Benefits - Refining Exercises No.1

Physical 1. Problems connected with the lungs. As we grow older the lungs get stuck at the upper part due to non-use. By doing these exercises these are opened up and breathing, blood flow etc. is freed, thus curing asthmatic and respiratory problems such as wet lungs. 2. This is the area of the heart. This exercise therefore remedies all kinds of heart aliments such as weak heart, blocked arteries, valve problems etc. It helps regulate the flow of blood. From the heart, oxygenated blood reaches every cell in the body. Each cell has its organic memory as Tavariyaji used to say; this memory at present is of conflict. So by doing this exercise at the 3SRB rhythm, blood from the heart imbibes this rhythm and transports it to each cell of the body. This rhythm is then slowly taken up by the organic memory of each cell. And where there is rhythm, conflict cannot exist. So in this way, the first exercise ensures good overall health of the body.

Emotional This is the area of the magical quality we call love. But before that, this is also the area where the ego (I Consciousness) is born. And love would mean transcendence of Ego. This ego starts from birth, ever since a name is given to a person. Then everything starts revolving around that name, eg. My name, My Family, My House, etc. Satisfying of this ego becomes the central point of our lives. Everything revolves round it, which in turn leads to self-centeredness, manipulation of others, power-gathering etc. Because of this we cannot love, because to love we must have the will to love. We can therefore say that this is the area where will is also born.

Benefits - Refining Exercises No.2

Physical

This is the area where the digestive fire is created, so the proper creation of this ensures general health and toning up of the abdominal glands. Intestinal peristalsis movement is toned, so the passage of food becomes easy and we do not suffer from constipation. There are many other organs and glands in this area which get massaged by this exercise - the kidney, liver, pancreas, spleen etc. The pancreas are not exactly and endocrine gland but have a group of cells called Islets of Langerhans which have endocrine tendencies and produce insulin which digests sugar. They also produce valuable digestive juices and play an important role in calming or neutralising the production of adrenaline. On each kidney is a small gland called the Adrenal Gland. They produce adrenaline, which is important for self-preservation. All the gleans are massaged and toned by this exercise.

Emotional

If the adrenaline gleans are not working properly, it leads to passive, moody and depressed introspective ‘ Types’. If the pancreas is not complementing the adrenaline glands properly, it leads to impulsive nature, irritability and anger. But the proper and balanced working of both gives vitality to a lethargic person and tranquility to an overly anxious person. Further, the pancreas is like a sponge as far as negative emotions are concerned, absorbing and holding them, which makes them repeat all the time, thus creating a granthi in this area.This is also the area of Power (according to the Chinese, chi energy is generated here.) But this power must be positive, which can only happen when we overcome the granthi of fear. Most importantly, this is the area of [A] Instinctive Fear [B] Lower Animal Nature

Benefits - Refining Exercises No.3

Physical

The main area that this third exercise touches is the backbone, pelvic girdle and the knees. A strong and flexible spinal cord makes us sit straight and walk tall. This helps us walk through the ups and downs of life and when we cannot sit straight, we let the tension and heaviness of life overburden us. Two inches on either side of the spinal cord we accumulate tensions. These tensions are the result of two predominant emotions - jealousy and anger. Both these areas and when the condition becomes chronic lead to rheumatism and arthritis. Further, the tensions accumulated on either side of the spinal cord slowly weakens the spine, leading to ailments of the back such as spondylitis, 'slipped disc', degeneration of lumber vertebra etc.

  When this exercise is done at the 3SRB rhythm (36 cycles per minute), we start dissolving the acids that have accumulated at various places in the body. The backbone becomes free of tension, thus curing the aliments. The backbone once again performs its most important and natural function, that of being a shock absorber for the body. The exercise helps remove abdominal disorders, stimulates and tones the plexuses (chakras) in the lower part of the body, the most important of which is the perineum.

Emotional

Both the emotions of jealousy and anger play a predominant role in our lives. Over a period of time, this exercise transforms these emotions and we find that we are free of both these negative emotions. Tavariyaji said, "This excercise is like a vacuum cleaner for the backbone (Sushumna Nadi) and by doing it, we pump air up and down our backbone, thus cleansing the sushmna nadi, so that the higher energy of regeneration can rise in it."

  Yoga as that perineum Gravity is the determining factor of the energy. Therefore when we sit on the ground, this energy gathers at whatever points that touch the ground. So by spreading our legs in front of us, we are giving more space to this energy and by the 3SRB rhythm, we refine this energy. This energy is connected with the points of regeneration namely, Muldhara and Swadhisthana, and it keeps us rooted to the realities of life.

