# Theological Academy: Health Course

A program for achieving a high level of overall health. A three-month health course of yoga.
If we talk about yoga, then asanas have long been the central point of yoga. Therefore, many people are convinced that yoga is something like gymnastics. However, in fact, asanas alone are not enough for health. The result comes if, in addition to asanas, you practice pranayama (breathing exercises), kriya (cleansing the body) and meditation (visualization). After completing this basic course, you can begin to practice special courses, choosing techniques for those courses in accordance with your illness. However, if you have a simple illness, then you can get rid of it during just this basic course. Then you can limit yourself to it. After completing this course, to maintain your health, we recommend that you continue to practice a little every day, performing the daily basis of the basic course, even if you no longer have any illness.
You need to practice for one to two hours every day. And although it says one to two hours, longer sessions will bring greater effect if you have time, or if you use the extra time on weekends. First, familiarize yourself with the sitting poses necessary for practice. You do not need to memorize them all at once, as you practice, you will be able to refer to their descriptions as needed.

### Three Sitting Poses
##### Sidda Asana

Half lotus. The sitting pose most suitable for meditation. The pose was named so because it is the most suitable pose for meditation. Sidda means adept.
Effect:
* The Sushumna channel opens, through which the spiritual energy of Kundalini rises.
* The mind and senses become unshakable.
* Curbs sexual impulses.
Execution:
* Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front.
* Bend your left leg and pull your heel toward your perineum. Touch your right thigh with the entire sole.
* Helping with your hands, bend your right leg and place your heel at the base of the genitals. Insert the toes of your right foot between the thigh and calf of your left leg. Straighten up so that your head, neck, and back form a straight line. Your knees are on the floor.
* Maintaining the described pose, gaze intently at the tip of your nose or at the space between your eyebrows, whichever you prefer.
* Place your hands on your knees, forming Janan Mudra.
Janan Mudra:
Place your index finger on the middle of your thumb, straightening the other three. Do the same with the other hand.

##### Padma Asana

Lotus Pose. A sitting pose that cures many diseases.
Effect:
* Cures many diseases.
* Especially strengthens the nerves in the area from the waist down.
* Makes the tendons in the area of ​​the waist and below more flexible. Makes the body more flexible from the waist down.
* Strengthens the spinal cord.
* Expands the Apana Vayu. Apana Vayu is the internal energy that is responsible for the excretion of toxins and has a downward direction.
* Apana Vayu, having received the opposite direction and entering the Sushumna channel, cleanses this Sushumna channel. And, due to this, it becomes easier to awaken the Kundalini.
* Helps to concentrate, as it calms the mind and senses.
* This is one of the best poses for pranayama and meditation.
Execution:
* Sit with your legs stretched forward.
* Using your hands, bend your left leg and place it on the base of your right thigh. The heel should be pressed to the lower abdomen.
* Bend your right leg and place it on your left thigh. Press the heel to the lower abdomen.
* Sit up straight so that your head, neck and back are in one line. Touch the floor with your knees. Look intently at the tip of your nose.
* If it becomes difficult, you can change legs.
* Place your hands between your heels, making Brahmanjari.
Brahmanjari:
Place your right hand on your left palm.

##### Vajra Asana

The pose most suitable for breathing techniques.
Effect:
* Helps in mastering pranayama.
* Promotes the awakening of Kundalini.
Execution:
    This is a pose in which you sit on your heels pressed together. Keep your knees together and your back straight. Relax your shoulders and do not stick out your chin. The big toes should touch slightly. Place your hands on your knees. Look forward.

### First Week

Techniques that normalize the body's constitution. During the first week, you practice the cleansing technique of Gaja Karani, two types of asanas and Anuloma Viloma Pranayama. In most cases, diseases arise due to nutritional problems and constitutional disorders. Examples of constitutional disorders are: a mucous constitution, abnormal secretion of bile, abnormal energy metabolism. To begin with, during the first week you practice to normalize them.

