Science of Soul

Science of Soul
By RV Iyer

Pranic energy is actually part of the macro energy which remains dormant in the micro human being and conducts the day to day affairs.

There are three energy channels in every human form, although not visible to the ordinary eye. The formation may be compared to a central column and two serpents on both sides of the column. The serpents curve three times around the central column. These three are channels through which energy passes from bottom emanating from the central energy as described in previous article. This energy's noticeable form is our breath. The left channel is called Ida and the right channel is called Pingala and the centre channel is called Sushumna. The channels are also called Naadis in Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is nobody's language and is called Deva Bhasha (God's language). This language was developed by the seers of the ancient ages. This language was evolved as a combination of various vibrations and energies that are running in the human being and the cosmic universe. Each letter is related to a particular form of wave of energy. They had found that different alphabets when joined together form some other form of energy. This was the basis of Mantra Shashtra, which cannot be disputed. Irrespective of the personal language one uses, the sanskritic language runs in everybody. Therefore, the remedies based on Sanskrit mantras have definite effects and this forms a separate science in itself. This is not a topic for discussion at present.

All matter in the minutest form vibrates with expansions and compressions every now and then. Hence, the running of all forces within the body are based on these vibrations which relate to sounds. As such, the Brahmam is also called Aksharama Brahmam which has two meanings. The first meaning is something which cannot be destroyed. The second meaning is that which emanates from or is connected with syllables, viz. Aksharas.

So due to this cause of vibration, two channels as discussed above always vibrate resulting in breath. The seers found this and decided to control their breath. This would control their vibrations. These vibrations due intensive meditation create extreme heat similar to atomic fusion. This control subsequently makes the dormant energy to arise from its sleeping state to awakened state. The energy eventually rises and goes up through the central channel to the Sahasrara Chakra in the head.

Whatever yoga once practices, the above state must be obtained and only then can one say that progress has been achieved. This happens through intense devotion through concentration or intense chanting of mantra which results in concentration. This results in the awakening. Any type of concentration on a subject in meditation also makes achieves this result.

The conclusion, therefore, is that the awakening of this prime ordeal energy is the object for realization although ways and means may be different. This is actually called the Kundalini awakening. But before the Kundalini is awakened one has to keep the body and mind very pure as otherwise such awakenings can result in abnormal situations which one cannot control. To avoid such abnormal situations, it is a must that one have a Guru. One who has experienced the difficulties during practice or has been taught by a Guru alone can help the seeker to avoid such pitfalls.

This awakening normally does not happen to everybody but only to those who have been destined. Others drop out during the practice itself automatically discouraged by various shortfalls and cajoling. Only those who have the grace of god either directly or through their Guru can proceed further. Even if those who proceed, may face financial, mental, physical and various problems which could force them to discontinue their practice. But despite all the problems if one persists in his practice, disregarding these disturbances, they will definitely go towards the goal.

As said previously these two channels along with the central channel, are the most important parts to be aimed at in Yoga and meditation. The left Ida channel which is actually mental energy has to combine with right Pingala channel energy which is physical. Their combination is preliminary yoga which after much practice results in ultimate yoga of joining the Prakriti with the soul. Dissolving the Prakriti with the soul is called realization.

The cleaning of these channels is done by practicing pranayama and the mind is purified by practicing Yamas and Niyamas and Vasanas. Impressions are cleaned with Dhyana but Karmas cannot be cleaned. One has to live with them but with one's karmas albeit with lesser effect.

In the central channel there are various centers of energy which are called Chakras and in the next article we will go into that

Science of Soul

Science of Soul
By RV Iyer

The physical appearance of life is found to be in the breath of human being. The breath normally flows in either nostril at an interval of ninety minutes. As long as the material parts of the body are in condition, they expand and shrink causing breath. This is due to the energy centralized in the body just above the root and outside of the spinal cord. This is the primordial energy which remains dormant until it is awakened by yoga. As long as it is dormant, only a small percentage of energy works in human beings branching out into two channels as Solar energy which flows in the right nostril and and Lunar energy in the left nostril. Both these energies travel through the respective channels representing physical and mental energies.

The energy flows in the central channel Sushumna four times a day normally. These times are called Sandhyas. The times corresponding to such Sandhyas are early morning when the sun rises, mid day, at the time of sunset and at midnight. Meditation is recommended preferably just before these times for this reason. This does not mean meditation cannot be done in other times. One can practice it as per one's convenience. The flow of energy in the central channel also happens when one is deep into concentration. Similarly, this energy flows in the central channel when one is having sex and at the height of the act.

The central channel called Sushumna has again one more Naadi inside which is called Chitra. Chitra engulfs another Naadi called Brahma Naadi. This Brahma Naadi is the exact Naadi on which Yogis concentrate. Concentration on Sushumna alone can lead to concentration on Brahma Naadi. We need not go into details as these articles are meant for beginners and intermediate practitioners.

In this Central Channels are the Charkras or the centers of energy. Though some of the recent experiments in Japan and Russia have confirmed the existence of such energy centers, yet they cannot be confronted or seen physically. These are visible only through the eyes of a Yogi. In advance meditation practice, for some practitioners these energy centers automatically come into vision in the center of their forehead.

In the Tantric texts six such Chakras or Shat Chakras are mentioned. These are: Mooladhara, Swadhishtana, Manipoora, Anahata, Visuddhi, Ajna and above these six there is another one called Sahasrara.

Mooladhara is at the end of the spine from where three channels originate. Here the energy starts to flow up. All the basic human natures come out of this place.

Swadhishtana is just one inch above the Mooladhara Chakra. This is the place for the Ego or the feeling of self which is hence called swadhishtana.

Manipoora is exactly behind the naval in the spinal cord. In this Chakra both the mind and Chitha or the impressions and vasanas are installed.

Anahata is in the center of the heart slightly at the right side and it is here the feelings and sensations are situated.

Visuddhi is at the place of the thyroids below the neck. There is a special Naadi just below this Chakra which is responsible for dreaming.

Ajna is in the centre of the forehead in between the two eyes. This charka has the capacity to command all the functions and hence is called Ajna. During meditation if there is no peculiar desire to concentrate on any other centre, it is better to concentrate on this centre rather than coming up concentrating from Mooladhara up.

The Sahasrara chakra is above all the other Chakras. It is at this Chakra that one gets the Nirvana or Realisation or Jnana as Yogis call it.

The Bija mantras for these chakras are Lam, Ram, Vam. Yam, Ham and AUM respectively from Mooladhara upwards. When pronouncing the Bijas, A in the middle should be pronounced as U as in BUT and not as OO as in PUT.

Each Chakra has its own Devata or God who pontificates them. Each Chakra controls various functions of the body in different parts. They are not required to be studied for the present and we will come to that part at a later stage.

Normally every day one breathes 21600 times. These breaths are divided and end in all these charkas in certain numbers. This is to appease the appetite of the gods that reside or preside over these chakras.

Now we will see the effects of mediation on these charkas during the practice in our next article (To be continued.)

Understanding the Power of Mantras

Understanding the Power of Mantras

EVERY matter - from the tiniest DNA strand in us to the largest of continents - is in a state of constant vibration resulting in the emission of subtle sounds.

The great teachers of ancient times had the power to listen to the subtlest of these sounds. They discovered that specific sounds energized specific portions of the brain thereby awakening extraordinary powers (Siddhis). They used these sounds to form sacred words that are called Mantras.

Mantras have a profound impact upon us due to two reasons:
- The vibration effect of the sound; and
- The effect of the collective emotional energy behind that word due to constant repetition over time.

Benefits of Mantras

Mantras act upon our bodies by reprogramming the vibrations of the cells that have somehow gone askew. They restore the pattern of sounds at the heart of each and every cell, thus pushing the cells toward harmonious health.

Mantras affect not only our physical body but also our subtle body - our emotions, intellect and soul. They positively affect our aura - the energy shields surrounding our body.

Energy of a Mantra

We hear any word and have an emotional reaction to it. This is because we are conditioned by OUR experiences connected to that word AND the collective emotions that people have towards that word.

As an example, the word "mother" when spoken with deliberation, evokes an emotional energy realignment. Just imagine the power of sounds repeated billions of times, with great collective devotion and over centuries!

These sounds form the heart of Mantras and deeply influence the energy alignment within us.

Mantra Meditation

Repetition of a Mantra is a powerful way of keeping us in the Present and stilling our "monkey mind", which is forever jumping uncontrollably from one thought to another.

The moment we inculcate the practice of being "intensely" present - with neither any 'baggage' of the subconscious past nor the remotest anxiety of the future - we, then, automatically experience great peace, profound silence and supreme joy!
This, in fact, is the process and goal of meditation and using mantras is a very effective way to achieve it!

Using Japa Malas for Meditation

Repetition of a mantra is called Japa and a Japa Mala is a string of beads used to count the repetition of a mantra.

The act of turning the beads while recitation of the mantra is extremely effective in keeping you in the present. Equally important is that it keeps you 'grounded' as you advance in meditation and helps you continually gain from the material properties of the beads.

As you do Japa, you will invariably encounter wandering thoughts even as you repeat the Mantra mechanically. In such a case, gently refocus without getting agitated. The beauty of a Mantra is that EVEN a mechanical repetition exposes you to the benefits of the sacred sounds.

There are various Mantras and Japa mala beads that you can use to make your meditative journey relatively smooth. These mantras and malas depend upon your individual mind and body type. They are either provided by a Guru or can be selected by yourself depending upon your intuitive sense of what 'feels right' for you - which is often the best way.

To read more on various mantras and mala types, Click here


In conclusion, Mantras are one of the most effective ways to experience supreme bliss and freedom from the bondage of the uncontrolled mind.

