The Value of Meditating in the Early Morning

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This morning I decided to write down a few reasons why you should do early morning meditation and yoga.

It is vitally important not to have any attachment or expectations about beginning an early morning practice.

The Aquarian Age is motivated by inspiration – not by dogma and rules.

Why Meditate Early in the Morning?

Sadhna means spiritual discipline, and in the Kundalini Yoga tradition, this is generally taken to mean a daily early morning practice (though it could mean a practice at another time of the day).

It is a commitment made by the mind and body to serve the soul.

“A time each day to notice the patterns that lead us away from higher consciousness and to transcend those patterns.”

Every 72 hours, all the cells in our bodies change.

Our motivation waxes and wanes, our physical strength and capacity fluctuates, but through all the change going on in ourselves and in our lives, we have the chance to maintain a regular practice.

In the Kundalini Upanishads, 2.5 hours was understood to be 1/10 of your day (the Vedic Indian culture lived by the cycles of nature rather than the 24 hour clock!).

It was determined that if you give 1/10 of your day to developing your higher consciousness, your whole day is covered by the energy return.

When is the Best Time to Meditate?

Before sunrise, typically between 4:00-5:00 AM, or at least having done some kind of practice before 7:30-8.

The stillness and cleaner air makes it a great time to breathe deeply, cleanse the body and mind, and meet the day on your terms.

If we get up when it’s still dark, we need to switch on our own inner light and face our shadow self.

The birds start to sing their joyful songs, giving us the opportunity to uplift ourselves.

The collective ego mind of the world is mostly still asleep, so there’s less psychic interference (after sunrise, the mind is less controllable as the energy is more scattered – the angle of the sun at 60 degrees is ideal).

Metabolism is also slower (body temp is coolest at 4:00 AM); the atmosphere is cooler, therefore there is less heat and less agitation in the mind and body.

Having a cold shower while your body temperature is at its lowest will not only set you up for practicing yoga with a clearer mind, you will improve the body’s circulation (when the body is hit with cold water when it’s temperature is already lower, the circulation has to work harder – blood is forced from the organs to the periphery – so that while you may feel cold at first, you will feel warm once you start to dry off).

Note: It is far more difficult to meditate deeply if your circulation is still in patterns dictated by sleep and feeling drowsy.

Amrit Vela and The Chinese Body Clock

In the early morning hours known as Amrit Vela (the time when nectar rains down), the mind is more receptive to thoughts and you have more clarity to assess them.

It’s a time when, if in bed, we tend to dream more.

This is the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep which is lighter.

The body is more restless than when in the deeper periods of sleep that came earlier, so when you wake up early you think that you may be tired later, but the converse is actually true (especially if you increase the energy you get from meditating with others).

Some people claim that it’s important to dream and to attempt to analyse our dreams, but sleep can also be dream disturbed (which is often simply a psychic detoxification).

Good quality sleep is when we ‘sleep like a log’, and awake refreshed with occasional dreams that are genuinely insightful and profound (that that often!).

The Chinese Body Clock shows that the Lungs are their strongest between 3:00-5:00 AM, therefore activating them through deep and rhythmic breathing during this time is beneficial.

Between 5:00-7:00 AM is the time of the colon, so it’s good to get the bowels moving early!

Between 7 and 9 we start to build an appetite for breakfast which is the time of the stomach.

The colon is also our shock absorber – the dumping ground physically and psychically so that subconscious fears that are stuck in the lower 3 chakras can be addressed at this time.

We must, of course, manage our need for sleep, so there will be times when we need to rest more

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The ideal scenario is to wake up without an alarm, but a certain training is usually needed to set a regular routine and rhythm, which is why a group sadhana is ideal.

Alignment and Flow in Kundalini Yoga

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Alignment and Flow in Kundalini Yoga.?

