Cravings and Cures Oh My! 

If you find yourself in a vicious circle in which the need for sugar, carbs, drugs, alcohol, or an any other over- indulgence seem to rule your life, the first thing we want to say, there is hope! Learning to get a handle on "cravings," food and otherwise, is a giant step towards health, balance, and making the most of the incredible gift of this life.   

Cravings are often signs of a hormonal imbalance, emotional issue, or a brain chemistry imbalance. Bottom line: cravings can be cured!

Willpower is only part of the equation. If you have gotten to the place where you constantly have to fight a battle with yourself over the in-the-moment need for something, you are either in process (so Keep Up!) or, it may be that something needs to be adjusted. 

That said, to even get to the place where you can put the brakes on ,and start to implement some of the positive changes we're advocating, Navel Power is needed. Navel (chakra) energy is the default setting for personal change.  

 
Food and drug cravings often indicate that the body is getting mixed signals. When we are fatigued or depressed, have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin, the body signals the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. In that sense, cravings are simply a matter of interpretation! 

How to break this vicious cycle? To reduce food cravings change your diet, add appropriate supplements, get enough high quality sleep and do your Kundalini Yoga practice. A daily Kundalini Yoga practice gives you the means to live off your own energy and will also address those deep seated emotional issues which often are the basis for cravings. 

Your metabolism will heal itself when provided the necessary support. Be patient and you will turn the tide! Foods/supplements which will help reduce cravings are: a few raw nuts between meals, oats, healthy fats, L-Glutamine, and Chromium picolinate.   Remember, stress not only comes from working too hard, it also comes from eating and imbibing things which aren't good for us. Even though we feel justified, it still creates karma and health issues as well. We owe it to ourselves and the people in our lives to do the right thing for ourselves.    

Many cravings emanate from a need to be anywhere else but here. It's under- standable that we would want to escape because we're trying to get some place real! What's real is our Spiritual practice and the authenticity it delivers us to. As we always point out, everything contains its opposite. If you smoke you need to breathe. If you crave sweets, it's important to open yourself to the sweetness of life. If you crave coffee, a more sublime pick-me-up is in order (Kundalini Yoga!). If you crave attention from the opposite sex, give your Self some attention. It will validate you back in profound ways. If you crave power, learn to surrender. If you crave wealth and fame support the people in your life. You can't receive what you've never given. If you have a yearning, but are still not certain what you're yearning for, take a moment everyday to luxuriate in the fragrance of the inner. As Buddha said, all desire is suffering. We paid the price of personal suffering for admission to this beautiful world and the acute in the moment awareness of living. The more we learn to be presently present, the more timeless we become. Desire to be higher!   

There are many positive things we can aspire to be addicted to. These serve as a viable alternative to whatever lesser things we crave. Try the Nectar of the Name! That means to pick your favorite mantra and rock it! Do it all the time, while you're walking, driving, preparing food, etc. Do it as a formal meditation and as an enjoyable diversion. You will find that the negative habit patterns will fall away of their own accord. All you will crave is more of that inner sweetness and that is an indulgence which will reward you forever. Throughout history, many ordinary people, just like all of us, have become extraordinary Masters simply by imbibing the Nectar of the Name!

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Top 10 Kundalini Meds 

Hi! Could you please talk about the benefits for the Rewrite the Book of Your Life on your Meditation DVD. Also, what are the top 10 Meditations in Kundalini Yoga.  

1. So Darshan Chakra Kriya (on Yoga Bliss Hips, Yoga Quick Fixes, Yoga House Call) - for emotional healing, karmic cleansing, self-purification. (under "S" on the A-Z Health Archive on raviana.com). 

2. Kirtan Kriya (Sa-Ta-Na-Ma) (on Yoga Quick Fixes, Yoga House Call) - for emotional healing and inner and outer harmony. (variations of Sa-Ta-Na-Ma on Yoga Beauty Body and Fat Free Yoga)

3. Long Ek Ong Kars (on Am/Pm Yoga) to balance and open the chakras, clear karma, and be one with the Universe.

4. Ganpati Kriya (under "G" on A-Z Health Archive on www.raviana..com) - for positive outcomes and personal breakthroughs. To tune the lines of the world so that your life can be melodious. 

