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A seminar, or what you call a retreat. Both words are interesting. "Retreat" – it is treated, but we would like to retreat it again. And "seminar" in German is a little different. Language is a very interesting thing. A good word could be Yoga Satsaṅg, but an international audience might not understand. So, whatever it is, our Yoga and Daily Life weekend program, seminar, and retreat. This morning, we had many techniques in both the practical and theoretical parts. First, we had the beautiful anti-stress relaxation. Whether you do relaxation, Yoga Nidrā, meditation, go swimming, or walk in the forest, you go and you come back. You leave home, you close your door, take the staircase or the lift, open the house door, go to your car, drive towards the forest, park your car, and then you come back. Similarly, when you begin meditation, you should proceed slowly and systematically. And you must come back slowly and systematically, just as you went. If you do relaxation, you should also come back systematically relaxed and slow. If you go swimming, you go in the water, you jump in and swim, but then you have to swim back to the beach. If you do āsanas, you begin slowly, go into dynamic movements, stretching, postures, relaxing, more postures and dynamic movements, and then you come back. If you come back from your relaxation, Yoga Nidrā, or meditation quickly, you create a shock to your brain, a shock to your heart and circulation, which can have a negative effect. Yoga is not a competition; it is something very natural. As you train your body, your mind will follow. There is a small story. There was a man who had about fifty or sixty camels. He took his camels into the desert. Wherever the camels found some green bush or trees, they grazed. When night came, the owner collected them. Every camel had a rope, a hook, and a hammer on its back. He would tie each camel to a different place. He put the rope tied to the nose ring of the camel and, with the hammer, drove the hook into the earth, tightening the rope. In the morning, the same kriyā, the same ceremony: he came, took the hook out, folded the rope, freed the camels from the nose ring, and put the equipment back on their backs, and then they went. One day, a camel lost its rope, which was tightened in some bag on its back. The man did not know what to do. He was looking here and there, searching for the rope for a hundred, two hundred meters. Then he saw a small house or hut and went there to borrow a rope. Inside was sitting a sādhu, a yogī. The camel man told him the whole story. The sādhu said, "Well, I’m sorry, I never had a camel. I have no rope. I have only one mālā that you can’t use for your camel. But why don’t you tie your camel as you used to do every day?" The man said, "Yes, sir, but I don’t have a rope." The sādhu said, "Don’t worry, just tie him as you were doing." The man said, "Do you understand me? I lost that rope." The master said, "Yes, I do understand that you lost the rope and you don’t have it, but you should tie him as you were doing every day." The man said, "I don’t understand, what do you mean, Master?" The Master said, "Go to your camel, hold him, catch him, and as usual, with a little stick, give a little tap on his knee and tell him to sit down. The camel will sit down. Then go and hold his nose and do..." – something like you are tightening a rope, you know – "and then do like this with the hand, and with the hammer beat on a stone or the hook and make it like this. And hurry home." The man said, "Master, this is so stupid." The sādhu said, "I’m not a master, I cannot help you. Otherwise, go and do it; it will help." So he went. All the camels were sitting; one was not sitting and was moving here and there. He went to that camel, tapped its knee a little, and said, "Sit down, come comfortably, sit down." The camel was only waiting for the master to come and tell it to sit. Then he held its nose and did something like this, and with his hands, like he was opening the... rope. He took the hammer and hit it on the stone and went like this. The camel saw everything and went away, and sat there peacefully. The whole night it sat there. The next morning, he freed all the camels, and they began to go, but this one didn’t go. So he was beating on the buttock of the camel, and the camel was making sounds, going round and round there. The man thought, "My God, that master made magic on my camel. My camel got crazy." So he went to the master and said, "Master, what have you done?" He said, "I have done nothing; you did it." "But my camel doesn’t want to go." He said, "Free him." "But how can I free him when I didn’t tie him?" He said, "You did it." "So how should I free him?" "As you did to tie him." "I don’t understand, Master. Please tell me a little more clearly. I don’t understand this theory. And when I don’t understand the theory, how can I do practice?" The Master said, "Go there, take the hammer with the stone, do something, and pull it like this out. Make with the hand like you are pulling the rope, and then hold his nose." The camel will look at you and do it like this, and the neck will come down, and just open it. As soon as he did like this, the camel ran to the group of camels. He went to the master and said, "Thank you, Master. Do you think all fifty camels will follow me like this?" He