LITMIR.BIZ

       THE VRTTIS

      Clustered around each chakra are the vrttis, or the mental tendencies that are controlled by that chakra and its relationship to associated physical glands. An increase or decrease or an imbalance in glandular secretions can make the vrttis more or less active. Yoga postures can help balance and regulate the activity of the chakras and thus the glands and vrttis.

      According to yoga science, the mind stores reactive “momenta” — the plural of momentum—or samskaras, a type of energy created by desire. Some people call it “karma,” though technically karma means the reaction you experience as a result of your reactive momentum. Samskaras are like deposits you make in a bank, to be withdrawn at a later date. They can be inborn, such as the child prodigy who is born with the samskara for musical genius; they can be imposed by parents or society; or they can be acquired throughout life. Everyone has a vastly different set of samskaras, constantly ripening and being expressed. What you think, say, and do, according to yoga philosophy, comes back to you.

      According to your particular set of reactive momenta, vrttis are formed; their expression and control depend upon the chakras. The chakras vibrate according to the reactive momenta, and their vibrational expression causes hormones to be secreted. These hormones affect your mental state and thus your actions and reactions. When you can control the chakras, you control the expression of these mental tendencies. You are no longer pulled here and there, tossed about on a sea of emotions, desires, fears, and aversions. Your mind achieves a state of equilibrium in which your samskaras can be expressed in a healthy way and released. Control of the chakras—and thus the glandular secretions and finally the mind — is the object of many meditation practices and yoga postures.

      The process of controlling the chakras, and thus the vrttis and physical glands, was invented by yoga master Astavarka in India over 2000 years ago. He called this process “Rajadhiraja Yoga,” and taught the system in the area of Bengal, India. Later, the sage Patanjali organized a system he called “Raja Yoga,” which included an eight-fold process of holistic health and selfrealization. These are not sequential steps, but components of a holistic approach to spiritual development:

      (1) Yama (ethical behavior): kindness, honesty, responsibility, unity, simplicity.

      (2) Niyama (spiritual behavior): clarity, acceptance, sacrifice, understanding, spirituality.

      (3) Asanas (yoga postures).

      (4) Pranayama (control of the breath).

      (5) Pratyahara (withdrawing the mind from the physical world).

      (6) Dharana (intense concentration).

      (7) Dhyana (true meditation).

      (8) Samadhi (communion with the Deep Self or Supreme Consciousness).