Light the torch with practice of yoga

Jul 25, 2009, 12.00am IST
Nilkanth Maladkar.

Yoga can help establish connection between mind and body through the nervous system, aided by spiritual awareness.



Cultivating spiritual consciousness requires the activation of the kundalini which is the Vagus tenth cranial nerve lying dormant in the Manipur chakra. A person meditates in stage-wise inverted poses such as the following: Shoulder-Stand Pose, Pelvic Pose, Plough Pose, Corpse Pose and the final Lotus Pose.


In the Shoulder-Stand pose, due to the vertical position of the legs and the trunk, the venous blood drains away by the force of gravity to the right side of the heart and then to the lungs for purification. The purification of the entire blood circulating in the body is the first stage of operation. In the Pelvic pose, the blood accumulates in the pelvic region; the local blood vessels get dilated and flush the gonads situated in this region. Due to gravity, the venous blood returns to the heart. There is a propelling of the whole process enhancing the secretion of sexual glands. It delays the ageing process and strengthens the body for meditation.
In the Plough Pose, there is a stretching of the vertebral column due to which the spinal cord located inside it and also the nerves issuing from it are stretched. It results in an indirect pull on the sympathetic cords that lie on both sides of the spine in the abdomen and are connected with the spinal cord by nervous strands.


Stimulation of the sympathetic system tones up the involuntary organs of the body. A chain of these activities finally activates the kundalini, directing it through a path going to the spinal cord to awaken spiritual consciousness. Thus, we tone up the spinal cord to make it fit to receive and to retain the subtle unconscious impressions dramatically. Along with kundalini, the other six chakras also get activated and start imparting the knowledge of eternal life, Brahmn.
However, at the end of inverted poses, the Corpse pose is essential to give recuperative time to the body muscles for relaxation as well as to give the body conscious rest whereby one can vitalise and control the activities of all involuntary organs of the body.


The Lotus Pose is the ultimate meditative pose in which case the foot lock resembles the petals of the lotus due to which flexors of the lower extremities are under pressure as a result of contraction. Therefore arterial blood gets accumulated in the organs of the pelvic region toning up the function of the gonads followed by absorption of the secretions. Now, the person can control his feelings and keep the mind away from worldly temptations. The mind is trained and stabilised to receive the waves of inner voices. One can concentrate on receiving Divine messages. This way, spiritual consciousness is awakened.

As soon as the kundalini is activated, there is a rise in a person's energy level. He can utilise this energy wherever he desires. This is not a miracle but a process affecting a reversal and reabsorption of secreted elixir of life followed by spiritual consciousness. It is an ecstatic breakthrough. If a person follows explicit perfection in the art of reverse yogic poses, he can light the torch of spirituality to reveal the path to the inner soul and the eternal world. One begins to experience the truth of Soham Brahmashri, meaning 'am that Non-Destructible World'.
The writer is a scientist. E-mail: maladkarun@gmail.com