said, "Next time I will show you. First, train this one." Similarly, our mind is the camel. Therefore, holy Gurujī used to say, habit is the second nature of a man. So, how do we get training out of our habit? Like that, our psychic, our mind, our senses will follow us. So, similarly, you should train yourself systematically. Therefore, this morning, we had an anti-stress relaxation. And at the end of the relaxation, we should keep along with us these feelings of relaxation or being relaxed. We also did some physical movements, āsanas. So this was the practical part. The second part was about Jālandhara Bandha. We did Jālandhara Bandha practically, which is good for our thyroid, good for the vocal cords, good for the breath system. At the same time, in a sitting posture, we did Agniśāra Kriyā. You learn Agniśāra Kriyā while standing, but this was quite comfortable and relaxed. For those who have low blood pressure, if they stand and do the Nauli Kriyā, it can happen that one gets more dizzy or falls down. So for them, it is also very good to do Agniśāra Kriyā while sitting in Vajrāsana. You can also do it while sitting in Padmāsana (Lotus Seat), Sukhāsana, or any comfortable āsana like Siddhāsana. After this practical practice and controlling of the breath – how to breathe – we also learned breathing while relaxing and while sitting in meditation posture or doing Agniśāra Kriyā. After that, some people were tired or in a hurry because in the morning they had drunk a lot of liquid – some drank a lot of coffee, some tea – and here was not strong coffee. So many went to the restaurant. Thanks to God, we have in Vienna many coffee houses, and especially in Schweikart, where we are, is a famous coffee house and famous breakfast. It’s a little pension order like a coffee house. It’s very nice here, just on the main road. Many people come, especially from Vienna, here to have breakfast. This is a different class restaurant, very nice. This is a meeting point of particular people in the morning. Very often, Kātrinā Mātājī used to bring me here for breakfast. That’s why I know. Maybe it is still here. It’s very nice. It’s from here about 150 meters, or not even 150 meters if you go this side. When you do Agniśāra Kriyā or Nauli Kriyā or Bandha, you should first empty your gallbladders. So, we had practical instructions and teachings about Bandha. What does Bandha mean? You know, what was the example? Does somebody remember, or have you forgotten? Yes, closing the fist and holding tight, and then opening. That was an example of how bandha affects our body, our circulation, and our energy flow. This is the way to get quickly fresh, to get rid of tiredness. That was only a wrist holding and closing the fist. But there is one bandha with the whole body. How to do that? It will come in the next practice. After that, someone was in a hurry to go. So we had to make an interval, and in the interval you got a special kriyā: Darśana Kriyā. On this, there is a beautiful bhajan from Mahāprabhujī. According to this bhajan, Mahāprabhujī put the entire technique of that kriyā, but you know, very few can understand. Otherwise, you think it’s only singing, only bhajan. Kabīr Dājī said, "Everyone says, ‘I have diamond, I have ruby, I have ruby.’ And everyone, they have this ruby on their soul here, and they tie it, make a knot, and there’s a ruby inside. But still, they don’t find. You say you have, but you don’t know where and how." Similarly, Kriya Yoga is that yoga which can understand the language, the poetry. Everything is given from master to disciple through words. Therefore, in one of the bhajans, Mahāprabhujī said very nicely how to find that ruby in that bhajan. To understand that wisdom which is given to you, but still you think you don’t have. Like that, the master gave a rope to the owner of the camels to tie his camel. But he said, "I don’t have it." The master said, "I gave it to you. You have it, go and do it." He said, "So crazy I am not. I don’t have, my hands are free, sir." Similarly, these kriyās, the master has given to you already, but you don’t understand. And to understand that, you have to awaken that wisdom of the Anāhata Cakra: bhakti, love, unshakable faith, no doubts. This Kriyā, which I explained to you in one part, still has many parts to complete it – Darśana Kriyā – and after, of course, it was time for the next program. So in the next interval program, again, I will give you this second step of this Kriyā. This was the practical part of the morning session. But those who don’t understand, they always have questions. Though everything has been explained, we still need to know more. Some people who are slippery, they are sleeping. During Satsaṅg, many people are sleeping. It’s not easy to digest or remember or to take all knowledge as it is for a long time. When a speaker speaks, for two or three minutes you are very alert and you understand. Then slowly, slowly it goes, lays and lays. Your mind rejects, and the vṛttis, the thoughts, they go in different directions. Someone is talking to you, and you say, "Yes, and yes," and one is speaking, and then one asks you, "And what do you think about that?" "Oh, sorry. Can you explain once more? I was thinking something different." No, it happens because you were not present; you were upset, and that is how the mind escapes. Sometimes, we don’t even notice. So it’s not easy to