Ana Brett & Ravi Singh's April Newsletter  |
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NEWS & NOTES
We want to thank all of you who attended our workshop at Your Community Yoga in Hamden, CT. It was lovely to meet/see you! (Special thanks as well to owners Jennifer Brosious and Laine Harris, and to organizer Alan Franzi). All of you delightful people generated an incredible group energy! We hope it is translating itself into health,abundance and energy for a great spring into summer!
2 Interviews with Ana!
How She Came to Yoga, What's in Her Bag, What She Eats for Breakfast, Body Image Issues, and even More Blonde Feedback!
See the links below (before Meditation of the Month)
Ana & Ravi Workshop May 2nd
We hope to see all of you in Danbury CT on May 2nd from 1 - 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 24 Clapboard Ridge Road ( $50/45 pre-reg.)for our Spring Cleaning, Spirit Rising workshop! For more info or to registerplease call Gaby Ellert, Director of Sat Nam Yoga in Bethel, CT.203.730.2400 / www.bethelyoga.com
Our New A-Z Health Archive
What do Attention Deficit Disorder, Kundalini Syndrome, and Ana's "Live," Strawberry Lemonade have in common? The answer is that you can read about them (and much more) on our new updated websites A-Z Health Archive. We have updated our website: raviana.com with a new design and content. You can look up Kundalini Yoga advice for everything under the sun. This is a work in progress and we are adding new material all the time!
Join Us on Facebook
Facebook
is such a great way to connect, stay connected, and for us to meet some
of you "virtually," we may not get to see in person! If you haven't already, please
come join Ana on her new Facebook page! And also now active: the RaviAna group page as well as the RaviAna fan page
also on Facebook. There are already discussion groups forming on the
group page, one of which is a 40 day meditation we highly recommend to
everyone (see details below). On the fan page we will eventually have
music as well as more photos, and other fun stuff.... |
Top 10 Reasons Be Excited About Your Kundalini Yoga Practice
1. Kundalini Yoga done daily can help you stay, in spite of external pressures, in a very positive place so that your life can be self-fulfilling and a positive example to others. Be the light so you can spread the light. "A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle!"
2. Kundalini Yoga is considered to be a gift from the gods to ease human suffering. Before it was brought to the West in 1969 by Yogi Bhajan, to even be accepted as a student was considered to be as lucky as winning the lottery!
3. When we do yoga, meditate, and do positive things for ourselves, it constitutes soul food. When our souls are happy we get happy!
4. Rather than going to a therapist one day, a personal trainer the next, a sacred ceremony the next day, an acupuncture session the next day, and a bio-feedback session the next, why not get it all done in about an hour and still have time for a life!
5. All forms of self-healing, spiritual transcendence, creative inspiration, intellectual genius, and heightened physical ability, have as a common denominator, Kundalini, the energy of our inner excellence. Kundalini Yoga is a way to tap into this energy in a very down to earth manner.
6. Kundalini Yoga imbues us with "keep up!" spirit and the kind of hardiness which helps us to contend victoriously in life and be successful in our endeavors.
7. Energy, water, land, and even time are now commodities for which we pay. While breath is still free let's use Kundalini Yoga to breathe it! Breath is life!
8. We are born into this life to learn, grow, and evolve. We can either regress, kill time, or coalesce in consciousness. Kundalini Yoga represents the "greatest hits," of the Saints and Sages of the ages, with the ritualistic and cultural red tape stripped away. It is a beautiful and direct way to be fit and flower!
9. From the stock market and job security, to the climate and new technologies: nothing is predictable these days. There is one thing you can still count on: every time you do Kundalini Yoga, you will fee balanced, energized, relaxed and strong!
10. The meaning of life is whatever you make sacred. Use Kundalini Yoga to create a relationship with energy and your True Self. Shine on!
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***SPECIALS OF THE MONTH***
Amazon.com is currently offering our 3 new titles on sale for as low as $10.99 ! All 3 for $34.97!!!:
Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free! -
$10.99 - is
the best of both worlds: Kundalini Yoga's dynamic aspect with the
focused intensity of Power and Ashtanga Yoga.
Kundalini Yoga Cardio, Stretch, & Strengthen-
$11.99 - is
also the best of both worlds: an amazing Kundalini Yoga set with its
spiritual depth and power, as well as a complete fitness experience:
stretching, in-depth ab work, an effective and a fun dance-influenced
cardio routine, and more!