Meditation (Dhyana)

Meditation (Dhyana)

By Shyam Mehta

Meditation (Dhyana in Sanskrit) is a specific term in yoga philosophy. It is different from the term meditation used by most people. The latter really means keeping the brain peaceful.

Yoga meditation is the penultimate stage in a progression of stages towards the final state of yoga, namely Samadhi or yogic trance. Unless given to you by God, achievement of the different stages of yoga is progressively more difficult and an ability to meditate needs many decades of quiet dedicated yoga practice, spread over several lifetimes.

For Dhyana to happen, Kundalini needs to have risen along the spine and reached the Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head. Then you sit and practice keeping the four lobes of the brain peaceful. In other words, Dhyana is similar to ordinary meditation, but not just the thinking faculty is at rest, and it is only to be attempted after Kundalini has risen.

Kundalini rises for a person who is established in ethics (yama), who practices the triple components of yoga (tapas, svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana) and where sexual activity has been such that bursts of energy from orgasm have been released into the brain. There are two approaches to having Kundalini rise: the traditional yoga path starting with asanas and progressing to pranayama, pratyahara and dharana. The other approach is not just to practice the eight-fold path but also to perform Ishvara Pranidhana, surrender to God.

Man is part of nature and nature's driving energy is Kundalini. Yoga practice and sex in combination change Kundalini from being a potential energy from which all other energies in the body draw their power, to being an active energy to be utilized in your quest for vision of and contact with God in the form of divine energy in the Sahasrara chakra. It is in Dhyana that one begins to realize that direct vision of and contact with God is possible.

The Chakras-The Seven Centers of Consciousness

The Chakras-The Seven Centers of Consciousness


A primary focus of Amrit Yoga is to build heat by charging the battery of the body, which is based in the lower three centers. As this energy is aroused and consciously directed from the lower chakras to the upper ones, our biological prana awakens to its evolutionary potential. Awakened prana, called Kundalini, carries out healing and cleansing at an accelerated level - resulting in the purification of the nerve channels in the body as well as cleansing kriyas - all of which prepare the body for accelerated spiritual development.

Chakra One: Roots, Alignment, Earth

Muladhara is the body in physical space and time, developing groundedness, stability and foundation. In Amrit Yoga, the attention is alignment in all poses, building awareness and strength in the legs - especially all standing poses. Anything that stabilizes and roots the foundation reinforces muladhara.

Chakra Two: Sensation, Flow, Water

In Swadisthana we become aware of the senses, sensation (pleasure/pain) and emotions that accompany each pose. We allow our awareness of ecstatic energy to build in the second half of the pose. Suggested poses include pigeon, bridge and the spinal twist.

Chakra Three: Power, Fire

In Manipura, our fire (spiritual heat) is stimulated. We "jump-start" the battery of the body, the physical storehouse of energy, through strong standing poses like The Warrior. The willful aspect of the practice is also associated with chakra three. In the first half of the Amrit Yoga Level I sequence, we are building the battery in the belly and then consciously directing that energy upward. This is an essential part of Level I as this conscious generation and directing of energy is necessary for prana to awaken and move upward to higher centers.

Chakra Four: Awakening to the Spiritual Path

In Anahata, we are asked to open the heart. This requires spiritual commitment to let the ego drop away. In Amrit Yoga the heart energy is engaged with the use of the arms, with mudras, giving and receiving movements. Some heart opening poses can be: camel, yoga mudra, cobra, half locust (opens arms and heart meridians). Breath and the fourth chakra are closely connected (lungs).

Chakra Five: Communication (internal/external) - the power of sound vibration

Visuddha is more apparent in Level II Amrit Yoga, but also in Level I - we turn into the vibration of prana that sources the movement. Use sound vibration when in the pose and the power of your word (opening intention and Om) to create the vibrational field you intend. Become aware of your own inner dialogue and if it serves you or not. In Amrit Yoga the throat chakra may be stimulated through chanting, bridge, camel and shoulder stand postures.

Chakra Six: the Third Eye

Meditation, witness, meditative awareness Pratyahara; deep absorption without choosing for or against what is present in Ajna chakra. In the second half of the pose and Third Eye integration-consciously allow energies to grow with meditative attention and draw freed energies upward toward the Third Eye for integration. All forward bending poses where the head is lower than the heart brings attention and energy to the third eye (child, yoga mudra, wide-angle forward bend).

Chakra Seven: Silence

In the Sahasrar, the elixir of Amrita comes through silencing the fluctuations of the mind. This is the entry into the bliss body, which can happen in the second half of the pose, in Third Eye Meditation integration, or in any pose. All these practices of Amrit Yoga are intended to reach the final point of stilling the modifications of the mind, which is always associated with the seventh chakra

Heart Meditation Balances Pluto Energy

Heart Meditation Balances Pluto Energy


Question: What do you see for 2007 regarding a global unification of the heart?

I wish I could give you a smooth prediction for 2007 but it certainly will have the elements of transformation of the heart involved and it will be global. From an astrological point of view (Western) Pluto is the planet that will create major changes in 2007 and 2008. It is about to merge (conjunct) with the galactic center which is 26,000 light years away from earth in the constellation of Sagittarius around 26 degrees. The energy that makes up the galactic center is much more concentrated and expansive. When you think of the heart being at the center of the body and pumping blood throughout the body we could say that the heart of our solar system is the galactic center which distributes energy throughout the universe. This concentrated energy could be compared to the state of Samadhi that one experiences in the deepest aspect of the mind in meditation which is the inner most refined limb of Yoga.

Pluto represents anything hidden or underground. All of the areas of life that involve Pluto will no longer be able to stay in a state of denial. Pluto represents petroleum oil, taxes, joint finances, sex, pornography, the unconscious mind, Shiva, birth and death, transformation, drug trafficking, terrorism, other people's money (Banks), inheritance, the reproductive organs, surgery, waste treatment planets, atomic power, crime, isolation, kidnapping, dictatorships, bacteria and viruses. Pluto exposes that which has been kept secret.

Pluto entered the sign of Sagittarius in November of 1995 and will move into Capricorn at the beginning of 2008. Sagittarius is about foreign lands, higher education, philosophy, reaching higher and the house of religion. Capricorn is about structure and practicality. Capricorn represents the status quo. It is a much more conservative energy than Sagittarius. Capricorn is the foundation to the international banking system.

Having given you an idea of the nature of Pluto, Sagittarius and Capricorn you can see which areas are going to be effected in 2007 and 2008. My visions show an increase in international tensions which means possible strikes by America on other countries such as Iran. I don't see America attacking North Korea because this is an area that is looked over by another super power - China. Russia, Japan and China will increase tensions with North Korea. There is a possibility that China will try to infiltrate itself into North Korea if Kim should fall sick and die.

Also, the possibility that North Korea out of desperation will try to take over south Korea in which case America could get involved.

I see attacks on oil fields by terrorists and a new energy policy for the environment by the end of 2007. As I write this article it is before the mid-term elections. If the Republican party is the majority leader things will get worse around the world in regards to our relationship with other countries. If the Democrats can win the majority it will ease tensions in international relationships. After all of the blame Bill Clinton is getting over Bin Ladin and North Korea, the Republican Party fails to admit that since George W. Bush took office the negativity in the world has increased manifold. Bill Clinton was not perfect but the different faces that Pluto has were much more in control because of a more passive approach to foreign policy. It is clear from several world leaders and the U.N. that America has become more isolated.

Yes, the pure heart of compassion must get involved with others in order to have a peaceful world. Look at the end of December of 2006, around July 7th, September and October of 2007 as manifestations of Pluto's transformational energies. July 7th, 2007 stands out as a very spiritual time give or take a couple of weeks before and after the date. On the opposite side of Pluto's shadow of darkness is an awakening in the spiritual communities. I am seeing leaders in spirituality wanting to merge with other groups to offset the less than positive influences of Pluto by putting together large groups of people meditating in silence. UFO intervention is also a possibility during the dates mentioned. They will only show themselves if a nuclear war is about to happen. Iran and the surrounding areas could strike Israel if not in 2007 then it would be in 2008 as Pluto starts to move into the sign of Capricorn at the end of 2007 throughout 2008. Capricorn rules institutions and governments. Pluto will give back the power to the people by causing leaders to dismantle the male structure that surrounds leaders of the free world. North Korea seems to fall apart also as I scan the body of Kim he is self-destructing on a physical level of health. He may come down with cancer and pass over leaving room for negotiations and a complete overhaul of the political direction that North Korea is taking. However, it is a dark feeling as I feel this area out. Very dark. His own people starving in order to have an army of darkness. Let's send light and love to him that he will change his temperament and soften up. Even better would be to surround countries with hundreds of people meditating in silence then have them chant certain tones to raise the vibrational frequencies in these areas dissolving built up stress.

Capitalism and all of the control that it has over people will show signs of weakness by the end of 2006 and magnify throughout 2007 and 2008. Capitalism will be replaced by a free exchange of energy which will be introduced by higher races from the galactic center and the great central Sun. This will give us a short work week. At the most three days so we can enjoy our lives more and keep the stress levels down. The Iraq war will also fall apart. I had predicted when the war started that we could not create a democracy that is stable. The consciousness there is not ready for it. And America is going to get ready for a different approach to government by the beginning of 2008. By the time the 2008 elections come America will be moving in a spiritual direction with grassroots organizations making the major changes. These organizations will be supported by celebrities and other leaders who are more spiritually evolved. We will continue to see a need for humanitarian aid not only worldwide but in America. Look for an increase in natural and man-made disasters for 2007 and 2008. The ancient civilization of Lemuria that was destroyed by Atlantis some 11.500 years ago could be pushed up from the bottom of the Pacific basin. What is left of Lemuria is the Hawaiian Islands.