5. Rewrite the Book of Your Life (a.k.a. Trishula Kriya) (on our

Meditation for Beginners & Beyond). To vanquish a fate, align yourself with a more propitious time line, be fearless, become a Healer, and resolve inner anger.

6. Wahay Guru Wahay Guru Wahay Guru Wahay Jio, eight times per breath. To live your Spiritual Destiny and to balance and enhance brain functioning.

8. Deep Meditation into Stillness (on our Meditation for Beginners & Beyond) - to master your mind and achieve inner peace.

9. Chanting Har Haray Haree Wahay Guru - for Divine Knowledge, creativity, and self-healing.

10. All and Everything Meditation (on our Meditation for Beginners & Beyond) - for mental focus, to be a Healer, and to open the Third Eye.

                               Yoga Travels 

In about two weeks my sister, neice, mom and I are all going to California to Disneyland! Thing is, I don't really want to pack any of my DVD's because I could see them being stolen when they're out of my reach. So, what I'm wondering is if there are any certain excercises I could do in a small space that might amount up to 30 mins, to carry on my kundalini practice to keep up my energy for the days while on vacation? I will be doing it in the morning, since we'll be closing the parks and I'll probably end up falling into bed each night. I just don't want to give up my practice for four days!So if there are any specific ones you can suggest that would be awesome! Also, on a side note - i'm very nervous when riding in airplanes. Is there a specific mantra I could use while meditating before I get on the airplane to calm me?

We suggest that you write down the Basic Spinal Series from Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond and then pick a meditation from any of our DVDs and do that as well. If you have our AM/PM Yoga you can also write down the Morning Wake Up Series and do that with a meditation on alternate days! While you are flying you can do this meditation: Have your back molars contacting, underside of the tongue on the upper palate. Eyes 1/10th open looking down and in towards the tip of the nose, chin pulled back, back of the neck long. In a moderate to slow pace, pulse the mantra Sa Ta Na Ma on an upward angle out the brow. This will make your flying experience very fruitful! It will help you experience Disneyland before you even get there lol! 

                         Breath of Fire Fat Buster  

Hello! I just want to say that I have several of your DVD's and I'm currently working on the Boot Camp and the Dance with the Chakras, and I absolutely love them both. Does the breath of fire help with a sluggish metabolism?

                                      Focus on Focus

Hi Ana and Ravi -- I now have 10 of your DVD's -- love 'em all! I'm 56 and I find that as I age, my concentration level is really low -- my mind is all over the place while I'm in the middle of an exercise or supposed to be meditating. I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat later and how I'm going to fix it, what movie I'm going to watch, etc. I used to be able to focus much better but lately my thoughts seem to continuously whirl around in my head. Any suggestions? Thanks --  

Thanks for writing and congratulations on keeping up with your Kundalini Yoga practice! Here are some possible reasons for what you are describing:

A) When more energy is present it is harder to concentrate, but if you do keep your focus the benefits are magnified exponentially. Navel Power should help with this.

                   Heal Yourself & Heal the World!  

If you were organizing a benefit for a good cause, think about how helpful it would be if you had the phone number for a super-celebrity whose presence could really make a difference. Say you called Bruce Springsten and made your ptich. He might actually do it! Well, here's the phone number for a Spiritual Celebrity, who never has a scheduling conflict and wants to actively further every good cause!  

Guru Guru Wahay Guru Guru Ram Das Guru 

Guru Ram Das is known as the Master of Miracles and Bestower of Blessings. Use this mantra to pray for all the people who are suffering now and the Universe will pray for you. Guru Guru Wahay Guru Guru Ram Das Guru means the Wisdom and Grace the Universe Grants to those who serve Spirit. This is a mantra of World Peace and Grace for all beings. We have the power to generate miracles for one another.  

Note: When we chant this mantra we are not calling upon a person or personality but on the God-like qualities which are inside of all of us and which a great Master, through noble inner endeavor, was able to embody. There is a good version of this on our Ultimate Stretch DVD. It's also on our Sound & Spirit CD.