Kundalini Yoga for Energy & Super Radiance!-
$11.99 - Live
on fire. Shine like the sun! This is a Kundalini Yoga "old school"
workout with cutting edge music and more. Features a complete whole
body workout including some extended exercises which will test you, and
bring out the best in you!
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It's still fitness season, the time when many people's thoughts turn to jumpstarting their fitness level for spring. Try Fat Free Yoga, Kundalini Yoga Cardio, Stretch, & Strengthen,along with Kundalini Yoga for Energy & Super Radiance and Warrior Workout to melt away any extra pounds with total fun fitness Kundalini style! All of these (among others) are
currently on sale on Amazon.com for as low as 10.99. If you buy more than one title on Amazon.com, you also get free shipping!
Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond -
$10.99 - a Kundalini Yoga 'must have,' for any level. Featuring the essential
Rise & Spine set, followed by strength building "5 Tibetans"
Kundalini Yoga style!
Fat Free Yoga
- $10.99 - Four 20 minute sets: Start Your Engines, Burn Baby Burn, No Impact
Aerobics, Your Life is In Your Own Glands. Also: 2 meditations and
more!
Ultimate Stretch Workout -
$10.99 - best of both worlds combining the great dynamic elements of
Kundalini Yoga with deep stretching of Power and Vinyasa
Warrior Workout - $10.99 - A perfect workout for 2009! A non-stop energy feast!
Dance the Chakras Yoga Workout - $14.99 - 2 yoga sets and movement work. A perfect balance of flexibility and strength work and fun low impact cardio dance.
Yoga Beauty Body - $14.99 - The "Perfect" Yoga Workout. Includes the Magnificent Seven. Daily "must," yoga exercises.
Yoga Bliss Hips - $15.99 - Kundalini Yoga for Hip Opening & Mood Mastery
Navel Power - $14.49 - for a Stomach of Steel & Personal Power
Yoga Quick Fixes -
$15.99 - almost 4 hours of workout options. Pre-set workouts plus Quick Fixes for everything from Depression to Headaches.
Am/Pm Yoga - $14.49 - Start & End Your Day in a Great Way!
Yoga Cleanse-
$14.49 - Lighten Up & Purify!
A Journey thru the Chakras -
$14.49 - Climb the Ladder of Lights. A Great Inner/Outer Workout.
Yoga House Call - $15.99 - A set a day keeps the doctor bills away! |
***QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH***
We want to thank all of you for the insightful questions and comments you send to us. If we don't reply to your question within 3 weeks please resend! It probably means that it was lost or somehow never got to us!
The Science Behind Kundalini Yoga
I love your DVD's. Thank you for producing them. Please tell me how you know which organ the posture or exercise is affecting. You often say that this is for your:
thyroid, stomach, liver... How do you know that it is detoxing you? Is there science behind this?
Based on intricate knowledge of where organs lie in the body as well
as meridians, glands, nerves, etc., Yoga has developed the means, through movement, postures
and breath techniques, to stimulate these systems in very specific
ways. Some exercises like a twist or a bend, stimulate organs in a very obvious way. For example, when you do a typical yoga twist, you are, in effect wringing out your organs like a sponge as you turn. As you release back to neutral, a fresh supply of blood moves into the organs. This is one example of how a typical Kundalini Yoga exercise can detox the inner organs.
Kundalini Yoga recognizes a basic template of health in which all are systems in harmony, energy is flowing optimally, and the mind and emotions are in a positive place. Every technique in Kundalini Yoga is designed to reinstate this optimum balance. Sometimes Kundalini Yoga works
from the inside out and sometimes from the outside in. It allows us to
take control of our health and be our own healers.
Over the thousands of years in which Kundalini Yoga has been around,
a vast body of knowledge has been compiled based on observation and experimentation,
as well as anecdotal evidence, based on direct experience of the benefits
of the specific techniques of Kundalini Yoga.
Kundalini Yoga is known as the Yoga of Awareness because it helps us to
cultivate the sensitivity and understanding to broaden the scope of our
perceptions. Many scientific studies have been done in the last 40 years on the health
benefits of yoga and meditation. These all seem to verify the traditional
claims for these techniques.
As you progress in your yoga practice, you will begin to make obvious associations
between the techniques and the systems they are working on. In this way,
every practitioner becomes a scientist in their own right, using their own
body and mind as a laboratory. We wish you continued success with your yoga practice, joy, health, and blessings!
Benefits of the Tiger Claw Exercise
Would you please let me know the benefits of the "Tiger Claw," exercise from you new tape?