##### Gaja Karani

Activation of sluggish stomach and intestines.
Effect:
* General health improvement of the body.
* Treats gastric diseases such as gastritis, high stomach acidity, stomach colic, flatulence, heartburn and indigestion.
* Heals throat diseases.
* Stimulates appetite and makes you more energetic.
* Helps to get rid of excess weight, reduce the amount of food needed to satiate.
Technique:
* Before performing Gaja karani, empty your bowels and bladder.
* While squatting, drink 2-3 liters of salted water prepared at the rate of (one full tablespoon of salt per 2 liters of water). Use only boiled or filtered water. Water temperature +40 degrees.
* After you have drunk as much as you can, bend forward and do the following pranayama:
** a) place your hands on your knees and quickly exhale through both nostrils, drawing in your stomach
** b) immediately after exhaling, begin to inhale, inflating your stomach
** c) in this sequence - drawing in and inflating your stomach, you quickly inhale and exhale 50-60 times
* As you practice this pranayama, you will begin to feel sick, and the water will come out with vomit.
* After 2-3 liters of salt water are expelled, you drink 2-3 liters of normal boiled water and repeat steps 3 and 4, extracting water back from the stomach.
* After you have completely extracted all the water, you can eat.
If you cannot create a gag reflex and expel water from the body, try the following:
* bend forward, place your left hand on your knee;
* put the index and middle fingers of your right hand together and insert them deep into the throat;
* press on the front wall of the throat and draw in your stomach.
If you achieve perfection in Gaja karani, you will be able to induce vomiting at any time at will using Samana vayu.
Gaja karani takes about 30 minutes. Therefore, it would be good if you do Gaja karani before breakfast, and the Asanas and Pranayama, which are discussed further, after returning home.
Vaman Dauti:
People whose stomach and intestines are sluggish due to illness can practice Vaman Dauti. The only difference is that you do this technique after eating, otherwise it is completely the same as Gaja Karani.

#### Asanas

From the first week of the basic course, we will get acquainted with asanas, the effect of which is manifested primarily in the re-creation of the physical body.

##### Gas Removal Asana

An asana in which you touch your nose with your knee.
* Lie on your back (shavasana). Inhale, filling your stomach with air.
* Holding your breath, bend your right leg at the knee and press your knee to your stomach with both hands.
* Continuing to hold your breath, raise your head and touch your knee with your nose. The left leg continues to lie straight on the floor.
* When you feel short of breath, return to shavasana.
* Repeat steps 1-4 with the other leg.
* After completing step 5, repeat the same with both legs at the same time.

##### Cat Asana

Effect:
* Improves blood circulation.
* Straightens the Sushumna channel and makes the Apana vayu rise up.
* Stimulates blood circulation in the lumbar region.
* Treats gynecological diseases.
* Makes you energetic.
Technique:
* Sit in Vajra asana.
* Raise your buttocks, place your palms on the floor, and stand, leaning on your hands and knees. Keep your knees together, hands shoulder-width apart.
* Slowly exhaling, lower your head and hunch your back.
* After exhaling, hold your breath for three seconds.
* Inhaling slowly, lower your back and arch. At the same time, raise your head.
* After inhaling, hold your breath for three seconds.
* Exhaling slowly, return to the position described in point 3. Similarly, hold your breath for three seconds.
* Inhaling slowly, arch back and raise your head as in point 5, but this time, simultaneously with your head, raise your left leg high back up.
* After finishing inhaling, hold your breath for three seconds.
* Exhaling, return to the position described in point 3.
* Repeat steps 4-7.
* Do step 8, raising the other leg.
* Repeat the process from point 3 to 12 two more times.
* Return to Vajra asana.

##### Folding Asana

Asana in which you touch your forehead to your knees.
Effect:
* Awakens Kundalini.
* Stabilizes the psyche.
* Heals diseases of the abdominal region.
Method One.
* Sit on the floor, stretching your straight legs together forward.
* Grasp the tips of your toes with your hands and exhale, drawing in your anus and stomach. At the same time, bend, keeping your torso as close to your legs as possible and trying to push your chest forward, and place your head on your knees.
* Hold position two as long as possible.
* When you feel like inhaling, lift your head a little and inhale slowly. Then place your head on your knees again, exhaling as in point 2, and hold this position.
* When you feel heavy, slowly inhale and return to position 1.
Method Two.
    Instead of your toes, hold your knees tightly with both hands. Then do the exercise in the same way as in the first method.
The Third Method.
    Take the soles of your feet with your hands, interlace your fingers. Then do the exercise in the same way as in the first method.

