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 Sat Nam Dear Yogis! We hope this finds you having an amazing and happy October! Many thanks to all of you who came to our workshops at one | o | one yoga in Carbondale, IL, Delta Groove Yoga in Memphis, and 306 Phoenix House in Tulsa. Small towns Big Hearts!
Astrologically speaking, there is planetary trine happening which is a rare occurrence. We are all awash in vast tides of energies. We have two choices: we can let ourselves be overwhelmed or we can use those energies to make amazing breakthroughs. What a regular Kundalini Yoga/Meditation practice helps us to do is to equalize outer pressure with inner resources. In that beautiful balance we thrive!
We are excited to be on the West Coast (as our new home base for the time being),
Upcoming Workshops and Events
October 18 - 20
Memphis Teacher Training at Delta Groove Yoga Module 6: Methods of the Masters. Explore the "Greatest Hits," of the Saints and Sages of the Ages! You can take this individual module or come to the open class: Sat. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 901.493.1431 / www.deltagrooveyoga.com
October 25 - 27 A New Teacher Training Course Begins in Tulsa
Why Come to Teacher Training in Tulsa? (Let us Count the Ways!)
1. Each of you has a gift which you are meant to use to rock the world. Our Trainings will help you to discover and amplify that gift.
2. Suddenly it's the Aquarian Age, things are changing fast, and Kundalini Yoga is the Yoga of Fast Change!
3. There's someone on the phone for you. It's your Destiny calling!
4. When we intensity our practice we accrue merit for ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world.
5. You will receive a professional accreditation which will position you in the top echelon of the Healing Arts field.
6. Now is the time, and the time is now!
7. You will meet other great people on the Path who will be your friends for life.
8. 306 Phoenix House is the hub of a beautiful community of welcoming, and heart-wide-open people!
Are You Ready for a Breakthrough?
Treat Yourself to a Phone Consultation with Ravi
Ravi has a few openings this month for one on one phone consultations. Do you have specific goals for which you would like to apply the most appropriate inner technology? Would you like some clarity with regard to the person you're meant to be and your Mission on this earth? Do you have an emotional or physical health issue which has resisted your best attempts? Ravi Singh will draw upon his long experience as a Teacher and Spiritual Advisor and provide counseling and a personal Meditation practice for going forward. Each consultation will consist of two phone conversations. The first for fact finding, the second to present Ravi's insights, recommendations, and strategies for going forward. The cost for the overall consultation is 108 dollars. Please reply to this e-mail if you'd like to set up and appointment.
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 Kundalini Quiz! Let's see how much of a Kundalini wizard you really are. Pick the response you feel answers the question in the most all-abiding sense. 1. Which Two Polarities Combines to generate Kundalini?
a) Shakti and Bhakti
b) Yin and yang
c) Body and soul
d) Nerves and glands
2. At Which Chakra Does the Process of Kundalini Begin?
a) Navel Chakra
b) Thousand Petaled Lotus
c) Heart Chakra
c) Root Chakra
3. What are Chakras?
a) Energy distribution centers
b) World views
c) Spinning vortices of prana
d) Nodes in the nadi Network
4. Enlightenment Is:
a) A deep breath
b) Remembering to remember
c) Service with a smile
d) An attitude of gratitude
5. Why Has the Previously Secret Practice of Kundalini Yoga Been Taught Openly in the Last 45 Years?
a) People are greatly in need of something which works
b) History is coming full circle
c) The Powers That Be are Spiritual Santa Clauses
d) Spirit finds a way
6. What's the Number One Meditation in Kundalini Yoga
a) So Darshan Chakra Kriya
b) Inhale Sat exhale Nam
c) Laya Yoga chanting
d) Trishula Kriya
7. What's the Goal of Kundalini Yoga?
a) To be firing on all cylinders b) To be healthy and happy c) To fine tune your frequency d) To be a better citizen
8. How Do You Know When Your Kundalini Has Risen
a) You feel part of All Energy b) You are inspired to go for the gold
c) You feel bigger than life
d) Time and space defer to Grace
9. Kundalini is the Yoga of:
a) Self-Reliance
b) Awareness
c) Nerve Strength
d) Life as we know it 10. Kundalini was/is Practiced by: a) Guru Nanak
b) The Nath Yogis
c) Vincent Van Gogh
d) Sissy Spacek Answers: Congratulations you aced it! You are a Kundalini scholar because every answer was the right one, and here's why.
