The Basic Practice
The 4 Yin Yang Mudras
Modules 1 to 4
The Sacred Feminine Aspect by Sonia Gomes.
Edited by Andrew Khor
The balance, integration and unity of the female and male polarity is
necessary for oneness practice which leads us to another step in our
evolutionary journey.
For thousands of years and in many nations, the masculine energy has
been predominant and misogynistic - resulting in the trampling of female rights
and causing untold misery and suffering amongst women.
The loss of feminine energy is a serious problem for civilisation. The
absence or repression of the feminine aspects in a man or in our society -
reduces his emotional depth and is a source of distortion in his values and
approach to life. There is a lack of balance and harmony and this is
reflected in many societies on the planet now.
The retrieval of the feminine energy and balancing it with the masculine
energy is essential for both women and men to progress – physically,
emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
When we observe cultures in society that suppress our collective
feminine essence, we appear to be at a loss for words, how can something so
sacred and essential for our collective human evolutionary and spiritual
growth, be allowed to be suppressed for the past two thousand years?
Losing touch with feminine aspects is also, of course, a serious problem
for women. This affects their natural way of being as a nurturing and caring
personality and the search for their inner essence.
The feminine aspect brings joy, love, growth and creativity for the individual
and society as a whole and is necessary for civilisations to flourish.
The Rise and Fall of the Feminine
With the advent of patriarchal religion and the consequent loss of
reverence for the goddess energy, the conscious development of women was
significantly blocked.
Slowly she began to worship gods made by men; the values of the men
became their values; the attitudes of men to justify the subordination of women
have become their values.
The loss of the relationship with the goddess led to the adoption of
masculine characteristics. Femininity was occupied by feminism, and, the
pursuit of equal rights distorted to a match with the male nature.
To restore the image of the feminine seems to be a herculean task
because patriarchy is not willing to share its power.
Still, the past decades have seen significant changes. The lifting
efforts of the feminist movement brought the awareness to the battlefront of
the need for equality between women and men.
The attributes of women have been included in other roles than that of
wife and mother. However, putting women in pants began to distort their own
feminine values and they started becoming more overtly masculine.to compete in
the workplace.
Today we live in a phallic world and the dominant images are of wealth,
power and technology. These present themselves as gods to be
worshipped, instead of love, beauty, sexual ecstasy, and numinous experiences.
The real cure for this phallic world is the retrieval of the sacred
feminine and the transformation of the inner world of the human being. -
restoring the balance between the inner male and female. - the Yin and Yang
polarity.
The female presence should aid in the active construction of society,
and the manifestation of qualities such as compassion, care, protection, and
love.
Although these qualities are not restricted to the female gender, having
a stronger female presence in society can help build a more just and equitable
world.
It is time to create a world without discrimination, and develop
peaceful and harmonious societies. And for this to happen, a new paradigm must
support the appreciation of the feminine principle.
Andrew Khor
I am told in my studies that there is an inner masculine and an inner feminine
within our energy bodies and when those currents of energies are balanced and
integrated, a third energy is spontaneously created.
It rises up our wisdom channel and by practicing any form of oneness, it
leads us to universal awareness.
The practice I am about to share already exists in various schools of
yoga and the combination of these hand movements which are called mudras have
positive healing effects and is a fundamental yin yang modality that is
required to achieve oneness principles to stay in harmony and balance.
Regular practice will lead to beneficial meditation benefits.
Balancing and integrating the left and right currents
 |
An example of energy currents;
the human is also an energy battery |
The left or female (negative) current is supposed to be cool and the
right (positive) current is masculine and is supposed to be warm. In extreme
situations the left current can be cold and the right can be hot.
One can think of it as a fully charged battery with a positive and negative
current. Hook up the negative and positive currents and the battery works.
It is the same principle with the human body. When the left feminine and
right masculine current are balanced and integrated or hooked up, the person
becomes energised.
When the left or right is out of balance and the energies are depleted due to
stress or exhaustion then the person can and will experience strokes or
breakdowns.
And if the currents are too hot or too cold, the body will malfunction.