#### Anuloma Viloma Pranayama

Anuloma Viloma Pranayama is a rejuvenation technique.
Effect:
* Rejuvenates the body.
* Enhances vital energy.
* Cleanses the lungs and nose.
* Calms the mind.
* Makes you physically healthy.
* Makes consciousness and mind clear and transparent.
Technique:
* Sit in any sitting position (preferably the Lotus position)
* Pull in your lower abdomen and exhale through both nostrils.
* Place the index finger of your right hand on the center of your forehead and close your right nostril with your thumb. Quickly finish exhaling through your left nostril and inhale through the same nostril.
* After taking a full breath, hold your breath, but not so much that it is unbearable.
* After holding your breath, close your left nostril with your middle and ring fingers. Exhale through the right nostril.
* Inhale through the same nostril, hold your breath and exhale through the other nostril.
* Repeat the breathing in a similar way, changing the nostrils. Perform the exercise for as long as you feel comfortable. If it becomes difficult for you, complete the exercise. Finish with the same number of repetitions for both nostrils.
During the exercise, concentrate on breathing (inhaling, holding and exhaling). Once you're comfortable, change the inhale–hold–exhale ratio from 1-1-1 to 1-4-2. In other words, at the end: inhale, hold, and exhale can be, for example, 4, 16, and 8 seconds. But never overexert yourself.
If you have more time on the weekend, add any more asanas at your discretion.

### Second Week

Restoration of normal body and functions.
It can be said that in modern wellness programs too much attention is paid to nutrition. These are usually diets with carefully calculated energy and nutritional values, filled with elements of "healthy food" produced by the rapidly developing food industry, recommendations to eat vegetables, unpeeled rice, and many other things that are difficult to list.
On the other hand, modern people, in fact, have lost so much confidence in their ability to find health themselves that, as they say, all millions of the population are half sick. However, with all this, it's hard not to notice that traditional methods of gaining health, which have always seemed to be considered a panacea, are largely wrong.
What's the matter? Let's get this straight. To put it bluntly, the problem is that most often attention is not paid to the body, which processes and uses nutrients. Just as it is useless to fill up an old car with high-quality gasoline, providing nutrition to a weakened body will lead to nothing.
All food must be digested and absorbed, moreover, the nutrients must be distributed throughout the body and used effectively. Only when this process is going right. And only then does nutrition make sense.
Therefore, starting from the second week of classes, let's pay attention specifically to the functioning of the physical body. In other words, you are repairing an old car so that it can continue to work beautifully. We can say that this technique will help not only those who are already suffering from serious illnesses, but also those who are healthy and want to maintain their health for a long time and live for a long time.

