by admin | Oct 6, 2013 | Uncategorized
“Circumstances are 10%. Your talent and your capacity are 10%; the other 80% is unknown to you.” Yogi Bhajan. I recently attended a workshop with Kundalini yoga teacher Guru Dass Khalsa. One thing he spoke about really helped remind me that there is more at universal play than we can ever really know going on in our lives. He highlighted the two things required for change in our lives to occur: MOMENT and MOMENTUM. Sometimes you have the moment, but you either don’t see it, don’t respond to it, are not ready for it or reject it. Sometimes you have the momentum; the desire, the energy for, the readiness… but there’s no moment. It’s when moment and momentum come together that you can move forward and shifts and changes occur. Thing is, we can’t force the moment and we can’t force the momentum. As simple and obvious as this may seem, somehow accepting that as a basic universal law allows for a little less controlling and a little more allowing. In short – it will happen when it’s supposed to happen. Or in other words when you’re ready for it. We’ve all experienced both moment and momentum together and apart. We’ve also experienced the realisation for the reasons things happen as they do -sometimes years after the event. So, there are two things to practice here: ACCEPT WHERE YOU ARE AT. Be here now until the time for change is right. REMOVE THE EXPECTATION BLINKERS: Don’t miss the moments by looking for something specific that you think you need. Those blinkers could distract you from what...
by admin | Sep 29, 2013 | Uncategorized
Yin in its very nature is cooling and calming; it is related to the feminine – meaning to receive instead of deliver. Yang is heating and stimulating; it is related to the masculine – meaning to take action. To manifest, to build and bring to fruition. Generally, the balance in our lives swings heavily to a very Yang existence. With so much Yang (active, driven) energy in our lives, we need more and more Yin to bring balance, or we end up in a constant state of panic and eventually burn out. This is the law of balance in nature –where there is Yang there must also be Yin. Increasing Yin is a matter of shifting focus from Yang ACTION/CONTROL to Yin FLOW/SURRENDER. Here in lies the challenge as we’re obsessed with control it and cling to it desperately! Yin is all about letting go. NOT HOLDING, which takes practice as we are always holding on to something. We spend our lives holding it together, holding on until the end of the day, the week, the financial year… holding in emotions, holding back from doing whatever. Do we ever just truly surrender and let go? HOW TO NURTURE & NOURISH OUR YIN? Yoga of course! Practice on the mat to bring it into life. Yin/Restorative practice requires us to come into a vulnerable, receptive state of being, cultivating a meditative mind. It is an intuitive practice where we bring ourselves into a pose that opens the body and remain still in that pose, allowing tension to let go. The mental practice is to simply observe the process of NOT...
by admin | Sep 22, 2013 | Uncategorized
On October 9th, we celebrate the anniversary of the birthday of Guru Ram Das. Guru Ram Das is an important figure to the Kundalini community as he lead his life centred in the heart space – devoted to bringing community together, focused on the ‘we’ instead of the ‘me’. It is tradition to honour this anniversary by chanting the mantra “Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru” for 11 minutes each day for 10 days leading up to October 9th, starting September 28th. By chanting the mantra “Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru” we honour and invoke our own heart-centred consciousness: To love without attachment and to invite compassion, gratitude and abundance into our lives. Who was Guru Ram Das? Guru Ram Das was the fourth of the ten sikh Gurus, who lived in the mid-1500’s. He was known for his humility, service to the community and deep devotion. He founded the city of Amritsar in India and designed the very beautiful Golden Temple (pictured here), a place of devotion for both the sikh community and anyone who seeks to find a connection to the truth within and heart-centred consciousness. I invite you to connect to the subtle essence of Guru Ram Das and your own space of love, connection, truth, compassion, joy and abundance through this 10-day meditation. Chanting this mantra from your heart space will link you to the energy of deep joy and expansiveness. It offers comfort, connection and the experience of unconditional love. How to do it: Sit comfortably and bring your hands across the chest at the heart centre and chant: GURU...
