Situations in which you can use Yoga

In case of disease:
First analyze whether the disease is treatable by Yoga and natural medicine, because there are some conditions that cannot be treated by Yoga alone. If the yogi draws the conclusion that Yoga can indeed provide healing, then he or she draws up a program including diet, Yoga practice, herbal medicines, and other alternative complementary naturalist methods, e.g., chiropractic, shiatsu, urine therapy, etc. In our courses, we teach a lot about healing with Yoga.

Epidemics:
When facing the possibility of epidemics, the immune system and the yang energy must be boosted through diet, specific Yoga practices like pranayama (practice for control and rhythming of the breath), and special techniques such as sahaja agnisara dhauti (cleansing by the subtle essence of fire) and vrishchikasana (the scorpion).

Common Cold:
A common cold can be healed in one or two days through Yoga practice and diet. First the "hot" energy in the body must be increased (and simultaneously its "cold" energy must be decreased). According to Ayurveda, in this situation there is too much mucous (kapha) in the body, and so the mucous must be reduced by specific diet or fasting, kriyas (like jala neti, salt water cleansing of the nasal passages), and specialized Yoga asanas and other techniques, such as sarvangasana (the shoulder stand), simhasana (the lion pose), etc. To be absolutely sure, serious yogis fast and drink their own urine for that day.

Stomach:
Stomach problems come from a weak or imbalanced fire in the abdomen. Amplify manipura chakra (the navel chakra) with Yoga techniques such as dhanurasana (the rocking bow), uddhiyana bandha (the abdominal lock), and sahaja agnisara dhauti. Expose the body to sunshine and fire. Take only well cooked food and warm drinks. Herbal medicine such as black walnut, mint, etc., can also help.

Depression:
Real yogis are actually never depressed! Basically, this is a low energy in the second chakra, and as soon as you sublime it the mood can disappear very easily.

Laziness:
Several Yoga asanas remove quickly laziness, such as dhanurasana, halasana (the plough), and mayurasana (the peacock).

Negative emotions:
Generally, the rule in classical Yoga (Patanjali's) is to annihilate any negative emotion with its exact opposite, for example, hate with love, greed with generosity. Yoga gives precise techniques for directing energy, the body, and the mind, to control these emotions. This is a process of self-discipline, and it may take time if the emotions are deep-rooted. There is also a method in Indian and Tibetan Tantra for dealing with emotions by taking them to a crisis break point, but this can only be safely practiced under direct guidance of a Yoga expert.

Death of someone close to you:
The yogi can actually help a person to die well and help the soul of the dying person. This assistance can make passing though the bardo (intermediary time) shorter and less unpleasant, and-depending on the spiritual level of the yogi and the one he is helping-the process of regular death can even be bypassed completely and the dying person can reach high states of consciousness and forms of spiritual realization. This can be learned in our workshop on death and dying.

One's own death:
A yogi trains thoroughly for his or her own death because it is an exceptional moment in which spiritual advancement and even liberation is possible. This comes through the Tibetan methods of the Bardo thodol and Pho-va and others, all of which we teach in our advanced courses.

Making love:
For the yogis making love is actually a spiritual practice and an act of ecstasy. True yogis apply total sexual continence while they are making love, and thus they transform the experience through extending the states of orgasm, leading to rising kundalini, states of meditation, and with practice, to full realization. This information is taught fully in our courses, and also within the material covered by our Tantra workshops.

Party, disco, club:
It definitely depends upon the nature of the party or congregation, but many yogis consider that the average party unleashes low energies of an animal nature. Yogis can either protect and isolate themselves from that energy, being like witnesses, or they can use these energies by subliming and purifying them through various techniques. This depends very much on your skill in pranayama and in feeling the chakras.

Study, exams:
Yogis work on ajna chakra, the third eye chakra, to increase their mental energy. There are Yoga techniques belonging to Raja Yoga, the Yoga of the mind, that can develop the power of concentration and lead to a photographic memory. If you wish to be sharper and more intelligent, you can be.

Creativity:
According to Yoga, inspiration and creativity can be produced at will; Yoga can create a steady flow of genuine creativity. Many great creators of history have noticed that spiritual practice in general, and sometimes Yoga in particular, have enhanced their creative potential.

