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HAPPY DECEMBER! We are devoting this issue of our newsletter to the concept of Flexibility. We had a friend once point to a picture of Ana in Wheel Pose and say, "I feel if I could just do that, everything in my life would be okay." We all laughed, but there is some truth in the fact that how we exist in our bodies is a metaphor for what our life can become. Of course, if physical flexibility were the hallmark of an enlightened being, then contortionists would be considered the Great Spiritual icons of our age! The key then, is to find balance. Flexible in body so that energy can flow. Flexible in mind so that we can be open to the next great thing on our personal paths. Flexible in being so that our Spirits can soar! See our Top Ten Tips for True Flexibility below...
We want to express our special thanks to all of you who attended our New England Retreat in Chester, CT. Being able to gather together like this is a great gift! We had an incredible event due to the amazing collaboration of yogis sharing their very special and joyful energies with the group! We were also blessed with one of those amazingly perfect autumnally leafy and sunny NE weekends! Very special thanks to Sal Annunziato for bringing his guitar and rocking our Saturday night as we chanted uplifting and healing mantras. We are planning retreats in other part of the country for this Spring and Summer 2011. Stay tuned!
We've been busy this December working on two new DVD projects and of course our book. We hope to be making an "official" announcement, re: release dates soon! Meanwhile, here's our teaching schedule for the next two months:
Memphis Kundalini Yoga Bootcamp
Dec. 3rd- 5th: Give Yoga Memphis: This is our final Kundalini Yoga Bootcamp of 2010!!!! (This is a part of a Teacher Training but everyone is welcome to attend!) No matter what your level of yoga expertise there is nothing like immersing yourself in lots and lots of old school Kundalini Yoga including some rarely taught kriyas from Yoga Bhajans early days to give your life a total boost and live your greatness!!! Contact: Olivia Lomax 901.493.1431 / olivialomax@yahoo.com www.giveyogamemphis.com
Ana & Ravi in Naples, FL this January!
Come in out of the cold! What could be better than sunny Naples, FL in January? Kundalini Yoga in sunny Naples , FL in January! Why not plan a vacation around these workshops!
Fri. January 21st, 2011: Naples, FL - Bija Yoga
Healing the Healer (for Yoga Teachers and Holistic Practitioners)
971 3rd Avenue N / 6 - 7:30 p.m. / $45
contact: Jamie Shane 239.200.0600 / www.bijayoga971.com
Sat. January 22nd, 2011 Naples, FL - Bala Vinyasa Yoga
The Diamond Body - 1:30 - 3:30 - $50 / 6200 Trail Blvd North
www.bvyoga.com / 239-598-1938
Newsletter Archive
We now have our past newsletters archived. To read past newsletters just click on this link: RAVIANA NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE |
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 Top Ten Flexibility SecretsIntro: Once I (Ravi) happened to hear two women talking about Ana after a workshop Ana and I had taught. They said, 'Oh, well she used to be a dancer, that's why she's so flexible and has such a great body.' The definition of Kundalini Yoga is What Works, so if there is a certain type of training which is more effective shouldn't we all be doing that instead? The fact of the matter is that it's not what we do, it's how we do it which decides results. Here are some important principles which you can use to inform your yoga practice for great gains on the inner and outer planes!
1. Alignment: Before you even sidle onto your yoga mat, you can help to keep your body flexible throughout the day just by paying attention to your alignment. Monitor yourself often for holding/tensing patterns. Lengthen up and sit tall in your chair. This will help to keep a broad chest so that you can fill your lungs with deep flexifying breaths as well as maintaining full range of motion in your joints, which is a big part of what defines flexibility. Also, paying attention to the lines of your body while stretching is crucial! Your body is a smart cookie and won't do something it does not deem safe. So if things are not lined up as they should be your body will put the brakes on! Thanks body!
2. Gravity and the breath. If you find that you are holding your breath, or that your breath is becoming ragged or uneven in a pose, it means you've gone too far too fast.
