KUM NYE
This is aTibetan form of psychophysical preparations for higher self-development. The name translates to Mind-Body-Emotions Balancing," and stems from the Nyingmapa ("Ancient Ones") tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. It has two phases in the study: Phase One addresses problems of balancing and integration with 16 exercises, while Phase Two seeks to stimulate and transform energies with 21 exercises.
THE YOGAS OF INDIA
"Yoga" involves more than psychophysical training. Wisdom in work, skillful living, harmony and moderation in all matters are chief characteristics of a Yoga-centered life. Sound familiar? It should, because herein resides the "mother root" of all the Asian martial arts and all their attendant, timeless power to form sound judgment in matters secular and divine.
Yoga is not a religion, but rather a science of religions. It is however, religious in that this science brings the devotee slowly along a path of eight stages, with the ultimate goal of becoming one with the Universe.
The "Eight Limbs of Yoga" have been codified since 200 BCE. The stages of self-development are 1) adherence to universal moral principles, 2) self-purification by discipline,
3) training with exercise postures, 4) breath control,
5) emancipation of the mind (from domination by the senses and exterior objects), 6) concentration ability, 7) regular meditation, 8) super-consciousness or identity with the Universal Spirit.
Eastern cultures have recognized for many thousands of years that the proper study of martial arts is a "royal road" to superb health, high levels of fitness, and higher consciousness development. After years of focused attention, the martial artist comes to realize the underlying fundamentals of the training: Release from the constraints of time and space, triumphs over limitations of the physical body, and dissolution of ego become very real and frequent training experiences.
Perhaps our chief claim to serious consideration as practitioners of traditional disciplines of higher self-cultivation lies in the outright challenge that we present to conventional opinion. Our bodies are products of multiple billions of years of evolving genetic material and pure consciousness.
While secular (and many wanna-be sacred) communities stress material gain, intellectualism and ego enhancement as primary functions for humans, our focus remains on these questions: