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Hari Om, everyone, and greetings to those on the internet as well. I heard Swāmījī will also be viewing this program, so praṇām to Gurudev. We shall begin our advanced practice here in this lecture garden, in the Multi-Star Garden, as Swāmījī usually says. We will start by chanting "Oṁ" three times. Please sit for the chanting. Close your eyes. Keep your back straight. Relax your arms. Feel your breathing process. Take a deep inhalation. Mentally meet your masters. Tune yourself a little for the upcoming practice. Rub your palms together slightly to warm them. Warm your facial muscles. We will begin our practice with a short Ānandāsana. Please take a comfortable position. Face your head towards the altar. Be very comfortable. Place your hands beside your body, palms facing upward. Keep your legs apart, very comfortably. Feel your whole body. Take deep breaths—deep inhalation and long exhalation. Just feel your presence. During this short relaxation, we will not perform physical movements. Instead, we will move mentally and, with our subtle attention, touch the different parts of the body. In this way, your body can relax and recharge. First, try to feel the slight pressure between your heels and the ground. Starting from this point, feel and fill your ankle joints, soles, and toes. No effort is needed; just feel them and let them relax. Then, feel how your calf muscles are touching the ground. From this point, feel and relax your calf muscles. Feel your knees. Feel your buttocks as they touch the ground. Starting from this point, feel that the buttocks, hip joints, and thighs are relaxed and slowly recharging. Both legs are now completely relaxed. Now, turn your attention towards your hands. Feel the hands and lower arms as they touch the ground. From these points, simply relax your hands and fingers, lower arms and elbows. Feel and relax the upper arms and shoulders as well. Feel your back as it touches the ground, especially around the shoulder blade area. Relax the shoulder blade area, the muscles between the shoulder blades, and the entire spine. Feel the back of your head as it touches the ground. Feel your scalp and just relax it. Feel your face and relax, especially the area around the eyes and forehead. Your body is relaxed, lying very comfortably on the ground. These are just minutes, moments of recharging. All the cells receive good circulation, recharging with oxygen and all necessary nutrients. Now, just feel your abdomen and chest, and follow the natural breath, especially this abdominal breath. Simply follow your navel as it lifts up and slowly goes back down—inhalation and exhalation. It is very pleasant breathing, with no forcing, no iṣṭā (wishes), no effort. Just follow the breath. Especially feel the exhalation as it goes back by itself, spontaneously, and the whole body is relaxed. With each exhalation, you are recharging with energy. The exhalation reaches all the cells of your body. Just follow the breath through the movement of the navel. Slowly, we will finish our relaxation. Feel your whole body. Feel the outer world—some sounds and lights—but still, do not open your eyes. Take a couple of deeper breaths: inhalation and exhalation. Deep inhalation, longer exhalation. Slowly move your fingers and hands. Move your arms and legs while still on the ground. Roll in and out, and do a little stretching. Bring your hands above your head, beside your ears, two or three times. Hands up, and then exhalation down. When your hands are beside your ears, get a good stretch, slightly straightening your back, especially the lower back. It is a good stretch for the whole body, including the sides and side muscles. Then bring your hands back beside your body. Now, for left torsion exercises: bend your knees, place your soles on the ground, and position your hands at shoulder height on the ground. If you have space, keep your hands straight; otherwise, find a proper position for them. Keep your legs together. This provides a very fine stretching of the back. Press down your lower back, the lumbar area, onto the mat, and then lift it up a little. Your legs should not move; only this part presses down and releases, coming back very slowly and gently. This is very good and necessary for the pelvic muscles inside the pelvis and also for the muscles along the spine. Then stop; this is the starting position for the torsion exercise. Inhale in the middle, and on exhalation, take your legs towards the right and your head towards the left. Inhale coming back to the middle, exhale. Continue to the other side, and continue in your own rhythm, slowly and gently. Feel your back, especially when turning to the side, feeling vertebra by vertebra as they turn upon each other, and the whole spine experiences torsion. When going to the side, the movement in the spine goes from down upward, and then from the side back to the middle, it goes from up downward. Slowly, we stop in the middle. We will do a little warming up with Kaṭhūpraṇām. Please sit slowly for Vajrāsana. Vajrāsana means we sit on our heels. Keep your back straight. Relax your hands on your thighs. Keep your head straight and shoulders relaxed—not too far forward, nor too far back, but relaxed, and not lifted too high either. Slowly bring your hands up for the first position. Inhale, stretch up, hands together, elbows straight. If possible, check your lower back now to ensure it is not in excessive hyperlordosis. Use your shoulders and this upper area for this position. If possible, relax your jaw; this will help relax your neck muscles as well. Slowly, on exhalation, we come forward to the next