2010.05.19 01:00 - yoga talk

The Guardian for this meeting was Bolonath Crystal. The comments are by Bolonath Crystal.

    Bolonath Crystal: namaste :)
    Qt Core: hi Bolonath
    --BELL--
    Darren Islar: hi Bolo, QT
    Bolonath Crystal: namaste darren
    Qt Core: hi Darren
    Darren Islar: still ill QT?
    Qt Core: yes, i will be home all week with antibiotics
    Darren Islar: okay, sorry to hear
    Qt Core: i was quite surprosed as i didn't feel so ill
    Darren Islar: but at least there is a medicin
    Darren Islar: well, from the sound of it, it is a bacteriel inflamation
    Darren Islar: then you really must have a painful throat
    Qt Core: not really now , just a bad voice, and the doctor said i have to eat drink cold things... ice cream yeah!
    Darren Islar: :-)
    Darren Islar: so no use of voice for you today :-)
    Darren Islar: I mean in sl
    Qt Core: no problem with that i use voice very scarcely
    Darren Islar: I know, that's why I said it
    Qt Core: ;-)
    --BELL--
    Darren Islar: brb
    Qt Core: have to go, being ill is no guaranty to have a quiet day ;-) bye all
    Darren Islar: bye QT
    Darren Islar: hi Arch
    Darren Islar: I think Bolo has fallen asleep
    Archmage Atlantis: Hello Darren,
    Darren Islar: or from the looks of it, he thinks of something different, his thoughts drifting away
    Archmage Atlantis: What iis it you would say if he were here?
    Darren Islar: I would give him a penny for his thoughts :-)
    --BELL--
    Darren Islar: or I would say
    Darren Islar: wb Bolo
    Archmage Atlantis: Thoughts are worth more than small change, they do change smalle
    Bolonath Crystal: namaste arch
    Archmage Atlantis: Blessings Bolo
    Darren Islar: hi Pema
    Bolonath Crystal: namaste pema
    Pema Pera: Hi Bolonath, so good to see you again !!
    Pema Pera: hi Darren and Arch!
    Archmage Atlantis: The world is in more than average chaos, Pema
    Archmage Atlantis: To reflect and consider is more difficult now\
    Pema Pera: :-)
    Archmage Atlantis: It is your strenght, Pema........it is now pn need
    Archmage Atlantis: Have tp rbppt wosj me; luck4
    Pema Pera: We wish you luck, Arch :)
    Pema Pera: Bolonath, how have you been?
    Bolonath Crystal: not too bad, ty pema
    Pema Pera: you have been away, or on retreat?
    Bolonath Crystal: yes, i spent some time in thailand, pratising yoga and giving lessons
    Pema Pera: That must have been an exercise in contrasts, with the current political situation there . . . .
    Darren Islar: and found himself a new job :-)
    Pema Pera: new job?
    Bolonath Crystal: i have an offer as yoga teacher for the next winter
    Pema Pera: in Thailand?
    Bolonath Crystal: the political situation in thailand wasn't so bad. i left bangkok before the shooting started
    Bolonath Crystal: yes, in thailand, pema
    Pema Pera: Are you teaching there to foreigners or people from Thailand, or both?
    Bolonath Crystal: mainly to foreigners
    Bolonath Crystal: but of course i would also teach thai ppl, if they'd like to
    Pema Pera: what kind of yoga, if I may ask?
    Bolonath Crystal: hatha yoga and meditation
    Bolonath Crystal: only very few ppl like to do raja yoga...
    --BELL--
    Pema Pera: and if I can keep asking :-), how would you characterize the difference in atmosphere or energy between teaching in Switzerland and Thailand?
    Bolonath Crystal: of course ppl are more relaxed in their holidays - at least before the lessons
    Bolonath Crystal: and the setting in thailand is much more beautiful, with the beach and the sea in the background
    Bolonath Crystal: but the lessons are the same
    Pema Pera: as for Raja yoga, that includes bhakti and jnana?
