Ana Brett & Ravi Singh March Kundalini
Yoga Newsletter
"In formal logic, a contradiction is a failed argument, but in the evolution of real knowledge, it's the first step on the path to victory."
--Alfred North Whitehead
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News & Notes
Happy March everyone! It might be spring one day and winter the next but, as you know, a regular Kundalini Yoga practice keeps Spirit in blossom! One great definition of Kundalini is the title of a poem by Dylan Thomas: The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower.
Kundalini is life aspring, the drive that motivates us to open
ourselves to the One Sun, expand, excel, and create. Kundalini Yoga is
the down-to-earth means by which we can access the energy of our higher
potential everyday. That's Kundalini Yoga: Spirit in evidence. It's here and now and it's forever. It's that simple; it's that profound! It's been a long, cold winter, but nothing can keep us down. It's Spring!!!
Our New DVD's
Thanks to all of you who wrote to us to let us know that you are enjoying the three new DVD titles (BACK IN STOCK ON AMAZON, 25% off!):
It means so much to us to hear
that so many of you are using the DVD's to keep up a regular Kundalini Yoga practice, and gain momentum towards new possibilities in your lives! Your feedback & support is gratefully appreciated and keeps us inspired to keep you inspired!
Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training/Workshop This Weekend
This weekend is the second session of our 200 hr. Teacher Training Certification at Give Yoga in Memphis! This weekend we'll be studying the bhandas, the science of sequence, the mysteries of the breath, and of course doing tons of great practice.
If
you are interested in signing up to attend this event as an individual
workshop, contact Olivia (901)493.1431/olivialomax@yahoo.com. We have 3
spaces left!
Check Out These Links!
Raviana Fan Page on Facebook - Please join us here if you haven't already for the most up to date news. Make the Fan Page your daily destination for everything fun going on in Ana & Ravi's world.
Raviana Group Page on Facebook - The community for the Kundalini Yoga enthusiast seeking the latest on Kundalini Yoga and the lifestyle which surrounds it! Deepen your practice here!
Be Ana's Friend On Facebook- "I love Facebook because it gives me the opportunity to connect with so many of you when I'm not teaching in a city near you."
Ana on Twitter
The "Your Perfect DVD Workout" Contest
We want to thank
everyone for submitting your great ideas for the "Your Perfect Kundalini Yoga
Workout," contest. We'll be making an announcement in an upcoming
newsletter re: which ideas we are going to actualize into a DVD(s)! Your
super-abundant creativity is truly Kundalini Yoga in action!
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Top Ten Spiritual Quotes
1. "What you are looking for is what is looking." --St. Francis of Assisi
2. "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." --Marcel Proust
3. "I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown." --Woody Allen
4."I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell."
--Walt Whitman
5. "What
stops death is awareness." --Don Juan
6. "What you WANT is irrelevant, what you've CHOSEN is at hand." --Mr. Spock
7. "Do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God's creative principle works in you." --Yogananda
8. "There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way." --Buddha
9. "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." --Albert Einstein
10. "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." --Mother Teresa
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Specials of the Month - It's FITNESS SEASON and many of our titles (some of which are hardly ever on sale) are currently on sale on Amazon.com
for as low as $11.99!!! If you buy more than one title on Amazon.com, you
get free shipping! (click on link to go to Amazon)
 Kundalini Yoga Solar Power All-In-One Workout - 20% off on Amazon! (click on link toShine like the sun, energize, stretch, and transform your life! Experience an all-in-one Kundalini Yoga workout you will love for life! This DVD features techniques which target the all-important solar plexus, known as the "moving center," for balance on all levels, energy, & the ability to open yourself to fulfillment & live in the rhythm and flow of life. From yoga newbie to expert, this is the yoga experience you've been waiting for! Featuring the powerful "Awaken Your Senses," et as well as a new mantra chant to open your heart.
