Morning Sadhana Super Charge Your Day!

How do you start your day before you face the world each day? 

I start each day with morning meditation called Sadhana which includes Kundalini Yoga Kuriya (series of asanas, breathing techniques, and chanting), and meditation combined with breathing techniques, mudras, bhandas, and/or chanting.  To me, this became such an important ritual like brushing my teeth.  If I don’t do it, I feel something is off.  Morning meditation to me is like setting my high vibration “reference point” where I can come back throughout my day whenever I am thrown off center.  Yes, things happens in life, and my mind reacts in unexpected ways, and can put me into dark state of mind.  I find that knowing where to come back really helps me shorten the time I might spend being in a negative state of mind.  My morning practice is based upon the Kundalini Yoga Kuriya and Meditation, but your ‘Sadhana’ can be anything you do consistently so that you can clear your own consciousness to relate yourself to the infinity within.

By doing Sadhana, we can tune up our nervous system and attune ourselves to our highest inner self.  A morning spiritual practie is the key for setting the tone of your  entire day so that you can take control of your day, not allow the day to over take your mind.

“Sadhana is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best." ~ Yogi Bhajan

In my practice, I repeat the same Sadhana at least 40-days.  There is a natural 40-day rhythm to habits in the body and mind. It takes about 40-days of consistent practice to break a habit.  Now, for the first time, I am starting a challenging 120-days meditation.  It said that after 120-days, the habit becomes "who you are".  I am interested in finding out if I can keep the commitment, and also how my consciousness will shift during these 4 months.

After my Sadhana, I drink a reshly juiced green juice and a blended super food smoothie.  I feel centered and super charged before I open the door to meet my new day.  When I miss my morning practice, I do it in the afternoon or the evening, but I do feel the difference throughout the day.  You can say that I am depending upon Sadhana, but I believe it is a good addiction to have!

“Develop a regular Sadhana and you take control of your life. Develop a deep sadhana and you open the doors of experience. Commit to meet your higher Self each morning and your decisions and your life become original; your life will bear the signature of your soul; your radiance will express the meaningful intimacy of the Infinite in each moment. Immerse yourself in the joy of victory that comes from starting each day with a powerful sadhana and every challenge becomes opportunity.” - Kundalini Yoga Sadhana Guidelines. Second Edition. Kundalini Research Institute, 2007.

Let’s start taking control of our life by doing regular sadhana, so we can live happy, healthy and holy!!

Kiyomi Takahashi

Certified Yoga Teacher 500RYT  | Venice, CA kiyomiyoga@gmail.com |  www.kiyomiyoga.com

Grow...Thrive...Love Energizes My Life. By Suzy Nece

When I took my first yoga class some 20 plus years ago – I left before sivasana(final relaxation) and was moaning, groaning, cursing (under my breath) – Thinking: ouch…people really do this  **$@(#@*($@!  

It was so slow and painful and boring! It wasn’t until I herniated a disc dancing, that I went back to the mat out of desperation.  I had tried everything: rest, physical therapy, acupuncture  - I was loosing my mind…and friends....It was then that the love affair began…. I was smitten with the flow! Ahh…the beautiful, sweaty scent of Ashtanga….that was the smell of my enlightenment.  I found a way to dance on the mat…. Injuries are opportunities to grow – to be creative with your practice and reinvent yourself.

That was the first time yoga saved my life… Yes, yoga saves lives – and not just your own.  Sometimes I think if it weren’t for my daily practice, I might hurt someone!  I regularly credit yoga (cheekily) for keeping me out of jail. 

Years later, I ran back to the mat (literally with my tail between my legs) battling IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).  My agro, fiery flow classes weren’t cooling my nerves.  Again, I tried everything…the tests, the drugs, the counseling… My body and mind were out of control. I couldn’t digest what the world was throwing my way. Once again yoga gave me my life back …I found my way to Iyengar yoga, creating mental and physical balance through proper alignment.  Pranayama (breathing techniques) was the key to calming my inner body and giving me peace of mind.  Breath control was the gateway to empowering my thoughts and beginning my “mind over tummy” battle.  Through stillness I discovered the healing sound of my own breath, and thanks to a well placed bolster, I learned how to prop myself up when I felt completely run down.  I was revitalized & began to thrive.