Look for increased instability in the ocean floor of the Pacific with the possibility that parts of Lemuria will come to the surface and create new theories regarding the evolution of humanity. Places such as Hawaii, Sri Lanka, Southern India and Indonesia could see more trouble. Anyone living within three miles of the ocean should find a new place to live for safety. In America places like Long Island, N.Y., Southern Florida, Southern California and Cape Code should consider moving away from the ocean until things calm down from Pluto conjuncting the galactic center and its transit through the early degrees of Capricorn. The good news is the Mayan calendar talks about the end of the old world and the beginning of a new world by 2012. I am seeing 2008- 2012 as a time to heal millions of people from past karma. Other races that are more advanced than we are will work with many light workers to accommodate this massive healing. This means that we don't have to wait till 2012 to start to feel the benefits of global love through the heart. I see America having the lowest crime rate in the world by the middle of 2009. Domestic violence, teenage suicide, kidnappings, rapes, terrorism, drug trafficking, and anything that brings unhappiness to the family of man will be healed and released. All of these issues deal with the planet Pluto.

Because of the instability over the next two years it would be good to close this article with a global meditation for the heart that can be practiced individually or in groups. This creative visualization technique will help to stabilize and heal the less than positive energies of Pluto.

MEDITATION: Sit quietly and take two deep breaths. Bring your awareness to the heart area. Now visualize colors that represent love to you surrounding the heart and concentrating in the center. Green for healing, Pink for love and compassion, white light with golden sparkles, etc. Sit with this for a couple of minutes then start to share it with friends, family members and even strangers. After this energy has built up extend this energy to the world. Visualize the country and its leader. Include America. Visualize the colors of the heart moving into the leader's chest and extending out to the people of that country. You may only see two or three countries. That's ok. Just let it flow effortlessly wherever the heart energy wants to go. See the leaders smiling and enjoying your giving of heart energy. At the end of the meditation visualize everyone and every country merged with the colors of love and dissolving all separation between humanity. When you are ready to end the meditation take two deep breaths and open the eyes slowly.

Yoga and Consciousness: HSP - The Vital tool in Energy Healing Meditation

Yoga and Consciousness: HSP - The Vital tool in Energy Healing Meditation


For many people, the subject of high sense perception (HSP) is something out of Hogwarts School of Wizardry. Some would classify it among the dark arts. For others, it is as natural as breathing.

The majority, however, have little idea what HSP (or extra-sensory perception, as it is sometimes known) is all about or are highly skeptical that it even exists.

The reality is that HSP is normal for all human beings. It has been used in different cultures for millenniums, in religion and in healing work. Many native people still rely on it for gathering information about those who are ill and how to heal them.

When Christianity and then the scientific revolution swept Europe, the Church forbade the use of HSP, associating it with darkness, paganism and the devil. As science came to power, it increasingly regarded HSP as superstition and fantasy. Under that kind of pressure, it rapidly fell out of use.

Now, in the new millennium, the importance of high sense perception is being rediscovered. Eventually, we will develop scientific instruments to measure both it and human energy field (HEF), that other piece of disputed territory. These will prove the correlation between how well the HEF is functioning and the health of the individual, physically and psychologically. They will also help people develop their own HSP.

By detailed 'reading' of the HEF, which is similar to an electro-magnetic field, and observing carefully how it functions — and how distortions within it result in disease — I learned how to create healing techniques that repair the damage to the field, bringing it and the body back into alignment and health.

At this point, it's worth noting what the HEF looks like. The many levels of the field consist alternately of finely structured lines of light (called nadis in ancient texts) and soft cloud-like energy. Illness shows as disfiguration, tears or shattering of the structured levels and as stagnation or blocks in the unstructured levels.

These distortions will be very clear to a healer with good HSP who will use techniques that focus on them directly. So the ability to see, feel and know what is going on in the client's field is a great advantage and makes healing much more effective, direct and efficient.

It's often said that you only need to put your hands on a person and the energy will go where it is needed. That can be true, but only to a degree. If the lines of light in the client's field are broken, the energy accumulates at that point and the result may be in the negative.

There is another important ingredient in healing through the human energy field and that is consciousness. Physics recognizes what is called the observer effect: when we observe something we interact with it and thereby change it. In most instances, this change is minimal. But the deeper we search into the foundations of matter and into biological systems, the greater the effect. And in the bio-energy field of the HEF it takes another leap because consciousness is part of its basic structure. It is impossible in the HEF to separate energy from consciousness.

Therefore, in a healing, the energy consciousness in the field of the healer has a considerable effect on that of the client each time we place our hands on a person.

And if our fields are not balanced, that effect can be detrimental to the client. Healers who are aware of this will check and regulate their own fields before and during healing work.

With HSP, the healer can also directly read and work on the psychological issues that are part of the cause of the illness, including the deep-seated negative beliefs that damage the field. These also show as dark forms or blocks that disrupt the healthy flow of life energy.

The complexity of the human energy field illustrates the absolute value of HSP not only in working with clients and in our own healing process, but in bridging the gap between energy healing and science.

Yoga Journal - Resolve, Release,

Yoga Journal - Resolve, Release, Renew


One of the first questions we ask ourselves, when our health is poor is, "Why?" . What, in my life could be causing my health to weaken? In the last SPM issue, I mentioned paying attention to signs or as I put it, M & M's. Not feeling well or dealing with disease is our body telling us that there is something else going on; that our body's needs are not being met or that we are blocking energy from flowing effortlessly through the body.

A regular yoga practice brings peace back to our body and will maintain peace as long as we commit to a lifelong practice. I know this from the inside out and not just hearing it over and over again, but living the experience. When my children (I have triplets) were all three years old, I was dealing with chronic full- body pain, migraine headaches, and periodic weakness in my arms and legs. There were days when I would pick my children up at daycare and on the way home I would have to pull to the side of the road because my eyesight would be affected by shooting pains in my head. It was a very scary experience, alone on the highway with my triplets who were hungry and tired. We all just wanted to be home.

At the time, I did what I was taught to do throughout my life. I went to my doctor, (who had no diagnosis for me) and took the pills he gave me to minimize the symptoms. I took many different pills. Eventually, he then sent me to this, that and the other specialist. In the end, the advice that I received from traditional healthcare professionals gave me few answers and only a bunch of pills that I caused such severe side effects that they prevented me from caring for my children. I reminded myself that if I didn't want to settle for those results, I didn't have to. I began to be open to any signs that may point me in the right direction. About the same time, I heard there was a yoga teacher training in the area and figured it was worth a try. I had taken yoga before my pregnancy, which helped me carry triplets to 36 weeks, so there was some hope.

Of course, my favorite part of class, at that time, was relaxation. It was the only time I had when there was quiet and I didn't have to run-about. I particularly found the guided mediations helpful. I became aware of each section of my body and how it felt. It was amazing to think that I am with my body every day, but I lost touch. Awareness built up and stress decreased. Before this rejuvenation of yoga in my life, range of motion in my shoulders was limited. Being gentle, patient and aware of my body, I slowly began to have significantly less pain. With less pain, I was able to allow my body to reach further into the poses and regain the range of motion I had lost. I am grateful that I followed my intuition about how to find relief in non-traditional heath practices. I did get a diagnosis from the traditional doctors, but it didn't matter all that much. I had learned to listen from within, to what my body needed in order to heal. I saw many doctors but only one person had the answers, for me and that was me.

I continue to have painful days, every once in a blue moon. As those days show up, I can now send energy to the specific areas to relieve the symptom. It is important to pay attention to the triggers and what is going on in my life during the times I have pain. I ask the question, "Why:?" Many answers or possibilities may come and I have learned to be open to whatever the source of my pain may be. Through the process of Resolve, Release and Renew with yoga, I can move beyond the symptoms and enjoy the energy and laughter with my three beautiful children.

Steps to Mantra Meditation

Steps to Mantra Meditation


Mantra is one of the simplest, yet a very powerful method to achieve meditation.
Why?

Mantra involves the rhythmic invocation of a sound. This provides a foundation for the aspirant so that his practice is just not "in the air". This anchor or foundation helps the mind to gradually disconnect with the external experiences provided through the 5 senses, which is the first step to successful meditation.

The Nature of Mantra

Although mantra has often been riled as a "religious thing" through invocation of the names of deities or Gods, it is not actually so. Mantra is a sound form. It is a Sanskrit word which etymologically means "by the repetition of which the mind becomes free of external experiences". That is how it is to be seen and experienced.

Sound has a form; sound has a color. Every sound creates patterns of forms and color in the mind. Vibrations of different frequency create different patterns. These patterns result in withdrawal from sensory experiences. As you proceed further successfully, they would result (transiently) in deeper experiences such as ESP, mystical experiences etc. Eventually, they will help the sincere practitioner to even surpass these inner experiences and distractions and move towards eternal bliss.

Now, sound of mantra is not to be seen in the context of the written word. In fact, the sound formed by following the written word could be severely limiting for higher experiences. The nature of mantra is that of a cosmic sound and should preferably be HEARD from a teacher. Mantra repetition could be done as 3 ways - audible, whisper or silent (in the thought). Each method of repetition has different frequencies, different forms and has different effects. The most powerful is the silent method, because it has the highest frequency. Louder the sound, greater is the velocity but lower is the frequency.