This is like slipping on ice to the bod. It tenses right up! The thing to do is slow down, back out of your stretch just a little, relax, and let the breath and gravity (using gravity means letting your muscles relax so that your weight can work for you rather than against you)) do the work for you! Only a relaxed, breathing body can gain flexibility! Breath is awareness. By tuning into the breath, proper form for every pose becomes self-evident. Proper breathing will keep your body feeling safe and willing to go just a little further (and, very soon, a lot further!) into your poses!
3. Emotional release (Transformer Workout). Tension in our bodies keeps us prisoners of the past. Flexibility is the future, in which all possibilities are open to us. How to let go? Open yourself to opening. As you do your Kundalini Yoga practice give breath and movement free reign. Practice the art of fearless surrender. Let energy weave its golden threads through your body, nerves, and psyche. Kundalini Yoga is the science of angles and triangles. Free up tension in the joints and project out from the core through the extremities.
One of the most important aspects of flexibility is an open solar plexus. This is where flexibility begins! The solar plexus is called the "seat of emotions." In the warm-ups on all of our DVD's we focus on opening the solar plexus (Solar Power Workout) before anything else. This is where flexibility begins. Then it expands out through the extremities. The Solar Plexus is the hub of the nervous system. This is the center from which we developed in the womb. Yoga says that a developing fetus/baby performs all the basic 108 yoga poses throughout the cycle of gestation. In addition, when the solar plexus is open we are able to breathe properly and "take in," new information. For true flexibility, monitor your solar plexus constantly.
4. An alkaline body is normally a happy, healthy, energized and flexible body! The ideal would be to eat a diet which consists of about 75% alkanizing foods (water rich i.e., greens, fruits, etc... ). An acidic body tends to be rigid and tight with an increased propensity for everything from inflammation and arthritis, to premature aging and weight gain!
5. Balance:
A. We need to balance our flexibility with equal amounts of strength. That's why yoga is so special because that equation is exactly what yoga does so well. Take for just one example the Up Dog to Down Dog flow in our 5 Tibetan Rites (Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond). You are working on upper and lower body strength, conditioning the core, and stretching/lengthening every muscle of your entire front and back bodies, as well as your fascia and nerves (hello life nerve!). As an added bonus you are building bone density and massaging your digestive system and internal organs. This one exercise is actually a snapshot of all yoga! Don't you love yoga??
B. Some machines are programmed to automatically shut off if they're not on level ground. Our pelvis is designed to keep us level. Many people are certain that one leg is shorter than the other, when in fact it's really a pelvic misalignment. Quick check: When on your back, check that both sides of your pelvis are touching the floor equally.
There is a Posure Primer on our Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free which is very helpful for guiding you towards a balanced pelvis.
C. Also, work complimentary muscle groups. Back bends plus forward stretches equal suppleness (although sometimes a twist is the perfect transition between the two to calm & equalize the spine). Extend this concept into your life: work/play, activity/rest, celebration/discipline, talking/listening, going after things/letting things come to you, control/surrender...you get the idea.
 6. It's common myth that age makes us less flexible. It's what we do, or don't do, over time which makes like either a palm frond or a piece of beef jerky! If we're sitting all day, our bodies forget that they have a full range of motion. We are as flexible as our spines our flexible, and as young as our spines are flexible. Our propreoceptive nervous systems represent the set point for our range of motion. Long periods of being sedentary disrupt our range of motion. Our body forgets its capacity and resists when we suddenly decide to ask it to do more. Then we have to be brave and be persistent to get back to where our flexible state.
7. Stay hydrated. The fascia, the body's network of connective tissue, has been called liquid crystal. The fascia depends on a moisture balance. If it dries up, our bodies get tight (remember the beef jerky visual!). When we get sick or stressed, our fascia tightens. Counter with lots of water and a water rich diet (see #4) and stay younger longer.
