<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/38476633.cms" />The stomach as per the vedic sources is the organ responsible deriving prana from the food and in this sense, the vedic masters identified three stomachs of a human being – the mouth, the actual stomach and the intestines. All these three stomachs are controlled and governed by the manipoorak chakra in the pranic body of a person. 
 
Maximum imbalances in the body start with congestion in the stomach and a faulty elimination of waste from the body, which ultimately manifests into disease. When you eat food, two things can happen that may lead to disease in future. First is the failure of absorption of nutrients from the intestines due to the development of a chemical coating on the walls due to eating food laced with chemicals and masalas. Second, the slow/negligible movement of the ingested food in the digestive tract due to lack of pranic energy in the manipoorak, once again resulting from ingestion of chemicals and dangerous masalas. Both these things lead to collection of toxins (ama) and absorption of these toxins into the blood stream, which further destabilize the endocrine system giving rise to serious diseases, mostly auto-immune disorders like thyroid and asthma. So the vedic saying that death begins in the colon is not without logical backing. 
 
The manipoorak chakra and hence the stomach, can be kept in an optimal condition through certain yogic kriyas and mantras detailed in the book ‘Sanatan Kriya the Ageless Dimension’, which direct specific energy towards manipoorak chakra, making for balance in the complete body. Many modern authors out of lack of understanding and experience of the subtler layers of the body conclude the chakras to be a part of the physical body and hence prescribe funny postures and abnormal breathing exercises to stimulate them. Chakras however correspond to the next layer of the body called the pranamaya kosha and need to be accessed through the realm of the ether under the guidance of a guru. 
 
For a basic experience of the manipoorak chakra, just sit with your eyes closed. Keeping your hands loose and relaxed, bring your palms closer to each other and then apart, in front of navel while maintaining the awareness of the palm centers and the point of the navel. Look out for any sensations in the palms. Write to me about your observations. 

	 
	 
	Yogi Ashwini is a renowned Yog Guru and is the guiding light of Dhyan Foundation. <a href="http://www.dhyanfoundation.com/">www.dhyanfoundation.com</a> 
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A Stomach That Lasts You Till Your Old Age

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/29098725.cms" />If you happen to take a flight at night, and if you get a window seat – just look out of the window when you take-off, you will see thousands of tiny dots of light coming from thousands of houses that lie below and if you peep into any of those houses, you will find people not very different from one another, going through similar life experiences – each one is stressed, each one is disturbed by the same set of problems – health, finances, relationships and/or emotions. 
 
It is these stresses that weigh down an individual all through the life keeping him entangled in the everyday struggle and before one knows, the hair are grey, the spine is bent, the skin is shrivelled, the eyesight dim, the body is host to a plethora of diseases, and the stress…it only increases, never subsides- deteriorating the body further and faster. Psychological stress is in fact the prime factor expediting ageing in the body. Medically, the psychological stress is associated with shortening of the telomere length in our DNA as a consequence of which body succumbs to the diseases of old age. The research is detailed in the book 'The Ageless Dimension' and is now copied and published by Jue Lin et al at University of California. 
 
Stress and life stressors are also the factor that sets us apart from our ancestors who led a stress-free life and were able to go on in a youthful and radiant body till the very last, for they had the key to creation…What our ancients knew and what we often forget is that the world outside is a reflection of the world inside. The source of disturbances around us stems from our own desires, the bondages that keep us entangled in the world outside and disturbed in the world inside. Just close your eyes for a few minutes. You will find your mind flooded with all kinds of thoughts – about your health, about parents, family, children, office, about finances, future security, about status and wealth, etc. Even when you think you are relaxing and are not exerting yourself physically, the mind is racing at supersonic speeds and your thoughts are consuming you. The book, ‘Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension’ delves deeper on the subject of thoughts and psychological stress and how it leads to ageing in the body. Here I detail a simple vedic technique from the book to deal with everyday stress by untying yourself from the clutches of desires and moving into the inner world. 
 