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A workshop for teachers and those with some experience of Kundalini Yoga
“If you don’t have rhythm you can’t be virtuous” YB.
As Kundalini yogis it is assumed that we have become conscious that we have resistance to change, otherwise we would not recognize the need for a regular yoga practice! This resistance to change is because when we change our patterns we release the energy that is behind them and has been maintaining them – the fear, the anger, the grief etc. This is more or less uncomfortable. What actually happens is we have an experience in which we discover that we are not who we thought we were. This is something we we have a lot of subconscious resistance to and even more so students who are new to Kundalini Yoga. Our posture represents the sum total of our beliefs and attitudes crystallized in our physical form and this is what gets broken down as we work through the kriya.
We know that the unique configurations in Kundalini Yoga kriyas are very powerful to affect this change. Why is this?
When we take a dharmic form we change our energy by aligning ourselves with universal form and flow.
As a teacher you are proposing a form and there is a lot of resistance to your proposal because the more fully and accurately your students maintain the posture, ‘the angles and triangles’, the deeper the experience they will have and the greater the meaning they will take from it.
Your platform to excel as a teacher is based on your personal experience of correct alignment of each asana and your overview of the kriya. With this in place you naturally start to use a language that confidently reminds the students mind and body to be in service of their soul. This, along with your virtue (“if you don’t have rhythm you can’t be virtuous”) determines your effectiveness as a teacher.
In this workshop we will cover basic principles for approaching any asana; (a) alignment (b) graceful entry and exit (c) rhythm (d) the rebound effect – using gravity to gain height and lightness of being (e) maintaining dynamism in the organs and meridians.
We will make an in depth study of several key asanas, meditation postures, warm up exercises and at least one kriya.?
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At the end of the day we will put together a warm up, a kriya and a meditation to demonstrate the connection between posture, organ and meridian in the overall effectiveness of your class or workshop.
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Enquiries to Amrit; 07961 104 036. info@mewithinme.com

Mantra, shabd and the yoga of sound

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Shabd Guru – the yoga of sound

Kundalini yoga uses mantras and shabds during meditations and they form an important part of Kundalini yoga classes and teacher training. They are used because shabd guru is a particularly powerful solution to the problems of the times. Sha = the ego. Bd = to cut. It is a special sound that cuts the ego and puts us in touch with the longing of our soul.

The sacred scripture known as the Siri Guru Granth Sahib which is Sikh in origin is where shabd is drawn from. Although all religious traditions have a practice of calling out. In Christianity; hallelujah. In Judaism; Yehovah. In Hinduism; Om Namah Shiva In Buddhism; Om Mani Padme Hum. and for Muslims, Allah. The common theme is chanting the name of god. It is this that awakens spiritual intelligence through vibration at a cellular level to create a feeling of ease/bliss (sahaj).

The anatomy of sound

Phonemes are the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one word from another. Shabd Guru uses this atomic level of language.

There are two systems of grammer ~ one normal, the other ?nirukta? which means beyond the forms. When a sounds innate vibration corresponds to or in some way reproduces what it refers to, it is a sacred language.

If we take the word Wah He Guru. Wah sounds like wonderful. A eureka moment. Inspiration, opening, expansion. An energising sound. He is a sound of holding, containing. Gu a contraction, a concentration, consolidation and Ru, release, let go. So the mantra takes you on this journey.

The more you more away from the primary, earliest languages the less the connection of the word to the object (look at roots of words ? Ra – the sun; the ray, the realisation, the revelation. Ma – the moon; the mother, nourishment) So basic word units were put together according to the energy, emotion and awareness they create. Fundamental vibrations that resonate with universal energies within us.

Use of different sounds

Ordinary language although an efficent way to communicate is highly ineffective vibrationally in that it doesn?t correspond to anything .

Using affirmations is usually a temporary fix and assumes we know what we need. It is also difficult to maintain motivation if the behaviour we are trying to encourage or change does not resonate in the body and mind at a cellular level

Mantras cleanse subconscious.

Shabd awakens spiritual intelligence through vibration at cellular level this resonance creates ease / bliss (sahaj)

It has a neutral content that disassociate from personal. It is not indoctrinating ? trying to put something on you rather it is clearing, awakening. It is Primary information that taps into our spiritual DNA. The perfect weave of rhythm, sound, tone, focus and meaning. The raaga or mood it is played in conveys the feeling and the poetry and word convey the meaning. When a shabd is sung in the prescribed raag it gives the words an emotional charge and thereby creates a true understanding of the way the gurus intended the message to be conveyed.? Different shabds relate to different common themes. There are 34 different raags which convey the whole range of human emotion.

Know how not just know what. ?It gives procedural knowledge that is in your cells and subconscious, not just representational knowledge in your ideas. Informs our formative tendencies, to structure our structuring. It is the order behind the order.

2 voices

We have 2 voices inside the voice of the ego and the voice of the soul. We are often speaking to ourselves and others from the perspective of the ego mind. We need to establish a relationship between the mind (selfish and impatient side) and the soul (honest and sincere side).? We can then acknowledge both and get them to work together rather than against each other. We are all working through our patterns and processes, our karma to line up with our core intelligence, to find our integrity. The question is whether this this a joyful journey or a struggle. The teachings are compassionate. Time is brutal.