by admin | Sep 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
Just take a moment to send some love down to your feet – for all they do for you!! They are your physical foundation. Your connection to earth. They keep you grounded. They propel you forward when walking and keep you balanced as you stand. Our feet are like little “mini-me’s”, reflecting our entire body through pressure points that correspond to all parts of you. A good foot massage can have the whole body responding with a great big joyous thankyou. The body mirrors the feet. If the feet are tense and clenched, the body will also feel tension. If the feet are tired then our body will feel tired. When the feet are out of alignment the body will also be out of alignment. Some good reasons to love up your beautiful feet. You know that gorgeous feeling when barefoot on the beach – just so therapeutic and relaxing? – that’s not just the beautiful surroundings, it’s also freeing your feet up so blood can flow freely, releasing them from tight shoes that cramp the bones together and letting them spread out and freshen up. It’s allowing the sand to move across the soles of the feet, gently massaging those pressure points so the whole body feels invigorated and fresh. We can strengthen the feet by walking barefoot as much as possible. When we walk barefoot, without support or high heels, the muscles of the feet are worked which strengthens them. Strengthening the muscles will lessen the need for insoles and arch supports as you will build strength in weak muscles needed for balance. Show...
by admin | Sep 9, 2013 | Uncategorized
ALL SOUND EFFECTS US. From the sound of rain against the roof, the crackle of an open fire to the drone of traffic in the distance. Even sounds we are not conscious of hearing – like air conditioning or electrical background sounds – impact our state of being, whether we are aware of them or not. Here’s how: Sound vibrations from the ear drum interact with all the major organs of the body via the vagus nerve – the major nerve that runs from our brain along the length of our spine. The vagus nerve interacts with our inner ear, our heart, lungs, stomach, liver, bladder, kidneys and small and large intestines. Alfred Tomatis MD, a French physician who devoted most of his life to exploring the process of listening and the healing effects of sound, described the spine as ‘a receptive antenna vibrating in unison with the sound source, whether it be musical or linguistic.’ Some interesting facts about sound and the physical effects on the body: The heart rate increases when listening to fast music & decreases when listening to slow resonant sounds. Different types of music subtly effect body temperature. The use of percussion and bass heat the body where as abstract, minimalist music has a cooling effect. Music increases endorphin levels through an emotional response to music, so you feel elated. Calm, soothing sounds reduce production of stress-related hormones. Music stimulates digestion. Research has shown that people listening to rock music or fast-paced beats eat faster and larger portions than those listening to slower, classical music (notice the types of music played next time you’re...
by admin | Aug 22, 2013 | Uncategorized
Trouble with digestion can make us feel all-over generally crap. To briefly explain, our digestive system system is made up of three main parts: the stomach, small intestines and colon: Stomach: Food is taken into the body. Small intestines: Food is sorted and processed. Colon: Food is moved out of the body. The most extensive part of the digestion takes place in our small intestine, which is located in the centre of the abdomen. The small intestine takes any food that has not decomposed in the stomach and sorts out what is absorbed and what is to be eliminated through the colon. It’s this area that we aim to keep clear and healthy to support our digestion process to be smooth and to enable us to absorb nutrients from the food we eat. The emotional qualities of the small intestine mirror the physical qualities. When our digestion is not functioning well, we tend to feel out of balance and struggle to sort through priorities and tasks. We can struggle to hold information in our heads. We feel indecisive and unclear and the emotions can dominate. How does yoga help? Any movement we do in our yoga practice that works this area is super beneficial for the digestive system. Strengthening core muscles and bringing bloodflow to this area via twists is excellent for the small intestines health. Alongside this, all postures that open and use the arms also activate the meridian lines for the intestines. One excellent way to maintain a healthy digestive system is this simple kundalini yoga kriya called Vatskar Dhouti Kriya. Do this once or maximum twice...