position: head down, forearms down, and elbows also down, touching the ground. Take a couple of inhalations and exhalations. In this position, relax your shoulders and back. Next position: we slide a little forward, chin down, chest down, knees and toes on the ground. Feel your lumbar part, your lower back. Place your hands beside your body, not too far outward. Especially the elbows—if you can, bring them a little closer to the body. Very good. Next position: come up with the upper body. Keep your hands, especially your elbows, beside your body, close to the body, shoulders back and down. Your chin should not be tilted too far upward; keep the cervical part of the neck more straight. Next, position your buttocks up, with your hands and soles on the ground. This is very, very good for Westerners, people from Western societies. After so much sitting in cars, offices, and everywhere, it provides really good stretching for the back, thighs, and calf muscles. You can improve this position a little by pushing your shoulders back and down. Then, with your right leg, come between your two arms and let your pelvis come down. Then, on inhalation, come up again. It is a good stretch, but keep your pelvis down, remaining down. So, on one hand, we feel this upper area: shoulders, shoulder blades. On the other hand, we feel a good stretch in the legs and buttocks. Slowly come back with your left leg, placing it beside your right leg—also a very good stretch; keep your knees straight. Hands are on the ground. Slowly come up. Slowly, slowly. Again, good stretching. Hands together, elbows straight. Check your lower back to ensure it is not bent too far forward. Slowly come back. Again, bending forward with stretched knees, slowly take your right leg backward. In this position, keep your back as straight as possible. Then slowly come up. Slowly come up, with the pelvis and weight a little down, stretching the legs and hip joint area as well. We feel the shoulders, shoulder blades, rhomboid muscles, and this upper side of the body. Come back with the hands. Keep your back straight, and then again take your right leg backward. It is a nice stretch for the back, like a hill, and the top of the hill is our buttocks. This means we have to push our shoulders back and down so that the back is really straight on both sides. It should be like Himālaya Cāmuloma, not like Catuṣpādāsana—you know, there is no tip of the heel. Slowly we come to the next position. It is already a lying position; next positions: upper body up, elbows to the body, yes. Then, next position: we slide a little bit back, and again a little bit more, sliding backward. Next position, and come up with a deep inhalation for the last stretching, and then exhalation, hands down. Next half of this round. Inhale, hands up, stretching. Exhale, slide forward. Inhale, upper body up, elbows beside the body. Exhale, nice heels. Then left leg in front, between the two arms. Relaxation, hands up. Strong, good stretching. Weight is down and pelvis is down. Hands down. Right leg comes to the front, hands and soles in. Yes, good stretching, and slowly we come up. With the left leg, step backward. Hands up, then hands down. Next position with the right leg backward. Improve your position now with the shoulders. This will make your back straight and stretch your legs and leg muscles. Next position: cobra down. Upper body is up, still elbows at the side of the body, and then slide back once, a little bit more. Next position, up, inhalation, hands up, upper body up, and back to Vajrāsana, the starting position, on exhalation. Probably on the internet, it does not look like so much trouble and work, but people are sweating here, as I see. So it is really a very good exercise for warming up before any kind of sādhanā. We will practice a couple of exercises from level six of Yoga in the Life System. The first one will be Yoga Mudrā, as you know. For this, it is a special variation of Yoga Mudrā because of the hand position. So, inhalation, hands up, coming slowly. As we bend forward, hands go beside the body and touch the ground, not catching each other. Hands on the ground, palms upward, and a little bit of normal breathing. Relax in this position. Feel your forehead and eyes. Feel the blood stream and a slightly higher blood pressure in this area. Shoulders are relaxed comfortably. Back muscles are also relaxed. Feel your breathing. The abdomen is pressed to the thighs, so it is very easy to feel this abdominal breathing and also chest breathing, not only in the front but in the back of the trunk as well. We will come back slowly: inhalation, hands down, exhalation. Anyway, we had a very similar exercise as part of the kaṭupāna, so we will not do more repetitions of this. But the next of its variations, Yoga Mudrā’s variation: we come up, inhalation, and exhalation, head, forehead down on the ground, and hands beside the body—beside the legs, actually. On the ground, you can catch your ankle joints. In this position, breathing is a little easier, and there is not so much pressure on the knees and ankle joints. We come back. Then come back down to Vajrāsana. Once more, please, because some were mistaken—it is not sitting back in Vajrāsana, but the head is down, and we leave this area quite free. So come up, inhalation, exhalation, hands down, head down. Finishing exercise, coming back: inhalation, knee up, and then Vajrāsana. Or we are ready for the next exercise also: this is Naukā Sanchalanāsana. So sit in Tāṇḍāsana, first a little bit stretching the knees. I know. So, straight legs and hands relaxed on the thighs. Also, keep the back straight; the spine is upright. Then we