8. Careful!: we can over-stretch, hyper extend, or become contortionists and still not gain any real flexibility. Contortionists go the extra mile by actually popping their joints out of their sockets. Unless you are planning to join the circus or really want to put on an exciting show for the relations during the holidays, we definitely advise against this! We can stretch ourselves right out of our sockets and then we are only decreasing stability in the joints! We advise thinking "length" instead of "stretch." This means, for example, extending out through the heels while sucking the thighbones into the sockets (the arms work likewise). Feels sort of like pulling on long stockings...pulling up strongly while pushing the foot away...This will also engage the core and give you the longest most beautiful lines.
9. Intention: Energy follows intention! Just as our flexible golfer demonstrates above, the body will do what is required of it if our intention is strong enough. A baby becomes expert at forward bending in the womb. When its born, its curiosity and desire that has a baby developing its back bending by pushing up into cobra pose to see whats going on! A baby gradually pushes into Down Dog and in fact goes through the whole range of poses in sun salutation as it learns to walk! You can bring this concept of curiosity and intention into your own practice. Remember, energy follows intention! So set your intention and go for it!
10. Keeping the above principle in mind, cultivate a regularKundalini Yoga practice (should've been #1 on this list!)! Ultimate Stretch Workout, Yoga for Beginners & Beyond: Stretch, Strengthen, Be Stress Free, Yoga Bliss Hips, Yoga Quick Fixes (So Long Sciatica), and Yoga House Call(Anti Arthritis) Yoga Beauty Body, among many others which are superb flexibility enhancers.
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 Questions
of
the Month
Dog Eat Dog Work Environment
Dear Ana & Ravi. I've been extremely stressed at work. I'm in a VERY competitive sales environment and it's basically "dog-eat-dog". I get very angry, stressed, and upset with my coworkers and the injustice that is done in that environment. Would be much nicer if we could rotate sales, but that doesn't happen. I feel like I'm gonna go "over the edge". What are the best DVDs to do to deal with this? I need to get thru this Holiday Season. I have everything from Ravi/Ana. thanks so much We are sorry to hear that you are going through a stressful time. There is a negative irony in this kind of situation. Basically, the more stress we're under, the more deserving we are of other people's consideration and concern, but what actually happens is the opposite. Stress begets stress, and it also compromises our individual magnetic fields, so that when we're under stress people actually give us less consideration! So, there are two approaches which we suggest simultaneously. The first is to fight fire with fire and amp up your personal power quotient. We suggest that you practice the Navel Power DVD (2 - 4x per week) and do the meditation on it for 11-22 min. daily. The second approach is to work from the inside out. When we change our inner state, our outer circumstances transform. Try practicing the PM breathing Meditation on Am/Pm Yoga 11-31 min. before bed. When you are in the throes of stress and feel like you are "going over the edge," use all the discipline you can muster to find a quiet place (even your car if necessary) and do this technique which is part of the Breath Series on our Meditation DVD: interlace your fingers over your solar plexus, and breathing very long and light, inhale through puckered lips and exhale through your nose. To it for as long as it takes for you to feel better. This will also change the energy around you, from aggressive and negative, to calm and positive. You may not realize it now, but sometimes situations like the one you find yourself in, prove in retrospect to be blessings in disguise because they force us to be watchful and proactive with our inner and outer lives. Ultimately, if you feel that your work environment is untenable, it would probably behoove you to consider finding a more supportive work environment. Keep your intention strong! Try to accept this set of circumstances as a living challenge, and against all odds, see this as an opportunity to grow. After you've completed all the "assignments," given above, try working with the Ganpati Kriya meditation (under "G" on the A-Z Health Archive on www.raviana.com). That one opens up positive flow and brings new opportunities. Please keep us posted. We wish you joy. health, and many blessings! Grief/Grievance
Could you consider future DVD practices to cover grievances, am needing something to help me deal with a loss in my family. I am sure there may be other people who might find this useful.
