Vishnu-Granthi or Something Else, Nobody Knows

On Sunday night, during Vanessa's vinyasa class, I may have located and experienced what is known as the "vishnu-granthi", which is one of the three common blockages in the central energy pathway, known as "sushumna-nadi". Vanessa held us in a squat position for several breaths, and instructed us to lengthen our spine, to try to stack each vertebra on top of each other. While attempting this pose, I kept my eyes closed, and absorbed myself in the feeling of the sushumna. When my spine was completely vertical, I could feel a clear, uninterrupted flow of energy. But as my supporting muscles began to falter, I could feel a ripple in the center of my chest, and there was a disturbance in the flow. It reminded me of a rubber band or a string on a violin - meaning, plucking at it would alter the string's vibrations. I'm not sure if this makes any sense. It's one of those things you have to experience for yourself.

For me, this is one of the inherent drawbacks of following this path. I am someone who very strongly wants to share my experiences with others. I also take great comfort in knowing that other people might be struggling through the same issues I'm having, or at least might be able to relate. But as I said to Corina last night, after her class, attaining inner yoga experiences is nothing like attaining the external ones. For example, if I am practicing downward-facing dog (adho mukhta svanasana), another person can stand beside me and say, "Yes, I concur. She is experiencing downward-facing dog." I cannot, on the other hand, stand beside someone who is meditating, and say, "Yes, I concur. He is experiencing a state of asamprajnata samadhi." (I may explore the states of samadhi in a future post.)

I suppose this might be the beauty of the path, though. Being someone who struggles with a sense of (often causeless) loneliness, Yoga and meditation has been a great way for me to become more comfortable being by myself. Furthermore, following all the limbs of Yoga might be one way to free oneself from the bondage of the fear of death. After all, what experience is lonelier than the act of dying? So if one wishes to die with grace and dignity, then one definitely needs to master the art of being alone. And exploring one's inner energetic landscape is one way to go about it, I suppose.

On another note, it doesn't really matter whether I truly experienced the vishnu-granthi, or if it was merely a blip in my circulation patterns while attempting a challenging physical shape. The point is that my awareness was turned inward, and in that moment, I had attained union with my inner sensations, at the level of depth I'm currently capable of perceiving.

I suppose the issue I'm dealing with, though, is the communication part of all this. I am supposedly training to become a teacher. Furthermore, communication is how all of us (humanity) relate with and learn from each other. We are supposedly evolving as a species. And I believe wholeheartedly that the deepening and expanding of consciousness is key for the evolution of humanity. it is truly an amazing time -- we are beyond relying on random genetic mutations; we have attained enough intelligence so that we can actively participate in our species evolution. Everything we learn and adapt to comes through a process of absorption, integration, transmutation, and then dissemination.

Huh... I might be onto something with that.... absorption, integration, transmutation, and dissemination. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of that, but I think it really makes sense when applied to consciousness expansion.

I'll have to think on it a bit more.