Full moon, new moon:
On the full moon, yogis have observed that there is an excess of energy that may be disturbing or may have good uses if you can harness that energy. Generally life on this planet and human beings in particular seem to react intensely to the phases of the moon, the variations and influence of the moon. Thus throughout Yoga there is mention of various moments in the lunar cycle which are related to astrology and Svara Yoga and which can be used. In general, however, it is very good to meditate more intensely on the moments that correspond to the phases of the moon.

Breaks throughout the day (e.g., waiting for the bus):
Since the yogis have found the meaning and purpose of their lives, they feel a sense of urgency in how they live, and because of this they don't like to waste any time. They use every available moment for performing some spiritual practice. There are many things that you can do at a bus stop or while waiting in line, the unproductive time that most people consider wasted. For example, a yogi may practice techniques of concentration and visualization, exercises for strengthening and isolating the muscles of the perineum for tantric training, practices of moving energy with the mind, etc.

Urinating:
Many yogis practice what is known as amaroli or urine therapy. This involves drinking the midstream portion of your own morning urine to reabsorb all of the essential minerals and hormones that are otherwise wasted. This has been proven to have great benefits on the immune system and can even heal major diseases. If in doubt, research further urine therapy on your own. (See also Articles Urine therapy) Yogis also practice fractional urination to strengthen the muscles for the tantric sexual Yoga, and to retain some of the prana (life force) that is otherwise expelled with the urine.

Sleeping/dreaming:
There are many techniques in the Indian and Tibetan Yogas that are related to the process of sleep and the mysterious things that happen in dreams. The yogis use a lot of techniques for transforming even their sleep into a productive phase of life, ranging from exceptional powers like astral travel and lucid dreaming to states of spiritual realization.

General action:
Daily action (work and play) should be done wisely, with meaning, for the greater good of the universe as opposed to normal egotistical motivations. This is Karma Yoga, a spiritual path that involves acting selflessly beyond the ego by consecrating (dedicating) the actions to God. The doer does not receive the fruits of these actions and therefore does not create any karma. Although it is good to consecrate all our actions, some actions create significant karma, such as saving lives, teaching spirituality, or making love.

Self-suggestion:
While the average person is ready to qualify self-suggestion as wishful thinking, the yogis are aware of the fact that the way we think can influence deeply our health and our being. Thus over the centuries many techniques have been developed to use the mind creatively in this way.

Eating:
The yogis consider that food is not just the material food but also a food of prana and other mysterious energies. Therefore we can regulate the balance of the yin and yang (-/+) energies, as well as energies associated with the elements-fire, air, earth and water-by what we eat. Some food is full of prana and other food is empty of it. The quality of the energy in the food we eat also depends upon the energy of the person who prepared it, and some processes interfere with this energy. And finally we can learn to absorb increased amounts of energy from food by eating slowly and chewing well, because not everyone absorbs all the energy from the food that they eat.

Flying:
While flying, the cosmic energy is amplified and there is more contact with the energies of the air element, and consequently meditation and other techniques that work with energy will happen differently and feel different, generally more refined and elevated.

Traveling:
Different places have different energies because of the behavior of specific groups, or the whole nation. Also places can be charged with energy such as temples and churches charged with specific forms of prayer or worship. Places on Earth that are power spots, such as Stonehenge or the pyramids of Egypt, also have special forces which can be felt and used in meditation.

Physical work:
A Yoga practice that works on the root chakra gives more energy for sustaining intense physical work or sports.

Mechanical work:
Robotic work was used in the old days by mystics and others, who by working mechanically managed to use their mind by performing meditation, prayer, and mantras. In this way, even this type of boring or repetitive work can be used for spiritual purposes.

Social work:
In social work you can study the human interactions as a meditation on the second chakra, svadhisthana chakra.

Intellectual work:
Focusing on ajna chakra in Yoga gives you a great capacity for intense and sustained intellectual effort.

Shows:
When you are at a show, play, circus, movie, etc., the group energy of the audience can be vast and very receptive. Yogis can feel this collectivity, and they emit beneficial spiritual energies to help the people and the society in a compassionate and selfless way.

Helping people who suffer:
This is an opportunity to exercise the power of compassion, and it is also perfect for Karma Yoga.