Your Yoga. Working with a River for Self-Purification.

I am sure that almost every town has a river and a bridge across it, because towns were built on rivers. So I think you will have no difficulty finding a river for this practice. I am even sure that more than half of those reading this cross a river by bridge at least once a week for one reason or another: shopping, going to work, and so on. Now you can add this simple practice to that familiar journey and gain an esoteric benefit from it as well.

To understand how this practice works, let us give a little thought to what a river is. For many people, it is simply water flowing over the earth. And that is true: a river is water flowing over the earth. But that is not all. First and foremost, a river is an immensely powerful flow of energy. Here it is worth recalling the reverence Hindus have for the Ganges, and the reverence of many other peoples for their sacred rivers, of which there are so many throughout the Earth. One could talk for hours about rivers as a special energy system of the Earth, quite apart from the information handed down through the myths and tales of the world's peoples, which is unquestionably true. I think many of you have already recalled at least two or three tales or sayings about rivers, their magic, the special qualities of their banks, the inhabitants of subtle worlds who live in them, and so on. This is a vast body of information that you have studied to some degree, or at least retained in your memory. I will not dwell on it. Anyone wishing to learn more can always visit a library and read further.

We will take the essential point: the knowledge that a river is a flow of energy, without the fairy-tale allegories that have reached us across the centuries from more highly developed civilisations. We will also draw on our own clairvoyance and perception.

A river, then, is a powerful energy flow, an energy channel. Remove the water, and in cross-section the riverbed forms a semicircle. An identical semicircle exists above the river. Join them together and you have a circular channel. You should therefore understand that when you cross a river by bridge, you are not really passing over the river: you are passing through it, through the energy channel that the river is. In other words, the water is only the part visible to physical eyes. The river's energetic component is circular and extends equally below and above the water's surface.

Rivers and bridges

Now that we understand what a river is, I will describe the practice itself. You will undoubtedly like it, as it is very simple and highly effective.

How to practise

Once a week is quite enough for this practice. If possible, find the widest stretch of river in your town that has a bridge across it. If you do not have time and your usual route—for example, to the market or shops on a day off—crosses a narrower stretch of river, you can keep using that route. It is perfectly acceptable too.
You do not need to make any special movements. From the outside, you will look as though you are simply walking as usual. Even if you are with someone, you can keep walking and talking without revealing that you are also doing this practice.
As you approach the bridge, and of course the river, concentrate on yourself. In particular, form a general sense that there is something within you that you do not need: something that interferes with your life, clutter in your consciousness, various kinds of energetic programming such as curses or the evil eye. There is no need to be very specific; simply think in these general terms. If that is difficult, make it simpler: imagine another body placed inside your own, embodying everything negative within you.
As you begin crossing the river by the bridge, imagine that everything negative stays behind on the bank you are leaving. It cannot pass through the river—as explained above, the river continues energetically upwards—and is therefore pushed out of you. It is like sifting flour: fine particles pass through the sieve, while coarse ones remain. Here too, everything pure in you passes through the river, while everything impure stays behind on the other bank.
Keep this image in mind throughout the crossing.
In this way, you can leave almost any problem on the other bank. You may name the problems specifically if you wish, but it is not necessary. I know that some people need to do this, so you might say, “I am poor; I leave my poverty on the other bank,” or “I have problems with my husband, children or parents; I leave those problems on the other bank,” or “I am unlucky; I leave my bad luck on the other bank,” and so on. I think the pattern is clear, and you can devise an image for your own situation.
Naturally, you will need to return home. It is best to use a different bridge, or the same one no sooner than an hour later, preferably on the opposite side of the bridge. Even if the bridge is narrow, mentally divide it into left and right sides: cross on one side and return on the other.

Notes

The practice is performed on foot, not while crossing the bridge in a car, tram, bus or other vehicle. A bicycle is the only permissible alternative, but walking is better.
What if you live somewhere with no river at all? That is an exceptional case. I can only suggest using a day off and a train journey, or something similar, to visit a place with a river and a bridge.
For the more adventurous practitioner, there is little point in swimming across a river while doing this practice. At first glance, that may seem ideal, but it is not. Crossing by bridge is best.

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