Heather’s Kundalini Yoga Blog Kundalini yoga, passion, joy, fulfillment - sharing lessons I’ve learned

     In my many years of teaching I have come to the conclusion that the exercise that scares people the most is sitting still in silence.  Why?  In our culture we are programmed early on that resting, doing nothing for a short period of time, is a result of being lazy.

      Regarding health issues many of my students suffer from chronic problems due to their inability to relax.  A nervous system that has to work overtime creates a person who ages faster and heals slower.  Kundalini Yoga teaches you methods to use to calm the brain down from thinking, and allowing the nervous system to shut down so that the person can sleep better. 

       Silence requires a person to be within their own thoughts, and if not prepared may be shocked at what the mind thinks and feels at that moment in time.  In my teaching experience I have heard endless stories regarding how student’s discover a deep secret or painful tragedy that was buried inside them.  The first question I ask the student is what happened in your life to allow this information to present itself?  It never fails that each student will discuss how life slowed down for them-work was slow-more time on their hands and this opened a door for them to remember or visualize a past experience that was blocked within their soul. 

      In a yoga practice it is the physical exercises that open us up to be able to sit still and meditate.   Then the challenge is getting rid of all the random and endless noise in our heads so that the brain can actually hear it’s own thoughts and reflect on them.

     It is common to walk into a yoga class and have new students say they are not interested in chanting or doing meditation work.  Why? Through my experiences people have misread much information on yoga and the reasons chanting are vital to the healing process of their bodies.  I always mention that the reason we must chant and create sounds through the mouth is our tongue has 84 meridians that stimulate different glands in the brain when placed in the correct positions.  Chanting certain vowels open the chambers to the brain and relaxation occurs.

    The first reason people might be having insomnia is they can’t seem to shut down the nervous system and feel relaxed.  Many Kundalini Yoga sets work on the nervous system allowing a person to experience an active work-out that creates a calmness in the mind.  Through this feeling of being calm the body is able to shut down and sleep.  Second, using one of the meditations Sa Ta Na Ma, which you press on each finger with the thumb while chanting over and over again, begins the process of cleaning the sub-conscious brain.  This is the part of the brain that focuses on the past.  The goal in meditation work is to get to a place where you can be completely in the present moment. 

     Finally, doing meditation work right before you go to bed will build better habits for the mind and body to process. In time a person should feel a shift in their sleeping patterns and feel a window open within their minds. This window then  creates a healthier mind during the day from having the ability to properly shut down at night.

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First, do you sit in a chair everyday for hours?  How does your spine feel by the end of the day?  Bad posture creates a lack of oxygen supply to the brain.  Sitting with a straight spine requires encaging the abdominals and breathing from the diaphragm.  In Kundalini Yoga we have a spinal flex series that addresses posture;and with sitting well comes a feeling of having more energy.

Second, when people breath from the mouth it only supplies the upper part of the lungs with air; which leads to a shallow breath.  In Kundalini Yoga many of the exercises require using the nostrils for breath.  Nostril breathing is vital for helping depression.  It is common to watch students leaving a Kundalini Yoga class looking “high on life”  because of the breath work.

Third, our minds can be described as a computer chip that logs our past experiences and thoughts.  How do we clean that computer chip?  In Kundalini Yoga we use all types of mantras to assist in re-programming how we think.  If a person is used to saying to themselves, “I am stupid” in a matter of time that is programmed into the brain and stored.  Depression is losing sight of your true self and believing false statements from the past.  In doing meditation work it not only cleans your computer chip, but also teaches the brain to be present.

Last, depression can become a habit of life.  By doing active scientific yoga movement you are forced to get out of your head and into the body.  In my many years of teaching I have discovered that the mind can easily lie, but our bodies will always lead us back to the truth.

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     First, we use the long deep breathing exercises to calm and relax the mind.  One nostril breathing is a great way to center your brain.  Cover your right nostril with your thumb and begin taking long deep breaths out of the left nostril.  Then reverse the exercise.  It is common to discover that most of the time you are breathing out of only one nostril and the goal is to balance the breath between both nostrils.  In a matter of a few minutes checmicals are released from the brain and your mood shifts.  This mood shift allows a person to be present in their life and not to react to people or situations.  When we feel happier we attract better life circumstances.

     Second, in Kundalini Yoga there are specific heart chakra sets to do to attract more abundance into your life.  The fourth chakra, which is the heart, needs to be open and clear in order to attract opportunties.  When working on the heart many of the exercises will consist of having your arms over the head in different angles.  Fire breath is a fast, rhythmic pattern used many times to move blocked energy in the body.  I am amazed at students who commit to a 40 day yoga set on the heart chakra and return to me with life-changing stories.

     Third, many of the meditations used to open the heart and create a channel for abundance is “Har.”  The idea is to open your higher self to a place of surrender so the universe can provide for you.  Many times when out heart is blocked so is our ability to see other possible doors in life.  In Kundalini Yoga numerology is used to design the length of time for each mediation/exercise.  Eleven minutes is a solid number to start with using “Har” to chant.  If you place one hand on your navel point you need to project that one word from your gut.  If the intention is clear you will begin to feel a shift that will allow you to be guided and protected by a higher energy within your life.

     In Kundalini Yoga the first two words you learn to vibrate with are “sat,” which means “truth,” and “nam,” which means “identity.”  These two words will eventually resonate within each breath you take during class.  On the inhale you will think “sat” and on the exhale “nam.”  Kundalini Yoga is de-signed to work on balancing your chakras.  We have 7 chakras that start at the rectum and work up the spine to the crown of the head.  Many yoga techniques speak of an 8th chakra which is a person’s aura or energy field that surrounds their body.

     Speaking your truth requires an open and balanced fifth chakra.  This particular chakra is located at the throat and represents our ability to communicate and speak the truth to others, as well as, ourselves.  If a person has a difficult time with voicing their feelings or opinions usually that means their fifth chakra is blocked.  A person can have problems in their thyroid gland or lose their voice often when the fifth chakra is not addressed.

     In Kundalini Yoga, finding a kriya to heal the fifth chakra usually requires the student to sing/chant many different mantras.  The sound vibration effects and shifts a person’s being.  A person who speaks with a loud and dominating voice illustrates having too much energy in their fifth chakra.  A person who speaks softly or loses their voice often is a trapped soul who is undefined in personal truth.

      Words manifest an energy and effect a person’s being.  Speaking to a loved one with a soft voice creates a warmth to it, but when we feel angry the voice changes tone and becomes sharper and more direct.  For example, a mother who yells at her child everyday and voices “Shut up” creates harm to the child’s fifth chakra.  That child grows up feeling and believing that it is acceptable to raise your voice and may even feel it is the only way to be heard.

     Finally, by balancing the fifth chakra, a person’s soul is being developed not only to speak the truth but to live their truth.  Learning to speak with grace and follow one’s own personal path requires honoring your life.  When we value our voice we value our life!

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