Preparations for Practice


Get yourself a mantra - Once a mantra is chosen, it should NEVER be changed, however much you may like to. Often people change their mantra because it is too common - they wish to get something unique as a kind of a rare elixir. Be warned that this is a mistake and will result in complications at higher levels in your spiritual journey. So be careful in selecting a mantra. Go find yourself a teacher and if you can't, mentally recite a selection of mantras, each for some stretch of time and see which 'feels' right for you - which one creates the right vibrations and then stick with it.

Have a symbol to focus upon - A symbol could be mental - the sun, a star, a candle flame, a crescent, a cross, symbol of Om, a lotus flower, your personal deity etc. Or you could have a physical point of focus such as the nose tip or the pulsation in any particular part of the body etc.

Place of practice - Have a designated area of your house - a room or a corner for your mantra practice. It is important that you use the same area for your regular practice. You will find that over time this area will be charged with the favorable energies of mantra and spur you onto spontaneous meditation.

Posture - The posture for your mantra practice should be a seated one with spine erect. Siddhasana and Padmasana are especially suited for the purpose as they provide the maximum stability to the body preventing it from drooping or falling. These postures, when perfected, enable the practitioner to sit for long spells without tiring, something very essential in meditation practice. Siddhasana also exerts the right pressure on the mooladhara chakra (energy center), the seat of kundalini and is recommended as a meditation pose.

Breath flow - Before proceeding with mantra meditation, it should be verified that the predominant flow of the breath is from the left nostril (as opposed to the right). Or then, the flow should be balanced between the nostrils. Mantra meditation is not advised with the right nostril more free flowing than the left. This is because the left nostril corresponds with the lunar (mental) forces and the right for the physical forces. It would be difficult to have successful meditation with the right flowing predominantly.
If necessary, breath flow between nostrils can be altered using a Yoga Danda.

Role of a Mala - Often, as you proceed in mantra repetition, you will find the mind drifting involuntarily from the physical point of focus - to a dreamy state or then swamped by thoughts. If you are practicing Mantra in coordination with the turning of mala beads, this drift is stopped whenever you reach the head bead (sumeru). The sumeru provides the disconnect and you are reminded to turn the Mala around for the next round of repetition. This brings back the awareness and prevents it from going out of hand for long periods of time. That is the first point.
The second point is that the Mala provides the "physical" anchor which is so necessary as you proceed to higher levels of the practice. At the higher levels, as you are disconnected from the external world, it may be quite an experience - sometimes even terrifying. The mala serves as your connection with this world to bring you back. This coupled with your symbol as the mental anchor, makes for a successful journey.



The Practice
Once you are equipped and prepared as outlined above, be seated in the posture advised. Start turning the beads in synchronization with the mantra, with the mantra being repeated with every bead turned. To know more on how to turn the beads, read the "How to Use" section.


Rhythmic Repetition of the Mantra - the mantra should be repeated with a certain rhythm of your choice. The rhythm could be synchronized with the breath or with the pulsation in any part of the body or in any way you wish. The mantra should be repeated with every bead turned.

Method of Recitation - As mentioned earlier, the mantra may be repeated audibly, as a whisper or then silently. This depends upon your mental state. If the mind is disturbed or you are drowsy, it is best to repeat the mantra audibly and then progress towards whispering and then to the silent thought of mantra. Beginners may also proceed from audible repetition to the more powerful silent repetition.

Speed of Recitation - Repeat the mantra at a speed that feels right. The slower the recitation, the greater is the frequency and the power behind the mantra. Conversely, a faster repetition implies a lower frequency and reduced power behind the mantra. However, you may have to alter speeds depending upon the state of your mind. A dissipated and drowsy mind may require a faster repetition of the mantra - a slower repetition may put you off to sleep!

Eyeball movement - For successful mantra meditation practice, it is important that the eyeball movement is absent. Eyeball movement is always there (even when we are asleep in the form of REM), but for this practice it is essential that the movement is stalled for desirable results. This movement is gradually eliminated by constant focus on your symbol at an imagined place on the eyebrow centre.
Also, it often helps to imagine the vibrations of the mantra converging at the eyebrow center.



Mind focus - be aware of the Mantra at all times. The mind will waver; you will find it drifting to other thoughts. As you realize this, gently bring back your awareness to the Mantra. Don't feel frustrated by the oscillating mind - this is normal, and is part of the process itself!

Important: Don't make the mistake of correlating the mantra sound with its written form. As mentioned earlier, this could be limiting its potential greatly.

Practice in this manner for as many rounds of the mala as you feel the need or have the time for. You must start the practice at the head bead (sumeru) and also end it at the sumeru.


Regularity of Practice - It is essential that Mantra meditation is practiced everyday without a break. It may be just 5 minutes but regularity is a must. It is preferable to do it at a designated time - in the morning or then in the night, before going to bed at least an hour after meals.



Over time, you will find the effect of the mantra on the subconscious through its unique calming influence at any time of the day and in any situation. You are then truly on your journey to spiritual growth.

Trataka – A Meditation Practice for Everyone

Trataka – A Meditation Practice for Everyone


Trataka is a wonderful practice for everyone and especially for the aspirant of meditation. It is actually classified as a cleansing practice in Yoga.


What it is?
To put it briefly, Trataka - also called Yogic gazing - is a practice where the gaze is fixed on an object for some time and then that object is visualized clearly with the eyes closed, as an inner image at the eyebrow center.


Benefits
Trataka has several benefits which would be helpful to every one and not only mediation aspirants:

Trataka is believed to have a helpful effect in treating and even resolving several eye disorders such as weak eyesight. It improves the internal and external optic function.
It improves concentrative powers and mental resolve.
It helps in disconnecting with the noise and distractions of the external world. This is deeply relaxing.
In yoga, it is said to also develop the "third" eye - the seat of intuition or that associated with "psychic" powers.

How it Works?
At the physical level it is said to strengthen the eye muscles by exercising them to focus upon a point. Practicing Trataka on an object such as the candle flame is said to provide a unique 'balming' effect to the eyes which help in eye health and in the alleviation of certain eye disorders.

At the pre-meditative level, it is necessary to stall eyeball movement for great benefits and experiences. As we are aware, eyeballs are constantly in motion even while sleeping in the form of REM (Rapid Eye Movement). The aim is to minimize and eventually stall even this minutest of movement. Trataka is a wonderful practice in Yoga to achieve this, as it helps in overcoming this by focusing on a point and then visualizing its after-image with the eyes closed.

Many of the hurdles in our personal lives and even on the path to meditation have to do with our inability to disconnect with the external world at will. In yogic terminology, this would mean the inability to withdraw our senses from the sense objects. Trataka, through the focus on one object, helps to make this disconnect more easily and prepares us to do so at will. This is relevant to almost everyone, but specifically vital for the meditation aspirant.


How it is done?
Trataka can be practiced on several objects, but the most popular and effective is trataka on a flame. This is because a flame (such as a candle flame) produces the best after-image that helps in easier visualization of the flame even when eyes are closed. This is the desired effect of Trataka - wherein you can visualize and concentrate on the image even when the eyes are closed.

You should first be seated in a comfortable meditative posture or a squatting position with spine erect. If you have trouble squatting on the mat, you may raise the seating by a few notches.

A candle is placed in a Trataka Stand and the height of the stand is adjusted so that the wick of the flame is at horizontal eye level. The stand is placed at an arm's length. Trataka is to be practiced with spectacles removed, so people with spectacles may have to adjust the distance between the stand and themselves, so that they observe a clear image of the candle wick without blur.

The focus should on the top end of the wick, as the candle burns. Keep your eyes relaxed while fixing the gaze on the wick. Try not to blink as blinking will interfere in the formation of a clear inner image.

This gaze is kept constant for some time and then eyes closed. With the eyes closed, you should try to observe the inner image of the flame at the eye brow center.

If you don't see it, don't be disappointed - you should start seeing it with practice. Keep the eyes closed for as long as you see the inner image. Then re-start.

Liberation and Labor

Liberation and Labor
By Donna Amrita Davidge
"There is no Liberation without Labor". This is one of many Yogi Bhajanisms that I share with my students. What is Labor? Is it the work we do in our everyday lives to acquire money to pay our bills…or more than that, to acquire wealth?? But what then is wealth? And how do you measure your wealth?

Today is a picture perfect day where I am, writing this sitting on a large rock by a lake, which is perfectly still and serene. The summer sun beats down on me from a crystal clear sky with some beautiful billowy clouds evident miles away. There is not a sound, not even a lovely loon at this moment- a bug buzzing by now and then, a silent dragonfly with colorful wings. This, in my present moment, is my wealth.

It is my work that leads me to times like these. And in these precious moments I feel as if I might truly be experiencing Liberation, Liberation from the hassle and hustle bustle which constitutes most of our daily lives, the overwork and undersleep that some consider a status symbol.

In order to own these moments I feel I somehow earn them. One cannot always sit in solitude and stillness by a lake on a summer day. We must create balance. And enjoy the journey along the way.

Just this morning I was doing my work, which is my livelihood, teaching Kundalini Yoga. Yogi G says we are all born to a destiny and he gives us our spiritual names to aid us in following this destiny. Amrita. Nectar. Oftentimes to inspire others to the healing and greatness that lies within them I am led to heart work in my teaching, for the heart is where we discover our desires, our goodness and our cause. It is the entrance to the soul. So this morning after greeting the sun with my own sadhana practice, definitely part of the work, my staff and guest did a set for the heart center and psychoelectromagnetic field. That is work, as are most Kundalini Yoga sets!! The work we do on ourselves then carries out into the work or roles we play in society as householders, members of families, communities, the work place and the world.

