We must take the time to sit back and reflect on what direction we are headed in life; the fast or slow track to happiness?  Is it the road less traveled or is it found by simply slowing down the breath and being able to hear that inner voice within speak to the soul.  American culture spends much money on physical exercise and material things, but little focus is on the energy source within each person that defines them, the soul.  No two souls are alike.  I believe most would agree that once we die our energy source, soul, moves on.  Where does it go? Why do we spend so little time nurturing it while alive?  Is it fear the binds us down to lower conscious behavior or is it the unknown possibilities that set us back?

Tune in-for I will be creating some simple videos on my YouTube channel regarding breath and meditation work! Until then, take a deep breath and realize your breath is the greatest gift you will be given in this life.  Enjoy it!

The cat was unable to walk and was chewing up it’s paws. I placed him on the owners chest and I began to do Reiki on both front paws.  Animals are amazing to work with because they are so open to light and energy.  They don’t think about what is this woman doing to me-they are just drawn to what helps them feel better.  I was happy when the cat stretched it’s paw into my palm and let it sit there for a good few minutes. I could feel the cat taking in the energy work and see it.  The owner was shocked at how still the cat was and said, ”he never purrs like this.” I was able to do a good ten minutes of healing work before the cat found a surge of energy and jumped off the owner and started to walk around the room.  It does take experiences like this to prove the power of Reiki.  I know the owner was changed by that hour session.

Good news is it only took one hour to get the cat back on track and heal those paws so he could walk and jump again! If you have a Reiki animal story please share it with me at heatherferriproductions@yahoo.com   and if you would like it posted on my blog please state that you give me permission.   Be well and thanks for tuning in!

Yoga can be effectively used to slow down the aging process by reducing the catabolic process of cell deterioration and defy aging

Today’s world is stressful.  Modern living imposes stresses and strains on all of us mental, physical, and emotional.  More people are turning toward the principle of yoga.  Yoga offers you to break free the confines of a potentially damaging lifestyle with a little effort and by focusing on ways of looking after your-self better to increase your vitality, find serenity, and get the best out of every day to enjoy life to the fullest.  Yoga provides a natural counter-balance of the stresses of modern life and can help you to achieve a sense of inner peace.

Yoga is an easy and enjoyable way of becoming healthier and stronger.  Yoga can help improve your physical health by developing a fit and beautiful body, tone your muscle and internal organs, relieve inner tension, reduce weight, and strengthen your bones.  Recent scientific studies have shown that the practice of yoga combined with meditation can have a beneficial effect on a variety of medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and blood sugar level, arthritis, asthma, chronic fatigue, arteriosclerosis, anxiety, stress, and postural problems.  The regular practice of yoga can also improve self-esteem, boost your energy and vitality at any age of life, increase your powers of concentration and discipline, and improve heart conditions.  In addition, yoga can also guide you toward relaxation and shows you how to become more balanced, centered, and calm.

Yoga also teaches that attaining control over the body is the key to controlling your mind.  Using the body as a medium, the breath becomes still, the mind attains peace and the soul moves closer to liberation.  Mastering the art of relaxation and learning how to breathe properly are two of the most important aspects of yoga.  Once you have mastered these skills, you will experience a very positive, healthy outlook on life.

By Darshan Goswami

Do you find yourself sleeping less and working more?  Are you running for that third cup of coffee to get you through your last meeting of the day?  Feeling like another person has taken over your mind and you want to scream at anyone who will listen?  Can Kundalini Yoga really change your life? YES!

The first day I walked into a Kundalini Yoga class in New York City I was searching for something to ease the stress level of my life and shut my mind down for at least one second.  At first, I was concerned that maybe I had walked into a cult with everyone wearing white clothing, but soon I would learn the benefits of how the color can add to a person’s aura.  Aura is the energy field around our bodies and in the Kundalini yoga practice we build it and protect it from negative energy.  I felt after several classes this fog lift from my mind and I could feel how the medical meditations were going to help shift my life and give me the mental clarity to know what changes to make in order to move forward.