 Kundalini Yoga Transformer All-In-One Workout - 25% off on Amazon! Transform Your Body. Feed Your Soul. Change Your Life! Ana & Ravi take you to a new level of fitness and self-growth. Included are an in-depth yoga workout & two profound sets plus meditation to purify your past and liberate you from old habits and feelings which detract from your fulfillment. As in all the Ana & Ravi DVD's, inspiring music will enhance your workout. Kundalini Yoga is the perfect practice to help you live long, seize the day & prosper! Featuring the "Born Free" set which will take you from the mundane to the miraculous!
 The Kundalini Yoga Meditation & Breathing DVD - 25% off on Amazon! TRANQUILITY WITHOUT TRANQUILIZERS! Calm Your mind and emotions. Redefine yourself from the inside out. Transform your life! Meditation is a must in the context of the lives we lead! As an antidote to constant activity and information overload, our minds crave this type of inner activity the way a dry sponge is starved for water. This DVD features 13 Meditation segments which include: The All & Everything Meditation, Deep Meditation into Stillness, Rewrite the Book of Your Life, and Breath Purification Series. Bonus Material includes a Sitting Primer, Mantra Primer, Commentaries for each of the techniques and much more! As with all of Ana and Ravi's DVD's, this program features amazing music. This DVD will keep you uplifted and inspired and will be a friend for life!
 Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond - $12.99 - Two 25 minutes sets: Rise & Spine for back health and everything else, and The 5 Tibetans, for youth & health everyday, plus meditation, & more! If you would like to introduce Kundalini Yoga to friends and family this is the one to give them!
 Fat Free Yoga - $11.99 - 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! This DVD will keep you young, healthy, hormonally balanced & trim!
Warrior Workout - $14.49 - Updated with the Matrix. A perfect workout for 2010!  A non-stop energy feast! For circulation, elimination of toxins, and to be a hero in your own life!
Ultimate Stretch Workout- $12.99 - The best of both worlds combining the great dynamic elements of Kundalini Yoga with deep stretching of Power and Vinyasa. Also,a heart-opening mantra chant.
 Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free! $14.49 - This program features a fusion of Kundalini Yoga and traditional yoga moves (presented Kundalini style!). Segments include: Standing Warm-Ups, A Yoga Flow Salutation Sequence, The Challenge, Nerve Strength & Core Power, Upper Back & Neck Stretch & Strengthen, A Be Stress Free Meditation, and an uplifting mantra to chant along with. The best of both worlds: Kundalini Yoga's dynamic aspect with the focused intensity of Power and Ashtanga Yoga. |
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Kundalini Yoga Cardio, Stretch, & Strengthen - $14.49 - 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- $15.95 - 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!
Navel Power - $14.49 - for a Stomach of Steel & Personal Power and to develop the will to take a stand: turn negatives into positives and prevail! Also, the meditation on this will help you magnify your abundance.
Yoga Cleanse- $14.49 - Purify your body: purify your mind and emotions.
Dance the Chakras Yoga Workout - $15.95 - 2 yoga sets and movement work. A perfect balance of flexibility and strength work and fun low impact cardio dance.
A Journey thru the Chakras - $12.99 - Climb the Ladder of Lights. A Great Inner/Outer Workout.
Also, please note that many of these items are for sale on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca |
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 Questions of the MonthCollagen Breakdown
Namaste,Good to see you're still making the DVD's. To the point: I was wondering if in your store of knowledge, what can be done about overall skin thinning as people age. As collagen breaks down as we age, is there any kriya that works on that aspect? Thanks,
We recommend the Life is in Your Own Glands set and the Hands Like A Teapot on Fat Free Yoga as well as the entire Yoga Beauty Body workout. Weight bearing exercises free up stem cells from the bone marrow and circulate them through the body stimulating collagen production. For that we recommend the Five Tibetan set on Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond and the Fight Fire w/ Fire segment on Fat Free Yoga. Collagen doesn't thin automatically over time. What causes aging is the continuous stress on cells from environmental damage and unhealthy lifestyle choices. Over 90 percent of skin damage is due to sun exposure! Of course, pollution is not great for our skin either. The good news is that there is much you can do to encourage collagen growth and prevent future damage. In addition to our recommendations above we recommend eating an antioxidant rich diet, adhering to a good gentle basic skin care regimen, using an ionizer for your living space as well as a daily non-chemical high spf sunblock and getting regular exercise.Also, Blue Green Manna might also be helpful.We wish you joy, health, and blessings!
