Everyday Yoga – Some Esoteric Mysteries In Practical
Use!
One of the things I love about Kundalini yoga is that there
are many different ‘sets’ or ‘kriyas’
of exercises, each with a very distinct effect. It feels
a bit like recipes, or cooking – if you need to open
the heart, use this! If you feel afraid, use this!
If you need to purify the liver, use this! It effectively
makes a handy toolkit of techniques that can be used and applied
in many practical ways, which is kind of fun! So here
goes, I want to share some with you...
Awakened Kundalini Kundalini is the coiled snake –
energy coiled like a spring at the base of the spine, ready
to awaken and surge up the entire spine to the top of the
head – symbol of the awakened being. In Kundalini
yoga this happens naturally and gently as part of the practise.
No sudden drastic awakenings here! You just wake up
one day and find your higher self talking to you. (What
joy!) The idea is to connect to earth through the base
(perineum), and to spirit through the crown of the head.
Energy then effectively flows from spirit, directly through
you, into the ground. Spirit’s ideas for you,
manifesting directly into reality. You become a channel
for divinity. Wow!
Before you begin, and throughout... Begin sitting comfortably
cross-legged in a quiet space. The spine is straight
(enables the energy flow) as if being pulled by a string from
the top of the head, yet the shoulders, all the body, is relaxed.
The mouth is closed, breathing is through the nose.
Eyes are closed, focused at the 3rd eye (about 2cm above bridge
of nose). Mantra: mentally repeat the mantra ‘SAT
NAM’ (truth is my name) – as you inhale, think
‘Sat’; exhale, think ‘Nam’.
Notice any thoughts that arise and simply release them and
return to the mantra/meditation.
CHAKRA* JOURNEY – an experience of the different energy
centres of the body, and why you might want to go there...
BASE MEDITATION (connection to earth, dark red, perineum)
Good any time you feel ‘floaty’, ungrounded, need
to get back to reality, or feel unworthy.
Imagine a red root growing from your base chakra (perineum),
deep into the earth. Feel unclean energy releasing through
the root, and fresh energy rushing in.
SACRAL MEDITATION (flow, femininity, change, orange) Good
for when you feel stuck or rigid, boring, need new ideas.
Choose a relaxing place near running water (the bath?).
Play some lyrical music, and dance. To begin, focus
on moving your feet, then your knees, legs, belly, and so
on, up to your head, until you are moving all your body.
Start to flow – relax! Carry these fluid movements
into your day. Feel... joyous! And laugh!
NAVEL MEDITATION (Power, action, clarity, yellow) This is
good to use any time you feel afraid, nervous, or confused
– it will bring you straight back into your power, whap!
Breathe in, hold the breath, and pump the stomach muscles
in and out as hard as you can and for as long as you can.
Release the breath, inhale and repeat. Continue three
minutes if you can. To end, inhale, exhale, feel your
power, radiate yellow light from navel.
HEART MEDITATION (Love, pink/green). Good for any time you
feel ‘not good enough’. Also for soothing,
healing when sad or upset.
Place right hand on your heart and left hand on top (have
rose quartz or malechite in hand if you wish). Imagine a lovely
pink rose opening there. Imagine falling in love with
yourself. Feel completely loved.
THROAT MEDITATION (creative expression, communication, blue).
Good for when you feel blocked creatively, or need to communicate/understand
clearly.
Breathe in, and start to hum. Make any sound you like.
Continue to play with making sounds for three minutes if you
can. ANY sound is ok, as long as it pleases YOU! To
end, reflect on how it felt.
BROW MEDITATION (vision, purple). Good for when you
don’t know the way to go, feel lost, need inspiration.
Breathe in and imagine a beautiful purple lotus flower opening
at your brow. See every petal unfurl. Now rotate
the lotus in your mind, noting every detail. Continue
for three minutes, then inhale deeply and relax.
CROWN MEDITATION (connection to spirit, white/gold).
Good for when you need to energise, need guidance, wisdom.
Breathe in, suck energy up the back of your body, from toes
to head. Exhale, push energy down the front of the body.
Continue for three minutes, then exhale and push the energy
shower out the top of your head. Work at it –
sweat! Feel golden white light showering all around
you, refreshing and cleansing.
Inhale, sit quietly, and relax. Note what comes to you.
Refreshing the Eyes
Cover your eyes with your palms. Open your eyes.
Now slowly move your hands away from your eyes, staring into
palm centres. Good for the eyesight, and also a graceful
way to come out of deep meditation – or to wake up in
the morning!
Wake up!
Another ‘wake up’ is simply to rub the palms together
and rub the soles of the feet together (easiest when lying
on your back in bed having just woken). Will bring you
back to the land of the living!
Desktop Stress Buster
A handy relaxation technique you can use anywhere, even at
work. With spine straight, drop the head forward, then
angle it back and right, and rotate head slowly. It
should take 8 1/2 seconds to get all the way round.
Continue rotating for 1-3 minutes. Then gently drop
the head forward again, angle back and left and go the other
way. It’s ok if you hear clicks and crunches as
kinks in the neck get ironed out. Brings instant calm
and also a sense of one’s own preciousness.
For Prosperity, Personal Power, Focus
With straight spine, have hands in prayer pose, pressed together
at the sternum. The spine and body are relaxed.
Repeatedly chant the sound ‘Har’ continuously
at a moderate pace. As you chant, the mouth is open
as if in a three quarter yawn. The lips don’t
move, just the tongue. The ‘r’ of ‘Har’
is trilled slightly so the tongue hits the top of the palate.
Pull your navel in slightly at each sound repetition.
Time open.
Youthfulness, Lengthening Life
Sit with legs straight out in front of you, then bring right
heel in to the groin. Reach forward and grasp the toes
of your extended leg (if you can, or if not, just reach as
far down the leg as possible, without straining). Continue
stretch with long deep breathing for 3 minutes, then gently
come out of it, change sides and repeat. Do every day
to lengthen your life!
Awareness of Sun/Moon – avoiding sickness
Did you know that we breathe predominantly through either
left, or right nostril, in a cycle which changes every four
hours? Discover which side you are using now, by closing
each nostril in turn and noticing which open one feels easier
to breathe through. Left is Moon/feminine/receptivity.
Right is Sun/masculine/action. Try changing the side
you are breathing through, notice how it feels. Yogi
Bhajan (the Kundalini guru) suggests immediately changing
sides any time you feel sickness coming on, to nip it in the
bud. Let me know how you get on!
*According to ancient yogic systems, chakras are energy centres
in the body, spaced along the spine from base (perineum) to
the crown (top of the head). Each has a rainbow colour
from red through white and each should be open and spinning
if your energy is properly balanced and flowing.
NEXT ISSUE: Illusions and stories. Pulling the
veil aside to discover what’s really real for you.
Jeli Lala created the ‘Ashram of Jewellery and Art’
– Gifts, Crystals, Tarot, Art, Healing, Café
- at no. 1, Sukma St., Tebesaya, Ubud (opposite Jazz Café),
with husband, Putu S. She has studied yoga and other
spiritual practices for over ten years. She writes “In
this column, I share some of my personal experiences and spiritual
methods – hopefully, you’ll find this interesting,
and maybe it will give some ideas for your own journey.
Come visit!”
Jeli welcomes comments and may be contacted on:
Email: jelila@jelila.com
Website: www.jelila.com or www.imagine-retreats.com