No work we do in the outside world benefits us any more than that which we do within. Neale Donald Walsh, in one of his Conversations with God books, says " If we do not go within, we go without." Yoga gives us the great gift or deep inner focus and thus growth, in awareness, in consciousness and in relation to ourselves and others.

How else might we work to live? Or live to work? Seva is one of the greatest works. Our little acts and actions may have as much importance and impact as grander gestures…which brings me back to my work, actions…and small retreat, a labor of love and service to others, and to my family legacy.

For twelve years I had practiced and taught Kundalini Yoga when in 1997 I spontaneously, or perhaps better impulsively, bought my great grandfather's home. As a Kundalini Yoga teacher I had created two videos and was teaching full time in New York City. Yet somewhere in my inner yearnings was a desire to leave the city for the country life. Where would I go to do this?? How could I practically do this?? I had no clue. My thirties were a restless time, this restlessness soothed and calmed by my immersion in Kundalini Yoga and the gradual and often profound growth and experience that accompanies this practice. Always having been a seeker and searcher of life's meaning and truth, Kundalini Yoga had become a path of commitment for me.

What we are trained to be or family or society tells us to become does not always direct us to the work that is fulfilling for us or our destiny. I remember my father thinking how strange I was to rise early to do sadhana in our small summer Maine camp a few years back but as yoga became more mainstream, my calling became more acceptable to him. Even a loving and supportive family may have a different vision of our potential or what might create security for us. For me, becoming a Kundalini Yoga teacher was not a goal. It happened, with the encouragement of my teacher and with Yogi Bhajan's influence to create teachers, not disciples.

My personal internal question became how to combine my teaching work with this desire to be in an atmosphere totally counter to the city, where my students and classes were. My real goal was to be out of the city by the time I was forty, my realistic goal has been to be flexible and to find the opportunity in this chosen mission of carrying on my family history and at the same time meet my own goals. We do not always find the work that fits who we are. Sometimes it finds us or we simply fall into it! For me, it was taking a leap of faith to purchase the 1870 homestead rich with history, especially the well documented healing of Theodore Roosevelt from lifelong asthma under the care and with the friendship of my great grandfather , William Sewall, a friendship that lasted a lifetime and started long before Roosevelt's presidency. "If you go in to politics and live, you can be anything you want to be, from president on down" told my greatgrandfather to the young man he saw such potential in. He also told my great Aunt, his youngest, that this house was built on honor and maintaining this house and it's legacy has become my lifelong process.

To tell the story of what has happened in this past six years would take a longer discussion than an article. So fast forward to this summer…the things I have meditated on and asked for, the lessons I have learned about myself and others, from both staff and guests and our little community of Island Falls, Maine(population 800), the guests who have passed through these doors and experienced the healing and help that Kundalini Yoga , the surrounding nature, the ambiance and history of the house and the energy of the sevadar staff have created and contribute. The fears that filter through me as a human being, sometimes forgetting my spiritual experience and connection to God…bills to be paid, improvements to be made, choices and decisions for both the house and the retreat. Through it all is the LIVING and learning that we receive from our work. Following our bliss is how Joseph Campbell expressed it. Shouldn't that be, after all, our life's work?

When my negative mind goes to bills and bookings and questioning myself my positive mind interjects with gratitude for the beautiful staff I have this year, three of them kundalini yoga practitioners, and our impeccable professional chef, new to Yoga and willing to be a total sevadar sharing her years of experience and expertise, and TLC, to make our guests' food experience amazing, to the three honeymoon couples who chose us this season(our first!), the couple who got engaged while hiking on Mount Katahdin or the two women who came with insomnia and left without it (not a first!!)….And I look at the abundant stars and brilliant moon, listen to Peace Lagoon and think to myself….

ISN'T WORK ACTUALLY TO BE OF SERVICE?
TO LOVE AND BE LOVED TO LEARN?
TO BE MORE LOVING TO SUPPORT OTHERS AND FEEL SUPPORTED?
TO WORK WITH FULL INTENTION AND COMMITMENT ONLY THROUGH THE WORK OF OUR HEARTS AND SOULS CAN WE BE TRULY LIBERATED
And so, dear Yogi B, once again you teach me your wisdom. There IS no Liberation without Labor.

Yoga, longevity and quality of life

Yoga, longevity and quality of life
By Octavian Sarbatoare
Length and quality

The issues of longevity and quality of life as related to Yoga, seem to be important reasons why people start Yoga practices in the first instance. In day to day life, the desire to live a longer life is the reason behind many of our activities as we pay attention to health and good life in many forms, all having more or less a hidden agenda that of living longer. However, longevity and quality of life are much related to one another as two aspects of the same desire, the quality of life (as intensity of life experience) being a qualitative progression of longevity.

In normal circumstances, people pay more attention to longevity, not being much aware on the issue of quality. It is not so in Yoga, for here the main issue is the quality of life experience that attracts also the longevity as a component of quality of life. Yoga sees longevity as a component, or more exactly a result of Yoga practices. The fact that the yogic discipline allows the body to function better and the mind to be under one's own control (that is a balanced way of life without any doubt), has to lead to a longer span of life of a practitioner. But, Yoga is primarily about the quality of life, an issue that is outlined by the Yoga philosophy in its very authoritative book known as Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Quality of life

From the yogic perspective, the issue of quality of life has to be seen from both material and spiritual angles. Yet, the material angle of quality of life can be simplified by considering it as an expression of the spiritual perspective. Indeed, the spiritual side of quality of life takes credit for the material side that becomes just a matter of a right attitude towards material things. In own turn, the spiritual side of quality of life has to be seen from body and mind perspectives. The body issue is essential, as the harmonization of the body is a solid foundation for addressing the issues of the mind that becomes a the tool of extension, the organ and function through which we experience the world.

In practical terms Yoga recommends the body has to be cleansed of impurities, i.e. toxins, etc., for this reason a multitude of Yoga techniques being used. The motivation behind it is the fact that the toxins within the body do corrupt the perception to certain degrees. It is primarily the quality of perception that gives in fact the quality of life, is so Yoga pays a great attention towards the body as a vehicle of sense experience and host of mind experiences. Yet, here, the issue of the mind is far more complex because it requires a certain degree of abstraction to understand the mind experiences. However, we cannot miss the point to mention that body experiences, as sense experience, do end up ultimately as mental experience. From the point of view of Yoga, what is essential is that the experience of awareness known as Samadhi, is the focus and end point of the entire practice. It can be said in simple terms that in Yoga philosophy and practice, the quality of life is determined by the level of awareness that leads to yogic liberation known as Kaivalya.

Awareness

The end achievement of Yoga practice is in some form or another described by people who have experienced it, as the experience of awareness or the experience of being alert. A person possessing such an awareness is known in Yoga as Drashta ("witness"), as is mentioned in Yoga Sutras. Here. the question we might ask is: "Who is a witness and what the witness witnesses?" The relevant yogic literature does mention that awareness is a gradual process, as Yoga practices become more refined and the practitioner becomes more alert towards the environment and towards one's own person.

There is a wide spread idea in the Yoga literature about awareness being a transcendent experience in the sense that somehow the one who does experience it gets out of this material world, but this is not true. Yoga awareness has to be seen as an immanent experience for the fact that conscious states are mental states therefore brain states. It will be more appropriate to see consciousness, as qualia of mental activities, that step ahead from animal to human species. As such, Yoga does assume that the present Homo Sapiens has the capacity to graduate into the Yoga consciousness as qualia, but this ability is not a common feature of all of us. It appears, as the yogic literature points out that only after practicing advanced forms of Yoga, somebody is capable to acquire such an awareness as a day to day feature of human activities.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, talk about Drashta ("seer or witness") from the beginning (Ch.I-3). The issue seems to be of an utmost importance, as the practitioner (as Drashta) has to be now on the same site with the the one who is the witness of all, i.e. the God (more often named in Yoga tradition as Ishvara). According to Yoga, the object a witness witnesses is the material nature, as manifestation of Shakti principle. Yet most important is the fact that the witness does witness himself/ herself, as every witness is part of the material nature. Yet, this process of witnessing is not the ordinary way of seeing actions and things within the world of nature (Prakriti). According to Yoga, this kind of witnessing has a high quality of perception.

Yoga claims that this the enhanced quality of perception does not lead to a simple passive contemplation of things or to a one-pointed directional concentration, but a multilevel degree of perception. Naturally we might ask the question of what is a multilevel degree of perception? Yoga explains in simple words as being the capacity to be aware of more than one thing at a time. Yet, this capacity appears to be beyond the human capacity, but Yoga has proved that some people can do it. Such an experience might be called a three-dimensional awareness, for the fact that attention is directed now in the entire surrounding space. Such a remarkable ability has to be seen to be indeed a high degree of expressing the qualia of human life.

How to increase awareness

The Yoga practices normally do increase awareness to a certain extent depanding on the kind of practice. The preliminary stages of Yoga that are related to body optimisation, start with a gradual elimination of body toxins and renunciation to various addictions. At this stage, gradually the perception of the senses increase in quality. By other practices like the use of Pranayama ("control of the breath") Yoga says that there is a sensation of awareness of the lightness of the body (called Laghima), i.e. the heavy barden that hanged on the body appears to be removed. Yet, as far as the tantric practices are concerned, awareness can be obtained by elimination of sexual ejaculation during sexual intercourse. Therefore, according to Tantra Yoga, the real sexual pleasure can be experienced, in so such a practice known as Maithuna Tantra becomes a training towards obtaining awareness. Overall, it can be said that it is only by a personal experience that somebody can discover an inclination towards specific practices leading to the increase of awareness by a proper training. However, the tradition stipulates that a more refined awareness comes from advanced practices, and at this spiritual stage an aspirant has to consider having a Guru (spiritual preceptor) as a guide to help overcoming the obstacles towards a refined experience of Yoga.