digest, to accept everything, and therefore questions arise. That’s why I call them sleeping, or you can call them daydreamers. It’s beautiful. Someone is talking to you, and you are sitting in the front, and you are dreaming also. What is that dream? You are somewhere, and then I will ask, do you know what it means? Can you tell once more? So you were in the dream. We have now time to complete our Agniśāra Kriyā. We learned Agniśāra Kriyā while sitting in Vajrāsana. Someone was sitting in Siddhāsana or Sukhāsana. No one was sitting in Lotus Padmāsana; it doesn’t matter. Yes, it can happen if you practice in Siddhāsana or lotus sitting. It can happen that you will have lower back problems if you are not sitting straight and properly. So that I cannot ask you to do, because you are all beginners. Who is not a beginner is sitting like this and then doing like that? Does my head move? And all of you beginners, we are doing so. Yes, this is a beautiful movement, no? That’s why I said, next time we put here a hot coffee cup. If it’s cold, you will not be afraid. Always, when the road is good and your car is driving, you can even drink your juice, your tea, cup and plate full, the cup with the nice herbal chai, and you can drink it because the road is very good, the driver is a very expert driver, and the car is also very nice, and you are sitting. The car is nice means your body is healthy and trained. The driver means that you know the exercise very well. Your inner wish to drink the tea yourself, Jīvātmā, now feels comfortable because Agniśāra Kriyā has done it from here. Not like this. Then it’s camel riding. Therefore, if you can’t sit straight, if you can’t sit straight upright, and you are a little bit like this and then you are doing, then you can have back pain. So prevention, prevention is this: you have to sit straight. That’s why we are pulling our shoulders up. The spine is straight, and we support our hand on the thighs or the knees so that the spine is very straight. If the spine is a little bit loose, you can even get a slipped disc. Therefore, this is done like this. The spine is very straight, and these parallel muscles, which go along the spine, get the strength to keep your spine unmovable at that time when you do the Kriyā. So, try once more. Sit straight. Next time, I will bring the water pot to put here on it with a little ring and water pot, okay? Now, try, please, yourself. I will check how you are doing. Sit straight. Now, one thing I must tell you: if you sit in meditation posture, then knees... you must touch the ground, otherwise don’t do it. While sitting, that can, I’m sure, give you back problems if you sit without proper posture. So the knees have to touch the ground. I will also try to touch my knees to the ground. I was touching my knee on the ground many times, you know, and why did you first try to touch it in such a way? So it was beautiful, I still remember. It means I twisted my ankle joint and tried, and we have to put under the bear, but that small pillow, and sit on the edge of the... Now, you see, my knees are touching the ground, and automatically the body is straight. Look how comfortable it is to do the Agniśāra Kriyā. And when we have Jālandhara Bandha, like this, just try to move this part of the stomach. You know, many times I was showing the people like this, and they say, "We can’t see. So, I mean, you do something that we can see." So, then I let grow a little stomach so that they can see. So, for the sake of the bhakta’s wish, the master has to do so, it is a little bit. You can see the movement of that Srotaṃ. But anyhow, someone said something, which I will not tell now. Okay. So, try to do now, Agniśāra Kriyā. Bandha, hey, don’t breathe. Who is doing? Don’t do like this. This is not Kapālbhāti. Not Vāstrika. It’s Agniśāra Kriyā. Yes. Do it. Don’t look to me. Yes. Yes. I am proud of you that you can learn very quickly to make the mistakes. Thank you. Now, the same Nauli Kriyā in standing. You will remain seated. The demonstrator will stand up, and if you don’t mind, please take off your shirt. The system is the same. First, we’ll inhale, standing on your blanket, and you will look to that corner. Yes, and you will look to that corner, to these lights. The system is the same. You will inhale, then first exhale, slowly bend forward and support your hand, and bend your knees a little, a little, and support your hands on your knees. So, please, how will the knee position be? Can you show? Bend your knee, yes, and now support your hands. You see, now how the back, you do, how the back is nice and straight. If the back is loose, they will also get back problems. Very good. And then they will do the Jālandhara Bandha. Can you just do the Jālandhara Bandha? Yes. So that you are looking to your stomach, that stomach doesn’t make wrong movements. There is also a problem when the stomach makes wrong movements. So, come up, please. Now, you just observe. They will do, and we will see. Will they do with Antar Kumbhak or Bāhya Kumbhak? Bāhya Kumbhak. Okay. Then, please, they say, "Do with Bāhya Kumbhak." Okay. So Agniśāra Kriyā. No, no,... no. Agniśāra Kriyā, not Nauli. So it is done in the morning or with an empty stomach. Three to four rounds, maximum five, then your stomach muscles will not respond anymore, so you can’t do further. But you see what’s happening to the stomach, all this fat