Cervical Disc Problems / Accident Prone
Hi, I have all of your DVDs and soon will have the new ones. I have been dealing with a lot of pain from an old injury and a newer injury. I have cervical disc problems that were recently exacerbated (a while ago) by a bad fall down my cellar steps and more recently, I was rear-ended and suffering whiplash with exacerbation to my disc, back pain and side pain (bruised ribs in the fall). This has been months ago and I am in good shape and workout (lifting weights, doing cardio and yoga daily).Lately, the pain has been frustrating and depressing me to the point i don't want to get out of bed in the AM. What dvds should I be using right now? thanks in advance,
Thanks for writing. For now we suggest our new Kundalini Yoga Meditation DVD. You will definitely get benefits doing one segment at a time. It has 12 meditations which you can do
indificually or in combination. Those techniques, many of them making
use of profound breathing practices, will help your body regenerate.
Also, the Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung chant on that DVD is specifically
for self-healing, as are many of the other segments. Energetically, it
sounds as if there may be a rift in your "arcline," which, according to
yoga, is an aspect of your energy field. All of the techniques on the
Meditation DVD will be helpful in that regard. Ultimate Stretch Workout, Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free, and Yoga Bliss Hips will also be very helpful. The arcline, according to yoga, is an aspect of one's energy field which is a projection of the psyche. It's a kind of life radar and mental focuser. Subtle issues around low self-esteem which are buried from one's past, can actually make us more susceptible to mishaps. All of Kundalini Yoga, especially the meditation aspect, can strengthen the arcline. We know this sounds like pseudo-science, but it's a type of science which has been developed and proven over thousands of years. Please keep us posted! Co-Workers Negativity
Hi Ana, I just did the Transformer and I LOVE IT!!. I feel amazing. The born free segment is awesome and it works! It was a bit challenging but I kept up. I am getting ready to do the meditation dvd and then the Solar Power tomorrow. I wish I could stay home all day and do Kundalini yoga. I just need to try to find a way to incorporate the feeling I get into my daily life, especially at work. The aura at the company I work for is so negative. Any suggestions on how I can strengthen my aura to not allow others' negativity to affect me so much? I am too sensitive to other peoples emotions. I tend to internalize everything. It causes me to have anxiety and negativity towards these individuals. Any advice
would be helpful. Thank you so much for all you do.
I have a similar propensity. I can easily absorb whatever is going on in my environment, and need to work on my Navel Center and magnetic field often. The Solar Power Workout and Meditation and the Navel Power DVD's are great ones for us to practice. Also, try to do some yoga and meditation in the morning before you go out. If you don't have much time in the morning then the Morning Wake Up series and meditation fromAM/PM Yoga wold be great. Yogi Bhajan suggested and we wholeheartedly agree, that each person has a right to keep themselves apart from negativity, but sometimes distancing ourselves isn't possible. If there are negative emotions going on in your environment, and you are sort of stuck there, and want to stay out of the line of fire then try to surreptitiously, inhale through puckered lips (very light), and exhale nose. It will diffuse the negative vibes in your immediate environment. When we do a regular meditation practice, everyone around us gets uplifted over time: If you can't beat 'em, elevate them." :)
Tight Hamstrings
Hello, I recently started getting your monthly e-mail newsletter and have been enjoying it! I have a problem and I think kundalini yoga might be able to help me out. I am generally flexible but I have always had really tight hamstrings. I can't do a forward bend/fold (seated or standing!) to save my life. I normally just do the best I can and move on with my yoga set. However, I have recently developed a case of plantar fasciitis in my left heel. I have been reading about this condition, and it seems to be linked to tight hamstrings! So, are there any kundalini yoga exercises I can do to increase flexibility in my hamstrings?