The technology of the yoga of sound

The ancient yogis considered that there were 2 caves; the bij (seed) gupha is the cave for bringing in new life, using the male & female sexual organs for procreation. The second cave is gian gupha which is the cave of wisdom; tongue and mouth are used as a merger with the divine where the tongue represents the penis and the mouth the vagina – you are making love to yourself! There are 84 points – 32 pairs of points on the hard palate nearer to the teeth and 20 pairs in a ‘U’ shape on the central part of the palate. When stimulated by the tongue these points are like a pressing the right keys on a keyword to access the computer. The computer is the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus is connected to the pituitary which is the master endocrine gland and plays a key role in regulating hunger, thirst, sleep, moods, emotional behaviour and sexuality. So Shabd Guru stimulates the hypothalamus to change the chemistry of the brain so that it becomes a more highly receptive instrument. It also helps the mental, emotional and physical bodies to integrate more harmoniously. In fact there are;

4 areas affected by sound and breathe combination via neuro-endocrine link.

  • ‘the autonomic nerves, sympathetic and parasympathetic that control states of excitement, relaxation and high performance
  • the senses and c.n.s. through the neuro-chemical ocean of the body that connects all the cells
  • ?endocrine system that produces hormones and controls our moods and the feeling of vitality and energy
  • the immune system?

 

 

The problems of these times

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Problems of these times

Chronic illness, including changes happening at a cellular level (for example cancer is the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells), auto immune disease (the system that would normally protect you starts attacking you), hormonal imbalances leading to disturbed sleep patterns and mood swings including irritability and anger, sugar cravings, high/low blood pressure, PMS, low/high libido, addictions/obsessions/compulsions, depression, disorientation, feelings of helplessness, alienation, loss of meaning, diffusion of identity, errors of judgement and withdrawal. This is coming from several unparalleld changes:

(1) Information Overload

Including increase in complexity of tasks and conflicting messages. Exposed to masses of information all trying to form/mould you (including e.g.; advertising/social structure/history competing to engineer us). Not easy to know what is relevant/no clear way to filter out useless. All of this is causing a bottleneck of stress and inability to process. Also a constant bombardment of discordant vibrations.

(2)?We are living in a time of great paradox

  • Fast pace and less time.
  • More global and yet demands to be individualise; to be unique.
  • A breakdown of extended communities, especially the extended family that would often live together, and so a need for other communities to establish. Often crowded cities have the most single people living alone and feeling isolated.
  • Fewer boundaries and yet more demand for political separation/clear demarcation of policies as a consequence; diffusion of identity makes some look towards ‘leaders’ to give them a voice.?

(3) An emphasis on the technological and material side of bringing increased complexity, deferred responsibility and lack of human contact.

(4) Success is measured by our stamina and constant peak performance.

(5) Illusion of Choice.

All knowledge and information is available at the touch of a button but to choose wisely assumes that we have a reference point from which to assess our real needs and determine our values.

What?s happening in technology puts particular demands on us

We need faster processing power.

More information storage capacity

Greater Complexity; because there are multi levels, for example within an organization there is less predictability. There is also greater accountability through greater tracking. This means that karmic consequences are more immediate.

More networking and less boundaries. Communication is global which changes the power relationships.?

Pollutants and radiation puts an increased demand on our endocrine and hormonal systems. All of this leads to an increased sensitivity and load on the C.N.S?(central nervous system)

The end of the Piscean Age and the begining of the Age of Aquarius

Now that we are transitioning out of the Piscean age and into the age of Aquarius we are becoming aware that;

Info and knowledge are not enough we need wisdom. Knowledge becomes wisdom when it becomes your personal experience. We need to reconcile & integrate the spiritual side of life with the material side so that we can find value & meaning.?

The breakup of communities and the unpredictable nature of the times means we are more fearful and insecure. The antidote is more love and unity.

Our actions either directly or indirectly affect many others.?We cannot live as though we are in isolation.

What Is Needed?

Technological complexity will continue unabated so to increase stamina and constantly performing at our peak we need to go inward and regenerate.

Less predictability means we need to become more intuitive so that we find ourselves in the right place at the right time successfully engaged in the right activity.

To appreciate change and learning as lifelong and continuous. Learning how to learn. The many levels and subtleties to learning requires flexibility and adaptability; mentally, emotionally and physically. This means being prepared to let all preconceptions die to discover something new.

Clarity comes from embedded core values and a vertical axis to keep the spiritual alive. A reference point acts as an directive to know when to act and when not to. It is like a rudder to guide and steer us in the right direction whether seas are choppy or calm.

We need an integration of the spiritual side of life with the material side. We need a spiritual fitness to give meaning. We over identify with the ego mind which makes us forget our relative value and limitations.?