##### Sankah Praxalana Kriya

From the second to the fourth week. From the second week onwards, you perform the following technique once a week – Sankara Praxalana Kriya.
Effect.
* A very effective exercise for removing "stagnant feces" from the intestines, which are considered the cause of many diseases.
* Almost all diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are cured, such as gastritis, ulcers, cancers, and the like.
* Purifies the Earth Element.
* Cleanses all the chakras from Muladhara to Vishuddha.
Practice time:
    On an empty stomach. The effect will be even greater if you perform this technique 15-16 hours after eating. Think about how to fulfill this condition, for example, have dinner at an earlier time in the evening and practice the next day in the morning. Since this practice is performed only once a week, it probably won't be too difficult.
What you need: 2 lemons, a cup of salt, warm water (+40 degrees, the amount depends on the need).
   * After performing this Kriya, some may feel a headache or confusion. This is typical for people with a tendency to a mucosal constitution. If you continue to do Kriya without worrying about anything, your constitution will also return to normal.
   * You must use the specified amount of salt, otherwise if you put too little salt, the water will come out with urine.
   * Once you get the hang of it, you can finish the exercise within an hour. You may need about three hours before that.
Accomplishment:
A. Squeeze two lemons (lemon juice) into 2 liters of water (warm boiled) and add 2.5 tablespoons of salt.
B. Stir well until completely dissolved and drink.
C. After you drink, immediately perform the following 5 asanas.
1) Snake Pose
* Lie face down on your stomach. Place your hands, palms down, on the floor, at chest level.
* Take a deep breath. Holding your breath, raise your head, neck, chest, and lower back in order, that is, the upper half of your body. The lower part of the body, from the navel down, is pressed to the floor. The navel is directed at an imaginary line connecting the wrists.
* Stay in this position 2 for a while, and then, exhaling slowly, return to the starting position in reverse order.
* Repeat the asana 2 more times.
2) Rolling pose from side to side
* Lie face down on your stomach.
* Bend your knees, grabbing your ankles with your hands.
* After taking a full breath, bend your body and, holding your breath, roll from side to side.
* Return to position 1 and exhale.
3) Gas removal pose
* Lie on your back (shavasana).
* Take a full breath with your stomach.
* Hold your breath, raise your right knee and press it against your stomach with 2 hands.
* While continuing to hold your breath, lift your head and touch your knee with your nose. The left leg remains stretched out and pressed to the floor.
* Return to shavasana (point 1).
* Do the same with the other leg.
* Do the same by lifting and pressing both legs at the same time.
* Repeat the whole exercise 2 more times.
Since there is a lot of water in the stomach, it can be difficult to do this exercise. In this case, you don't have to touch your knee with your nose.
4) Birch – 1 min.
* Sometimes water from the stomach begins to pour out through the mouth. Don't pay any attention to it.
5) Shavasana – 2 min.
D. Repeat these asanas until the activity of the intestines is activated. When you have a strong urge, go to the bathroom.
E. Drink 750 grams of warm water again, dissolving a tablespoon of salt in it. Do the same asanas and go to the bathroom whenever you really want to.
F. Drink 750 grams of warm water again, dissolving a tablespoon of salt in it. Do the same asanas and go to the bathroom whenever you really want to.
G. Repeat this process until only clean water comes out of the intestine.
H. At the end, drink a liter of warm unsalted boiled water and make Gadja Karani to cleanse the stomach.

#### Asanas

Next, from the second week of the basic course, we will continue to get acquainted with asanas. It will be best if, while practicing these asanas daily, you begin to practice Sanka Praksalana Kriya, which was just described, once a week.

##### Butterfly Asana

An asana in which you bend, keeping your heels together.
The First Method.
* Sit on the floor, stretching your straight legs forward.
* Bend your legs and press the soles of your feet together. Touch your perineum with your heels.
* Inhale slowly and hold your breath, try to touch the floor with your knees, helping yourself with your hands. Straighten your back and arms, hold this position for 5 seconds.
* Exhale slowly, relax your arms and legs.
* Repeat steps 3 and 4 three times.
Method Two.
* After completing the exercise using the first method, grab your shins with your hands.
* Inhale slowly, try to press your knees to the floor if possible. At the same time, push your lower back forward and straighten your chest.
* Exhale slowly, bend forward until your chin touches the floor.
* When your chin touches the floor, release your arms and stretch them out to the sides.
* Bend further until your shoulders and both arms touch the floor. Your chest and stomach touch your feet. Hold this position for five seconds.
* Inhale slowly, begin to lift your upper body and return to the starting position.

##### Alligator Pose

* Lie on your back.
* Inhaling slowly, keeping your feet together, smoothly lift your straight legs up until they are perpendicular to the floor.
* Exhaling slowly, lower your legs to the right towards the fingers of your right hand until they touch the floor. At the same time, turn your head to the opposite side and look at the fingertips of your left hand. Stay in this position for three seconds.
* Inhaling slowly, return to position 2.
* After lifting your legs, do the same, lowering your legs to the left side.
* Exhaling slowly, lower your straight legs to the floor, returning to position 1.
Note: try to keep your arms perpendicular to the body.

