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Hi guys.

 Having practiced Yoga for over 3 years now I was introduced to bodybalance by a friend of mine who is currently training to become a bodycombat instructor.

Unfortunatly I had to leave the yoga class as the spiritual practices involved became too much for me as I am not ready to raise my level of conciousness or expand my awareness of my place in reality any further. One thing I learned on my yoga journey was how dangerous it can actually be. Such spiritual practices, in history, were only ever undertaken under strict instuction from an experienced teacher or guru as they knew all too well the pitfalls and dangers that lie on the road to enlightenment. The guru is there to guide the student through these dangerous places and experiences and to give meaning to to them.

 Unfortunatly I was not aware of these dangers and I did not confer about spiritual experiences I was having with my yoga teacher and as a result I was taken right to the brink of insanity. It was only through a lot of incredibly hard work on my part, help from several yoga teachers and a powerful medium that I was able to re-ground myself and get back to reality.

 It has taken me 12 months to do this. I am very lucky to be able to write this today.

Despite my experience I still find myself yearning for the physical challenge that yoga brought to me, which is why my friend told me about bodybalance. However upon loking on the bodybalance website today i read this -

"Focus your mind and raise your level of consciousness through controlled breathing"

My questions are as follows-

what kind of controlled breathing (pranayama in yoga) is being practiced?

What spiritual training have the teachers of bodybalance undergone to aid students as they practice the breathing exercises and their conciousness expands?

Are there also meditative practices involved in bodybalance? If so what are they?

Are correct grounding and protection exercises followed?

Do you "close down" the students at the end of a session?

Are the teachers aware of what happens to our energy centres during such practices and how to control/protect them in a safe manner?

Are the teachers aware of the dangers of such spiritual practices i.e premature kundalini raising or unlocking the bandhas incorrectly of forcefully? 

Pranayama breathing is perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of yogic practice and is most certainly not to be undertaken lightly, indeed most yoga teachers will tell you that it is not something to be trifled with.

I am certainly not here to bash on bodybalance in anyway, indeed I find the whole prospect of it very appealing. I just want to learn as much as I can about it before I jump back into any kind of yogic practice. Yoga afterall is an exact science developed over many thousands of years, where as bodybalance is almost brand new in comparison.

Thanks Guys! :-D 

Dean,

As a mere student of yoga and meditation, and a BodyBalance particpant, let me tell you that Balance is not Yoga.

There is no pranayama in Balance.  There is no meditation in Balance - there is a relaxation track at the end (respect to everyone who thinks the relaxation at the end is meditation) - and that is not meditation.  Balance copies some physical routines and postures from yoga, tai chi, and pilates - and it is none of those things.

It would be impossible (and inappropriate) for me to comment on what individual teachers do or do not know.  Perhaps you could discuss these questions with your likely Balance instructor(s), at the facility you are likely to attend.

Good luck.

In Bodybalance we take the class to alpha beta and Theta, and Delta states of meditation. I teach breathing in all tracks (breath cycles.) When teaching the last two tracks I keep away from the "Imagine you are..." type scripting. I decide what I am saying based on the track being selected. I stay away from visuals that can distract from the tracks objectives.

Sometimes for example in Bodybalance 18 I say nothing with the last two tracks I place the class into place and talk them out at the end of track 11. Sometimes the music takes control "reiki" sometimes comes into the last two tracks of some releases. I tend not to talk so much in those tracks only when the cymbals indicate a change in the music.

I would have to say that when I started Bodybalance along time ago I was a bit out of my depth with tracks 10 and 11. But when I undertook more classes and began to understand that whole idea of the tracks "taking some time out for you at the end of the week" - "10 minutes dedicated to you" this is how I approach it.

In relation to understanding the last two tracks i have undertaken alot of personal study to understand the meditation and relaxation.

There is an excellent book "Relaxation & Breathing for Meditation: Rodney Yee" a real good read. It helped me understand it abit more.

I am a very spiritual person in personal practice I take it in a spiritual direction, this is for my own spiritual growth.

HTH?

pipera:

In Bodybalance we take the class to alpha beta and Theta, and Delta states of meditation. 

Nowhere is that in the program manual, or is it discussed at a training.

Hard_Yards:

As a mere student of yoga and meditation, and a BodyBalance particpant, let me tell you that Balance is not Yoga.

There is no pranayama in Balance.  There is no meditation in Balance - there is a relaxation track at the end (respect to everyone who thinks the relaxation at the end is meditation) - and that is not meditation.  Balance copies some physical routines and postures from yoga, tai chi, and pilates - and it is none of those things.

Totally agree, first and foremost it is exercise to music drawing postures etc from yoga, tai chi and pilates as stated above.  Relaxation at the end is wonderful and I always tell people that it's not often we take 10 minutes out of our day to just be.  It can be a moving experience depending on what is happening in your life, especially if the music is uplifting, but as for this class being like traditional yoga and meditation, it's not.

Good luck Dean, from me as well.

tails:

pipera:

In Bodybalance we take the class to alpha beta and Theta, and Delta states of meditation. 

 

Nowhere is that in the program manual, or is it discussed at a training.

That was covered along time ago. I also remember Gary mentioning it sometime ago!