Siddhis as powers of awareness and expression of quality

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali talks in Chapter III about various Siddhis ("powers resulting from Yoga' or 'supernormal abilities'). It is an exposition of what a Drashta can do with his/ her abilities. Many people take the descriptions of Siddhis ad literam, but the fact is that all the Siddhis are products of the mind. It is the mind which assumes the form of that particular action or thing by being empowered to do so. This is where most of aspirants get confused to believe that the Siddhis are powers of creation or destruction that can be acquired by somebody and the role of God can be obtained by confronting the laws of nature. It has to be clearly understood that all Siddhis are powers of awareness, the one possessing them has to be seen an out of ordinary person that is able to extend one's own mind beyond unimaginable realms surpassing the ordinary imagination. Yoga believed that one necessary quality for such a person has to be what is known as Amritapurna ("filled with nectar"), that is an advanced state of purity of mind as a result of body and mind purification. A Drashta, according to Yoga has to be considered having the Amritapurna quality.

The ability to experience awareness has to be seen as a remarkable quality of expressing the human life. Such a powerful is the experience that by an encounter with a Drashta most people will feel that there is something special about such a person, but are unable to know what could be. It will be easy to observe the quality of experience of life in such a person, but will be heard to know details like how intense his/ her experiences of perception of life are. It is at this point where we have to draw attention to the issue of longevity. The real longevity is not given by the span of life, but by the quality of mental experiences. The awareness of life, as is normally experienced, is like a photographic shot, i.e. a slice at a time. Every now and then, normally we have a slice of conscious experience, that is a brief experience. It is not so for a Drashta, according to Yoga, for the fact that the slices of time are united in a continuous flow of awareness. Yet, some people having this extraordinary ability that could hold on awareness for hours or even during sleep.

Considering all of the above, it can be certainly said that longevity in Yoga is a matter of quality of experience. By deduction, it can be also said that a Drashta has lived the equivalent of hundreds of years because of the ability to have a higher level of awareness.

Making yoga work for you.

Making yoga work for you.
By Arun Goel
As the year draws to an end, it is worth examining the meteoric rise of yoga as a major stress-reliever, fitness provider and as a tool for contentment.

While the cynics would have us believe that yoga is a fad, is it really? Well, the answer is a resounding NO - it cannot be because it's existed for centuries and it has tremendous PROVEN benefits for body and mind health.

The best part about yoga is that it understands the complex relationship that exists between the body and mind. The reason why various fitness programs often fall over their head is because of the unsustainable momentum created when you first start working with them. The difference between expectations and actual results is far too wide. As a consequence, boredom sets in followed by a frustration and the eventual giving up. The benefits gained are too shallow for the practice to be sustained.

Yoga grows upon you slowly in a way that the mind and body remain in perfect sync. As this harmony is developed, an inexplicable bliss or contentment is created which makes you WANT it to go on.

Yoga understands the union between the body, mind and energy. In fact, the word yoga means union. It simultaneously works in an interconnected manner so that the development of the body automatically leads to the development of the mind and energy and vice versa. This creates a remarkable re-enforcing effect, which leads to the stable development of the student.

How it works

As you do the yoga exercises with awareness on the movement pattern it creates a 3-fold effect -

it provides the physical toning to the applicable muscles, organs, joints and ligaments.

Simultaneously, this unlocks the energy blockages and help in channeling the energy (Prana) appropriately.

Also, as the physical exercises are carried out with awareness - an awareness of the breath flow and awareness of the body parts during the movements - it exercises the mind by creating the right thought pattern for effective meditation.

The meditative positions in yoga help in channeling this harmonious thought pattern towards a higher consciousness.

As you proceed, you will feel the effect that yoga has on your mind. The thinking will become clearer, the head lighter and you will experience a unique calmness. This in turn will motivate you to proceed with your daily yoga asanas (exercises), which will tone your body in a better manner.

In this way an upward spiral or virtuous cycle is created.

Similarly, yoga breathing and relaxation techniques re-enforce the benefits so gained. These work on the balancing of various energy flows in the body to provide maximum benefits. The relaxation practice of Yoga Nidra is known to provide equivalent relaxation in 10 minutes as a 4-hour sleep. Likewise, the breathing (Pranayama) techniques are very effective in transforming moods and dull mental states - a need that is felt today more than ever before.

As you can see, the diverse benefits prove the desirability of bringing yoga into our daily routine. As you proceed in your practice, over time, you will feel the development of an expanded consciousness or move towards "Enlightenment", which is in fact the ultimate goal of yoga.

With the New Year soon approaching, it is perhaps the best time to give yourself a great opportunity for self-development - it will be one resolution that you wished you had made earlier.

To help you understand the yoga practices, PLUS develop a weekly schedule and to equip you with the necessary tools for starting out on the yoga path, the 'Health and Yoga' team have compiled a special 'yoga kit' this season. You may like to evaluate it by clicking here

Life is beautiful and yoga helps you realize it. Embrace yoga for what it provides to your mind and body.

Discover powerful tools for facing life’s challenges with an attitude that will delight you.

Discover powerful tools for facing life’s challenges with an attitude that will delight you.

By Arun Goel
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Quite disturbingly, the recent anthrax cases have caused a spurt in cases of depression, insomnia, and drug sales related to psychosomatic problems more than anything else.

How long are we going to keep popping pills to get “temporary” relief? Isn’t it high time we make ourselves capable to handle such situations on our OWN?

Integral Yoga equips you with the right tools to handle life’s uncertainties in a remarkably calm manner. It’s nothing mystical – just a practical guide to an improved way of living.

Before highlighting these tools, I may suggest that an attitude of “que cera cera” could be helpful in such times. Without getting into a debate of the correctness of these powerful words, one thing is sure – If truly believed, these words can give a solace that is impossible to imagine.

Oops… no preaching.

So why is Integral Yoga so relevant?

For one, it is the ONLY science that defines the mind-body connection most effectively. Why? It has 4 major tools that are well meshed into one another :
1. Postures (asanas) for physical exercise
2. Meditation for mind exercise
3. Breathing (Pranayama) for channeling energy correctly.
4. Relaxation including deep relaxation, which really is a “cure-all”.

These are extremely POWERFUL tools. But doing any one without a proper balance of the others can NEVER help you realize their true potential.

The yogic relaxation technique of Yoga Nidra is so effective that it is REGULARLY used as therapeutic tools to treat the most painful and incurable of illnesses.

You may have read my earlier newsletters giving you an insight into some of the very potent breathing techniques. Let me tell you, what you experienced was not even a fraction of what these tools can do for you TOGETHER.

This is Integral Yoga.

Yoga postures maintain the right circulation in your body parts and help in channeling energy where it is required the most.

Meditation is proven to DRAMATICALLY reduce stress, depression and even greatly reduce the likelihood of heart attacks.

Unfortunately, Yoga has been much abused today. Incomplete knowledge has resulted in emphasizing isolated aspects of yoga such as just the physical feature or just the meditation aspect.

No sir, only a composite approach, using ALL the tools will enable you to harness the true power of yoga.

The best part is that you are never restricted by age, disease or physical capability. In fact, you can use definite yoga routines for specific conditions.

So how do you go about learning Integral Yoga?

The best option would be to locate an Integral Yoga class near you. But make sure, that your trainer is a certified practitioner with several years of experience behind him or her. This is necessary because there are simply too many quacks floating around.

Another option could be to train from a well-developed “Beginner’s Course” which focuses on EACH of the 4 aspects that I have highlighted. Again, please don’t be trapped into learning from a manual that focuses JUST on individual aspects such as physical exercises, because that’s just not it!!

A powerful course that you could explore can be found by clicking here

So, let’s not get bogged down in these testing times. Let us use the present situation as an opportunity to discover a new way of life…

Stop Ageing : Part-II

Stop Ageing : Part-II
By Arun Goel
Last week, we concluded that ageing and disease were dictated by the mind. This time, we will explore the exact steps for attaining the correct thinking and thereby control ageing.

Getting right to the point, correct thinking will be achieved by developing a positive psychological perspective. To do this:

Think present
Think beautiful
Think young
Eat right
(A) Think present

How do we know we have aged?
When we talk more of the past than of the present or future, we've become old. "When I was your age…" OR "those were the good ol' days…"

Look at your life span as having a starting point and a finishing point - you are somewhere in between. When you talk in terms of the past, you psychologically tend to view yourself towards the finishing end of the tape, because you are viewing your past at a considerable distance away. This conditions your mind to accept that you are old.

If on the other hand, you look into the future - "I'll do this after another 5years…", you convince your mind that you have a long way to go and this in turn conditions the body to let it know that it has a long way to go.

But herein lies the catch. Thinking too far into the future arouses anxiety and fear of the unknown. These emotions are detrimental to the self, so it is not advisable to think too far down the line.

The solution - Live in the Present. Past evokes death while future evokes fear and worry. Think of the past as gone and think of the future as unborn. There is no need to worry about an unborn situation. Simply because, the unborn is based on far too many variables - much more than you can imagine or be in control of.

Therefore, live for the Moment.

This is what meditation in yoga is all about. It helps you achieve this awareness of the present. When you are meditating, you are training yourself to witness your present existence only - not trying to achieve anything. Similarly when you do yoga exercises, you are supposed to be focusing only on the physical motions and on the 'chakras' for the correct stimulation of the energy centers. The important thing to note is that yoga and meditation help you live in the present.