We are very sorry to hear of your loss. We know how difficult it is to lose a family member. A DVD which assists in the grieving process is a great idea. Meanwhile, any and all of Kundalini Yoga will help you through this difficult time. I (Ana) was deep in grief a couple of times this year and what helped me, besides keeping up my regular practice, was to remind myself how best to help loved ones pass on. Grief is an emotion we all experience and something which is an important part of the process of letting go, but it makes sense to me that we should temper our grief with the understanding that excessive emotions can make it quite difficult for a loved one to leave us, not only in the dying stage but, energetically, after they have passed on while their soul is still waiting to make the journey. One of the greatest gifts we can give someone who has passed on, is to help them on their journey by not letting our emotions keep their spirit bound to this plane. Therefore the very best thing we can do for someone who has passed is to be neutral. We should remember that all things come from God and all things go to God. We should affirm this to ourselves and to the soul of the person who has passed on.
An amazing gift you can give to a departed soul is to pray and meditate on their behalf. In this way your Kundalini Yoga practice will take on added poignancy at this time.
Negative Family Karma
Hello - I wanted to share with you as this was such a profound experience that I had in yoga class the other day which has totally changed my opinion of the benefits of conducting Meditation but, I need some additional guidance please. It all started when I had gone to see a spiritual healer type guy - because for years now I have just been plagued with constant bad luck - not the kind where I play the lottery and don't win - but, more in overall life areas - and not just me but, my whole family. so, the spiritual advisors comment for my bad luck was that you have all this bad karma and that is why things are rough etc. etc. etc.
Then I was in yoga class yesterday and our teacher walked us thru all these poses and then at the end we have a medidation - and I had the STRANGEST experience - I literally felt something leave my body!! It was soooo
strange - and me a non believer in meditation - when it comes to meditation I've always been like its just a bunch of mambo jambo chanting stuff. BUT, then after the kriya our teacher told us that the particular meditation we
had just done helps remove bad karma - it was such a shock to me - and a clear indication that there are profound effects to performing medidation. So, my question to you is can you please recommend kriyas that will allow me to continue on my passage at home - the kriya that we did in class I believe was the Ek Onkaara Satnama Wahe Guru. Which of your DVD's would be most beneficial (I have all of them and do try to use the Chakra balancing one quiet often) any other dvd's on meditation that you can recommend.
THANK YOU so much!!!
Thanks for writing. You are correct in that it is possible for a whole family to have a strain of negative karma and that by doing Spiritual practices each of us has it within our power to lessen or eliminate a "family curse," for all involved. Group/family karma is a real phenomena, It may be that, quite often, family units, extended families, employees of a certain company, citizens of a city or even country, have come together to fulfill a task or be given the opportunity to grow in a certain way. Also, it may be that the people we surround ourselves with in life have suffered a similar type of emotional wounding or are at similar stages in their emotional/spiritual development. And of course there is the concept of group karma over lifetimes.
There is a story of the grandson of a great Rebbe (Spiritual Master in the Jewish Hasidic tradition) who lived in Paris in the 1920's. The grandson lived a dissolute lifestyle. Nevertheless, everything came to him, seemingly effortlessly. It may be that the Spiritual blessings of the Grandfather were broadcast down through the family line At a certain point though, the grandson's luck turned and he lost everything. The moral of the story is that if we don't replenish our karmic credit, it will eventually run out.
What some people call the "fear of God," is actually the recognition that we need to be accountable to the rules of the game. Fear of God, is an interim stage which serves as a stepping stone to the Awareness of God. The Karmic calculus is not strictly a gain and loss proposition. That's a Navel Chakra take on things which compels out of a kind of fear. We want to raise our Awareness to the Heart, which impels from a place of Love.
Many of the techniques on our DVD's are very powerful for turning karma into blessings! These include the "Morning Call" Meditation (Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wahay Guru) on Am/Pm Yoga. The Rewrite the Book of Your Life Meditation on our Meditation for Beginners & Beyond DVD, and the So Darshan Chakra Kriya Meditation on Yoga Bliss Hips, Yoga House Call, and Yoga Quick Fixes. Also, the mantra chant on Warrior Workout (Har 4x Gobinday, Mukunday,...). These are all karma burners (and blessing providers) par excellence. Practice any of these with intensity and devotion and you will turn everything around for yourself and the people in your life. We wish you joy, health, and infinite blessings!
