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We understand quite well how the gravitational force pulls our physical bodies down.
If you are stiff and solid, you fall down like a tree being felled, if you are liquid you flow down like water…
However, we stand up.
So, which force pulls us up???
It’s the Inner Fire.
Vital energy. Spirit. Light. In Vedic culture, it is called Puruṣha. The Chinese call it Chi (Qi), in Indian Prana, in Slavic culture it is called Zhiva/ Živa/ Жива (“zhiv” = alive; “zhivot” = life).
This Inner Fire gives life to every animal, it pulls the sunflower and all plants up to the sky.
The Inner Fire is partly similar to fire.
It floats up to the sky, in a similar way to fire, it expands as a hot air balloon.
We understand fire and we can easily visualise the quality of fire.
Fire pulls us up, similar to the way fire lifts up a hot air balloon…
Fire flows better through a relaxed, straight body.
We have a tendency to passively hang down on the skeleton, we do not use the Fire to lift us up!
A collapsed position causes deformation of our posture and is often a cause of a backache. In a collapsed position, the flow of the Fire is restricted – we have less vital energy – Fire, we trust ourselves less, we are ‘down’.
In hanging position, via a screwed body, we are like a fireplace with a blocked chimney. A good chimney creates a draft to pull the fire upwards. Therefore, we have to keep a nice, straight, but relaxed position. The Fire flows much nicely and easily via the nice straight body.
Also, undesirable tension restricts not just our movements, it restricts the floating of Fire. Tension makes our ‘chimney’ narrower
When we try to ‘straighten up’, we often do so like a tree: stiff and solid. It is not a good idea to copy the quality of wood. It’s healthy to have a liquid quality of the body. Later on, we want to be even smoother, we want to float as fire.
The Fire is lifting us up and we wave with our bodies, as wind waves a flag…
A relaxed, flowing body posture directly affects your emotions. You will believe yourself- your feelings, you will see your life more positively, etc.
We don’t need to exert special effort, we just relax and let the Fire create our postures.
If we are sensitive, we can feel how the Fire lifts our bodies up.
Better position increases fire and it will pull you up more…
Letting the fire lift you up creates a virtuous circle.
Watch: Visualisation of the Fire
We have a desire to flow up, in the same way, that mammals swim… We don’t just swim horizontally, but we swim vertically up to the sky…
I learnt the concept of vital Fire from the Cossack masters. Old Slavic culture and philosophy are preserved in the Cossack tradition.
Traditional Slavic culture (before the spread of Christianity) comes from Vedic culture.
The aspect which in Slavic culture is called ‘Zhiva’ is called ‘Purusha’ in Sanskrit; in English, we would call it Fire, or Light or Spirit.
In Vedic culture, life is created by Purusha and Prakrti.
Purusha is the energy of Fire, Light or Spirit which lifts matter (Prakṛti) up. This is how Fire and Matter together create life…
The Path of the Cossack is the path of the Light… Cossacks let the Fire lift them up, and make them lighter. Therefore, Cossacks have a different quality of the body, subsequently, Cossacks flow and move so lightly…
We are lucky that today, the Cossack culture is open to us, and we can follow Cossacks on the path of Light and be pulled by Zhiva to the sky…
We can see that there is a lack of fire in many dances or martial arts.
In the dance, Fire is often mutated to a solid quality.
In Martial Arts, we can clearly see which arts work with Fire and which are working just on a mechanical base… A good system (Systema) is full of Fire.
ZHIVA, DIVA, SIVA
(zhee-vah | dee-vah | see-vah) from Slavic “zhiv” = alive; “zhivot” = life. Goddess of life, birth, spring, fertility and love. She embodies the universal vital powers, brings live-giving forces.
The Flow of balance https://veda.one/flow-of-balance/
The flow of Balance in a Fight https://veda.one/flow-balance-fight/
Vital posture – Be like Fire https://veda.one/vital-posture-like-fire/