  As we said earlier, this exercise indirectly stimulates and tones the plexuses (chakras) in the lower parts of the body. Shri Tavariaji said, "The first master cell created by the meeting of the male sperm and the female ova split into two. On an astral level, this became the muladhara and swadhisthana " The Muldhara is in the perineum. Shri Tavariaji further said, "The first step is the regeneration of the perineum." (Jesus said that the first is also the last) The Cerbor-Spinal fluid and the spinal fluid are one and the same. This fluid is created in the choroid plexus, which is located in the lining of the ventricle of the brain. It is made due to the activity of transportation of ions, especially sodium, across the special epithelial membrane of the chord plexus. So because of the active transportation of sodium, water follows passively by osmosis. The basic medically proven function of this fluid is to act as a shock absorber.

Benefits - Refining Exercises No.4

Physical

This exercise improves blood circulation by getting rid of blockages in the circulation, which keeps us free from skin problems, varicose veins etc. The better the circulation, the better our health. Also on the physical level, there is transmission of electricity via circulation of nervous impulses through the nerves. Due to muscle tension in the body (which has many causes, some of which are on a much deeper level), these impulses get blocked, the direct result of which is the accumulation of static electricity in the muscles. This in turn leads to involuntary working of the muscles or spasms (it may even result in paralysis). Therefore the smoother and better the blood circulation, the less the muscular tension in our body.

  By breathing in installments and to the full, we are improving the elasticity and capacity of the lungs. Like the first exercise, this exercise also helps heart and asthma patients. It also helps in training the lungs for certain essential higher pranayama practices at a later stage on the path of yoga.

  The body has its own electromagnetic field and the health of the body is reflected in this field. The stronger the field, the better is the health of our body. This exercise also helps us increase our sensitivity to blood; the more powerful our body's magnetic field and in turn our vitality and health. Many adepts have used this technique of becoming deeply sensitive to their blood circulation, thereby creating vary powerful and attractive magnetic personalities.

  Finally, the cells of the brain vibrate with this exercise, which helps enhance and improve our memory, also ensuring general vitality and well-being of the brain.

Emotional

The astral counterparts of the nerves in yoga literature are called nadis. "Nadi" literally means channel for the flow of emotional energy of prana. The vital forces of prana flow along them (amperage) and they have to be trained to withstand higher pressures (voltage). This exercise helps increase our level of awareness so that on can starts extracting higher quality of prana from the incoming impulses. Without this exercise, the nadis will not be capable of withstanding these high presures and the body/brain system will totally break down, leading to an imbalance.

  What is flowing in the nadis is prana, or has been extracted from incoming impulses. But the incoming impulses are dependent upon [1] Structure (vibrational tone) and conjoined with [2] identical memory pattern (sanskara). Thus experiential memory too is flowing through the nadis and this experiential memory we call prana. Now in all of us this experiential memory (pattern) is blocked as it is reinforced by memory patterns, and education, our upbringing are all-conducive to creating blocks. These blocks disturb the flow of prana which in turn blocks the flow of nerve mpulses leads to muscular tension, depression, hypertension, blood pressure problems, emotional imbalance, and could also lead to nervous breakdown and paralysis.

  Also, it is this debris of million of years of experiential history (memory) flowing in the prana which makes up our psychic nature. This singes all our negative emotions and makes us animals in human form. By doing this exercise, during the forceful exhalation, you are throwing out millions of years of emotional debris, thereby upgrading your psychic nature. So to conclude, as the fourth refining exercise is directly connected with flow, it removes obstacles to flow at all levels: blood, impulses, prana and memory.

Benefits - Refining Exercises No.5

Physical

Yoga says that when you hold your breath for three seconds, the blood is oxygenated. Which makes you feel more alive, sensitive and vibrant. When you hold the breath for a further two seconds, it adds a little CO2. Not the CO2 already within us which is released by the cells as debris in the venal blood, but this extra CO2 acts as a natural antibiotic which keeps us healthy and free from minor ailments such as colds, fever etc. This holding the breath in and out slows the respiration and the pulse rate. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which has a calming effect on the whole body. When we are born, the parasympathetic nervous system is working at a small percentage of its full capacity, which is necessary/enough to neutralise the excess secretions of the endocrine glands. This keeps us free from anger, irritation etc. With age, the parasympathetic nervous system nearly stops working and thus a lot of irritation and anger flows/resides in our system due to imbalance (secretion of adrenaline). By holding this exercise, we reignite the parasympathetic and thus ensure balance in the body/brain system.