    Bolonath Crystal: no. bhakti and jnana are different things
    Bolonath Crystal: raja yoga is more about meditation and insights
    Bolonath Crystal: bhakti yoga develops devotion
    Pema Pera: I thought raja yoga included four yogas (what I remember reading from Vivekananda, loooong ago); do I misremember? hatha, karma, bhakti, jnana
    Bolonath Crystal: jnana yoga is yogic philosophy
    Bolonath Crystal: raja, bhakti, jnana and karma yoga in combination is called integral yoga. hatha yoga is a subdivision of raja
    Bolonath Crystal: hatha yoga by itself has no big influence on the spiritual development
    Bolonath Crystal: it gives you health and a good feeling, but doesn't lead to enlightenment
    Bolonath Crystal: ppl in their holidays like to feel relaxed, but don't like to have insights which may lead to a change of lifestyle ;)
    Pema Pera: :-)
    Darren Islar: do you find that difficult?
    Bolonath Crystal: what do you mean, darren?
    Darren Islar: that people like the relaxation, but not the 'real' thing, so to speak
    Darren Islar: (I see two heads looking my way, getting shy :-))
    Bolonath Crystal: no, not difficult at all. i give them what they want to have
    Darren Islar: k
    Bolonath Crystal: sometimes somebody wants to go deeper. then i can give further instructions. but i'm not wasting efford on ppl who don't want to have it
    Darren Islar: sure, I understand that
    Pema Pera: why is raja yoga called "royal" (if that is the correct translation); does it somehow unite or transcend the other ones?
    --BELL--
    Bolonath Crystal: good question...
    Bolonath Crystal: it is regarded as the "highest disciplin" in yoga
    Bolonath Crystal: maybe because you cannot do it once a week or so. it is a 24/7-job
    Darren Islar: If I remember well, it is not recommended by some to do that in this society?
    Darren Islar: making you too vulnerable
    Darren Islar: do you know something about that ?
    Bolonath Crystal: i never heard this recommendation. but i think i know the backgrounds to that
    Bolonath Crystal: in our society ppl use to have money as their highest value. that doesn't fit with raja yoga
    Bolonath Crystal: so a raja yogi is usually not a really successful member of our society
    Darren Islar: :-)
    Pema Pera: :)
    Bolonath Crystal: and btw there is no use of taking effords to have a better reincarnation if one doesn't believe in reincarnation at all
    Bolonath Crystal: christianity is a typical bhakti yoga teaching
    Darren Islar: and that is an importatn part of raja yoga?
    Bolonath Crystal: important in raja yoga is to let go of everything which ends at the end of this incarnation
    Darren Islar: being based on reincarnation
    Darren Islar: right
    Bolonath Crystal: without reincarnation raja yoga becomes meaningless, except you really succeed in enlightenment during this incarnation and bring the whole cycle to an end
    Pema Pera: is Raja Yoga your main practice, Bolo?
    Bolonath Crystal: yes
    Pema Pera: you mentioned 24/7 -- does it include working with dreams too?
    Bolonath Crystal: yes, there is a technique which is called dream yoga or sleep yoga
    Pema Pera: do you have experience with that too?
    Bolonath Crystal: it is not a technique which uses dream contents to gain insights. it is more about keeping the mind centered on yogic things during sleeping
    Bolonath Crystal: i do that every evening before i sleep :)
    Pema Pera: thank you for sharing all that, Bolo!
    Darren Islar: that makes sense
    Pema Pera: alas, I'll have to leave now
    Pema Pera: great seeing you both again!
    Bolonath Crystal: bye pema, om shanti :)
    Darren Islar: bye Pema
    Darren Islar: need to go too
    --BELL--
    Pema Pera: om shanti :)
    Darren Islar: thanks Bolo :-)
    Bolonath Crystal: yw :)