1. Shakti is energy. Bhakti is devotion. Yin and Yang are Universal constants in an eternal dance of delight. Body and soul need to be reconciled for a life well lived. Our nervous and glandular systems and their corresponding energies need to support the other for Spirit to flow.
2. The Navel sends a burst of energy to the base of the spine. Cosmic energy flows in through the solar center at the top of the head. It's a matching grant. Love transcends all methods. When our finite identity relates to Infinity everything unfolds.
3. Chakras are simultaneously: energy warehouses, the frequency at which we perceive the world, doorways to dimensions, the automatic transmission for the vehicle of life.
4. Enlightenment is not an absolute. It is determined after the fact by our legacy and by the choices we make.
5. In the Aquarian Age "secret," practices are no longer necessary. Freedom is must another word for doing the work required to be healed, uplifted, and inspired.
6. Every Meditation is the Number One Meditation in Kundalini Yoga. It's not the technique which matters so much as the intention, devotion, execution, mastery, and energy you bring to it.
7. The goal of Kundalini Yoga is to help us live in our natural state everyday. We were designed for greatness.
8. Before Kundalini awakening, chop wood, carry water. After Kundalini awakening, create your own inner heat. walk on water (just kidding, possibly!).
9. Kundalini is the Yoga of inner toughness and outer compassion.
10. Guru Nanak revived Kundalini Yoga in the 1400's and taught it to people just like us. The Nath Yogis were traditionally the R & D arm of the yoga world. Vincent Van Gogh didn't get down on the floor and do Frog Pose, but he did translate powerful energies into amazing art. We have it on good authority that Sissy Spacek practices our DVD's!
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DVD's for Focus, Energy, & New Momentum!
Adjusting to the Change of Season
Stretch & Strengthen
Move Your Energy Move Your LIfe!
New Momentum
Focus
To Sparkle and Shine!
Your Yoga Rotation Must Haves
To Love and Be Loved (OUR NEW DVD!)
Our DVD's are also available on
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 All or Nothing?
Dear Ana and Ravi, Thank you so much for helping me to begin my Kundalini Yoga daily practice! I really am feeling happier and healthier! I recently began doing a lot of reading-up on Yogi Bhajan, and I found that he encour- ages students to wake up at about 4 a.m., take a cold shower, wear all white clothing, cover the head during practice, and do the kriyas in the early morning. I have about one hour per day to spend on myself for exercise, and I choose to do Kundalini Yoga. Because I have only this limited amount of time, I so wish to get the maximum benefit from the Kundalini Yoga. However, I feel that if I don't do what Yogi Bhajan advises, that I will only get partial benefit from this technology. He doesn't seem to say that the early rising, cold shower, head covering, all-white clothing and early morning practice is a matter of personal choice, I feel as if Yogi Bhajan is saying that THIS IS how to benefit from this practice. Can I just do the Kundalini Yoga that you offer, and still get the maximum benefit from this wonderful technology, or am I missing out on something by not following the exact method prescribed by Yogi Bhajan? Thank you so much, as always, for your help! Warmly,
It's important to take a step back and see how far you've come, and to appreciate how much your practice has done for you. Healthy and Happy is not too shabby! Please be assured that your Spiritual discipline is a personal thing, and that each person will embrace things which work best for them. Kundalini Yoga is all about whatever you can fit into your life as it is. It doesn't require that you do more than makes sense to you at any given point in your development. Wearing all white, getting up super early, taking a cold shower first thing, and keeping one's head covered, are part of this technology, but it is not necessary to do these things to experience the full range of benefits of Kundalini Yoga. The work on ourselves is a labor of love. If the Teachers we trust highly recommend certain things, we may be inspired to be scientists of Spirit, and to experiment with those things to try to prove to ourselves that the claims made for them are valid. Kundalini Yoga is there to work for you and you never have to feel like its an all or nothing proposition. Everyone is in process and has certain things that are right for them. Finding our Spiritual groove is amazing, but there's always a next level of commitment and self-mastery. Things which seem way beyond you now, very well may become just another day at the office later on, and from there an even greater level beckons! Sat Nam & Blessings!