(B) Think beautiful

You may have met certain elderly people who have a remarkable luster on their faces and the bright sparkle in their eye. If you've been lucky to meet such people you will invariably see that such people have a very positive outlook towards other people and life in general. They look beautiful because they think beautiful and this is what makes them appealing. Isn't such attractiveness a part of what we are trying to achieve by stopping ageing?

Here too, yoga is a great help. Through yoga we achieve an "expanded consciousness". It is said that the human race is as developed 'physically' as it possibly can be. The next phase of evolution will be in the mind. It is known that we effectively use only about10% of our mind as the conscious part - it is said that Einstein used about 15%.

Yoga helps achieve this expanded consciousness. As you work towards it, you will realize the inconsequentiality of petty egos and material desire. This in turn will help you to look at everything objectively and in a positive and beautiful manner.

(C) Think young

Be in young company and you will think young. It is known that a baby can laugh up to about 400 times a day while we as adults (if we're lucky) laugh about 4. Why? What is this burden that alters our natural instincts? Especially, when we hear true incidents such as that of Dr. Norman Cousins who overcame his life threatening tissue disease through laughter alone!! Ok, I'm not suggesting that you start gurgling at anything you see (no sir, I wouldn't like my subscribers being perceived as mentally challenged individuals) but what I'm definitely suggesting is that as you appreciate the perceptions of youth, this will help you think young. In turn, your body will behave young.

While it may be true that cancer kills, it is known that the anxiety and fear associated with the disease ensures the rapid deterioration of the immune system.

Is it possible, that the will to live can have a therapeutic value? Yoga definitely teaches so and the practice and results of Yoga Nidra is nothing but an underlining of this fact.

(D) Eat right

Have a "living" diet: As discussed in the previous issue, your food must complement your thought and assist in the correct thinking. It is seen that preserved and formula foods in fact never achieve the lasting purpose they are made for. At best, they may provide a temporary benefit, which is followed by greater malady.

Eat simply and live in harmony with nature. Foods such as sprouts, fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits are known as "living" foods. They have the power to regenerate the cells of the body and mind. Nuts and other whole foods also come in this category. To read about the correct foods, you can always read one of our previous newsletter issues by clicking here

These "correct" foods in turn promote "correct" thinking - the thinking we are seeking to achieve that ONE quest from time immemorial - maintaining the fountain of youth.

I hope this article provides a clearer direction and helps you practice yoga and meditation with the right perspective

Stop Ageing : Part-I

Stop Ageing : Part-I
By Arun Goel
Are we ageing sooner than we were meant to?

The ancient scriptures would certainly seem to suggest so. The "Vedas", have referred to the earliest generation of humans as "sat-yug " or the generation where people lived up to a thousand years. Following that came the "dwi-yug" or the generation of the 500-year life span. This progressively declined and the present generation is called "kal-yug" or the 'generation of death' in which we do not hope to live even a 100 years.

So what has gone wrong?

Our body is made up of trillions of cells. Science proves that our cells regenerate every 7 years leading into an entirely new existence. Einstein said 98% of the intelligence and energy renews every year.

Then why do we age?

It has been seen that for some mysterious reason, the cells suddenly stop regenerating and then deterioration begins. For some people it happens very late so ageing is delayed while for others it happens relatively sooner.

To understand ageing, it must be understood that all that exists in this universe is MATTER and LIFE. And it is life that is responsible for holding the matter together. When there is no life, matter decays - just like in the case of a dead body. Body is nothing but matter. Life, in turn, is the outcome of thought.

Therefore, it follows that our body is the expression of thinking and the mind. Just like dreams are an outcome of thinking, so too is the body an expression of thought. If you have beautiful, young thoughts this will form an 'autosuggestion' to each body cell to mould itself accordingly. The cells collectively form the whole body and so the body gets moulded accordingly.

So, if we can condition our thoughts to be right, it follows that our body will be right.

Did you know that most diseases are born in the mind?

We are conditioned to think that as we reach a certain chronological age we can expect certain disorders such as cholesterol, heart ailments, loss of memory, enlarged prostate etc. This serves as autosuggestion to the clever mind. The mind, in turn, dictates this to the body, and the body responds accordingly and the disease actually occurs.

Does this sound simplistic or naïve? Read on…

The "age trap"

We are in fact caught in the "age trap". Right from the time we are born, the world reinforces in us our age. "C'mon Jim, you're nearing 60, you better take retirement". We are conditioned right from our birth about where we stand in the chronological chart and "assume" our life span to be about 80 years.

Sadly, health magazines perpetuate this with their statistics - "80% of the people over 50 showed signs of an abnormally increased prostate" and so on. This statistic reinforces to the mind at a subconscious level that the problem is likely to occur at that age. So when a man nears 50, his subconscious mind dictates this to the body, the ailment occurs and the statistic is "proved". Thus continues the vicious cycle. As is famously said, "thinking makes it so".

So the age trap is the chronological perspective of age that has been imposed upon us by the world. This conditions our mind to accept this fact. The mind, in turn, "auto suggests" this to the body which responds accordingly. This happening reinforces the society's view of age. In other words, Age becomes an expression of the collective consciousness of the world.

Just imagine, if you were faced with a situation where you had no idea of your chronological age. This is true of native villages in India that have zero education levels. The farmer who tills his soil has no idea of his day of birth. Ask him this, and he'll look at you quizzically in the face and mumble - "my aunt says it was a full moon night". It has been observed that such people "die with their boots on" - working up to the last minute with no apparent deterioration in their health.

Isn't that what we really seek? No pain, no suffering - just being young till the very last day.

The role of diet

Sadly, even our diet perpetrates this ageing process. Modern diet is cluttered with preserved foods. Natural but preserved - a big joke. There is NOTHING like preserved natural food.

It has been documented in the scriptures, that one must eat living, vegetarian food for a positive nutrition to the body AND mind. Preservatives can be equated to chemicals that are used to embalm a dead body. Just like embalming retains the outward appearance of the body but from within there is no life; similarly, preservatives retain ONLY the outward appearance but there is NO nutrition left in the food. "Eating dead food leads to a dead mind and a dead body".

I'll leave it here this week to give you time to ponder on these facts. Next week, I'll guide you on the right approach to lead a fuller, younger and longer life and how yoga can help you achieve that.

Yoga and Anger Management

Yoga and Anger Management
By Arun Goel
Almost all of us experience anger at some point or the other. Rather than get into a monologue of why anger occurs, I will try to touch upon why we should overcome it and how it can be done.

Why should anger be overcome?

Anger destroys the peace of mind: One constantly undergoes mental turmoil, uneasiness and frustration when anger is experienced. This disturbed mind is akin to a rudderless boat in a stormy ocean, being tossed around from place to place without it being able to focus on the task or destination ahead.

Anger is terrible for health: Besides symptoms of high blood pressure, ulceration etc., anger is invariably accompanied by stress, which is often referred to as the silent killer. The medical community is also coming around to the view that stress forms the basis of about 90% of all health disorders.

Anger causes hurt: Besides hurting the person whom it is targeted at (emotionally or physically), anger can boomerang causing an even deeper and longer lasting self-hurt in the form of repentance and remorse. Moreover, acts of anger invariably result in resentment and portray you as a highly egoistic person.

There may be many more 'incentives' to overcome anger but the above are enough to make you give a serious shot at tackling the problem.

Conventional remedies

Commonly preached remedies focus on the following ways of 'curing' anger :

Suppression: Quick-fix ways like "take a deep breath unto the count of 10" etc. come under this category. These, only provide a temporary respite (if at all). Honestly, these methods actually undermine our intelligence. As if to say, our mind is going to be taken in by some kind of breath control gimmick!

Expression: I was told that, in Japan, there is a concept of 'stress bars' where you can take out your anger, frustration and stress by throwing objects and redeeming your frustration through these physical acts. These 'pseudo' expressive techniques can seldom be successful, as they do not take into account the complexity of the mind.

Diversion: Involving yourself in an activity that keeps you away from the source of anger is often suggested as a way out. However, more likely than not, the 'ignored' anger will return with a greater vengeance in due course.

In fact, suppression and diversion can be compared to the indiscriminate filling of your grocery bag (the mind) with objects. Up to a point, it is fine; however, there will come a point, where the bag can hold no more and will 'snap' destroying the bag completely as well as everything around. Similarly, these are dangerous techniques that can result in irreparable damage to your brain.

The way out

Various spiritual leaders and faiths such as Buddhism, show us a way out. Significantly, yoga teachings provide similar solutions and also show the way to make these solutions a part of our personality.

The first step at anger management is - do not resist and do not ignore the cause of anger. Experience it fully.

What do we mean? It implies that one should develop an attitude of an observer or a witness. Learn to change your role from being the subject to becoming a bystander. See how the anger is operating. See what it is doing to your mind and how. When faced by an anger causing action, immediately get into the mode of exploring and rationalizing:

Why am I getting irritated?
What kind of thought pattern is forming in my mind as a consequence of this action?
Why is it that I am feeling like this?
Continue to go deeper and deeper with the "whys" and "more whys".

When you start doing this, two things start happening:

You start seeing the deeper 'subconscious' elements that form the foundation of your conscious mind. It is these elements that shape your personality without you even realizing it. Just like you can see the bottom of the pond in all its beauty only when the waters are still, similarly, you start seeing the deeper elements in your mind and understanding them better.

Once you reach these elements, you resolve the deepest of neuroses and complexities of the mind. These automatically remove the cause of anger. You will be pleasantly surprised to see how you are no longer provoked by the automatic triggers of the past.

Without fighting your anger, you start training your mind to develop a witness-like attitude. This observer attitude results in the anger dissipating.