##### Twisted Pose

* Sit on the floor with your legs extended.
* Bend your left leg and place your heel on the floor near your right buttock, keeping your left knee on the floor.
* Bend your right leg and use your hands to help place your right foot to the left of your left leg. Press your right leg as close to your body as possible.
* Place your right hand on the floor near your right buttock. Sit so that your left armpit touches your right thigh and, straightening your left arm, grab the arch of your right foot. Then, lift your right hand off the floor and place your right palm on your right side.
* Slowly exhaling, turn your face and torso to the right. Keep your back straight and tuck your chin in. Turn as far as you can and exhale completely, holding this position for 10 seconds.
* Inhale slowly, turn your torso to the starting position and return to position 4. Then, looking forward, remove your left hand from the arch of your right foot. And finally, return to position 1.
* After a short rest, repeat the exercise on the other side.

##### Marichi Asana

* Sit on the floor with your legs straightened together forward.
* Bend your left leg, placing it perpendicular to the floor and pressing your shin to your thigh.
* Bend forward a little and move your left hand counterclockwise behind your back, clasping your left leg from the inside out. Moving your right hand behind your back, grab the wrist of your left hand.
* Inhaling slowly, turn your torso to the right, keeping your back straight. Hold your breath and stay in this position for 3 seconds.
* Exhaling slowly, bend forward, while looking forward. Pressing your face, chest and stomach to your right leg, exhale completely. Holding your breath as you exhale, stay in this position for 5 seconds.
* Inhale slowly, lift your torso and return to the starting position.
* Perform the exercise on the other side.

##### Grasshopper Asana

First Method.
* Lie on your stomach, touching your forehead to the floor. Place your hands on the floor, clenching them into fists.
* Inhale slowly, lift both legs, keeping them together and straight.
* Having raised your legs completely, hold your breath and remain in this position for 10 seconds.
* Exhale slowly, slowly and gently lower your legs to the floor. When your feet touch the floor, relax your whole body.
* After a short rest, repeat the exercise. Do three repetitions in total.
Method Two.
* After completing the first version of the exercise, slowly inhale, raise both legs, keeping them together, and both arms.
* Bend back, raise your arms and legs up, resting on your stomach, breathe normally and stay in this position for 20 seconds.
* Slowly exhale, simultaneously and smoothly lower your arms and legs down. Having lowered your legs, relax your whole body.
* After a short rest, repeat the exercise. Do it three times in total.

##### Cobra Asana

* Lie face down. Place your palms on the sides of your chest.
* Take a full breath. Holding your breath, raise your body in this order: head, neck, chest, lower back. Everything, the body from the navel and below should touch the floor. Move your body forward so that your navel is on the line connecting your wrists.
* Maintain position 2 for a while, and then, exhaling slowly, lower your head.
* Repeat the entire exercise three times.

##### Birch

Effect:
* Cleanses the body greatly.
* One of the best asanas for developing the brain, heart and lungs.
* Improves vision.
* Improves blood circulation in the head.
* Cures digestive disorders, chronic headaches, and gastritis.
Attention: Before practicing Birch, you should do a sufficient number of exercises for neck flexibility and neck relaxation.
* Lie on your back (shavasana). Stretch your arms and place them on the floor along your body.
* Inhaling, lift your legs up, keeping them together. The lower back remains lying on the floor. When your legs are raised to a vertical position, hold your breath and stay in this position for 5-10 seconds. While doing this, try to relax your shins.
* Exhaling, lower your legs half as slowly as you raised them.
* Smoothly lower your legs to the floor, relax your whole body.
* After a short rest, again, inhaling, raise your legs, keeping them together.
* Rest your palms on the floor, and exhaling, lifting your lower back off the floor, raise your legs even further, behind your head. Touch the floor with your toes behind your head.
* Rest your lower back with your hands and, inhaling, raise your legs above you.
* Stay in this position for 5 minutes.
* Slowly exhaling, return to the starting position and rest. Rest in Shavasana for 10 minutes.