My most recent yoga renaissance came to me postnatal– I practiced yoga through out my pregnancy, up until the point when my ankles were so swollen they squished when I walked.  People were afraid to see me in class.  I was a giant monster rocking handstands in my 7th month.  This yogini was planning for a natural hypno-birth when life had a different plan.  One month early, with my blood pressure at 220/120 (preeclampsia), I had an emergency C-section and a premature baby. 

I am so grateful for the gift of my daughter but the hormones, sleep deprivation and breast feeding blues, took me to the edge of my sanity and mat again.  I had lost myself. I didn’t look or feel like I thought I was supposed to - I was tired, scared, angry, and couldn’t shake paranoid circular thoughts.  

I was stuck in the past, afraid of the future and missing the moment.  I wasn’t breathing.  Practicing yoga with my daughter was brilliant therapy.   She taught me to accept a “new normal”.  Watching her belly breathe when she was sleeping… opening my eyes to her experiencing the world for the first time…seeing her smile…her giggle, gave me purpose…I was reintroduced to my breath by a belly laugh!  That laughter I felt swelling in my gut wasn’t just about the money I was saving on psychotherapy… It was my whole being smiling…as I was at peace with my body and madly in love with my little girland my new yoga.  Laughing is breathing…It is the pranayama of bliss.  If we can laugh together, we can do anything together.  

Life is hard … yoga doesn’t have to be.   There isn’t just one body type, personality type or demographic for yoga.  There isn’t just one way to perform Triangle Pose (trikonasana). You can practice on your back, on your belly, on your side, on a wall, on a chair, on your head…it is all about looking at life from every perspective.  Broaden your worldview – look at yourself – your issues – your obstacles from every angle.  When you feel stuck in a rut turn your world upside down, when you are overwhelmed lie on your back- feel the arms of the earth open up and cradle you - open your body & mind to being supported - Do an entire practice with a human sandbag: a 10 lb baby… dance, sing, down dog! 

Transform your practice-transform your life!

Suzy Nece 200RYT

The Yoga Loft Manhattan Beach Owner, Manhattan Beach, CA

Click here to learn more

Living Yoga in the Moment by Susan Jay

My jyotish teacher once told me "If you know something is supposed to happen, all you have to do is just... live."  This was years ago when I was learning jyotish, meditation, and other vedic practices that he was opening me up to.  According to jyotish there are several intensities of karma, with fixed karma, called "dridha", being the strongest.   Dridha karma  pretty much can't be be changed without some divine intervention, and is the one which most people would probably call "fate", as it is well... fixed.  

Over the years a lot of things did happen that he had predicted, but the prediction pertinent in this case is what he told me the very first time I met him.  He said that I would be a teacher later in my life.  Now I had graduated with a Masters Degree in Piano Performance, and had taught for seven years.  I had enjoyed teaching piano and watching my students grow - I just did not want to teach or pursue any sort of career with my music.   So of course, teaching piano is what immediately came to my mind, and it was an idea that I very strongly resisted.  I thought, well I guess I could teach piano much later on - I mean who knows what we could be doing years from now, but I really didn't have any interest.

Well fast forward a number of years, and what do you think I'm doing?  Teaching.  But now I am teaching yoga. Yoga was not even in my consciousness back then, but once started, my yoga practice quickly became an integral part of my everyday life.  The title of one of Krishnamurti's books is, "The Future is Now".  My teacher explained to me, "The present is dependent on the past, and the future is the present modified, therefore the future is now."  So from the time I started to practice yoga - every time I stepped on my mat - every breath, every asana - this has propelled me to this moment when I can now say that I am yoga teacher. 


