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The Multi-Stars Hall and the Path to Relief

An evening satsang focused on relieving neck and shoulder pain through yoga and posture correction.

"Generally, the pain of the shoulders, neck, and back comes from not having a good position."

"In your Yoga in Daily Life book... there are many exercises, dynamic movements... That’s called Yoga Vyāyam."

The lecturer leads a session in the Multi-Stars Hall, discussing common causes of pain like poor posture, workstations, and mattresses. He outlines principles from the Yoga in Daily Life system and guides participants through gentle exercises like shoulder rolls and Vajrāsana, with a demonstration of correct standing posture by a teacher from Vienna.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Good evening to everybody. Again, a beautiful warm day and beautiful nature. For every evening, morning, and noon, and every day, we have different halls. This hall is called the Multi-Stars Hall. It’s called natural air conditioning. Automatically, the window is closing and opening in this hall, and the light is perfect. The specialty of this hall is the perfect sound technique. Now you don’t need this gelb fetchen. Make me a von Boisvara. The echo is beautiful, and there is a cosmic sound system. No artist is capable of producing that nāda, that tune, which this hall has. So you can hear it. And you never know from which side which sound will come. Only by being here in this hall. In the Mahāprabhū Deep Satsaṅg Foundation, Strilky, Czech Republic, not only your shoulder’s pain goes away, but the pain of your heart, and all pain is in vain. This is the third day we are having these beautiful exercises for the neck and shoulders. Well, there are many reasons, many causes why one has neck pain or shoulder pain. Definitely, one should consult with a doctor, a therapist, or an orthopedic doctor. What is the problem, anatomically? Don’t do anything without making an analysis. Sometimes good will can also end with bad things. So, have a consultation with the proper doctor. But generally, the pain of the shoulders, neck, and back comes from not having a good position. The postures, where and how you sit, and how you walk also influence our muscles, the spine, and the shoulder joints, and so on. The second cause is also your working table, where, directly or indirectly, you are forced to bend forward. You cannot sit on the computer like this. And if you go to some office and you speak to someone, they say, "Yes, but you’re on Iradová." So that’s not always telephoning, looking, bending forward, cooking, many things. Vždycky telefonujete, koukáte se, vaříte cokoliv a v předklonu. Also, another major problem of back and neck pain is your bed. A další hlavním problémem vaší bolesti, záda, bolesti krku je vaše postel. How is your bed and how is the mattress? Jakou máte postel a jakou máte matraci? You know, I’m more or less a world traveler. For more than ten months, I have lain in different beds. When I come back to the ashram, it’s also a different bed. Sometimes when I get up to go to the bathroom in the night, I have to think for a few seconds to orient myself to which side the bathroom is on. I don’t want to tell the name of any country, but you will believe me or not believe me. In some countries, in the five-star hotels, I sleep on the floor. Because they have the mattresses, two mattresses together. That makes one bed. When you sit inside, your stomach forms like you are on the sixth month. And the back looks like a marjorie. So when you lie down, and you have a pillow, which also looks nice, big, but when you go ahead on it, it’s like that. So the pillows, the mattress, the bed, that is also very important. So the muscles are constantly in stress, tensing, and that causes the pain. Now, in your Yoga in Daily Life book, third, fourth, fifth chapters from the first and second part, there are many exercises, dynamic movements. I wouldn’t say that it’s āsana, but this is exercise. That’s called Yoga Vyāyam. Yoga Vyāyam means yoga exercise. And in Yoga Vyāyam, or in the yoga system, and especially in our Yoga in Daily Life system, there are three principles: the dynamical movements, the stretching, and the postures. One should know when one has to do this. We should know the sequence, we should know the duration. We should know who can do and who cannot do, and so on. Sometimes there are exercises you think you are doing for something different, but first of all, it has a very positive effect on the neck and shoulder muscles. Today, we have here the model who is making this noise that tells them to stop. Today’s model is a very nice, very good expert, a Yoga in Daily Life teacher, a long years practitioner from Vienna, Austria. Because Vienna, also Washington D.C., there is also Vienna, Virginia, and near Jordan, there’s one village called Vienna. So, Vienna, there are many. And the name Venice comes from Vienna, okay? So Vienna has given many babies around the world. Okay, and it was not a Vienna, it’s called Widen. Anyhow, so it means good wind. And you know the Vienna. This year, it is again the first city in the world declared as having good air and a good atmosphere. Last year, and this year again. I was not in the committee; don’t think that Swamiji was supporting. I would have done it if I were there too. So he’s coming directly from Vienna. The city is very good, but people are the best. Okay. Thank you, Sāvā Ganeśa Purī. So there you have today, again, a very easy