SUNDAY IN PASADENA
Armory Center for the Arts

Kundalini Yoga, April 22, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Yoga Bits
Morsels of yogic wisdom and information

 Apr. 16 - 22, 2012  

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KUNDALINI YOGA
Fridays at the Burbank YMCA
10 to 11:30 a.m.

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KUNDALINI YOGA
Sundays in NoHo*
10 to 11:30 a.m.
LocationSunday
Once a month this class is held at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena. All other Sunday classes are held in North Hollywood.

For complete information on class days, times and locations, please visit
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Meditation Report Card
There's no GPA in consciousness

"
Sleep is the best meditation." 
-- Dalai Lama

Although meditation is a consistent part of my Kundalini yoga practice, I have a shameful little secret: I don't think I'm very good at it.

Granted, my self-assessment may be distorted -- after all, I'm a raging perfectionist so I have a skewed perception of my own acceptable performance Report Card(something that meditation helps me manage). But listed below I'm sharing about a few issues I have observed in my meditation habits that seem, well, problematic. If you meditate regularly, perhaps you have experienced some of these circumstances yourself. Or perhaps similar events have kept you from meditating. Hopefully, my confession will demystify the process a bit.

* I try to avoid it. I am currently on about day 20 of a 90-day meditation. I'm completely committed to this activity, especially since it's part of a course requirement for one of my teacher trainings. There is no question that I will meditate each day, yet, part of my brain bargains about when I will actually sit down to do it. The obvious remedy is to have a regular specified time when I will complete my task -- and I do. But we all oversleep or life happens and then it's up for grabs. Of course, this is precisely why commitment is so key to a successful meditation practice.

* I forget where I am in the mantra. I admit that this particular habit makes me laugh out loud. It seems so absurd! How can I forget where I am in the mantra? Well, in my defense, it only happens if the mantra is particularly lengthy and I'm chanting it for a long time, such as my current 31-minute recitation of the Mul Mantra. When I catch myself, I just pick up where I left off and keep going. If I can't figure out where I was, I just keep going.
* I lose the mudra/posture/eye focus. Now this particular error really does not concern me. It's so common during meditation that to consider it a deal-breaker would be a total rookie move! I just make the adjustment as soon as I become aware...as many times as necessary.

* I make lists. This phenomenon is also to be expected. I sit down on the mat and immediately think of four or five important calls I need to make, seven things I need at Target or three places I want to research future vacations. It always happens, it always will! In fact, I consider list-making a good sign. It's my mind's way of emptying itself upon becoming still. Yogi Bhajan referred to this condition as "the garbage dump" and considered it an inevitable and therapeutic part of meditation. Most people erroneously believe that this type of mental activity means they are doing it "wrong." Not so.

* I fall asleep. I'll acknowledge that losing consciousness is a bit of a bigger deal. There are pretty much two schools of thought on this: (1) epic fail and (2) essential mechanism of subconscious processing. I was so messed up when I began practicing yoga eight years ago that I used to pass out sitting up and awaken when my forehead hit the floor! Gurudhan Singh, one of my teachers, points out that when we fall asleep in meditation or savasana (the final resting pose at the end of class), it is so that the unconscious and subconscious can process information that our waking self would not be able to handle. That was definitely the case with me -- and it's not like I could help it. It still happens with enough frequency that I'm starting to wonder what's going on. Am I simply continuing to process subconsciously or has this turned into a bad habit? I honestly don't know.

* I peek at the timer. Okay, this one is just ridiculous, I admit it. It's a complete attempt to fight the meditation itself. If meditation is about connecting to the breath, to the "now," then checking the timer is about as counter-productive as it gets. Fortunately, I have 70 more days to work on this one.

The final habit that affects my practice is both the reason I desperately need regular meditation and the behavior that really threatens it the most: the constant negative self-talk that tears me down. Waking, walking, playing or working, my thoughts are vicious little piranhas that attack and destroy my well-being. So sitting still for meditation is often like volunteering myself for a round of cannibalization and, I ask you, who wants to do that? This issue is why I've always found it more enjoyable to meditate as part of a group. My mind isn't the only one in the room and, therefore, can't run away with me as easily.

What motivates me ultimately is that I know this stuff really works. All those thoughts are rolling around in my head, pushing my subconscious actions along anyway. I'd rather get them up and out through the process of a powerful meditation practice. I can see the effects in the rest of my day: my patience is extended, my compassion is deeper, my happiness is abundant. It's not easy to maintain this commitment but, in truth, it's better than the alternative. I much prefer the person I am during and after meditation than the person I would be without it.
Sat Nam,
Mary

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Love Your Yoga / Los Angeles 
The techniques and suggestions presented in Yoga Bits are not intended as medical claims or to substitute for proper medical advice. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program. If you are elderly or have any chronic or recurring conditions such as high blood pressure, neck or back pain, arthritis, heart disease, and so on, seek your physician's advice before practicing.