Intellect is not enough we need in-tell-igence. An abundance of knowledge will no longer represent empowerment.?It gives the illusion that so much is possible, the illusion of control. In fact it adds to the confusion. Guidance comes from embedded ?core values? that open up our capacity to relate intuitively via a sense of the infinite to the unity of the uni-verse.

The coming age will be governed by increased sensitivity and whether we can live with this. People will numb out more. ‘Cold Depression’ will become more widespread. We need the capacity to read the context & relate universally to have a healthy sense of proportion and perspective.

Read about the solution in the post; mantra, shabd and the yoga of sound

Presence and Power, Attitude and Energy

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Attitude and Energy

There are many claims made for healing at an energetic level and many claiming ?everything is just energy?

Thankfully most people don’t expect to be completely healed by visiting a health practitioner and often the most stubborn health issue/s (usually one or two) don’t ever completely resolve however long you have treatment for and however many practitioners you try.

Energy Improves

Despite this because the flow of energy improves so does your overall energy levels, some other symptoms and perhaps there is some shift, however small in the most stubborn complaint (that is manifesting at the soul/genetic level). So, for example you feel less tired, your digestion and sleep improve and you feel better, even though the original complaint, that bugs you the most, does not ever really resolve. These are often issues that run in a family, and so run deep in the genes. Some people therefore conclude that holistic medicine does not work. For others they are happy to enjoy the often unexpected benefits of other things improving.

Blocks to the healing process

When considering blocks to the healing process it is honest for the practitioner and liberating to the client to work towards a change of attitude as well as a change in energy. A change of attitude is a change of perspective and a change of thinking and this is more likely to last in the long run and usually has more chance of persisting to impact us at the deeper levels where the resistance and inherited karmic patterns are deeper.?

Energy and power, consciousness and presence

This corresponds to the elements of water; power. And air; presence. Blocks to healing can arise in relation to both. In this excerpt from his book ‘Let The Numbers Guide You’ Shiv Charan shows that it’s not just about energetic change; ???

‘Different religious and cultural communities tend to emphasize different pairs of numbers. The 2 and 8 are numbers (water element) that have been central too much in the oriental way of thinking. The association of the Tao with the element water, the study of the polarities of yin and yang, the eight trigrams of the I Ching, the eight spokes on the wheel of dharma in the Buddhist tradition…

Generally speaking it is harder, or just more challenging since it calls for more consciousness and responsibility, to negotiate a change of a person’s attitude as opposed to changing the energy flow, whether within the person or in their environment. Therefore, water power or energy flow has tended to become the popular concerns of practices such as Feng Shui since it does not call upon the responsibility of the people to influence their environment and their own lives. Rather it places all the emphasis on external factors in the na?ve hope that people will gain benefit from this without their own contribution of presence. (Note this is contrary to the original spirit of Feng Shui, which concerns itself with both the movement of the wind and the water powers)’ (Shiv Charan Singh p 181 & 144 ? 145 Let the Numbers Guide You)

How is growing up different for men and women

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Differences between men and women in the transition from child to adult

Problems for men

The male has extra challenges at birth. Yogic teachings say that ‘acid bath? numbs the right hemisphere of the brain. This can be balanced during pregnancy, in child raising, and by the maturing adult?s decision to give birth to his intuitive and sensitive nature. Secondly, he faces more of a polarity during his separation from the Mother, especially between the ages of 7-14.

The man commonly projects the image of the ideal woman in an attempt to resolve his separation anxiety. In addition he has resented at times being told what to do by his Mother. This ?backlash? accounts in no small part for the over emphasis on the woman as a sex object to be manipulated and controlled. This is of course exploited and exacerbated by the media.

If the mother is unaware of the process of separation that the son must confront or if there are no good male role models this can set up a cycle for faliure in future relationships. This is made worse if he is dominated or over mothered.

There is a more gradual maturation of creative potential within the young man with the adult trying to appear mature before they are. Yogi Bhajan advised against sexual activity until the man is 24 years old saying that the testicles are not fully mature until this time.

Problems for women

For the female there is less polarity & separation. Both the Mother and her daughter have arc lines, from nipple to nipple and across the heart chakra, which maintains their connection. The main problem comes if the mother did not want a girl, then the self-esteem of the child is affected.

The girl matures earlier than the boy in most cases which also accounts in part for a higher percentage of success rates in pre-secondary schooling. 14 – 21 can be a difficult transition time for women as their physical form is changing and they often become self conscious. Promiscuity may become a pattern in an attempt to feel loved; Woman must differentiate between need and love. Between her nieve instinct and her awakening intuition. Her intuition helps her to tell the difference between his ego (and lies) and his essence.