Shanmukhi Mudra: At any point of time any one of your senses is always at work, all the time running after the objects of desire. The doorways to these desires in the human body are our sense organs. Shanmukhi Mudra shuts these doors to be able to experience the real world, which lies inside. 
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Sit in Siddhasan, keeping your back absolutely straight. Slowly raise your hands towards the face keeping the elbows at shoulder level. Put the thumbs inside the ear holes blocking any external sound. Then close your eyes and gently press your eyelids with the index finger. Ensure that no light enters. Then with the middle finger tips slowly press the nasal passage. Keep the pressure soft and release the pressure on the nostrils at frequent intervals to take in some air. With the ring finger and the little finger press the upper lip and the lower one thereby closing the 7 doorways to Maya, them being the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. Once all the doors are shut try and listen to the sound within, observe where it leads you. Do not stretch the breath beyond your limit. 
 
Caution: In the beginning do not try and strain yourself by closing the nostrils as you might suffocate yourself. Breathe in after frequent and comfortable gaps. 
 
Once you close these 7 gates or these indriyas then you tend to close the doorways to the external and artificial world and you begin exploring the reality within. The calmness and the peace experienced through this practice is amazing. This is an extremely effective technique for people with high stress life, suffering from insomnia and depression. 
 
Stress followed by disease and ageing is because of avidya/agyan. It is impossible for a normal person to get vidya/gyan of reality and become stress free, a normal person is so tied up that he does not have the time or the inclination for anything beyond. Sanatan Kriya and Shanmukhi Mudra give a glimpse of reality which lies within and not outside...enough for one to get the inclination to discover more... time will be created for the practice without harming any other routine. 
 
Yogi Ashwini is a renowned Yog Guru and author of books like Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension. He is also the guiding light of Dhyan Foundation. <a href="http://www.dhyanfoundation.com" onclick="window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=no,dependent=no'); return false;">www.dhyanfoundation.com </a>Twitter: @dhyanfoundation
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Break The Age Cage

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Yog is a science which has been practiced for thousands of years. The benefits of yog have been experienced by practitioners when they have taken up the practice in its entirety. The rules of yog stay the same even today despite the lifestyles of individuals undergoing a sea of change. 
 
Just as a patient would benefit from doctor’s prescription if and only if the patient takes the medication in its entirety, similarly yog has to be seen as a divine prescription, which cannot be altered as per individual’s comfort or acceptance. Further, to reap the benefits of yogic practices, they need to be done regularly... you cannot cure yourself of a disease just by reading the prescription, the medicine also has to be taken also. 
 
Yog simply put is union in, and union with, all spheres of life. One does not have to renounce this world and go to the mountains. A practitioner of yog can lead the life of a householder, executing his or her responsibilities towards the family and the society. 
 
We are starting a series of articles on various practices of Sanatan Kriya which members of Dhyan Foundation have been practicing for years now and benefited on the physical, emotional, mental and the financial planes. 
 
These very practices have also been shared with hundreds of people across the country and those who are regular with their practice have also reported positive changes in them. What is important to note here is that all the people are at responsible positions in the society with jobs or businesses and families to look after. 
 
Today, let us start with the first step and that is, abdominal breathing. Sit with your spine absolutely straight on a firm but soft surface. Sit in a clean, well-ventilated but not windy or cold environment. Ensure that you’re sitting without any support to your back. 
 
Close your eyes and take your awareness to the abdomen. Exhale very slowly and as you exhale pull your abdomen in without bending the back. Without holding your breath, start inhaling slowly and start expanding your abdomen as if the air was filling your abdominal cavity. Once you have inhaled to your abdomen’s full capacity, start exhaling again. Repeat this process of abdominal inhalation and exhalation for as long as possible sitting with a straight spine and without straining yourself. Slowly reduce the speed of breathing and increase the depth of your breath. 
 
In the stressed out life of today, all of us are breathing at a fast pace. Physical, mental or emotional stress increases the metabolism of our body. Metabolism simply put is the rate at which energy is being consumed by the cells of our body. This stress leads to a faster cell burnout. This simple breathing technique reduces the rate of metabolism of the body thereby increasing the life span of the cell but most importantly without reducing the efficiency of the individual. 
 
Yogi Ashwini is a renowned Yog Guru and the guiding light of Dhyan Foundation. <a href="http://www.dhyanfoundation.com/">www.dhyanfoundation.com</a> Twitter: @dhyanfoundation 
 
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