Major Rut
Dear Ravi and Ana: I've written to you numerous times and you've always been kind enough to respond. I need some encouragement to get back into doing Kundalini Yoga. I have gotten away from a regular practice and now find myself even heavier than before. I'm too tired to exercise. Every time I set out to do KY, I get discouraged because I am unable to do the things/asanas I used to do. Being hypo-thyroid has made me void of enthusiasm, motivation, etc. Can you give me some hope and encouragement to get back to a steady practice? What would you tell someone who continuously sabotages themselves? I try to watch what I eat, drink greens - but have lost desire and will. Kind regards,
When seemingly insurmountable circumstances are arrayed against us, we need to be stealthy stalkers. Stalker in the sense of a hunter. We need to come at our prey obliquely to circumvent inertia and resistance. In this sense, "prey," is the optimum outcome we seek. We feel that the best thing to do right now is a walking Meditation. It's the perfect way to ease back into a Kundalini Yoga practice and start the ball rolling towards slimming down and having more energy. We suggest a daily 20 min. brisk walk chanting out loud, or under your breath, Har Haray Haree, Wahay Guru (seed, flow, completion, ecstasy beyond words). Focus on one point in the distance and don't let yourself be distracted by random happenings around you. When you get home sit on the edge of a chair or sofa, and immediately do some upper body Kundalini Yoga exercises: spine flexes, twists, arms at 60 degress Breath of Fire etc. If you feel so inspired, then do an 11 min. Meditation. In terms of having more energy, remember that once things are in motion they stay in motion. This regimen will help you create positive momentum towards your goals. Kundalini Yoga teaches us that we have everything we need inside of us to shape our lives to our own specifications. We wish you joy, health, and abundant blessings!
Hello Ana and Ravi, I had been doing yoga for a couple of months and loved it, I was happy and was starting to see results. Then I was looking at your yoga archive and it mentioned that yoga goes with a vegan lifestyle. I am not a vegan or vegetarian, that is just not for me. I feel unsure about writing this question, I do not want to offend anyone at all. I think that it is fantastic that you are vegan. My question is, do I need to be a vegan to do yoga? I know this may sound sort of odd, but I found it hard to let go during the relaxation part of my yoga practice, I think to myself that I have let Ana down. I have stopped doing yoga after reading about vegan and yoga, I am not my happy self. I am wondering your opinion about this.
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
It turns out that on my naughty or nice list that you are in line for great presents this year (blessings, energy, and Spirit!) so dust off that yoga mat and break out the smiles! There is no mandatory dietary "ism," for the practice of Kundalini Yoga. Many of our students and Teacher Training graduates are not vegetarians. A vegan diet is often arrived at naturally when our bodies become more subtle through a regular practice. As you progress in your Kundalini Yoga practice you may be inspired to make certain lifestyle adjustments. You don't have to force yourself to do anything. Simply make moves when you feel inspired to. If people you trust and admire recommend something, you may be inspired to experiment with those things to see if the healthy claims they make have validity for you. We do think that a vegan diet is an amazing enhancement of a Kundalini Yoga course. If you ever do decide to embrace a vegan lifestyle, we recommend moving towards veganism by degrees. It all begins with creating a habit of making the healthiest choices possible. Sat Nam & Blessings!
