Yoga Practice with ALEXEY BAYKOV, Yoga Class, Asana, Pranayama, Meditation, Yoga Nidra

I came to Bali for the Yoga Alliance Teacher Training course for certification as an international yoga teacher, where I met my yoga methodology teacher of Kriya Tantra tradition of Swami Satyananda Saraswati and the teacher of yoga anatomy. We started the practice at dawn from 6am and, with a 1-hour-break for a lunch, finished at about 8-9pm.

​

On one of the first days when the body was already accustomed to active 10-hour-day yoga practice and lectures on yoga philosophy, getting up at 5 am the body required a new yoga-load, and the mind demanded meditation, in the evening we were ready to practice a guided meditation.

 

And at one exact moment during the practice of the guided meditation, when the yoga-methodologist is instructing the way of focus moving inside and the students trying to direct their attention, following the teacher's voice, I suddenly realized that I do not understand a word of instructions – as if that part of the mind that was responsible for English thinking and translation with 22-years-practice, disconnected and tottally switched off…

And then the mind stopped thinking at all,

...and the English language seemed to be just an abracadabra that blended with the sounds of cicadas and other insects and birds of Bali-island, thus following the voice "came loose" by itself and dissapeared, and I stayed one-on-one with myself…

And then I realize the exact moment: here am I, I'm sitting on the island of Bali, in the beautiful city of Ubud, where I came specially for the course of yoga teachers, thanks to the fact that for the first time in my life I could not waste, but saved $8,000 with my own labor to realize my dream... for the first time.

​

… I realize: I am sitting among the people who are striving to know their True Self in the own personal way, and that my american teacher of yoga methodology is trying so hard to share his knowledge, and that the whole world allows this to happen – in a moment I was gripped by such a strong gratitude to everything and everyone, that I smiled wide… and tears came to my eyes with happiness, and then in me by itself happened my child's prayer of gratitude, and suddenly I feel like in an instant moment, as if all the space inside of me was sucked up through the crown with such high speed that even thr ear membranes squeezed out by pressure, as if freediving ears blowing, and then… just black Void.

​

For a moment I am just being in this Void, and then I cease to realize that somebody is looking at this Void, and at the same time I seem to direct my attention to the one who looks at the Void, and at this instant moment the spark in my chest (somewhere in the center of the Void) lightened - in no time and no space, beginning to fill me up with light, and the body seems to float, and I do not feel the actual body, but gradually bit by bit, cell by cell I start to return… - the senses from the sensory organs start returning: the ears are postponed, I start to hear the singing of Balinese night birds and insects, voice of the instructor…

 

...and then I understand that something incredible happened to me that I want to share with everyone, and I feel overwhelmed with joy ... the joy of being - and my smile spreads to my ears, tears flow from my eyes, something in me wants to return back to the state of Void, but most of me seem to have woken up to the usual life condition and millions of thoughts are flooding the brains , falling down as a waterfall, my eyes are opening - I'm staying ... in this momnet pf state, watching the processes inside and out ...

​

After the end of the meditation, I approached to my methogology teacher to share what have just happened, so he asked me to tell this story tomorrow morning for all the 30 students from USA, Australia, New Zealand, UK  and many other scountries. And the next morning I told what happened...

​

After a long pause of silence, the teacher says: "Yes, all this is described in detail in the books of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, but each guided meditation is necessary in order to follow it and safely gradually achieve such states. But you are Alex, as always do not listen to me, and apparently, the Russians are so crazy that they are ready to let go off the oars and direct their boat from the river right to the center of the seething ocean, but this is very dangerous. Alex, I kindly ask you, to follow my words next time, and I recommend everyone to follow my instructions ... "- I listened to his review, barely concealing a smile and laughter of joy of my state - that sparkling out of me like the juice of a Balinese sweet yellow sunny mango , flooding all the space inside... with golden light. October-November, 2014