Emotional

At a psychological level, we live in a constant state of action-reaction. The direct result of this is a constant state of irritation. Irritation is a fuse which releases and wastes very fine psychic energy. After too much irritation, we feel spent and it creates a groove where we get more and more irritated. In our agitated state, we live in a constant state of reaction and we usually repent for our actions when we react.
  The idea is to create a gap between action-reaction. Sage Patanjali calls the gap 'Nirodha Sanskara', Shri Tavariaji called it the 'pause'. Our thinking instrument is useless in creating a gap long enough for understanding to flower. The present moment is too fleeting for understanding to come from the use of thought and reason.
  To help us not react in the present moment but to respond out of understanding, we need this understanding to come from some higher dimension. This understanding then will help us respond to the situation as a whole, and avoid automatic reflex action or reactions. We call this inspiration of the beginning of intuition. As we go deeper, intuition grows into perception and perception to spiritual reading. In this exercise, we breathe in and then a gap  and then breathe out. Slowly as this training is absorbed by the body/brain system, we start experiencing higher and higher levels of understanding.
  Also, in this living of action-reaction, we are constantly agitated or jerking the emotional body. This scars the emotional body leading to more granthis and negative patterns and at the same time, releases dangerous chemicals in the body which leads to diseases. By creating a habit of pause, we are giving the emotional body a chance to repose/collect itself before reacting. Thus, that reaction, which was just an extension of the agitation, now comes from an inner calmness. In ancient India, the yogis and rishis conducting research in areas beyond the conscious brain had to temporarily put the conscious brain to sleep, suspend the thought-forming structure temporarily. By pausing for longer periods and taking in larger amounts of CO2, they could induce trance in the conscious brain and then look beyond.

Benefits - Refining Exercises No.6

Physical It activates all five sense organs (sight, taste, hearing, smell and feel) which are in the face and makes them more sensitive. It clears the sinuses and takes care of the throat and thyroid-related problems. The thyroid gland controls combustion of air in breathing and regulates heat in the body/brain system. The minute parathyroid glands are embedded on the thyroid and they have a wide influence on growth and sex (balance). The other main function of the thyroid is to produce hormones that ensure that calcium is deposited in the bones and reduced/removed from the blood. The four tiny parathyroids are in charge of removing calcium from the bones and adding it to the blood. The thyroid also secretes hormones that influence general metabolism, especially the growth of bones, teeth and the brain. It therefore follows that this exercise ensures the optimum working of these glands and keeps the body away from diseases related to bones, blood, etc. Their improper working leads to pathologically nervous, jumpy and over-sensitive type of people, reactive even to very light or mild stimuli. The proper working of the thyroid also ensures and enhances our sensitivity in a positive manner and the proper working of the parathyroids leads to warm passivity and calmness.

  Just above the root of the mouth dangling from the base of the brain, is the pituitary gland, a small organ the size of a cherry stone. It has two parts, the anterior and the posterior. The anterior controls the involuntary muscles of the inner instinctive part of the organism, particulary the intestines, bladder and uterus. It also regulates the productivity of milk for suckling in mothers. The posterior deals with the skelatal system, ability to learn abstract thought and capacity for self-control. Yoga says that the brain is powered by the posterior pituitary. It is tempting to refer to the pitutary as one of the master glands because apart from releasing thyroid stimulating hormone (for the proper working of the thyroid), it also regulates the release of hormones from other glands. The pituitary also controls the overall growth of a person and initiates the dramatic changes that take place at puberty. Production of growth hormones slows down and the sex hormones take over. Therefore, the proper working of this gland ensure proper physical growth. Otherwise, the outcome is pituitary dwarfism (short people) or pituitary gigantism (or acromegaly - bones increasing in thickness, causing hands, feet and jaw to enlarge; the tongue, liver and kidney also continue to grow) or even precocious ageing.

Emotional

On a different level, this exercise is concerned with granthi of pain which forms at the Vishuddhi Chakra. As the granthi gets chronic, the pattern gets deeply embedded and we feel pain at the slightest instigation in life. We have all lost the capacity to absorb pain because of the granthi. This exercise dissolves the granthi of pain and we regain the capacity to absorb pain in life. Later on, we regain the capacity to create from pain the higher energies for our evolution ( Elsewhere Tavariaji has said, "The proper working of the Vishuddhi takes care of all over-powering weaknesses".)

  Our voice box, the larynx, is in the throat area; it is from here that we speak or communicate with one another. The throat centre is thus connected with the energy of communication.
  Shri Tavariaji looked upon yoga as communication with different levels of our being and correspondingly, with different levels of existence in the universe. By talking too much, we misuse and lose the energy needed for inner communication.

  Shri Tavariaji also said that everyone has a characteristic vibrational tone. Which would mean that you have a particular level of vibration, which is the essence of what you are. This vibrational tone of a person is reflected in his or her voice. By doing this exercise, we acquire a tenor and a calmness. Also, the exercise positively reflects and affects the vibrational tone of  person. A sharp doctor can detect how ill a patient is from the quality of his voice. Further, the residual aggressiveness in us lends an edge to our voice, due to which it is unable to sound the undertones or lower harmonics which have their own role to play in the art of communication; this is also a drain on our vital energy. With this practice, we get to employ the sub-harmonics in our voice to effect.