Kundalini Yoga

Fate and Destiny

Fate and destiny are not the same, not even close.

Yogi Bhajan said fate is what you get if you do not take charge of your destiny. You get one or the other, your fate or your destiny. The practice of your dharma, whatever that may be, is the key to reaching your potential; your destiny. Otherwise you reach your fate.

He called Kundalini Yoga The Yoga of Awareness. In this regard, awareness and consciousness are functionally identical. Consciousness is awareness of your actions and unconsciousness is unawareness of your actions. This supposes a broad definition of awareness; the knowledge that you are making choices and understanding the implications and consequences of those choices. Awareness is also inclusive of thoughts as well as actions. To help illustrate, Yogi Bhajan defined a holy man as a man who is in charge of his holes (all nine).

Unconsciousness, in its purest form, does not even see the choices being made. In a sense it is animal behavior, the responses of a being with a developed nervous system but no awareness. Awareness (consciousness) is the hallmark of a human being, or at least a human being living as a human being.

Golden Milk

Golden Milk is for joint health.

Boil turmeric powder with enough water to make a paste for about seven minutes. You can make a big enough batch to keep some in the refrigerator. Add a teaspoon of the boiled turmeric paste to a cup of milk. Bring the milk to a simmer, add one tablespoon of almond oil and honey to taste.

I like to drink mine in the evening before I go to bed.

Long Deep Breathing

The place to begin Kundalini Yoga is with long deep breathing.

Tune in.

Sit in easy pose, legs crossed, eyes closed and focused at the third-eye point. The hands are in gyan mudra.

Inhale through the nose. Expand the diaphragm as you begin to inhale and keep it open as you breathe in. Fill the lungs from bottom to the top, as if you were pouring water in a pitcher.  Exhale is the reverse, slowly empty the lungs top to bottom. When you think your lungs are empty, draw the diaphragm in to expel the last bit of air. Breathe slowly: The target is four breathes per minute.

Mentally chant Sat (pronounced sut, short vowel) on the inhale, Nam (long vowel, sounds like ah) on the exhale (the Bij Mantra).

Do this for any amount of time you have, 3 minutes, 31 minutes or more.

More posts to follow with details about tuning in, easy pose, gyan mudra and the bij mantra.