exercise for your neck and shoulder pain or tension to release. Of course, you all can do it, if you want. If you have pain, it will release. And if you don’t have a pen, you will get it. Read of it, that you will not have. So please, there are certain exercises. The first simple one: sit with straight legs. Very good. Everyone, place your hands beside your thighs on the ground. And while inhaling, raise your hands up. Close the fist, thumb inside, and bend back a little bit backward. Elbows bend it. Exhale and bend forward again. Boat rolling. One. Now, what you should do: go ahead, five times, please. Your look should be pointed on your fingers at all times. While going up, inhale, and while coming back, bending forward, exhale. Very good. So, hands again on the floor. Now, this exercise is especially for people who are doing it for the waist and for the stomach muscles, to reduce and have strong muscles. And also very good against constipation and gastric problems. It has many, many good effects on the body, as gurus used to say, "One in all and all in one." And it doesn’t take a lot of time. You can do it anywhere. But today we are talking about neck and shoulder pain. So what is the hidden effect in this movement? That you are relaxed and your neck is moving down and up with your hands. Automatically, you are doing exercises for neck and shoulders. True? Now, five rounds again. Now, palms on the ground while bending back side, inhale and close the fists and stretch the hands up, open the palms and exhale. One, go ahead both rolling. Three, four, and five. After that, you relax in Vajrāsana. So, this means that when you were sitting with straight legs, you were stretching your thigh muscles and hamstrings. You remember our Mrs. Butcher, the Frau Bucher. In German we say "Bucher," and in English we say "Frau Butcher." She is a teacher or professor for the physiotherapist, learning for rehabilitation, and she told that you cannot sit with straight legs. You have problems because your thigh muscles and these hamstrings, they are too short. And from where comes this? Wrong standing, wrong walking, wrong sitting, and wrong sleeping. There is a sleeping technique, a posture. Once, one man was telling me how to sleep. Like yoga nidrā position, but legs together, hands beside and straight. I managed seven minutes, then I said, "This is for me." Stress? But there are some people who do, but after forty years, you begin to snore, and after fifty or sixty years, even it can become dangerous. Because your vocal cords are so relaxed, you swallow your tonsils, and that’s why one is snoring. One doesn’t snore purposely; he or she doesn’t have anything against the husband anymore. So, sleeping is a technique also, yoga nidrā? Similarly, I would ask our sister, Hemlata Harriet Butcher, to come here. And she will show how the person should stand and what is the wrong way to stand. So Ganesh Purī, please stand up. So put him in the wrong position. What is wrong that we do while we are standing? Because he is also a physiotherapist, so I start with the head. Just put the head in front, no, not down, and make your chest round, stomach out. For a friend, and yes, yeah, head a little up. And now walk, please. Thank you, but so extreme is not okay. Thank you. So, this is no wonder that certain muscle of the body is suffering. The second wrong position, the other position, is that the whole back is round in kyphosis, so the pelvis is backwards and round like that. And if you look normally straight, then your neck is very short. Yes, this is also wrong. And the third one, belly out. The third one, yes, the belly is forward, like this, a little up. Yeah. Upper part straight, a little. Upper body straight, yeah, and belly out, not so extreme, more like this. More like a mother, baby, you know, when a mother has a baby in her hand and she’s standing because she’s tired. Okay, thank you. And second, and now correct third and fourth, so that you put your pelvis backwards and your knee bent, and chest down. That is too extreme. And the fifth one is the correct one. Now, if you correct the position, the best is to start with the pelvis. So the pelvis should be upright, not in front so that you have lordosis, but upright, so you need a little of your stomach muscles, and if the back is in the correct position, your chest will be straight, and now your head is also in one line with chest and with your pelvis. And you can imagine this fine rope, which is a little bit pulled. Thread. Thread. A string on the thread. A string, which pulls your head a little upwards so that your spine is long, is stretched. And your knees should be slightly, just a little, bent. Relaxed. And relaxed. And the weight is on three points of your foot. One is on the same point, so by your big toes, one is by your small toes, and one is on the outside of your heel. So these are the three points where you have your weight: on the big toes, on the small toes, and outside of your heel. So then your whole body has a correct base to stand on, and the rest of the three toes we can cut off? No, but they are not bearing the weight of the... They are only supplementary. Yes. Okay. And the weight of the body rests on three points: on the toes, on the calf, and on the back of the foot. So we have a spread weight on the ground, on the sole. Thank you, Frau Butcher. Thank you. I am Lata Jī. Okay, so again, therefore, after sitting with the straight legs, it’s good if you sit in Vajrāsana. Now, the front part of the legs, the thigh