and everything, and our intestines, everything is like a massage and activated. Many times, people are making this diet and that diet and this diet to get a little stomach. Those who would like to have a nice, thin stomach, then fasting, fasting and phalahārī. And then I go and see the phalahārī sitting and eating ice cream in the one ice cream corner. I said, "This is a phalahārī?" He said, "Yes, cow is eating through grass, so it’s phalahārī anyhow." If you do this and have a normal diet, vegetarian, sāttvic, you will have no problems if you do every day. And that’s just two, three minutes. You can lie, but your body will not lie. Your body will... tell, yes, I am practicing every day. So please stand up, so we will first learn the posture, how to have the position of the body or posture during Agniśāra Kriyā. So, like this, bend your knees a little bit and support the hands like this. Hold your thighs and, looking up, back straight, pull your back in when you bend forward. Put back like this, that’s right. And now you do the Jālandhara Bandha, that’s it. Come up now, again once more. Try yourself just to have a right posture. I will see, Dr. Shānti, I’m sorry to say your posture is not right. Also, Sādhvī Sāvitrī, is not right. Have a normal breath. Everybody should have a normal breath. Don’t stop your breath. Now what, Rampurī? Dhyāna, ṛkṣi, okhni, śṛṅkti. Yes, like that. Yes, come up. Everybody come up. So, well, these are the beginners. So I have to tell them, "Go down." Now, turn to my side, yes. Look, how is his back? You keep your back like a camel’s back, go down like a camel. Yeah, this is wrong. So, you were through those whose names... there are many names, but I don’t remember. This is wrong, and the right is that back. If you lean forward and press your waist down, come up. Thank you. So, try it yourself. Yes, a little better. It’s exactly when you are looking for your neighbor’s house key inside the lock, you know. That’s, yes, you are an expert, no? Come up. Very good. Now, once more again, practice first the posture. And now, just bend your neck, head forward, and touch your chin. Lock your chin to the collarbones or the chest. Perfect. Come up. Now, if I tell the name, please don’t be offended, because we are very... quickly offended, Shanti? When you do like this, you will have problems with the knees, so you should go forward. Can you try once more, please? And now go a little forward, you will not fall down. Okay, come up, otherwise you... will have with the knee problem? That’s the right position, anyhow. Now, a few times, deep inhale and exhale. And now, deep inhale to the mouth, exhale. Forward, Bāhya Kumbhak, hold breath outside, Jālandhara Bandha, and now on the Agniśāra Kriyā, very good, come up. Well, we will do without Jālandhara Bandha because you have to practice first. When you know exactly everything and you are practiced, then you can do the Jālandhara Bandha. Okay, therefore, hold the breath outside and don’t look at the stomach, look up. That will make it easier for you. So, inhale, exhale, go down. Very good. Bāhya Kumbhak, look up, and Agniśāra Kriyā, you come up whenever you like. Very good, because everyone has a different capacity to keep a breath out or in, so I cannot say, "Still keep it, still keep it." Then you will, um, kīpan. So once more, Pūraka means inhalation, Pūraka, Recaka, exhale, Bāhya Kumbhak and Agniśāra Kriyā. Keep your mouth closed and up. The three persons were doing like this. Yes, it’s an interesting picture, you know. They were doing like this. It’s good, very nice. Once more, once stretch your hand up, interlock the fingers. Stress left side, left side, your right side and left side, and right side and the middle, and hands down. So Recaka means inhale? Yes, no, what means the inhale? Pūraka, Pūrṇa. So Pūraka means inhale, and Recaka means exhale. So Pūraka, Recaka. Hey, hey, I didn’t. Say you to go down, you see the horse, the camel is still not trained. Pūraka, Recaka, Bāhya Kumbhak, and now go down, and Agniśāra Kriyā. Whenever you feel to come up, please. Perfect. Beginners learn quicker, advanced people, they forget. When you have once a wrong habit, then always you have to do the wrong things. Very good. So this was the Agniśāra Kriyā, how to breathe, the Kumbhaka, Jālandhara Bandha and other kriyā and the relaxation. Now we will have Khāṭū Praṇām. So please sit in Vajrāsana. One normal breath, three. Normal breath. Support your chest on the ground, knees on the ground, toes on the ground, hands on the ground, chin on the ground, so that you are relaxed. Four. Take your time. We are not making marathons. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Eleven. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Deep inhale, and chant Oṃ three times. Mantra: Nāhaṁ Kartā. Hands down. You now have an interval for one hour. It’s time for your dinner. I wish you a very good appetite. After the dinner, we will meet again at seven o’clock in the same room to webcast for our dear friends who are not with us, those who are far away. Please join us again in one hour. There will be some very good subjects and some exercises which we can do after eating too, so seven, eight to one hour will be some teachings. All the best, and wish you good health, a healthy, happy life, spiritual development, and the blessings of Om Śrī Alagapurī Jīsida Pīṭha. Om Śānti Śānti Śānti.