Thanks for writing. We feel that what probably needs to happen in your case is A. do the appropriate counter poses to the forward stretching, ones which work the psoas muscle. B. be sure to elevate yourself on a folded up blanket, etc. when you are doing a forward stretch. Based on what you told us, we feel that our new title: Kundalini Yoga Solar Power Workout, would be very helpful. Especially the exercise in which you're on your back with your feet flat and knees bent. Either hold your ankles or have your arms by your sides, palms facing down. As you inhale press your navel towards the ceiling. As you exhale press your lower back into the floor. Do this at a moderate pace for 1 - 3. Try this before attempting a forward stretch. If you are doing the Solar Power set, just follow the sequence as given.Also, please note that the placement of your feet as you stand could be causing a problem with your hamstrings. As you stand, be aware of having the weight evenly distributed across the bottoms of your feet. There is a Posture Primer on our Solar Power DVD which we feel will also be very helpful. Please keep us posted.
Afraid of Kundalini / Active Mind
Hi, thank you for your suggestion. I tried the Yoga for Beginners and Beyond over the weekend and have enjoyed it very much. I am waiting for Navel Power to arrive this week. Other than holding the poses for longer and doing a little bit different moves, what is the real difference between Kundalini and other forms of Hatha? A few friends of mine are "afraid" to try it. And also meditation.
I have a very active mind that is all over the place and have thought that meditation might help me, and have been trying some on my own, but am not sure about the next step because of these friends. Any suggestions. I know you have a new Meditation DVD out as well, but I'm skeptical that it may be too much for me. Thanks and regards,
Thanks for writing. The difference between Kundalini and Hatha Yoga is that Hatha Yoga is a form of yoga in which the emphasis is on stretching and centering and improving health. Kundalini Yoga encompasses that and is also a very active form of yoga and has a cardio element. Kundalini Yoga provides a complete physical workout but it's also energy work, the energy of our inner excellence and how we can draw upon that to be healthy and happy, and to excel in the context of the lives we lead. Kundalini Yoga is profoundly multi-dimensional. It helps one to get everything covered and to be great in life!
Re: your friends "afraid," to try Kundalini. They should be more afraid of not doing it! It's imperative these days that people learn how to access energy from the inside. Kundalini Yoga really does provide some necessary tools and pre-requisites for successful living (a strong nervous and glandular system, expanded awareness, etc.) in a very down to earth way. Things that everyone needs everyday.
We think that a good next DVD for you would be Fat Free Yoga. There are two meditations on that title (about 5 min. each), which we feel would be a great place to start. Meditation is an absolute must in the context of the lives we lead. As a balance to non-stop activity, it's really important to recharge and clear out. Don't worry about your mind wandering as you meditate. Just do your best to do the technqiue as given and it will work for you. Also, for happiness to happen, it's really important to feed one's soul. Meditation works on all those levels and more. The meditations on our new Meditation DVD are about 8 - 11 min. (with exteneded versions as well). If you do just one of those once a day it can make a huge difference for you. These technqiues are literally a gift to humanity from the Saints and Sages of the ages. It is an extremely meritorious when one sits down and does these practices. No only that, everyone in your life will receive blessings as well!
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 Mantra for Miracles of Healing & Grace
The concept of miracles is not superstition or magical thinking. Each breath is a miracle. Life itself is a miracle. Miracles happen when we open ourselves to allowing Grace to shape time, space, and circumstance. The prayers and blessings of the Saints invoke the love from above.
Guru Ram Das lived in India in the 1500's. Guru Ram Das means Servant of God. Because of his inner attainments, he was known as King of the Yogis (Raj Yog). He is also considered to be the patron Saint of Kundalini Yoga. When things are down and darkest and you feel that you have no place to turn, the following mantra is the perfect thing to chant with innocence and devotion. Do it for world peace, and for all the people in your life who are in need of healing. Chant this for the people of Haiti, Chile, and for all beings. It can be done in any melody or in a monotone.
Guru Guru Wahay Guru
Guru Ram Das Guru
This means: the Wisdom and Grace the Universe grants to those who in sweet surrender serve Spirit. There is a great version of this on the Sound & Spirit CD which is available on www.raviana.com
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We wish you an exhilarating, joyful March!
 All Best, Ana Brett & Ravi Singh
www.raviana.com / ravianayoga@aol.com
Disclaimer: The advice we give is in no way intended as a substitute for medical counseling. Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program or nutritional protocol
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