I knew I was starting to fulfill this karma when I eagerly signed up for the teacher training.  Little did I know that this was also at a pivotal time in my yoga practice. As I was an intermediate series ashtangi, I was practicing a lot of backbends and was experiencing one of those breakthrough periods as the anahata chakra opens.  But the heart is all about feelings, so it was an extremely emotional time, and without going into detail, the teacher training came when I needed it.  Then the teaching kind of just happened and crept up on me as I do have a full time job, and really all I wanted to do was sub.  But somehow, my subbing morphed into a weekly class as the regular teacher had a serious medical condition, and I have ended up with regular students who look forward to seeing me.  Then a studio minutes from my home had an opening. Events seemed to almost effortlessly evolve on their own.



It is so interesting to see how life unfolds and where it takes you.  It has also been so rewarding to share this knowledge with students and open them up to their own journey.   Being present in our practice is what yoga is about - do they realize that their choice to come to a yoga class can shape their future even in the subtlest ways when they are off the mat? Pattabi Jois always said, "Do your practice. All is coming".  He was right in so many ways.

Susan Jay

Yoga Teacher RYT200 | Sherman Oaks, CA

www.urbanlilyyoga.com/teachers/susan-j

Click here to learn more about Susan

Pain Is Inevitable. Suffering Is Optional - By Sharon Wells

For decades I struggled with pain and didn’t know the source of it or why.  I went to many doctors who dismissed me as soon as they took one look at me.  Telling me that it must be all in my head, because I had absolutely no reason to be in pain.  As a professional dancer you dance no matter how painful and you try to “forget” the pain but now in my 40’s it was getting harder and harder to do that.  I was becoming miserable to my friends and family because I didn’t tell them that I was in pain because who wants to complain every day - eventually they just think you want sympathy and that you are a whiner.  I was miserable, until I developed a Yoga Practice. 

 I fell into Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga by accident, but I feel it was by design.  The heat, the spiritually and the discipline fit my style exactly.  After my first class with my teacher Baron Baptiste in 2003, I felt absolutely pain free, probably the first time since 1980.  I didn’t know why, but I knew that I had to investigate it further.  I found an incredible doctor in my local area who is a wonderful diagnostician and he did a battery of tests on me.  The test results came back and I was told that I had Lupus.  Long story short, it turned out to be Fibromyalgia not Lupus.  My immune system was so depleted that it had thrown me into symptomatic lupus but the real cause for my pain was Fibromyalgia.  Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons—the soft fibrous tissues in the body. Most patients say that they ache all over. Their muscles may feel like they were pulled or overworked. Sometimes the muscles twitch and other times they burn. More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia (75% versus 25%) and it shows up in people of all ages.

What causes fibromyalgia?  Although the cause is not known, there appear to be many triggering events that often precipitate its onset. Examples include: infections (bacterial or viral), physical trauma (such as an automobile accident), or the development of another disorder, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or hypothyroidism. These triggering events probably do not cause fibromyalgia, but rather, they may awaken an underlying physiological abnormality that is already present.  My years of dancing and abusing my body (eating disorders, over exertion, divorce & STRESS) probably had a lot to do with it.  

Yoga (no matter what style) is excellent for (FMS) - it reduces stress, lubricates the joints, stretches the tendons, fascia & connective tissue so the muscles can relax when not in use.  Yoga & Meditation helps you to understand your body from the inside out and only you know how you feel or if something is wrong.  So be your own health advocate and listen to your intuition, recognize the power within to know what is right for you.  Be honest with your friends and family and let them know how you are feeling, only then can they help you.  Hugs really work for me!

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” ~ Unknown

For more information on Fibromyalgia Symptom (FMS) - www.fmaware.org

Namaste

Sharon Wells

Yoga On Chocolate Owner | Certified Yoga Teacher e-RYT 500, CBPYT | Hershey, PA

sharon@yogaonchocolate.com |  www.yogaonchocolate.com

Click here to learn more about Sharon.