bend the knees. This is already known from previous levels—very similar exercises, so it is not new for us. It is very powerful for abdominal muscles, thigh muscles, and also for the back muscles. But we should start with a straight back; otherwise, it will not have a good result. So, inhalation, we come up with the legs. Hold this position a little. The back should be straight, legs also. Then come back. Again, inhalation, legs up, and then down. Third, inhalation, exhalation, twice more. Inhale, we come up, hold the position—this is so-called isotonic movement. It is not movement, but for the muscles—sorry, isometric. It is not moving and coming back, sorry. When I start to explain, you know, it is not easy for you, okay? And the last one, legs up, isometric. It means it is not moving, but you know. That is something we do now, and start in position. Some in an exhalation, stretched legs. A couple of deeper breaths in Ānanda Āsana. So, after we can have some—four, five, not so much. You can feel your legs, back, abdomen, and with the help of the breathing, just relax the whole body, but especially these parts. These types of exercises, like this isometric, we do not really move and do not shorten or lengthen the size of the muscles, so it is not a dynamic movement. But it means we do not exhaust our system, yet it is working quite hard. The next exercise is Ardha Padma Halāsana. Please note, it starts from a sitting position, but we will end up in a lying position. So, right leg on the left thigh. You can move a little so it is relaxed enough, but we are warm enough after kaṭukānā also, so it’s no problem. Slowly we get into the position: go back and legs up, and then backward. Hold your pelvis and your back with your hands, and place your leg behind your head on the ground. Of course, if you have some pain in the back, then you know your limits and do not force it too much. It is very good for circulation of the eyes and the whole head and face. Slowly we come back, and we will change the leg. Carefully stretch the bent leg and then change. Very close to the starting point of the thighs, place your arm. Place your arm. Other leg, and then slowly come to the position. Hold your back, leg on the ground, toes on the ground, and we can also hold the toe with the hands. This is also a variety for this. So catch the toe and feel this stretching in the calf muscles, thighs, backside of the thighs. And good stretching all over the back. Slowly we come back, stretch your legs, and slowly stand up for the next exercise. Its starting point is legs wide apart. First, we will do some little play of consciousness, our consciousness and attention, with the lower back. So, inhalation, hands up, and just not bending forward—because bending is also always an arch—but how to say, straight we come in the front, even. Hands can be down. Just feel this part of the lower back, that it is straight. You can even touch it to ensure it is really straight. Then feel this good stretching at the legs also. Knees straight, knees are straight, and push down your back, especially from this area, from this lower back area. It also moves the sacral joint, this ilio-sacral, so-called ilio-sacral joint. And it is again a little addition for stretching in this area. Then we come back, hands up, and then down. And then with the Aurasana in reality. So inhalation, come down as straight as possible—the back should be as straight as possible. Hands down on the floor, and then head down on the floor. Then slowly catch your ankle joints. Be sure there is not too much pressure on the neck part, not so much weight. Slowly we come up. Come up. Slowly we come up. Come up with hands and hands down. Relax your legs a little, and we will do it once more. So, legs apart, hands up. Exhalation, straight back. Hands and head down on the floor. Knees are straight, and catch your ankle joints on both legs. Be in this position. Weight is not so much on the head, but more on the feet. Normal breathing. Try to straighten your lower back. Normal breathing, and try to feel your whole body and try to relax everything. The stretching is not so much stress. Come up. Inhalation. Exhalation. You can sit down for the next exercise, but before Kūrmāsana, we will do some introductory ones. It is Paścimottānāsana. For this, straight back, inhalation. Good stretching. Feel your back; it is really straight. Slowly, exhalation, moving from the back straight. We come to the front. Catch your toes, ankle joints, or heels. Take a couple of deep breaths. Come back. Inhalation. Stretch hands down, and legs apart, wide apart. Just a little stretch on the sides, on one side and the other, with a straight back as much as possible, and also in the middle. Then we come back, a little relaxation for these muscles. We can try the Kūrma Āsana. So somehow we come into this position where the hands can be down. Bend forward as much as possible. Forehead or chin on the ground, and be very careful with the elbows so they are not hurt. If it is too heavy compared to the previous one, just lean forward, bend forward, in the middle. After this position, slowly come back. Inhale, exhalation, a little relaxation in Ānanda Āsana. After such exercises, we know what joy is, Ānanda Āsana. Especially with hard stretching, strong stretching, we also create some kind of stress for the muscles. But then we will get the balance with nice relaxation. All the muscles get good circulation and blood, so they will benefit after this exercise. Also, deep inhale and exhale will help. One counter position after this exercise: just turn onto the front side of your body. And you know which one is the next one. If