##### Shavasana

* Lie on your back. Spread your legs at an angle of about 15 degrees. Spread your arms slightly and place them on the floor naturally, palms up. Close your eyes slightly.
* Mentally imagine how relaxation spreads smoothly from the periphery of the body – the tips of the fingers and toes – towards the heart.
* Relax your whole body and maintain this state.
* Before getting up from shavasana, you need to pull your toes towards yourself, clench your hands into fists, bend your elbows, and bend your knees and press them to your chest, raise your head and tense your whole body. Then abruptly relax him by returning to shavasana. After that, you can get up.

#### Anuloma Viloma Pranayama

Pranayama (breathing method) - bringing consciousness to the highest state.
If we compare the physical body with a car, we can say that consciousness is the driver. This is so because the state of consciousness has a great influence on the physical body. Due to the work of consciousness, we eat too much and drink too much. And it is consciousness that draws us to excessive sex. Even tension and fatigue are caused by consciousness.
What beneficial changes will occur in the physical body if consciousness is in the most favorable state? This will bring us a little joy. Pranayama and mantras, which will be discussed in the next chapter, are best suited for bringing consciousness to the highest state. By receiving energy from other dimensions, you can strengthen the five Vayus.
    To begin with, let us turn to Anuloma Viloma pranayama, from the program of the first week. As it is written, the final ratio of inhalation, retention and exhalation should be 4 seconds : 16 seconds : 8 seconds. Set your goal from the second week to increase the duration of breathing further.
    In the second week, inhale, retain and exhale accordingly 5 : 20 : 10 seconds.
    In the third week, inhale, hold, and exhale for 6:24:12 seconds.
    In the third week, inhale, hold, and exhale for 7:28:14 seconds.
Note: You can increase the holding time if you do pranayama on an empty stomach. As for food, try to eat something light, avoiding fish and meat.
Sometimes there are times when you feel dull despite doing pranayama. This happens when your impure parts are being cured, do not worry about it, as it is temporary.
If you sweat, rub the sweat over your body and let it dry, because the sweat that occurs during pranayama contains a special energy.

### Mantra

Mantra, sound vibrations that envelop the body. The word "mantra" is translated as "word of God" or "true word". In other words, it is a sound vibration. According to the scriptures of yoga, the universe is made of sound, light and heat. Even if we just look around us, we will see that sound must indeed be an important constituent element. When you listen to, for example, your favorite music, what effect does it have on your body? As medical studies show, people with high blood pressure have lower blood pressure, and people with low blood pressure have higher blood pressure, that is, blood pressure normalizes. On the other hand, unpleasant music causes a deterioration in blood pressure. This is the serious effect sound has on the body. A combination of selected sound vibrations is a mantra. Try to envelop yourself in sound vibrations while reading a mantra.
Diamond_mantra.

### Meditation

Meditation of Emptiness.

### Final course schedule

Follow the program of each stage during the week.
first stage
* Gaja Karani 30 min
* Asanas 15 min
** Gas Removal Asana
** Cat Asana
** Folding Asana
* Anuloma Viloma Pranayama 15 min
second stage
* Gaja Karani 30 min
* Asanas (in addition to the asanas of the first stage) 30 min
** Butterfly Asana
** Alligator Asana
** Cobra Asana
* Anuloma Viloma Pranayama 20 min
* Mantra 10 min
third stage
* Gaja Karani 30 min
* Asanas (in addition to the asanas of the second stage) 30 min
** Butterfly Asana (second method)
** Grasshopper Asana
** Marichi Asana
* Anuloma Viloma Pranayama 20 min
* Mantra 10 min
* Meditation 10 min
fourth stage
* Gaja Karani 30 min
* Asanas (other than stage 3 asanas) 40 min
** Grasshopper Asana (second method)
** Twisted Asana
** Folding Asana (second or third method)
* Anuloma Viloma Pranayama 20 min
* Mantra 10 min
* Meditation 10 min
Program for weekends or days when you have free time. Do this program once a week, starting with stage 2.
* Sanka Praksalana Kriya 1-3 hours (you can do Sanka Praksalana Kriya in an hour when you get used to it)
* Asanas 30 min
* Anuloma Viloma Pranayama 30 min
* Mantra 10 min
* Meditation 10 min