Namaskar The physical body is one layer of human existence. For its well-being a number of daily practices have already been mentioned in which you can become established. They operate not only at the physical and physico-psycho levels, but also in the psycho, psycho-spiritual and spiritual sphere. For example: * Half-bath before meditation (or asanas/yoga postures), food and sleep. * Kiirtan before meditation - Kiirtan is music using the universal mantra Baba Nam Kevalam ("Infinite happiness is everywhere"). It calms and soothes the mind. You can sing it any time, but just before meditation is best. * Meditation twice a day - See the attached for a reminder of the meditation technique. You'll see a photo there of the meditation posture called the lotus. If you can sit like that in meditation it will help you to concentrate. The lotus flower keeps its roots in the mud but always faces the moon. This symbolism perfectly describes the effect of the Lotus Posture, because its effect is to sublimate the mind towards higher thinking by switching off the lower organs. To do it, place your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh. But be careful! You may need to wait until your leg joints become more flexible with continued meditation before you can get into it. * Asanas (yoga postures) after meditation. Also there are many useful tips that can be applied. This includes in the area of posture and food, as well. --- In yogic philosophy it is said that there are five layers of the human mind: crude, subtle, supramental, subliminal and causal. But lets start off with the physical body itself, since that's the crudest layer of our existence. Although not part of our own mind, each human body contains the innumerable minds of all the different cells that make it up. Each cell is also a living organism that is operating almost entirely according to the basic instinct of self-preservation. Although each of the cellular minds are primitive in nature, their combined effect influences the way we think on the superficial level. So it's important to keep the cells of the body as subtle and refined as possible. Hence the importance of diet. Vegetarian food has a positive effect on the mind because the cells in it are fresh and sentient - they encourage the brain cells to subtler and higher forms of thinking. Also, because plants don't pump adrenaline and other stress chemicals through their bodies when they sense they're going to be killed, vegetarian food doesn't cause the stress and anxiety that meat does in the mind. Apart from food, exercise and asanas are also important. It is important to continue with the basic asanas that have already been covered in the previous messages posted to you. There are more that you can learn on a personal basis - when you are ready and a local acarya (meditation teacher) can prescribe asanas for you at that time. There are also two special exercises that are known to very few instructors, let alone students, that are very beneficial to practice each day. They have a positive effect on the mind as well as the body. One is especially beneficial for women and the other for men. Both are total body exercises and prevent and cure many diseases as well as increasing longevity. These exercises are the kaoshikii dance (for women and men) and the tandava dance (for men), both of which have also already posted to you. So keep the body fit and healthy. Continue with all the practices come what may. Your inner journey is the greatest journey, because through it you will attain the greatest fulfilment in life. The result of your meditation will transcend all other results. Even when you lose all the limited and temporary things in your life; when everything else has gone; only the Infinite will remain. --- There are three main aspects to human existence: body, mind and soul (physical, psychic and spiritual). In yoga the soul is pure consciousness. This does not mean mental processes. Rather, it is the witnessship of all your mind. The soul is the overall controller of the mind and body, but doesn't actually do anything. In yogic philosophy it's referred to as the “Witnessing Entity”. The mind expresses itself through the body. It has its headquarters in the brain, but works through a number of “branches” – psychic energy centres called cakras (pronounced “chakra”). Just as the mind is stationed in the brain, the cakras are stationed with the glands, at different points in the body. There are seven main cakras, each associated with seven endocrine glands or gland complexes. Their locations: 1. Base of the spine 2. Base of the genital organ 3. Navel 4. Centre of the chest 5. Throat 6. Point between the eyes 7. Crown of the head The body is composed of the same five fundamental factors as the rest of the universe - ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid, solid. Every factor is distributed throughout the body, but is controlled by one of the lower five cakras. Depending on the message from the mind, the cakra tells the endocrine glands around it to secrete the hormones that control the body metabolism and influence the way we feel. When looking at the layers of mind, we also will explore how they are related to the cakras and the different fundamental factors associated with the cakras. In addition the cakras deal with different mental propensities and this will also be explored in the forthcoming posts. Regards Dharma