I never dreamed 13 years later my business would be Kundalini Yoga and Reiki, but I learned to let go and be guided by something much bigger then myself.  Trust me I fought with God, my ego wanted the glamorous life of a stage performer(which was my previous career), and I bought into the media standards of success.  I started to work with what I believe would be successful people, but most of them were sick and on anti-depressants?  I started to wonder what is the American dream?  Many are selling their souls to make a buck to spend it on materials to wake up and continue the endless cycle.  In time, people begin to lose themselves and the soul can become very sad.  When we study with a qualified teacher and learn many incredible ways to reprogram the brain, then hope begins to find a door into the soul again.  Change is possible at any stage of the game.  What changed my life was finding a certified teacher that I trusted and practicing the scientific techniques every week.  Building new habits takes time and if your impatient you will have to see this work in a long-term fashion.  I hope I’ve inspired you to look up a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher in your town, buy a DVD, and experience first hand the power of science!  Sat Nam!

Depending on how it is used, money can create powerful, positive changes in the world.  Having money allows us to function more easily in the world, it buys food, clothes, provides comfort in our lives and in the lives of others.  However, because attachment to money is based on fear, it always creates insecurity.  The desire to have more money, and thereby feel more secure, never ends.  Security can never come from money alone.  Some of the people who have the most money are also the most insecure. Does this mean you must give up the desire to attain wealth?

Not necessarily.  In and of itself money is neither good not bad.  It is what we choose to do with money that determines if it will have a positive effect on others, society, the world, and ourselves.  So, it cannot be said that money is essential for happiness.  But, most people recognize that money is important in the 21st Century because it can give people comfort and freedoms.  But, does raising a nation’s income, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) , raise the population’s overall level of happiness?

Intuitively, you’d think the answer is a definite yes.   However, a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal found otherwise.  Other studies also show that, in many countries, “although economic output has risen steeply over the past decades, there has been no rise in life satisfaction and there has been a substantial increase in depression and distrust.”  For example, since World War II, GDP per capita in the U.S. has tripled, but life satisfaction (measured by surveys that ask something like, “overall, how satisfied are you with your life?) has barely changed.  Also Japan and Western Europe has a tremendous rise in GDP per capita since 1958, yet measure of national happiness have been flat.  One reason may be that a rising economy produces rising aspirations.  There are many villages in the world where people do not own shoes but the people are extremely happy and friendly.  I ask you can money buy you happiness?

Guest Blogger: Darshan

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.

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 opportunities.  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 student’s 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 our 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 meditation and 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.

What is Happiness and How do you achieve it?

Happiness seems to be a selfish goal.  Happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.  So start each day by thinking of all the things you have to be thankful for.  Your future depends very largely on the thoughts you think today.  So think positive thoughts of hope, confidence, love and success.  You can be happy if you are a productive and useful member of society, share with others and help unselfishly.

Most experts agree that there are no shortcuts to happiness.  Even the happy people do not experience joy twenty-four hours a day.  A happy person can have a bad day but still experience pleasure in the small things in life.  If you’re not feeling happy today, fake it.  In experiments, people who were manipulated to smile actually felt happier.

Don’t postpone happiness until you reach a certain goal, like getting a promotion or pay raise to go on vacation.  Studies show that these effects are short-lived.  Don’t focus on negative thoughts; balance that by consciously spending a few minutes every day thinking about the good things in your life.  Like eating a balanced meal or getting enough rest, practice this everyday and, each day, try to extend the time you spend on positive thoughts.

Take time to meditate, or say a prayer, thanking almighty God for all you have.  A spiritual dimension is an essential component to happiness.

Guest blogger: Darshan Goswami

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 mantra’s.  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 the fifth chakra.  A person who speaks softly or loses there voice often is a trapped soul who is undefined in personal truth.

Words can 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 there 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!