Summary – real or paper differences in Tantric yoga
In the medieval period we witnessed how in urban elite circles good old general yoga signs like dharana, dhyana and pranayama (for instance in the Malini and the Yoga-sastra) were linked to Tantric signs. Take meditation’ – often equated with yoga – as an example. In the Tantric period period meditation was not about mortifying the body-mind system in order to gain release in death’. Now meditation was often signified as guiding and visualising divine body forces’. Or it was signified as vibrating consciousness into divine frequencies’. The signified – the purpose – of meditation’ was clearly unstable and re-configured. But what about the physical practice the sign referred to – was this referent then stable and fixed? Most probably the referent underwent similar re-configurations.
When reading texts such as the Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta a reader could be tempted to conclude that Tantra introduced a new and significant different style of yogic meditation. High Tantric discourse, by the sound of it, seemed to frame meditation in ecstatic and orgiastic descriptions. Often the term possession’ (avesa or samavesa) was directly used. Sometimes we encounter practitioners who at their initiation would collapse in rapturous spasms (Smith 2006). We have descriptions related to meditation, which associated it with talking in tongues, epileptic seizures, dissociated mind, and multiple personalities. If we compare that with the ascetic Yogi, who mortified his body-mind system with meditation, we clearly realise the difference.
Use your triceps to lower and raise your body, holding Yoga poses using bolsterthe ball in place. Do this 8 times. Next, raise your heels up and Yoga poses using bolsterkeep your elbows straight as you pulse up and down, rolling the ball back and forth. Do this 8 times. Lower your heels to the floor and keep your elbows straight as you bend your knees into a deep Be sure to pull your shoulders away from your ears to stabilize and open your chest. 24 ADVANCED Full Twisting Two-Handed Spiral Lunge BENEFITS: This is almost like doing a one-legged squat and I think it’s the most effective butt exercise there is. Stand in a curtsy position, your right leg straight and your left knee bent and crossed in front of your right leg. Your torso faces forward with both feet parallel.
