walking with philosophical contemplation – apply philosophical principles  Pure Philosophical Contemplative walking  There are two levels  Solving Philosophical problems – The seeker may be confused about some philosophical matters.. One may use the walk for arriving at some positive conclusions  Metaphysical Contemplations – This system is taught in monastic orders. One may use the walk to contemplate on Mahavakya, statement from the sacred text, and try to understand their deep meaning, assimilate and make is a personality trait to solve problems In contemplation, one constructs the argument in such a way that it leads to conclusion which is already given in Mahavakya Cont/d There is a deep connection between life problems and philosophical problems. If one knows how to apply philosophy to solving problems then there are no life problems left

Contemplative Walking  The Mind :  Four – Contemplation  Meditative Walk  One’s mantra or the concentration that the teacher has given, is maintained as though one were sitting for meditation  Smrti, Mindfulness, Self Observation  Known as smrti-upa-sthana in Yoga-sutras.  This and the related practices are taught in an oral tradition of the master training the disciple  It differs from school to school, monastery to monastery, country to country  One physical details is that one puts down toes first and the heels after  The heel of the front foot falls right in front of the toes of the back foot.  All the while, perfect balance and awareness is maintained  The concentration is in observing the process (Refer to the back up slide)  The eyes are kept on the ground a few feet ahead to help control the cognitive sense of light  One observes the mind’s movement through volition, cerebral system and the neuromuscular system in a controlled channel  Sense of elimination and generation is withdrawn by maintaining the Maula-bandha.  The active sense of speech is controlled by turning the tongue into the palate  The hands formed in a certain position (Mudra) and shoulders relaxed  There are different ways of practising but the main point is in “Closing”  Finally, this kind of practice leads to NEUTRAL witnessing  One witnesses the whole world without becoming a participant in it  This is the function of the faculty of wisdom and discrimination known as buddhi.

Contemplative Walking May you learn to walk like a being of stable wisdom, sthita-prajna

Contemplative Walking BACK UP

Contemplative Walking  Self Observation :  How am I walking  How is it the mind is sending a command in the brain  How is that command conveyed to the nervous systems and kinetically interpreted in the muscular system  How do I lift one foot  What is the state of the other foot in the meantime  How do I lift the other foot  How do I put the foot down  How is the mind sending its will into the brain  How is the brain directing the eye to see three feet in front  How is the brain commanding the active senses to move  How is that command going though the neuromuscular system  Which muscle is getting tense that is not required to move  Relax that muscle  Use only the nerves and muscles that are actively needed for the specific movement  Do not allow more tension than is absolutely necessary for making that movement  Observe and register the fact of each of these stages from the mind to the toes