muscles and what we call the calf muscles, the front part, the shin muscles, they are stretched. But not only this, when you sit in Vajrāsana, then automatically your shoulders are very relaxed. And as our dear Hemlata explained, the spine is in the right position naturally, not artificially. You are not stretching or doing something, and therefore the neck is also good and relaxed. And so this is also very good for the shoulders and neck muscles. Now, Vajrāsana, you should also know how to do. If you sit and bend more on the back side, then you are creating tension on your abdominal muscles. Some people are sitting like this, not so much. Now you are creating tension on your neck muscles. That’s also not good. Some people are sitting a little bent forward, straight, and their elbows are stretched. Now again, you are creating stress on your shoulder muscles, automatically on your neck muscles. Now sit just normally. As I told you in the beginning, these positions are very good, but not generally. Yoga je vždycky velmi individuální. Řekněme, že někdo má problémy s koleny nebo měl operaci koleny a nemůže ohnout nohu. Tak nemůžeme takového člověka nutit, or ankle joint problems that you twisted your ankle, therefore this is again individual. So what to do in this problem? Then you can sit on the hard chair and relax. So don’t lean on the chair. But just sit straight. That will relax your shoulders. And while sitting in this position. Now, there are certain exercises in your Yoga in Daily Life book. The first part is very, very useful, and you will see that you can raise your shoulders up and try to touch your shoulders to your ears. Everyone who can touch their ears to their shoulders will get a golden medallion. And relax. Now you will feel completely different. On your shoulders, muscles, neck, and even the back. Now you can do also in your office, sitting on the chair. Sit straight. And stretch your shoulders. Raise your shoulders up, and down. Up, inhale, and down. You know, sometimes people are talking with their shoulders. You know the shoulder language? No. Who knows? Yeah, there are few who know the soldiers, you know? When your husband asks you, "How are you?" Then you say, "Hmm, you know?" That’s the soldier language. True or not? Or husband said, and sometimes children do. "How are you?" Raising both shoulders up. Because why is one answering like this? This is the main thing, psychology. There is a tension between you and the person who asks you. And that tension is reflecting on your neck. And answering the question through this is a kind of relaxation for that part of the body. Automatically, your body is reacting. Okay, so you shall do several times a day like this, or while standing. After a long walk, or running, or cycling, especially for the car driver, taxi driver, or truck driver, they constantly have to concentrate, so these muscles are very stiff. So when there is a red light, they should do this. And you know, when you are driving a car, time... to time, you should just take a very short look, like that. Don’t drive like this. Then you come home like this. Yeah, so relax. So, though there is nothing to see, you can look like this and go, but you should know that your head and your hands should not react together. You look not like this anyhow. So many things we can correct from our pain in shoulders. And so, while sitting on the chair, interlock your fingers behind your head, on your neck, and bend forward, and lean on the chair back, and forward. And then, with the right side bending, try to stretch the side muscles and the other side. So, a few times now, you see, you feel again this upper part, especially the side muscles and neck and shoulder muscles, have more circulation. Very good. And then we have this, you know, it’s called the rotation of the shoulders. Fingers touching the shoulders, like this. Now, this goes more to our back, chest bones, what you call them, the center of the shoulder blades. This part of the spine, what do you call it? And the other direction. Very good. So again, stretch your legs. Then there’s what you call grinding. So, interlock your fingers, and bend forward as far as you can. And now, make a big circle, like grinding. Go as far back as you can, but don’t raise your heels up. And the other direction. The exercise looks very simple, but this is a blessing for your body. Many, many muscles are occupied or influenced through this exercise. Very good. In the middle, hands on the thighs. Now, interlock your fingers and stretch your palms outward. And while sitting, raise your hands up. Your eyes are looking at your fingers. Straight, and exhale. And come down. One. One, very good. Now, do Paścimottānāsana. Where you are stretching your neck muscles, back muscles, and shoulders. So, one hand up, slowly, exhale and do slow. Normal breath, remain there. And inhale, come up. Hands down. Very good. So, today we finished the exercises for releasing the neck and shoulder tension or pain. But once more, you should know why you have problems. First, anatomically, you should know. If doctors say there is nothing wrong and they can’t tell why, then this book is your final doctor: Yoga in Daily Life. Tomorrow, we will have some exercises against our exercises for the hip joints, pain in this part of the body. Same time. Today is finished. And I wish you all the best. And all of you who are here, I wish you a good dinner.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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