Health & Healing Through Yoga for Children! - By Ruthann Zentner

Opening The Zen Zone yoga studio as a family friendly place came about five years ago.  I am a long-time yoga practitioner, fitness trainer, and mom.   As a yoga teacher I know the benefits of Yoga and as a mother of three beautiful girls and teaching yoga to my own children was a way to calm the storm of my middle daughters rages.  With my daughter, Hunter, she was prescribed medication for ADHD and for other behavior issues.  After countless visits to many great physiatrists and physiologist, coming up with no exercise’s to help her learn to step back and breathe.  I realized that Yoga could and would be my answer to help my 5 year old with her outbursts and rages.  She is now a super happy 11 year old that has friends, is in cheerleading & can still have her moments but overall.  Yoga has changed our family in too many ways to count.  We continue to grow as a family! 

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It is our special responsibility as parents to undertake the care and education of these intelligent kiddos coming into he world and dependent on our love and attention.  To see a child performing a yoga pose, with the poise, strength, self-discipline and confidence necessary can’t help but arouse love and joy in a parent’s heart.  To see a child’s imagination spin while their mind focuses on the satisfaction of telling a story is to know the magic of which we parents are capable.  By focusing their energy and allowing them control over their bodies we give children the power to create their own lives and live in peace and harmony with others.  

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Most of all, teaching and telling stories to kids is FUN!  To be a child again and use our personal creativity is magic.  By pulling your favorite children’s book off the shelve and acting it out, with yoga is truly not only bringing back our own childhood memories but we grow spiritually from the effort we put into it.

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For those of you who are already practitioners of the art of yoga, no more explanation about this wonderful discipline is necessary.  For those who are not, a few words of background.  Yoga is far more than a physical exercise.  It is rather a set of tools, which increase one’s awareness of the inter-connectedness of all living creation, while at the same time pointing the individual, body and soul, in the direction of radiant health.  Yoga is craft of awareness.  When we do yoga we grow compassionate.  We naturally turn toward that which is best in our natures.  We experience something similar to love. 

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As the physical body comes into balance, the mind follows.  Practicing yoga can help a child develop concentration, patience, gentleness, strength, creativity and stability. These are habits we’d all LOVE to cultivate.  They are the building blocks that create the foundation for a happy life!

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Creating an opportunity for kids to get excited about yoga and perhaps offering them a life-long tool for physical and emotional health is the reason for this article & teaching a class on “Teaching kids Yoga!”
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Albert Einstein said, “If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories.  If you want them to be really smart, tell them more stories.  If you want your children to be brilliant, tell them even more stories.”

Namaste"
Ruthann Zentner
The Zen Zone Owner | Certified Yoga Teacher 200RYT, Personal Trainer & Massage Therapist
Lee's Summit, MO
zenzoneyoga@gmail.com |  www.zenzoneyoga.com
Click here to learn more about Ruthann

Embracing Dharma! By April Martucci - October Jala Ambassador

When I first started to practice, I went into it mostly for the physical benefits. I knew that Eastern thought and philosophy intrigued me, but I didn’t know how yoga tied into all that. My intrigue was a superficial interest – I thought it was cool to like Buddhism yet knew nothing about it. After signing up for the Intro to Eastern Thought class at University, I got a tattoo of the ‘om’ symbol, and called myself Buddhist to my Catholic father one year while home for Christmas break (that caused a lot of waves to say the least). Still I really didn’t know the teachings from the heart but rather vaguely in the mind, on an intellectual level. 

When I first started taking yoga classes in 1996, I felt that it matched my physicality so well. Having been a dancer and gymnast, the movement of asana felt organic and familiar. But because I was such a restless soul, I hated that the teacher talked in the beginning and the chanting annoyed me. It took up so much time in the beginning of class, and fidgeting in my seat, I glared at the clock wondering when the sweaty part of the class would come. Then I figured out a trick: I started coming late because of my disdain for the dharma and kirtan. While everyone would be in Savasana at the end of class, I would sneak out early feeling that just lying there on your back was a waste of time, and plus I had things to do! I suffered from the disease that is so prevalent in our culture now: busy-ness. Why would I want to listen to someone talk and chant and then lie there when I could be filling up my time with some more important things? Busy-ness is our culture’s disease, and speed is our addiction.

Fast forward 14 years, and dharma and chanting AND Savasana are probably my favorite parts of class. If I am late to class now, I won’t go because of a respect I have for the teacher, the class, and the lineage of yoga. If I need to leave early, I will inform the teacher, or I will not go to the class that time. 

