Why do you need a mentor for Shatkarma?

Shatkarma or Shata kriya is kriya yoga, in which one performs six activities, along with mudras(poses), and mantras. It is like wholesome yoga for your body and your mind.

Shatkarma is a very powerful Yoga, which helps your soul connect to your body. It literally helps you grow intellectually and spiritually when it enhances energies in your body. Shatkarma mainly includes:

Dhauti: Cleansing of Digestive Tract
Basti: Cleansing of the large intestine
Neti: Cleansing of the nasal passage
Nauli: Cleansing of Abdominal Organs
Trataka: Cleansing of Eyes
Kapalbhati: Cleansing of frontal lobes

KRIYA YOGA

Let’s talk about Kriya Yoga. This kind of Yoga requires a lot of dedication, from the student as well as the mentor. Traditionally, it can only be learned with one mentor-mentee relationship.

it is not a kind of workout, which you can do with your music on. You really need to focus on this. Mentees are often chosen by mentors according to their capability and seriousness for yoga. It is like level up after practising and getting comfortable with normal yoga poses, which provide mainly physical benefits.

WHY IS IT SO INTENSE?

We often consider Yoga as a light workout in a non-serious way. But we forget that Yoga is a part of so many ancient texts like Upanishads and even Vedas. Yoga is more than just performing some poses, it helps you connect with your body.

Shatkara is one of the most profound practices of Yoga. Practising Shatkarma can revolutionise your energy around the spinal cord, which in fact can lead you to almost a year of spiritual unfoldment.

BENEFITS OF SHATKARMA

You must be thinking if it is that intense, why shouldn’t we leave it to the professionals then. You have observed that Shatkarma is no joke. The benefits of practising it are also worth it.

Shatkarma does a very thorough cleansing of your body. It helps improve immunity, make you genuinely strong ( I not talking about puffed muscles here.)
It can help in correcting the imbalances in your body and foster proper functioning.
There are two kinds of flow in your body that needs to synchronised. They are Ida and Pingala. Shatkarma helps create harmony between them.
Pranamaya Kosha is an energy sheath in our body that is responsible for the proper physiological functioning of our body. Pranayam, which is one of the practices of Shatkarma, is designed to increase our energy levels.
Viganamaya Kosha is our intellectual sheath which deals with decision-making abilities. The intellect is subtler than the mind. Practising Pranayama reduces fluctuations in such energy and help in keeping our mind stable.

WHY DO YOU NEED A MENTOR?

You must be thinking that yes it would be more efficient with an instructor, but trust me it’s not just about efficiency. You can actually harm yourself because Kriya Yoga is a very powerful practice.

The first and foremost reason that neither I nor you could avoid is that we have incomplete knowledge about this subject.

Yoga instructors who have graduated and have several degrees in Yoga are trained not just to perform such practices with all caution, but also to teach us properly.

Many kriyas often include hand signs(mudras) and energy locks(bandhas), which if not done properly, can damage your body.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Spending money on the fees of yoga instructors for Shatkarma is a worthy investment. It has a lot of long term benefits, which might help you live longer and healthier. In times of pandemic, we really need to make ourselves strong internally (coronavirus made us realise how important our health is more effective than any physician or an elder ever could.)

You just need to understand that how important it is to cleanse your organs and energy. Once you comprehend that, you will find Shatkarma as a perfect platform for your well being and growth.

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