There is an old saying in the Tao, when the two becomes one, then the
ten thousand appears. This means the person who has integrated their left and
right currents and activated their wisdom channel become strong and can create
or manifest many things with desire and action.
The ida is the left feminine and negative current or nadi. The pingala is the right
masculine and positive current. Balance and integrate the left and right
currents and the middle channel known as the Sushumna or wisdom channel is
awakened. In spiritual circles, this is known as the inner marriage or the Tao, when the
two becomes one.
In various schools, there are different methods of balancing and integrating
the inner male and female and there are some immediate benefits.
The practices of these mudras were sourced from the Indian continent and
come from a long history of yogic practice and have been proven to be
beneficial.
So we are not reinventing the wheel here, but merely selecting mudras or hand
movements which when practiced holistically have a cummulative benefit.
Mudras work on the same principle as foot reflexology. There are important
points in the fingers which awaken energies and promote their flow in the
body’s energy meridians.
What are the benefits of these mudras?
Firstly, one becomes more centred and calmer. And the practice of quiet
meditation becomes easier.
One participant after a group practice said that towards the end of the 10-minute
practice, tried as he wanted to, he could not think. He did not have any
thoughts. He was calm, centred and thoughtless. That was surprising. These
three attributes are necessary for a successful meditation practice.
A lady said she felt a lot of heat leaving her body. She was recovering
from high blood pressure and had felt “heaty” and was pleasantly surprised to
feel her body temperature returning to normal.
I recall an earlier session I had with a young twenty-one-year-old lady
at a wellness centre in Kuala Lumpur.
She had cold hands ever since she was twelve. The parents had taken her to
countless doctors and traditional Ayurvedic treatment – still, her hands
remained cold.
When she learned the four balancing movements, she could feel the
coldness receding from the shoulders to her arms – and experienced a 75%
reduction of coldness in her hands. I hope she is still practicing this
modality. Cases like hers are quite rare.
There are people who are practicing these mudras and they say that
sometimes they intuitively feel like extending the time on each mudra – from
two minutes to five. Trust your intuition. There are times when you
exhaust or tire out the body. So the body naturally needs more recharging.
A major benefit is that the internal wisdom channel is activated and the
spiritual life force gently and spontaneously rises the middle channel without
any resistance. And it then rises to the head and out to the cosmos in a vertical
line.
This is seen as two spirals wrapped around each other. And the
participant begins to experience cosmic awareness beyond the five earthly
senses. The veil lifts and we are than aware that we share this universe with
various intelligent cosmic beings. The greatest discovery of our lifetime will
be that we are not alone in this universe.
Step One – the Womb or Hara Mudra
The first Mudra releases suppressed emotions kept in the womb and lower
body by females or in the lower body organs by males. A clairvoyant observed
one of the participants and she saw tiny black dots leaving the lower
body. The tiny black dots represent anger, frustration, shame,
humiliation and general unhappiness.
The two thumbs are placed at the belly button.
As we know ladies have unique problems in their womb – fibroids,
endometriosis and cysts. Medical science recognises the symptoms but cannot
with 100% certainty identify the source of these problems.
We can for certain say that these are due to cellular mutation. What
causes the cellular mutation? There is a growing link between unresolved
emotions and cellular issues in medical literature – and we have anecdotal
evidence that unresolved emotions are the culprit.
We can say that these medical issues represent human cells gone wild. There is
a complementary therapy where people are encouraged to talk positively and
appreciate their cells and body organs.
When we expose our cells and organs to negative or chaotic thoughts
consistently - like reading the newspapers in the morning - then clairvoyants
can see black and grey energies flowing to the organs.
That's when dis-ease begins. Add to that an unhealthy diet, the lack of
exercise, polluted air, heavy metals in our water that we drink, emotionally
abusive relationships, exposure to electromagnetic radiation from our handphones
and wireless modems - you have the classic recipe for the body falling sick.
Step Two – Balancing the Left
The second Mudra balances the left current. Some people can
feel energy leaving the right palm which faces downwards. That means there is
excessive left or feminine energy. And once that has cleared, they can feel
incoming energy on the left palm.
After two minutes, the energy situation goes back to normal. Eventually
after more practice, there is more sensitivity and intuitively people are
guided to stay in the mudra longer.