Curious About Enlightenment
Hi, I just read on your newsletter where you say "enlightenment must be earned." And I'm wondering if this is a broad Kundalini Yoga belief or a personal belief. The dasas (guides or monks) from the ashram in India where I have studied, tell us that Enlightenment is a gift and it will be given to us from our personal Divine, and that there is nothing we can do to earn it. I'm curious about the Kundalini Yoga perspective, if there is one. Thanks!
Thanks for your excellent question. We believe that a good analogy for this would be a professional athlete. They are blessed to have God-given gifts which place them in a one in a one hundred thousand demographic, but they also practice constantly to hone their craft to amplify their gifts. We believe that Spiritual insight, attainment, and blessings are gifts of Grace, but we also believe that through our personal efforts: the diligence of our practice, the intensity of our devotion, and the Love we give and share, we can accrue merit and "increase the odds," towards being a recipient of Grace. The Kundalini Yoga tradition states that everything is pre-written in broad strokes, but that the specifics are up to us. It also states that it is possible to rewrite one's Destiny through meritorious deeds and Spiritual practice. We believe that the term "Elightenment," is problematic. In this life there are no absolutes. We are all enlightened, because we have it in our power to make conscious choices. Through the work on ourselves it is possible to become even more enlightened. There is always a next level waiting for us to claim it. We wish you joy, health, and abundant blessings!
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 Meditation of the Month: Isht Sodhana Mantra Kriya
Sit like a perfect yogi in Easy Pose or in a chair, Index fingertips and thumb tips meeting. Apply Root Lock. Lift your chest and keep the back of your neck long, chin in (Neck Lock). Your eyes are 1/10 open looking down and in towards the tip of your nose. (Quotes by Yogi Bhajan) Chant the mantra Dharti Hai. Akash Hai. Guru Ram Das Hai. As you chant Dharti Hai: Visualize, from the navel down, the color of a dark cloud, "As in the dust of the earth. Saints feet have touched the dust of the earth. Perhaps you will be blessed to touch the very dust they walked upon. You have been elevated to the consciousness of having a human body, a human vessel." As you chant Akash Hai From the eyebrows upwards, "Visualize the most beautiful sky blue, rich, royal and light; the unlimited ether, the vast heavens. Royal blue; totally open and free in all directions." "The secret is to hold the image of the grey and the blue at the same time. Hold them both; hold the polarity." As you chant Guru Ram Das Hai meditate at your Heart Center (sternum). "See an absolutely bright, white, radiant light, shining, penetrating all of the above and below. This is the movement of compassion, the manifestation. This is your presence, the reality of the present." Begin with 11 min. and slowly work up to 31 min. over time. This can be done any time of day but the best time to do this Meditation is at sunset, or in the evening. To End: Inhale, hold the breath and visualize the grey of the earth, the blue of the ethers, and your innocence and compassion. Exhale, Inhale as you stretch your arms up and shake them. Relax the breath and meditate at the brow with long light breathing, for at least one min. before resuming normal activity. Comments by Yogi Bhajan: "Isht is to have the concrete God, the realization. Sodhana means to purify or straighten you out ... to have the realization of "you," the God. This Meditation straightens out "you," the God. Become immersed in the sound of the mantra. If you honestly practice this Meditation, your intention manifests even if you forgot you had it, or even if later you don't know you wanted it! This Meditation gives you the frequency to know before the act with your intuition ... as a sadhu (accomplished yogi). As a sadhu, it is to be practiced at sunset for 40 days to obtain the Siddhis. It may be practiced for 40, 90, or 120 days.
"My dear ones, you want your prayers to be effective. You want your ultimate destiny to manifest. This kriya can do it. I know there are thousands of kriyas that we do, but it just takes one done well and this is the one for isht sodhana to manifest." |
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Ana on Twitter - Tweet! Tweet! Be the recipient of Ana's 1000 Tweets for Health and Happiness in 2013!
Our Website - Check out our tour schedule, A - Z Health Archive, More!
Ana on Linkedin - One more way to connect - Linkedin! Join us there!
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We wish you an exhilarating, fun, and joyful October
Sat Nam & Blessings!
Ana Brett & Ravi Singh
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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