We live in a narcissistic culture wherein we feel we are owed something; we can just go and take what we need – for me back then, just the workout. This is very common. I see it all the time, and I despise it when someone does that to my class and me now. It is so true that traits we find repulsive in others are often characteristics that we possess ourselves. Seeing people have that ‘I will take what I need’ attitude makes me cringe because it’s poor etiquette and gross, but perhaps also because I was guilty of that at one point. As the saying goes, ‘every sinner has a future, but every saint has a past’. Unashamed of the past, I bow down to all the gurus who brought me to a more peaceful place in life. I thank the friend who wronged me, the boyfriend who betrayed me, and the co-worker who ratted me out – they are all gurus. If we can see our lives as our biggest teachers, or gurus, we discover that suffering lessens, and our perspective broadens. We think bigger in the sense that we are not calculating our revenge or doing harm to that person who has done us harm, but instead we can thank them for opening our eyes to certain truths. This doesn’t mean that you need to go back to that negative energy, but you can see those people along the way as being useful to you. They taught you a lesson, and they should be thanked for this, and you move on.

Not sure exactly when I started to embrace the dharma and the chanting, but it came eventually. Disappointment, trauma, heartbreak and loss most likely made me more inclined to sit and listen to the teacher or chime in with the rest of class while they chanted to Shiva. The yoga is a state, not something you do. Dharma, chanting, asana are all tools that help you get to that state called yoga. 

Yoga is the state in which you are present – not grasping, clinging or attaching. The second lesson in this would be that we cannot attach to that which we think we like or dislike today for tomorrow or in 14 years it may shift and become our most favorite thing. Staying detached from our likes and dislikes also decreases suffering. You remain open, receptive. And when it’s time for Savasana you are receiving all that you need, enjoying the benefits of the ancient practice, and just wishing that the teacher keeps you there longer..

April Martucci
Yoga Teacher | New York, NY

yogawithapril@gmail.com |  www.yogawithapril.com

Click here to learn more about April

Chase Your Dreams They Are All You've Got! - By Nicole Shanks

When I was a little girl my dad would tell me “all you have to do is put your mind to it”. I would just keep thinking to myself how much I wish he would stop saying that. Then there was my mom always reminding me “whatever you do, do it because you love it”. After many years of hearing that same speech I was sitting with my dad as an adult and he said “you’re only as big as your dreams, if you don’t dream what are you living for”.  I never forgot those words from that day. I have always been a dreamer, a bird on the wings of fate. You can promise I took the next thing that was sat in front of me that sounded awesome.

The problem was I was chasing the wrong dream. No matter what job or interest I pursued I was always searching for the next best thing. With each job I made more money and better benefits but most of the time I was just looking for ways to get more days off to be me. I would take off work and sneak away to yoga classes all over to find a happy place to be. Finally after many years of searching I found a teacher training that worked with my busy schedule. I signed up and began the process. I had never been so involved in something. It was like I saw yoga everywhere I went. The more I learned the more I wanted to share.
As my interest grew in the yoga world, so did my dreams. Only this time I wasn’t in some huge hurry to achieve it all at once. I wanted to experience each step and work toward the big picture. With each passing day I was focused and ready for each challenge as it came. One day the light bulb came on and I realized I had been “putting my mind to it” all this time. It was like what my dad had been saying made since. I just never had anything I wanted to focus on. I found that thing I Love to do!

Every person I would talk to about my dream would look at me in surprise and say you want to quit your job and do what!? Even the day I gave my two week notice my boss said “well in a couple months, if you can’t put food on the table. Give me a call.” I just said thanks and smiled when I shook her hand. I’m not going to say chasing your dreams is easy or that every moment is a fairy tale, but it sure beats running away from them.

Nicole Shanks 
Surya Luna Studio Owner | Certified Yoga Teacher 200RYT | Swansea, IL
info@suryalunastudio.com |  www.suryalunastudio.com 
Click here to learn more about Nicole