Week #43 – January 5-13, 2021
Kriya for Control of the Muscular System

Overview

WEEK 43 – Kriya for the Control of the Muscular System

This Kriya is performed standing and is created to use and balance underused quad and hamstring muscles and especially your abductor and adductor muscles running vertically on the outside and insides of your thigh muscles. I felt the work of this sequence in both my adductors and abductors. Soreness can be good at any age, the breaking down and rebuilding of muscles is called hypertrophy. This is also a real work out for the hips.

After the first day of practicing this Kriya your neural muscular system will kick in and you will find balancing on one foot and one leg much easier.

Remember – If you are on your Moon/Menstrual cycle no held breath, substitute with long and deep breathing.

CHANTS in this Kriya include:

Adi Mantra – I bow to the Creative Wisdom. I bow to the Divine Teacher within. This mantra is used to access the divine flow and self-knowledge within each of us. We chant it three times. Once for ourselves, once for the people in your class and once for the greater world.

SONGS & MUSIC in this Kriya include:

There is no music in this kriya other than our closing song. If you prefer to practice without music, you will appreciate this recording.

Long Time Sun – Closing song of all Kundalini Yoga classes worldwide.
May the long time sun
Shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on

PRANAYAMA – BREATHING in this Kriya includes:

In the video you will hear specific instructions re the number of seconds we’ll use for the pattern. It may be a four-second breathing pattern, five-second, or something different. For instance, on occasion, I may make changes, like adding one extra held breath per cycle which will begin to train the brain to absorb more carbon dioxide. Or, I may add alternate nostril breath to our box breathing pattern; inhaling through the left nostril and exhaling through the right. Simply listen for specific instructions in the video.

Below is the general breathing pattern. You can always begin with a 3 second pattern and slowly increase your times.


Inhale
Hold
Exhale
Hold

Inhale
Hold
Exhale
Hold

Repeat Cycle

With practice you could increase the breath count to 8 seconds per inhale, an 8 second hold and an 8 second exhale. It is the increased carbon dioxide levels in our bodies that trigger our urgent need to take a breath. Free Divers learn to override this physical cue. If you haven’t yet watched the Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher” I highly recommend it. This is one of my favorite documentaries in recent memory. If you have yet to watch it, I encourage you to do so.

Box Breathing Technique introduced by Professor Huberman, a Stanford University neurobiologist. If you want to learn more, give a listen to Andrew Huberman: “How stress affects the mind — and how to relieve it,” from “The Future of Everything” presented by Stanford Engineering on ApplePodcasts. 
LINK: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-everything-presented-bystanford-engineering/id1235836821?i=1000493145513


In many of the videos here on my website, you may hear me reference Dr. Baxter Bell’s Covid-19 Breath Series, this is Box Breathing.

You may also hear me mention The Breathing App. I highly recommend it as a tool to develop your practice. “The Breathing App is inspired by resonance, the scientific name that describes what happens when our heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and brainwave function come into a coherent frequency. It occurs spontaneously when we breathe at a rate of six breaths per minute (instead of our usual 15-18), and is the rate of breathing that Buddhist monks and Yogis naturally enter into while meditating.” https://eddiestern.com/the-breathing-app/

ROCKY’S TAKEAWAY

Kriya for the Control of the Muscular System
This is the second time we have practiced this kriya. It really does work on balance and strengthening the hips. As the week progressed I realized how subtle the Kriya is: forcing us to use muscles we don’t traditionally use. If you would like to change it up and go for a standing Kriya: try this one out!

Sat Nam.

Kriya Illustrations & Detailed Instructions

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