there is something easy in this level, then this is one. This is this. So we will fix the head, Mṛgāsana. Feel your lower back a little, and then slowly move the legs up and down, alternating each other. After the turtle, we became the deer. This is evolution. Then we put down the legs. We’ll practice some Agni Sākriyā. So please stand up. For Agni Sākriyā, the starting point is very important. The starting position is, I don’t know, something like 50 or 60 centimeters apart for the legs. Of course, it depends on your height also, and the size of the legs. The position is where the exercise is done: we bend our knees, and somehow it is such a construction that the weight is going through the arms and legs down, and muscles are not so much in action. It also gives the opportunity for the back to be more or less straight. Otherwise, if the elbows are bent, then we have a position that is not really proper for this Agni Sākriyā. So just feel this position first, and then we will practice. Back is straight, arms are straight, knees a little bent. It’s not so complicated, actually. Good. And come up, please. Also, Swāmījī told it a couple of times that it’s not necessary to do so many other movements. We just go into this position. It’s not necessary to, you know, inhaling, exhaling, I don’t know what. So just inhalation, exhalation, and already we are in this position. So, actually, the exercise itself is done in kumbhaka. And for our friends on the internet, it is sucking up the abdominal part, the area, and then letting it go down, actually. So, come into the starting position, and with a deep inhalation and exhalation, we will practice it. Exhalation, we have the position and suck it up, let it down, go. During Bahir Kumbhaka, no breathing, meanwhile up, down, up and down. When you feel the need, then just come up slowly and breathe: inhalation deeply, and exhalation. Stomach, chest breathing, and exhalation from chest, from stomach. Deeply in, long out, in and out. It will give you more oxygen, then you will have more kumbhaka. Exhalation, next round. We can impress also internet people. And when it ends, inhalation, exhalation. If you feel you need some more space after this exercise and come back and move, then you can even extend these upper parts a little. Or, hands up—it will give a little more space in this upper part of the lungs. But as you feel, if you need, of course, it is not part of the… But if you need a little more, then you can extend it. Inhalation, exhalation. Next one. And one more time, one more time. Try to really pull in the abdominal muscles as close as possible to the organs and to the heart. Long out, next round, straight, elbows are straight, and slowly come back. And when we come back, actually, this inhalation is very slow, so you feel after Kumbhaka that this prāṇa is really touching even the fingers, that breath for the whole body, for each cell. So last round: exhalation, exhalation. And since it is the awakening of the digestive system—the digestive system and this fire of Maṇipūra, Agnisāra Kriyā—if one can practice after this exercise or Nauli and such exercises, upside-down exercise, because this energy is somehow, even physically, with blood, it is going upward then. So, the last one is Vṛkṣāsana. Or, if you can do, fix your shirt. Take care of your mālā. If you can do it, then do Śīrṣāsana. So, this variation. Śīrṣāsana, yes, śīrṣāsana—we are going to practice śīrṣāsana, stand on your head. So, hands down, head down, and slowly go into the position. If you have any kind of problem, then just put your hands down and your head down, and put your knees on your elbows. I will not do it because then the technique is over. Gradually, we can increase this position to three, four, five minutes. But in the beginning, we will not overdo it, so just half a minute, one minute maximum. It is very good for the face, brain, and whole head area. Consequently, it is very good for memory and concentration. Also, because it is upside down, the legs release too much pressure, especially for the veins; it is relaxing for the veins and the lower leg area. So slowly come back, finish your exercise. And after the exercise, we stay in this position, śaśāṅkāsana, Yoga Mudrā or something, and then gradually we come back. So it is part of the exercise. Please sit in a comfortable position for the breathing exercise. For this level, it is Bhastrika Prāṇāyāma with some bandhas. But for the sake of the webcast, we will practice just Mahā Bhastrika. So sit straight, please. Back is straight. Abdomen is free. The abdominal muscles are completely relaxed. We will not use the hands for prāṇāyāma, just breathing with the abdomen. Deep inhalation and exhalation, but with a little rhythm. We can start. You can continue in your own rhythm. Please note: if the exhalation is too forced, then it is more Kapālabhāti than Bhastrikā. So Kapālabhāti is more like… and we want… Even that, it is in an exhalation, is approximately the same. And more with the abdomen. You can use a little with the chest, but more with abdominal breathing. It is much more, bringing in oxygen and really good for concentration, for memory, for the whole body, for all cells. Ten more, please, and deep inhalation, long exhalation. Inhalation, exhalation. Relax with exhalation. After this practice could come meditation or some kind of introvertive exercise. But since our time is limited, it is the end of our session now. And we will chant Oṁ three times. Inhale, massage your face. Oṁ Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ, Śāntiḥ. Bend forward, and thank you for joining us on the internet. See you at the next webcast.