Body Adjustment to Elevate the Spirit
(Fountain of Youth, pp. 28-29).
Lay down flat on the Back. Clasp the hands behind the neck. Keeping the heels together, raise both legs to 90 degrees as you inhale. Legs go down as you exhale. Do not bend the knees. 108 times. This will keep you young and smart. Good to do in your daily routine.
Triangle Pose to Upward-Facing Dog. Begin in Triangle Pose up on your hands and feet and move the body fluidly forward into Upward-Facing Dog. Your palms are flat on the floor and your feet are together. Keep the shoulders down. For the movement, do not bend the knees. Hands are firm, arms remain straight. Then move back up into Triangle Pose. Repeat. 52 times. These exercises can keep you young no matter what.
Sit with your legs straight out in front of you. Grab the toes (thighs, knees, shins, whatever you can reach) and bend forward bringing your torso down as far as you can go without compromising your posture. (The goal is not to bring your nose to your knees, but rather, to elongate the spine.) Move up and down, inhaling up, exhaling down. 108 times.
Rock Pose. Interlace the fingers behind the neck. Twist left and then right. 108 times each side.
Cat - Cow. Come onto your hands and knees. Relax the spine down and raise the head on the inhale. With the exhale, arch the spine up like and angry cat and lower the head. 108 times.
Rock Pose. Roll the neck slowly in one direction for 52 rounds and then in the opposite direction for 52 rounds.
Rock Pose. Still on your heels, bend at the waist from side to side. As you bend to the left your right arm will arch over your head, stretching in the direction of the bend. Then stretch to the right with your left arm reaching over your head. 52 times each side.
Rock Pose. Reach one arm forward as if reaching out and grabbing energy and pulling it back in, and then reach the other arm forward in a nice rapid, fluid motion. Shoulders and trunk move in a churning motion. Chant SA TA NA MA with the motion. 5 minutes.
Easy Pose. Put your hands on your knees and begin grinding your trunk in a circular, counter-clockwise direction. 3 minutes.
Lie down flat on your back. Close your eyes and relax. Gong meditation. 10 minutes.
Get ready for a journey into space. Push and float and then float in space, then while returning you will lose the body – you will regain a tremendous amount of energy.
Notes from Yogi Bhajan: Disease comes from structural change. This is the oriental, ancient way of looking at it. This body and its bones have no screws and bolts. It is held together by tissue and by muscle. By working and living my life I change my movements in a certain way. Certain muscles get acted upon and some don’t. Certain muscles are stronger and hold the skeleton in a different way than the other muscles. This can lead to physical problems. Life becomes imbalanced and irritation sets in. The whole body structure is responsible for my elevation, for my being-ness. Car has its gas, it has transmission and it gets going. If one part is missing it goes putt putt. If just a little air does not get to the gas it all goes off. It goes the same with the body. This set will keep you out of trouble. This is how you elevate your spirit by adjusting your body.