Kum Nye, Level 1 - Video Training Program
based on Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche’s book
Kum Nye – A Tibetan Yoga
with Arnaud Maitland
Session One - Relaxation: (1hr 15min)
Kum Nye relaxation means the release of held tension. The benefit of this practice is being at ease. We start by bringing attention to the body. Become aware of the experience of sensations within the body and space around us. When in touch with the body, we start noticing what our senses are seeing, smelling, hearing, and feeling. Next, we begin to feel what is happening in our environment and sense other people. Paying attention integrates all the capabilities of the mind, so that we can concentrate, sense, and be present at the same time. When the mind connects to the body, we feel alive.
Once relaxed, a process of self-discovery begins. We can feel some tension in the belly or chest, something holding us down. This tension is an accumulation of emotions and life experiences that take hold in a certain part of the body and its corresponding energy center. Through slow movement, we activate life in the body; what is suppressed starts to come forward. Over time these constraints naturally lift, and our personal space expands.
When tension is released, we awake, become integrated, invigorated, and whole. Through Kum Nye practice, the internal experience becomes richer, allowing us to flourish and realize our full potential. This deep practice offers an engaging process of personal growth. It allows us to connect to the true nature of our being, to the reality of our life.
Exercise: #1 Letting go
Session Two – A Healing Practice: (1hr 12min)
Stillness allows room for us to develop and come to accept ourselves. Once we are at ease, and our energy stabilizes we can express ourselves and synchronizes with the rhythm of the universe. Kum Nye practice offers a transition from a conditioned way of being to an authentic way of being.
Kum Nye is a gentle healing system, which reflects living by physical and universal laws, such as the law of energy and law of attraction. Kum Nye reconditions us through a mind-body discipline. Through relaxation, we discover a new way of being within ourselves and in the world. We begin to release things that hold us back. Contracted energy cannot flow, it weighs us down, causing exhaustion, but once life starts flowing through the body, we begin to realize what relates to us and notice our qualities and our talents. Gradually our true nature is revealed, and eventually, we become completely at ease with who we are.
During practice, stay still while noticing the urge to move on to the next thing. We stay aware and open throughout the practice. Opening space stimulates feelings and the energy of the breath. As we loosen up, we notice tension areas that awaken. By focusing the breath into these areas, we can release tension there. When life is embodied, we have access to enormous amounts of energy, vitality, and space.
Exercises: #20 Touching body energy, #4 Following sensation, #15 Loosening up, #19 Revitalizing energy.
Session Three - Openness and Flow: (45min)
When we activate the body, we go from holding to flowing. Parts of us are coming to life and we start feeling fuller, richer, and wholesome. While sitting still, we are not looking for emptiness; our focus is on openness and flow. Stillness is a nourishing and informative state. We discover the qualities of body, breath, and mind.
Activating the flow of feelings allows us to see different layers of our self and a more comprehensive view of our reality. A calm, clear and deep understanding arises from within. The key to integration is allowing restricted feelings to unravel and express.
Through relaxation, we bring out feelings and watch them expand and interact. We let the energy body initiate the movement and our experience. It radiates from our bodies, projecting out a glow. We become aware that we are embodying a field of energy without borders, and without limits, it is within us and it extends outwards.
When the attention of the mind is outside of the body, we become disconnected and lose touch with the present experience. When connected to the body, we can feel what is within as well as engage with what is outside of us. We aim to experience things beyond the facade, beyond self-image, beyond our social conditioning. Doing that allows us to relate to our true self without judgment. Through Kum Nye practice, we develop a new set of conditioning that supports openness and encourages our potential to express fully.
The Mantra Om Ah Hum accompanies the practice:
Om – a field of space and time.
Ah – the communications we have with our surroundings.
Hum – the embodiment of this communication, which makes us wiser and richer.
Exercises: Bending in the four directions (not in the book), #4 Following sensation.
For an in-depth interview about Kum Nye, please click here:
We recommend A Line by Line Reading plus commentary by Arnaud Maitland of Rinpoche’s entire first Kum Nye book (about thirty hours).