Navel Revelation
Sat Nam dear Ana and Ravi ♥ I am a student Kundalini Yoga Teacher in London. Also, I have lower back problems and have been wanting to do navel work for some time, but have found Nahbi Kriya etc way too strong for me. Your dvd (Fat Free Yoga) was a revelation as I could actually do it without being in pain. It feels like it could really help and build up my back muscles so that I can then go on to do some serious navel work. Bless you for sharing and your love & compassion, With thanks and endless light,
Congratulations on your insights! Re: working the Navel. We always cite Navel Chakra work, as the missing ingredient in many people's halting attempts to transform. Much of the Navel Chakra work in Kundalini Yoga is actually somewhat advanced and needs to be done correctly, so be sure to be systematic and progress slowly. The simple, often heard, injunction "keep your lower back pressing into the floor," is a good start for developing mindfulness with regard to feeling the muscles meant to be working, but these additional prompts, we have found, are actually more accurate with regard to what needs to happen for abdominal exercises to be done safely and effectively: When doing abdominal work always keep the lower back ribs pressing into the floor, Thinking about lengthening the tailbone towards the heels. An inward rotation of the thighs helps to keep the work centered on the muscles which should be engaging. Be aware of the psoas muscle which runs alongside the lower spine: "suck it in" to the bone. Try not to tuck the pelvis, but keep both sides of the pelvis flat against the floor. That also helps you to be more aware of the abdominals. Most importantly, if you don't feel your abdominal muscles engaging, or if your hip flexors try to do the work, then it's imperative to modify the exercise. We wish you joy, health, and infinite blessings!
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Meditation of the Month
This mantra is considered to be the "lost sutra," of Pantanjali, the great sage who was the first to codify and distill the teachings of yoga in written form in history as we know it. As we move towards the winter solstice, when the light wanes and our subconscious minds with their dark forebodings, are closest to the surface, we need a boost of positivity and illumination. This mantra is the perfect thing. It contains everything. It's all inclusive. As you chant it you are vibrating worlds, universes, dimensions, and probabilities. Chant it any way you can. Find a personal melody which wells up from your soul. During this holiday season, let it be a prayer (or personal Noel!) for all those who are suffering and despairing of hope. It will seem a bit complicated and funny sounding at first, but persevere and let billions of blessings cascade like snowflakes over the landscape of your life!
 Wah yantee
Kar yantee
Jag-a dut-a patee
Aadak it-a waahaa
Brahmaa day
Treyshaa guru
It-a Wahay Guru
Translation: Great Macroself, Creative Self. Divine Mother, Infinitely creative in the fullness of time. Indescribable! Endless! Infinite God and his three great rays (gurus): Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. All of these aspect of Creation are contained in Wahay Guru (indescribable ecstactic experience/wisdom which brings us from darkness to light)!
In our lives, opportunities, blessings, and beauty abound, but we are so wrapped up in our self-interest, and limiting concepts, and nagging desires, that we are not present or receptive to these gifts of grace. Our restlessness, fantasies, and preoccupations keep us imprisoned in of our bodies and minds. All too often, we forgot to reconnect with the beauty of Self. This is the essential problem of the human condition. Doing our Kundalini practice everyday reconnects us.
There are three powers of Creation: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, which relate to the Universe as Self-Generating. Self-Organizing. and Evolving. This is the mantra of that Universal triad. Yogi Bhajan said, "Whosoever recites this mantra subconsciously or unconsciously, can create these three things at will. Try to understand the power of these words. You know, once the mantra comes to you, subconsciously or uncon-
sciously, and you become your mantra, it's called siddh (Spiritual attainment granted through discipline or as a gift of grace), then your life is a creative endeavor. You begin to manifest beautiful environments, healing on all levels for yourself and the world, the inner resources to excel, and outer resources and insight to live gracefully."
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We wish you an exhilarating, joyful December!
 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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