Hi all,
I just have a question- as a beginner, is it ok to just do a 40 day practice of some meditations? I am doing the nabhi kriya as often as I can, but have committed to do two meditations for 40 days. I know I can do that. I don't want to bite off too much, and it seems that the meditations are more important?
I so want to be "good" at this. I said that wrong. I want to be experienced, and I want to begin to feel the benefits of conscious living, and of the joyous heart. I am reading Gurutattan's Intro to Kundalini book, and am finding it very helpful.
Especially her essay in the back of the book. Wow.
Sat Nam, Gianjot/Shaun
--- In Kundaliniyoga@yahoogroups.com, Stephanie Van Savage <vansavages@...> wrote:
>
> Sat nam Ardas Singh,
>
> I want to thank you for this post. It means so much - I have felt this and
> experienced what you are saying to be true and have not yet heard anyone
> acknowledge this aspect of the practice. I started a 40 day practice of 31
> minutes of the SDK under the suggestion of a teacher. This was after several
> years of practice and AFTER completing a 40-day set of the nahbi kriya. Up
> until that point the yoga was helping me break through many blocks and open up
> in new ways and this was very, very challenging to me - my life seemed like it
> was falling apart, but I felt like the things that were happening were necessary
> for growth. Then, when I began the SDK practice and really amping up my
> sadhana, I really felt like I began to go haywire. My energy was so
> disorganized and ungrounded and it was wrecking havoc with my emotions. I was
> so depressed thinking "why does everyone else get such great results and I am
> freaking out here?"Â I kept going thinking this was a block I needed to break
> through. Things were really bad for me and the teacher who recommended the
> practice to me said something like - "in my experience this is not the outcome
> of the practice."
>
> I met a holistic doctor who began to help me and I immediately stopped my
> practice and all the classes I was teaching. For 9 months I have been healing,
> regrouping, and grounding. I said I would never do the yoga again and never
> teach again because I saw what it did to me.
>
> My heart is open and people are drawn to me who are hurting and are at their
> end. A few months ago I decided to start practicing and teaching again because
> I do feel that gentle, basic practices can help people tremendously. I have
> been feeling more and more than people are STARVING for this and I must do my
> part. What most people DON'T need is the intensity that something like the SDK
> brings. What is needed is a loving, supportive community for spiritual
> expression and growth.
>
> I thank you again for saying what you said. I comes at a time when I needed to
> hear that most. I truly have been waiting for years to hear someone say this.Â
> Your words validate my experience. And I can have more confidence in what I
> feel I need to do, thanks to you.
>
> God bless you,
> Stephanie
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ezekiel <spikycork@...>
> To: Kundaliniyoga@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sat, July 10, 2010 6:24:53 PM
> Subject: [Kundalini Yoga] Re: Sodarchan Chakra Kriya
>
> Â
> Lily,
>
> Great question. I have a pretty strong opinion on this, based on what I've
> experienced, read and observed in others. . .
>
>
> First of all, if you read the classic hatha yoga texts, when they talk about
> pranayama, they say it is important to train the breath very slowly. That
> working with the breath is like taming a wild tiger, one must be cautious.
>
>
> I believe that Sodarshan Chakra Kriya falls under the category of one of the
> very secret, "advanced" practices that Yogi Bhajan taught openly for the first
> time. He was generous to share many of these with us, because he thought we
> needed powerful tools - but we still need to respect the more advanced practices
> and be very mindful of the messages our body and psyche are sending us when we
> engage in these. Just because a gifted ky teacher gave you a kriya, does not
> mean that it's actually right for you. I read once (don't know the source, if it
> came from YB or not, sorry) that it's recommended to do 6 months of nabhi kriya
> before engaging in sodarshan chakra kriya! Having done both these as a sadhana
> (and not in that recommended sequence, btw) this makes total sense to me.
>
> When you do prolonged breath retention (esp with pumping, as in sck) WITHOUT the
> proper preparation, what tends to happen is that we create tension in certain
> areas - this does not facilitate liberation, and if certain chakras are
> particularly clogged, the breath retention CAN make it worse. Hence the logic in
> preparing with something like nabhi kriya, which balances all the lower chakras
> and even opens the heart.
>
>
> I have noticed that in kundalini yoga, people tend to be rather cavalier about
> jumping into what would traditionally have been advanced practices without
> thorough preparation. for example, you go to a yoga class, you've never done
> yoga before, and the teacher's guiding you through "one-minute breath", telling
> you to hold as long as you can, etc - all without building up your prana
> mechanism over time first. oftentimes this causes people to get high very
> quickly, but at times, and especially over time, it can start to derange the
> prana. Unless you are very sensitive to what's going on in your body/psyche, you
> may not even realize that this is happening, until months later.
>
> we are often encouraged to "keep up," and I think it's equally important to
> check in with yourself and respect limitations that arise. just because you're
> dreading doing SCK does not mean it's simply bitter medicine for you!
>
> having said all that, I don't want to discourage you from practicing sck if you
> feel it would be beneficial. Here's how I would go about it:
> start with long deep breathing, until you feel at ease.
> then start to inhale through left, hold (keep chest, throat and jaw relaxed) and
> exhale through right. you can mentally say "wahe guru" rhythmically without
> pumping.
> after you've done a few breaths like this, add the pumps gently, and don't start
> out with 48 pumps. maybe start with 6 or 12. over time you can build up. You
> want it to be a joyful experience. yes, at times it will bring unpleasant stuff
> up, and it's important to maintain a neutral mind and let the practice take you
> where it will. but you want your yoga practice to help you to process stress,
> not add more stress to your day (I.e. "dreading" practice)!
>
> What do you think?
>
> sat nam,
> Ardas Singh
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
GURU RATTANA ONLINE - NEW Ground-Breaking Streaming Video Subscription Service - learn with Guru Rattana in the privacy and comfort of your own home. More details from http://www.yogatech.com/grol.html
FREE ONLINE KUNDALINI YOGA LESSONS - http://www.kundaliniyoga.org/classes.html
FOLLOW GURU RATTANA ON TWITTER - http://twitter.com/gururattana
No comments:
Post a Comment