Nejang Yoga

THE YOGA OF PURE PERCEPTION

Nejang is a simple, highly adaptable, and profound healing Buddhist yoga preserved from centuries ago by the Tibetan monk-scholar and yogi Butön Rinchen Drup བུ་སྟོན་རིན་ཆེན་གྲུབ (1290-1364). The practice consists of 24 physical exercises that uses self-massage, visualization, and breath work to balance and purify stagnation or illness in our body, mind, and energy. Tibetan physicians have been prescribing Nejang for hundreds of years to improve the health/vitalty and balance the internal energies of their patients suffering from a wide variety of mental and physical illnesses.

Kalachakra

THE WHEEL OF TIME

Beyond its purpose for healing the physical body, the practice has spiritual roots in the Kalachakra (the “Wheel of Time”) tantra. The Kalachakra Tantra revealed the profound interdependence of the human body and the external universe, a microcosmic and macrocosmic connection, and provided teachings on how humans can live in harmony with the natural world based on time and space.

The yoga exercises have the capacity to take us on a spiritual journey: there are 24 internal places (né གནས།) in our body that we train or purify (jang སྦྱང།) to connect with the 24 sacred external sites in the world.

Together, Nejang means “purification of the abodes”—inner and outer places. By training and purifying these 24 inner sites, the practitioner aligns their body with the sacred geography of the universe, accessing the pure dimensions of awareness that one enters when pilgrimaging to these external sites.

In other words, we do not need to travel far away to get special spiritual experiences. We travel within our own mind, energy, and body.

Benefits of Nejang

Nejang is for healing your mind, body, and energy, perfect for your life at any stage, regardless of age or abilities. For you to find benefit, you do not need to put your legs behind your head or even touch your toes. With breath work techniques, simple self-massage, visualization, and most importantly, its spiritual view, Nejang cultivates healing and transformation in deep, subtle ways beyond just the body.

By practicing nejang, you:

  • improve mobility, joint health, and blood circulation

  • improve minor to chronic health issues

  • nourish your internal organs

  • improve your breathing habits

  • relax and center your mind

  • reduce brain fog and memory issues

  • improve your mood, reducing depression, anxiety, fear, and anger

  • improve sleep length and quality (more REM and deep sleep)

  • open and clear subtle energetic channels

  • prepare for more advanced meditation practices

  • reconnect with your innate capacity for balance and well-being

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A typical session, including preliminary meditation, generally takes 45-60 minutes. However, you can spend just 5 minutes or up to 2 hours for a session.

    In any case, you will feel benefits through the body, mind, and energy immediately.

  • Actually, Nejang is adaptable to your needs and cirumstances. You can perform the sequence of physical movements in a slow, gentle way to relax your mind. This can be helpful before sleep.

    You can also practice Nejang in a fast, vigorous manner. This opens your channels, removes stagnation, generates heat, and organically creates feelings of bliss and increased awareness.

  • In Tibetan medicine, which is similar to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), your internal organs are connected to your sense organs. To put simply, by pulling on your nose, you stimulate your lungs. When you massage your ears, you nourish your kidneys and bladder.

    You also perform exercises like rotating your naval to internally massage your stomach and improve digestion.

  • If you are pregnant or have high blood pressure, or have heart or lung-related diseases, Nejang is not recommended to be performed in its usual way of long breath retention throughout the physical practice.

    However, Nejang can still be adapted for your situation, such as reducing the breath retention duration.

  • Tibetan doctors have been prescribing Nejang to their patients for centuries. So yes, definitely.

    Here are just a few conditions that Nejang helps with:

    • migraines and headaches

    • vertigo

    • brain disorders

    • sleep disorders, like insomnia

    • nerve pain from sciatica or scoliosis

    • hair loss

    • eye issues, like lack of lacrimation

    • tooth problems and toothaches

    • emotional issues, such as depression and panic attacks

    • abdominal pain from stomach problems

    • menstruation issues and ovarian cysts

“Whatever is out there is perfectly within us.”

DR. NIDA CHENAGSTANG