If the person has more incoming energy on the left palm and less going
out, it shows that the left feminine channel is depleted and the person has
probably undergone a lot of emotional challenges which has left them sad and
feeling empty.
Step Three – Balancing the Right
The third Mudra balances the right current. If there is insufficient masculine
energy, the participant will feel a lot of energy entering the right palm and
filling it up.
If the person has excessive right or masculine energy, then the excessive
energy will leave the palm on the left facing the sky. It is at this time that
some people feel a lot of heat leaving the body.
Step Four – The Unity Mudra
The fourth Mudra is known as the Unity Mudra. The first mudra clears
emotional energy. The left and right are then balanced. And now the final mudra
brings the whole energy field into balance and integration – here is where
oneness begins.
The right hand forms a fist and sits on the left palm. These hands are
then placed at the navel and held in position for also two minutes. The
masculine right hand is sitting gently and supported by the feminine left
palm. You see the inner male and inner female need each other. One cannot
exist and act without the other.
One participant began to feel the phenomena of a cool breeze emerging from his
head. This meant that his life force energy had gently emerged from
the tailbone area in a harmonious manner and any blockages in his energy
centers had been cleared and rebalanced to allow the wisdom life force to
emerge unblocked all the way to his head.
The Cool Breeze
The appearance of the Cool Breeze is an indication that the process has
been correctly practiced and reflects the rising of the divine feminine energy
residing within the energy body.
The first known references of a cool breeze in meditation literature was
of the young Buddha. While sitting in
meditation in front of his mentor, deep in meditation, he felt the presence of
a cool breeze emanating from within his being.
The phenomena of the cool breeze takes the participant into a cool and
calm relaxed state that assists one to go deeper into meditation.
With regular practice, there will be a satisfied and calm feeling even
though the body is now fully charged.
Continuous and diligent practice before meditation will lead the
practitioner to greater depths of relaxation and altered states of
consciousness – leading to youthfulness and a pleasant calmness.
He or she begins to gradually connect with the inner light and access
his or her highest potential - and importantly begins to materialise that
potential in his or her life.
The Practice Modules of the 4 Yin Yang Mudras
Module One – Deep breathing for relaxation
The idea is that the first module prepares the participants for the
second module. The second module prepares for the third module. And so on and
so forth. The structure of the modules then supports the process in a holistic
manner.
We got the group to first practice deep breathing from the abdomen. Pushpa who
is our breathing teacher prepares the participants in Module One. The whole
idea of deep breathing from the abdomen is to bring in more oxygen into the
body so that people start becoming more relaxed.
Normally we all take in shallow breaths from the upper parts of the
lungs and we are not sufficiently oxygenised. By doing deep
breathing – starting from the abdomen which is practiced by singers, we begin
to take in more oxygen and fill in the lungs.
As we do this for a few minutes, the idea is to get people more relaxed
and also more focused. Once people start focusing on the breath, our inner
chatter automatically and gradually goes away.
Module Two – Breath Retention
After a few minutes, we start practicing breath retention. The idea is
to breathe in deeply to a count of 6, then hold the breath for 6 seconds, and
then breathe out to a count of six. Relax. Then repeat the 6 second cycle.
If the count of 6 is difficult, then practice to a count of 3
first. Once you are used to the count of
3 then you may continue to the count of 6. There is no hurry. Do what is
doable.
In pranayama or deep breathing practice, there are patterns of counts in
inhaling, holding the breath and then exhaling.
Certain people that I know can hold the breath for two minutes after
lots of practice and they tell me that they experience bliss. And
from what I have read in the literature on deep breathing practice, this
appears to be the case.
As we continue this practice, people generally can and will be able to
feel energy flowing throughout their entire body. The textbooks say
we have many miles of meridians carrying energy throughout the body.
Acupuncture is one method to restore the energy when we are not well. If
we practice deep breathing consistently, we are performing a natural form of
acupuncture. By the end of this session, people are sufficiently relaxed and
prepared to continue with the next module.
In the interpretation of oneness principles, breathing in is merging the
outside with the inside. Breathing out is merging the inside with the outside.
