Exploring Masculinity: 7 Yogic Principles For Men

What the heck is going on? In this first session, we look at our personal mindset and lifestyle, with the backdrop of the way the world is currently operating. On the one hand we are about to set foot on Mars and large segments of society become more and more inclusive, but on the other hand, nationalists are on the rise everywhere and politicians win elections with slogans of fear and isolationism. It is often men who feel left out of the inclusive camp and vote for fear in much larger numbers than women. Together, in this session, we will strive to minimising the feeling of alienation and come to understand the profound benefits of meditation and yoga.

Did you ever have weird dreams and ask yourself how all of this stuff came into your head? Big news brother: Your dreams are full scale myths. In today's session we explore how Joseph Campbell used the Jungian Archetypes to explain the monomyth, a hero's journey that can be found in myths all over the world: from the story of Buddha, to Hollywood blockbusters. Religions and traditions may differ, but at the core there is always the one same story. In your very own dream pantheon you come across different energies and voices inside you that reflect these very same myths. Let us learn how we can use this knowledge to find out where we stand in life.

Remember how it was cool in high school to demonstrate to the teacher that no one had the right to make you care, flaunting the body language of a jellyfish? Well, the single most important thing they should have taught you was posture. There is no security in this world, but we can bring stability into it ourselves. Together, we will learn how to stand like a Shaolin Monk, fully present and with the right mindset. It is advised that you do this lesson when you have the time and space for a standing meditation.

When you are 14 you might think good sexuality looks like rappers having sex with porn stars in the “Candy Shop”. Bad news for the teenager in you: all of our sexualized culture may just be a trashy by-product of the wonderful gift of sexual liberation. Ever considered that the real stuff could evolve only when you are ready to not view sexuality as a performance but to deeply celebrate it with a partner you truly feel? Together, we will learn how you can regain lost capacities through breathing and pelvic floor muscle training and work to rejuvenate areas that have been neglected.

And just when you thought meeting the divine feminine leads to a peaceful hippy lifestyle for the rest of your life, you have to learn this: You have to be a fighter and work out that decision making muscle. Being able to say yes to one reality, and no to all other possibilities. In the business world this is called your goal or mission, in spirituality we call it Dharma. Will blinders make you focused but ignorant? Yes, if you are an encyclopedia, no if you are a human that can change the blinders after each milestone. Together, let us work out what our mission is and how we can take attainable steps to get there.

Being committed to one woman may not sound as thrilling as being casanova, until you truly understand that sexuality can get better in marriage, than ever before. The key to complete fulfilment is to 'live love', and there are many ways to do it. Today, we will look at how to do so, and feel all the better for it.

If all this stuff we are learning is only in your head, we need to change that now. Your vision has to become you. And the other way around. The throat chakra connects our inner world with our outer expression, our voice in this world. In the hero's journey there is the moment of the reward, when you seize your sword. This is not a single moment but an ongoing process. You will need a ritual and the best way to show you are a superhero is when you manage to establish a 6-days-a-week morning ritual, no matter if you have slept 8 or 4 hours. Let us delve into coming to understand how to turn a vision into a reality, without becoming dogmatic.

In the root chakra we started following the upward flow of prana along your spine. Now it leaves your body through the third eye. You cannot remind yourself often enough that thinking is only a tool to solve certain tasks here and there, but will never lead you to crossing the one final gate. The good news is that stopping to think does not lead to ignorance, but you can actually practice to trust your highest wisdom. The silence preceding each thought. You are wiser than you think, and you need to stop believing that beyond your thinking is the emptiness of a dark universe.

While the upward flow of prana ended in the third eye chakra, the crown chakra absorbs cosmic prana downwards. There is a fundamental difference between leading a serious spiritual life and simply being afraid of change and pain. You will find that those who promote permanent enlightenment usually do not have lasting relationships. If you are part of the world of commitment, you can learn to connect to the higher states of mind, the answer lying in daily meditation and short retreats here and there if you have the time. Let us seek a newfound, profound state of commitment.

In session 2, we learned that Carl Jung introduced the idea of the archetypes of the collective unconscious. While your dreams are your personal mythology, the official mythology of the traditions of the world are collective dreams. One of these archetypes is according to Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler, the Hero energy, which exists also in you, sometimes aided and sometimes distracted by the various other archetypal energies within you. In this last lesson, you will learn how to change your life by connecting to the secret all heros share.