Quick meals

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Quick meals (once you have a stock!)

Chickpea Soup (River Cottage,?light and easy,?Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – a favourite cook book)

Serves 2 – 4

 

Your organs are characters in the story of your life

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Healing from the inside out

Considering the story of your life; every organ is a character with a special role to play. Depending on health and lifestyle choices, organs can become friends or foes. Learn how to harmonize your inner supporting cast; achieving inner health, harmony and peace.

Your organs are people!

The 10 major organs of the body are alive in us! The liver is the teacher, the heart is the emperor and the lung is the artist, and also the warrior. By getting to know these teachers within and applying their teachings you can transform your health and your life.

The distinction between body and mind and the brain and the body are created but us. Medical science continues to reveal that the hormones made in our organs affect the brain as much or more than the brain affects the organs. For example, our white cells know how to adapt and engage the body to kill off foreign invaders. They have memory, make decisions and communicate.

Yin and Yang Organs

The yin organs resemble yin in being more dense, nourishing and static. They store vital and purified substances such as blood, qi, and body fluids. They connect us to our spirit and we can’t easily live without them. They are the Spleen and Pancreas, Kidney, Heart and Lung. The Liver operates as the bridge between our spiritual and material life.

The Heart and Lung can be seen as having hollow and dense aspects and so they are seen as the more yang of the yin organs. Also because they are in the upper (yang) part of the body. The Heart in particular is constantly beating and is mostly hollow, it moves and stores the blood. It is the most yang of the yin organs.

The yang organs connect us to our material life. They are active, digesting and transforming the substances that are moved along them. Yang corresponds to activity and so these organs are constantly filling and emptying. They change, separate and excrete the products of the food we eat in order to give us energy. They are also more in contact with the exterior of the body if we consider the mouth as an extension of the stomach, the bladder ending in the urethra and the intestines ending at the anus.

Extraordinary Organs

These are the brain, uterus, bone marrow and Gallbladder. These are organs that are hollow but filled with purified substances. They are then yang in structure but yin in function.

Click on the Organ Chart Summary below these 2 videos to read more about the associations between body, mind and spirit that come alive when we come to know that characters that live within us!

 

Organ Chart Summary

The eternal soul

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Despite all of our efforts to keep healthy the body is complex and paradoxical. After the loss of our premature baby boy at 15 hours old it was revealed that my wife had liver disease from an unknown cause and needed a new one. Life’s big challenges, and a regular kundalini yoga practice, remind us that we are not our body or our mind, or the emotional ups and downs of life. We are a soul with a destiny and our soul lives on after we die. Since you won’t be needing your body when you die carry a donor card to remind you of the unique opportunity you have to bring life back to those that our still living once your soul is ready to move on.

In the Sikh faith we use the expression ‘ Cherdi Kala’ which means always be in elevated spirits. Your soul is always elevated, undiminishable as it is. It cannot be improved upon or healed, or negatively effected by anything that happens to us. It is just waiting, calmly and patiently for us to return to it.

Mental Health and Choice

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Everyone’s life is full of all kind of symptoms and co-morbidities.
It is just a matter of a continuum. Some have more, others less.
The same with health and the balance between the life instinct and the death instinct. Everyone is always in the midst of that struggle and each is in a different place along the continuum.
The professionals decide the points along these lines where things get labelled as a condition requiring special attention.
In the end our work is to become more conscious. More conscious of what? That we are a spiritual being having a human experience. That our identity is a spiritual one, first and foremost.
What this means is that our soul doesn?t have ADD, bipolar, schizophrenia, OCD. Our soul is not in the least bit anxious or depressed. And what do we mean when we say soul? We mean our essence, our base, the One in us. So, on the deepest level there is no dis-ease.
How does the realisation that we are essentially perfect, free beings help us if we are struggling and in pain? If we come back to the objective of becoming more conscious, consciousness implies that we have a choice to react, to behave in a certain way.
Now, sometimes we only realise that we were behaving in an unconscious way after the event, for example; ? we lose our temper and we only realise later that there was a chance, a choice moment, however fleeting to have responded without anger, calmly even.
The reasons we don?t feel like we have a choice, or even that it is an affront to your sensibilities that I even suggest there was a choice (given your family, given the drugs, given the regime, given the unfairness of it all) are complex and varied.
My only invitation here is to give us a starting point for discussion; When am I reacting out of my past, old behavioural patterns and fear, and when I am choosing to respond with alignment and integrity? And how can I do the things that set me up to have more alignment and integrity?