Holding the breath is merging the outside and inside – in other words,
experiencing oneness. That’s why when breath retention is practiced
consistently, people go into blissful states.
Module Three - Feminine and Masculine Balancing and Unity Integration
The idea is that once people are sufficiently relaxed with the deep
breathing and breath retention, the mind slows down, people start feeling
lighter and calmer. They are prepared for the next step.
The four hand mudras or movements. Each is done for two to three
minutes. Once people are more familiar with this practice,
intuitively, they will increase the time spent on each hand movement.
The first step removes our emotional garbage. The second and third
movement regulates the feminine and masculine. The fourth step balances and
integrates the masculine and feminine so that the middle channel is activated,
and the spiritual life force is gently released.
The energy rises gently to the brain and energises dormant parts of the
brain and eventually one’s inner wisdom and intuition are gradually awakened.
The more people practice the yin yang balance in their lives, the more
this balance will spread to the earth herself.
The earth is also a yin yang energy battery. There has to be balance and
harmony. The planet is severely affected by the aggressive male energy present
on the planet today. There is a lack of harmony and balance between
the feminine and masculine polarity.
When we are out of balance, we will automatically fall sick. When the
earth is out of balance, natural disasters will occur. Balance must be achieved
within human beings. Or else natural disasters and human disasters cannot be
contained.
There is no other way to resolve these problems - creating a
balance between the masculine and feminine is necessary for inner peace and
eventually world harmony to prevail. With inner peace comes a natural
intelligence that guides us.
Module Four – Thoughtless Meditation
After the third module, participants are supposed to be balanced
energetically, the yin and yang in harmony and are more relaxed and calmer.
This is now the appropriate time to practice thoughtless meditation. In
thoughtless meditation, the idea is to gently seek the silence between the
thoughts and lengthen the time of silence between each thought.
In this process, the participant is urged not to suppress any thought.
When any thought comes, the thought is allowed to come to the mental screen and
allowed then to naturally depart. Then another thought comes and the process is
repeated.
However, because of the practice of Modules One and Two and Three, the
thoughts are now slower and one can then discern the silence or gap between the
thoughts and gently lengthen that gap.
With sufficient practice, one can lengthen that gap from a few seconds
to ten seconds before the next thought. Then lengthen the gap to 30
seconds before the next thought. Then lengthen the gap to 60 seconds before the
next thought.
Through continuous practice, that gap can be lengthened to three
minutes, then five minutes then ten minutes and so forth until one can sit in
thoughtless meditation for 30 minutes – which is quite an achievement.
The participant will shift from a conscious state to an altered deeply
relaxed state that is thoughtless and this is the time, the brain waves slow
down and the body rests and rejuvenates itself and absorbs more life-force.
Closing
Once we have finished the meditation practice,
we can do an inner countdown of 1 to 10 and bring ourselves back to full body
consciousness.
Rub our hands and warm the face.
Tap the top of the head with the right palm to
release excess energy.
And we are back to our conscious state from
the meditative state.
Feedback from Participants
We had a feedback from one participant. From his comment we can only
conclude that he has a breathing problem which is caused by a blocked nose.After a practice session, he commented, “A million thanks for an awesome
session last Saturday.
"Great experience and I shall practice religiously.
This morning had a wonderful sitting…my nose was opened. Oh what a feeling. It
was like eating wasabi coz nose opened up.”
Wasabi is a form of Japanese horseradish that is used as a condiment and
has an extremely strong pungency. It normally produces vapours that stimulate
the nasal passages.
So for people with breathing problems or blocked noses, simple and
easy-to-do deep breathing and retention practices do obviously help.
Anne
She had visions of a rainbow and a bright light. We can relate this to
the rainbow body practice of indigenous cultures in South America and Tibet.
There are reference to the Rainbow Light Aura Meditation of Tibet
introduced to the world by the Guru Padma Sambhava who is believed to be the
second Buddha after Sakyamuni.
The idea is that when the rainbow is seen, then one knows that the practice is working because this means that the major energy centres, the chakras are harmonised and balanced. The seven major energy centres of the human body reflect the seven colours of the rainbow.