You start seeing some wonderful perspectives. You start appreciating that it is not necessarily the desire of the person to hurt you - getting angry is YOUR response. You realize that a person is seeing the situation from his point of view to the best of his intellectual and emotional capability - he may not be quite 'capable enough' to appreciate your point of view. This is only natural - because individuals are built in different ways. After all, aren't you showing similar traits when you are getting angry!

Developing this observer attitude is NOT difficult. Yoga also has some very powerful tools in the form of "antar mouna" meditation techniques that help you cultivate this attitude. Moreover, as you start reaping the wonderful fruits of such an attitude, such a behavioral pattern only gets reinforced.

Over time, with such an attitude, you will see that not only do you get angry less often, but also each brush with an unpleasant situation provides a remarkable opportunity to know your subconscious mind in a better way. Every such insight brings you one step closer to the supreme goal - that is, Enlightenment (perpetual Bliss).

WITH GRACE YOU CAN WIN ANY RACE

WITH GRACE YOU CAN WIN ANY RACE
By Donna Amrita Davidge
This saying, or metaphor, which is the title for this issue's article, is a saying coined by Yogi Bhajan, the Master of Kundalini Yoga. He has created many of these points to ponder. Another one is "Excuses are self abuses". Have you ever made an excuse when your behavior did not reflect the character and caliber to carry through and deliver? It is of course human to make mistakes but can we learn and grow from them?

Yogi Bhajan also gives us seven specific steps to happiness. He says that without all seven you cannot be happy! The journey starts with commitment. He says we are meant to commit. For some of us this is not easy. We may be unsure in relationships, in our career paths and in what our life destiny actually is. Yet Yogi Bhajan says that if we cannot withstand the pressure that comes with commitment, how can the jewel of our consciousness develop into the diamond it was meant to be?

"I push a person to excellence and nobody wants to be pushed. The only beauty in the world is duty, done and delivered. There is no better joy than that" Yogi Bhajan

The other night I chanced upon an Italian film called "The Last Kiss". It followed four young men around age thirty on their individual paths and as friends. Three wanted freedom, finally fleeing in a van to parts unknown, leaving babies and family businesses in search of a life of noncommitment. The main character, whose girlfriend was pregnant, balked from commitment and made one mistake. But he realized in time that his happiness lay in duty, sacrifice and the ability to commit. He followed the seven steps only after learning that devotion was more fulfilling than commotion. He married, had a beautiful girl and held a responsible creative job. Sometimes he fantasized about joining his friends….but not really. He had found happiness, not without it's struggles and ups and downs, but he had found it.

Maybe you wonder what these seven steps have to do with yoga. Yoga is a science and a technology that helps us learn from the inside out and not without honest awareness and self reflection. As Dharma Mittra, one of my teachers in New York, was quoted in the April 2004 Yoga Journal " People come to yoga to have the perfect figure or meditate so they can make more money at their job but the true purpose of yoga is Self realization". Yoga is a practice meant to enhance your respect, grace and trust. Yoga teaches us to deliver the work, to have honor and never lose our manners. Grace developed as we work to conquer ourselves is an attribute that helps us attain this Self realization.

Here are the Seven Steps to Happiness as given by Yogi Bhajan:

COMMITMENT
Commitment will give you CHARACTER, all your facets, flaws and facts are under control. Yin and yang meet here. There is balance. It is not you who wins in the end, it is your character. Are your life habits demoting or promoting this?

Character will give you DIGNITY, people start liking , trusting and respecting you.
This will give you DIVINITY where people have no duality or fear about you
Divinity will give you GRACE a person of grace is gracious and has no hidden agendas
This gives you THE POWER TO SACRIFICE you can stand pain for other people
That sacrifice will give you HAPPINESS
Another thing Yogi Bhajan teaches is that if you have manners you have everything

"Let your manners speak for you, let your deeds prove you, let your deliverance impress you. Every person has a mission, every mission has a magnitude to deliver and fulfill the essence of magnitude. When one does it with devotion and conviction success comes from all sides" Yogi Bhajan

He speaks of an attitude of altitude, which ultimately is the energy and attitude of grace, which is associated with the highest physical center in the body, the crown.

Success often has superficial measurements in our society, such as socal status or income levels. Many of us feel under-accomplished as we assess our lives. How do we actually measure success, by other people's standards or by those set forth in a yoga practice? Success is a smile. Success is peace of mind. Success is a radiant face, whatever age. Success is how we treat others.

As another Yoga Master Sivananda wrote to his student Ram Krishna in a letter dated December 1, 1943: "Think carefully. Decide correctly. Act faithfully. Speak truthfully. Live honestly. Work diligently. Talk gently .Behave properly. You are bound to succeed in any walk of life. You will have peace of mind. You will have a pure conscience. You will get inexhaustible spiritual wealth."

Physically poses that allow us to feel our grace, like mountain pose, tadasana, are important to developing this feeling from within. The following meditation is especially effective for this as well.

GRACE OF GOD meditation will give you self effectiveness. Any woman who does it will find grace in her behavior. Any man who does it will realize the grace in himself and thse around him. It may take a little time, but the results will be positive. This is an ideal way to prepare for sleep.

Lie down on the back, fully relaxing your face and body, eyes closed. Inhale deeply through the nose, hold the breath in and repeat silently ten times "I am the Grace of God". (For men " I am in the Grace of God"). Exhale all the breath out through the nose and repeat silently the same mantra ten times. (I use my fingers to keep it straight!..counting on my fingers, which are relaxed in sivasana, corpse pose). Do this for a total of five inhalations and five exhalations, making this a total of one hundred times repeating the mantra.

After the cycle is completed, come sitting cross legged, eyes still closed. Bring the right wrist resting on your right knees, palm up and index finger meeting thumb in gyan mudra(reversed hands for men). The left hand is by the left shoulder, as if taking an oath, palm flat and facing forward. Tense only one finger of the left hand at a time, as you repeat five times aloud " I am the Grace of God". (Start with the little finger, the pinky). Meditate on the governing energy of that finger. Concentrate on the particular characteristics you want to correct. Continue the sequence until you get to and do the thumb. Afterwards relax as you wish.

Here are the governing energies of the fingers:

Pinky- Mercury, power to relate, communicate and make decision
Ring finger- Venus and Sun, physical health and vitality, grace
Middle finger- Saturn, channel emotion to devotion, learn patience
Pointing finger- Jupiter, wisdom, expansion and knowledge
Thumb- Positive ego
One note, if GOD seems religious to you, we are taught that it is the energy of the universe that

Generates
Organizes
Delivers or Destroys all
This is a lovely meditation. Grace is a contained energy that we can all win by developing!! One way of thinking of grace is non-reactiveness, responsiveness instead.

Stand And Bloom

Health And Yoga News Letters

Stand And Bloom
By Donna Amrita Davidge
Many folks have felt as if they needed a jumpstart all winter, as is often the case. Winter makes us feel more in need of rejuvenation. Many of us who practice yoga regularly keep up the whole year, though energy levels, muscles and bones may not make us feel as enthusiastic about our practice as on sunny warm days with flowers blooming all around us and shutters thrown wide open.

Some types of yoga may be more rejuvenating than others, depending on our age, stage and circumstances. Restorative yoga comes to mind as one that could gently draw us out from winter. This yoga uses props like folded blankets, blocks and straps to ease us in to opening and nurturing yoga poses for minutes on end.

On the other end of the spectrum to wake our bodies and it's systems would be the more active forms of yoga like Ashtanga and Vinyasa. These require time, patience, practice and a good teacher even for the athletically inclined, which these particularly suit.

To further wake us up from our winter rest Kundalini Yoga is a great way to energize and rejuvenate the system, focusing from the inside out especially focusing on the breath. Kundalini awakens us to our aliveness from within, our own unlimited creative potential.

Two particular poses come to mind. The first is used in most all the forms of yoga and that is shoulder stand, which we call rejuvenation pose in Kundalini Yoga. This excellent pose reverses the effects of gravity, energizes the thyroid gland in the neck which regulates the metabolism and is great for circulation. Depending on your stage of practice and body weight the pose may need modification or even a blanket folded under the shoulders if the neck feels strain. If not ready to take the back off the floor, simply left the legs us to take pressure off. possibly up against the wall.

Another pose I have seen in a Kundalini Yoga set is like a flower opening or blooming. To do this, start sitting on your heels in baby pose, head on floor and hands by your head, palms down. On the inhale, rise up on your knees and open the arms up and back at a sixty degree angle while pressing the hips forward and chest up. On the exhale come back down to the baby pose. Repeat this at a graceful pace as long as it feels good.

Dancing is another was to get rejuvenated. When we sweat we activate the glands, the guardians to our health. Dancing is a release, a way to free ourselves. Dancing is sometimes included in the Kundalini Yoga sets, arms waving in the air for minutes on end.

Kundalini yoga works with the energetics of the body. One of the best ways to get in touch with our energy is through the breath. Conscious breathing is an integral part of the Kundalini practice. The breath of fire, a sniffing diaphragmatic breath with both inhale and exhale through the nose, is done in many Kundalini poses. To detox with this breath lay on your back and raise both arms and legs straight up in the air. Imagine the arms and legs as energy antenna and hold the arms and legs straight doing breath of fire for up to three minutes.

Finally, savasana, or corpse pose, is one of the best ways to rejuvenate after any yoga practice or by itself. Surrender your mind and body as completely as you can as you lay on your back, arms relaxed away from the body, palms up, and legs open a bit, feet dropped out to the side. Close the eyes, relax the face and breath, breathing in to the belly through the nose. Melt the spine in to the support under it, the earth. And as the earth renews and blooms in Spring, let yourself do the same.