Final Exam Meditation 1. **What are the three parts of the sound HUNG, and which winds do they correspond to?** 2. **How does gently lengthening the exhale (as in yogic breathing or nadi shodhana) support your ability to hear the subtle sound of HUNG?** 3. **What are the three components of OM, and where do they reside in the body?** 4. **This practice invites us to listen for OM on the inhale and HUNG on the exhale. How is this similar to nadi shodhana or yogic breathing?** 5. **In this meditation, which bija syllable is emphasized, and what does it represent?** 6. **In this meditation, what do the three syllables OM, AH, and HUNG represent?** 7. **How does this meditation mirror what we practiced in pranayama (nadi shodhana and nadi tonglen)?** Asana 1. **Which is the primary pose used throughout the vinyasas in this sequence?** 2. **After completing the main vinyasa, we explore four standing variations of Goddess Pose. Can you describe or name each one?** 3. **Which are the three “Small Drops” postures we work with in this asana sequence, and where are they located?** Sadhana 1. **What does the word *sadhana* mean?** 2. **The sadhana is called *Reaching the Lady of Illusion*. Who is the Lady of Illusion?** 3. **Where are these lines in the sadhana taken from, and what famous teaching do they explain?** I swear I will reach the state Of a totally perfect being And then I will free Every single living being From the ocean of pain Of this suffering life. And I will lead them all To perfect purity. To accomplish all this I will now carry out Each of the steps On the path To the Lady of Illusion. 4. **“Take the path to the left”. Why *left*?** 5. **Give the three main points in the death awareness meditation found in these lines:** Recall the certainty And uncertainty of death. When we walk the path No matter with how many or with how much, Forced to leave it all behind. We go alone. 6. **What resolutions do we make at the end of the meditation on the awareness of death?** 7. **What is the “highest practice”** 8. **Why does the lake still, allowing us to see the reflection of the Angel?** 9. **Who wrote the Springtime Song of Colourless Light, and what is the meaning of the poem’s title?** 10. **From the perspective of the open teachings, what meditation leads us to this experience of ultimate love?** 11. **What is the connection between the experience of ultimate love and the following lines:** Who isn’t the Lady Illusion? I will serve them all. Pranayama 1. **How does pranayama fit into the flow of Lady Niguma Level 3, and how does it prepare the subtle body for meditation?** 2. **How do we visualize the Blue Sky Body?** 3. **Why is the Blue Sky Body an important preliminary for pranayama and meditation?** 4. **What does *Nadi Shodhana* mean, and how is it practiced?** 5. **How can we use Nadi Shodhana to purify the channels and prepare the winds for meditation?** 6. **How does Nadi Tonglen deepen our understanding of OM AH HUNG?** Storytime 1. **How does Marpa’s life as a householder yogi expand our idea of what spiritual practice can look like? 2. **What does Naropa’s “riddle song” symbolize?** 3. **What realization caused Marpa to begin his journey of confession and offering?** 4. **What is the purpose of the Ganachakra, or sacred feast, that Marpa was advised to perform?** 5. **In Marpa’s first vision, how did Naropa appear, and what did the tiger, sun, and moon represent?** 6. **What realization came from the third vision and the footprint in the crystal?** 7. **What realization did Marpa reach about the “offering of realization”?** 8. **What was the final teaching of the eighth vision about the teacher and the path?**