Thanks for
writing. The Tiger Claws exercise on Kundalini Yoga for Energy & Super Radiance relates to the "Super Radiance" part of the title. That exercise, which goes on for at least 7 or 8 minutes, works on the magnetic field, which, in one sense, is the electrical emanation
of the nervous system, and is also the interface between ourselves
and the world. That technique puts a crystal sheen on one's aura. When the
magnetic field is strong we can transform negativity, beautify our environments
and attract positive people and opportunities. Yogi Bhajan said
that reality is a series of interlocking magnetic fields and that "God" is
the ultimate magnetic field.
When we expand our magnetic fields we also expand
our concepts, broaden our horizons, and encompass the whole universe. When our magnetic fields are strong we are insulated against external negativity and accidents, and are more apt to be in the right place at the right time. Some of the exercises in Kundalini involve moving the extremities through the space around the body. This has the effect of charging our energy fields.
Another thing which determines the quality of one's magnetic field is one's inner attitude. The Tiger Claws exercise, in providing the experience of going a little bit beyond, and prevailing, engenders the confidence which reminds us that we can be great in everything we do. A strong magnetic field is a secret ingredient to success in life.
The Tiger Claws exercise also helps to detox the lymphatic system, expand
and clean out the lungs, strengthen the immune system, resolve inner anger,
and to some extent helps to clear buried emotional trauma. All that in one exercise! We wish you joy, health, and blessings!
Yoga for Non-Yogis
Greetings Ana and Ravi! I have a family member who is completely stressed (and is constantly complaining about how he can't relax) out but who doesn't seem at all open to doing yoga. If fact, he's always makes fun of me for doing Kundalini Yoga, asking me things like if I've charmed any snakes today, etc. Despite all that, I know he needs this desperately. What do you think I should say to him to at least try one of your DVD's. Thank you in advance for answering this!
Thanks for writing. We suggest that you lead your family member through the Chair Exercise segment on Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free!. You also might have them try the De-Stress Meditation on that DVD. Most people have a deep desire to be healthy and relate to their spiritual side, but their cultural orientation and ego defenses hold them back. When presenting things like Kundalini Yoga to total beginners, act as if it's the most normal thing in the world and imply that everyone's doing these kinds of things (which is true). Let let the experience speak for itself. You may be helping to plant a seed which might blossom tomorrow or in ten years. All we can do is make things available to people and let the blessings unfold!
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Links to 2 Interviews with Ana!
How She Came to Yoga, What's in Her Bag, What She Eats for Breakfast, and More Blonde Feedback!
All women battle with it at some stage of their lives! Me too! It's body image! My change of hair color seemed to generate much discussion and seemed to bring up, for some, many deep feelings. This dialogue then led to my yoga attire, for and against, but overall, it generated a much needed discussion for women: How we feel about ourselves, how we feel about other women, and more. Thanks to Christine of Bliss Chick for starting the discussion and for continuing to shine a light on these issues and for her uplifting guidance and insights!
Peaceful Pleasure!
This is a very special site and one we are sure you will want to bookmark and check on often! Great tips (including tip of the day), great products, and the nicest, coolest people you will ever want to meet running the show! Check out my interview where I tell how I came to yoga, and what's in my bag!
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MEDITATION OF THE MONTH
Please join us for our ongoing 40 day So Darshan Chakra Kriya practice on the RaviAna group page on Facebook.com: There is already a great group forming there who have begun practicing this technqiue and sharing their experiences.
There
is strength in numbers and even if the idea of commiting to a 40 day
meditation seems daunting now, know that in the spirit of Kundalini
Yoga, the previously impossible becomes commonplace. Come and join in
and know that you are not alone!
Here
is a poem written by the 15th century poet/saint Jaidev, describing his
life and Destiny changing experience with So Darshan Chakra Kriya. This
poem is included in the Siri Guru Granth which is the holy book of the
Sikh tradition. It's very rare to see a technique described
so explicitly in a sacred text. It was done in this instance as a homage to this meditation.
Inhale through the lunar nostril
Suspend the breath in the central channel of the spine
Repeat Wahe Guru sixteen times. Exhale through the solar nostril.
My incentive
is Your Will. My gifts flow from Your Power.
My unstable mind has been stabliized.
My unadorned soul has been adorned.
I drink the Ambrosial Nectar.
The Name of the Infinite One, the source of all virtue, resounds in my mind.
The blindfold darkening my inner vision has been ripped away.
Now nothing can come between us. We are the same.
I worship the
One who is worthy of worship.
I trust in the One who is worthy of being trusted.
As water merges in water, I merge in the Infinite. |
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