For most of us, we start yoga and we are so inspired by what we feel and experience during the first few months or even years that we need very little encouragement to motivate us to a dedicated and committed practice. Our bodies react in surprising ways to what we do with it in yoga. Our emotions start to calm down and we feel yoga is our weekly saving grace from a hectic schedule. And the mind, suddenly the monkey starts to just relax and the constant chatter of the mind dies down. We feel content, centred and even happier than before. Yoga works! And you need very little encouragement from anybody to be on your mat week in and out.
Then one morning you wake up and it happened. You feel stuck in your practice. You wish that your teacher would just do or say something today in class to motivate, inspire, and bring back the yoga mojo a little in you. In fact, you start to blame your teacher for not doing enough to move you to your happy and inspired place. You look in every class for validation; you want reassurance that you are still doing it right, that somebody notice your perfect downward dog or your gracefully executed headstand. As gregarious beings, we want to feel noticed and we want feel inspired.
As your teacher, I want to inspire you week in and week out, I want you to know I see you even if you think I don’t. It is a balancing act for teachers to be strict in terms of motivating their yogis to be in class no matter what, because how can we inspire you if you are not there? But, on the other hand we also need to tone down the discipline sometimes as many might interpret it as being too strict, to authoritarian and inflexible, when they need flexibility and tolerance.
A yoga class is not a one-size-fits-all type of practice. There isn’t a single recipe to encourage and inspire yogis. What worked yesterday will not work tomorrow, therefore for me over the years I focus less on the method and more on the ingredients, in other words, who are in my classes. The right ingredients will work together to make an inspiring and amazing dish – same with a class, the right people in each class will motivate and inspire people to come back week in and out. And if a particular class doesn’t work for you anymore, ask your teacher to move. Sometimes I ask somebody to move to another class. Each one of my classes has its own personality and each class is suited to some and sometimes it is not. Doesn’t mean the teacher and yoga doesn’t inspire you anymore, you just need to find the recipe where you will work with the other ingredients.
To get you started, here are a few ways to inspire you, to get to the right group where you will perform optimally again:
Let go of Expectations
Having a healthy expectation of yourself, yoga and your teacher is natural and a balanced outlook will inspire you. But expecting the impossible both from yourself, your teacher and the other yogis in your class is a sure way to kill the inspiration.
Remember your Original Intention
So many times we start doing yoga with one simple intention in mind, over time Ego starts to get hold of us again and we added too many intentions which become tiresome and we start to feel uninspired. Remind yourself again why you started yoga in the first place. Keep that intention alive as it will cultivate inspiration.
Know the Ingredients, Not Just the Recipe
Get to know the ingredients, in other words, reach out to the other yogis in your class. I cannot say this enough, you have a new family in your yoga group, but you need to reach out, be part of the group, and be that one ingredient that makes the recipe awesome. Be awesome when you walk into a class and realise you are part of a very special recipe with other awesome ingredients.
Sharing, Not Just Lecturing
As your teacher I am here to share. And I shall always share freely my advice, my knowledge, my compassion, my teachings, my asanas – I am not your mother, I am not here to tell you what to do and what not. I am here to share and to ensure that your practice evolves you and moves you. And in sharing I trust I motivate and inspire you. You need to find the inspiration and you can only find it, if you are in the class on your mat on a regular basis.
Own your Practice
Own your successes and small victories. When you eventually get something right, realise the magnitude of what it has moved inside you. Inspiration comes from noticing the small little changes after a while and realising that a regular practice makes the difference. You make the difference by being on your mat without excuse. As I always say, there are two reasons why you skip a class: your death and the flu. All the rest is just excuses. Come to class, even after an operation or giving birth, you don’t have to do anything, but being there WILL make the difference you need, because is it all about the energy.
Respect is not a FOUR Letter Word
Respect is a discipline and an attitude in life. Respect is not about appreciation and praise and admiration, but it is about being committed, disciplined and to be on your mat in class. It is beyond rules; it is an attitude that inspires you to be above the need for appreciation and praise. Respect is an inner knowing and attitude that inspire you to belief in yourself, your practice and I am the best I can be.
Yoga is about Growth
Lastly, if you think yoga is about being able to stand on your head or do the perfect cockerel, then your Ego has taken over and you will not feel inspired. Leave the competiveness at home, it kills inspiration instantly. Your Ego is your greatest obstacle to the growth yoga can bring. That constant growth inspires you to do a little more every time. But, if you have lost this motivation, you have also lost inspiration. Rekindle your own inspiration by focusing on the growth aspect of yoga and not the look-what-I-can-do aspect.
As your teacher I belief in the individual capabilities of each of my yogis. Each yogi in my class inspire me to be on my mat and to move and grow my own practice. I can only inspire you if you are in my class.
In the West yoga has been marketed as a system with many benefits, so I am not going to go into it in depth. We all know how yoga can enhance your mood, calm the nervous system and focus our attention, however, most of us also know that these benefits don’t last as long as we want them to last. Sometimes, moments after leaving a class the world will challenge you with a bombastic road user or a crisis at home. We are confronted with the same issues, problems and challenges once we leave a class, which leaves us frustrated and to an extent exhausted. It seems the more we want peace and harmony, the more the world would through the opposite to us. On your yoga mat and meditation cushion, yes we can taste the POTENTIAL for growth, we feel the peace and love and light and harmony, yet off the mat we encounter greater resistance. But how can we affect a more lasting change then?
I would frequently sit before a class and just talk to my yogis and if you listen carefully most of the time they complain about tension, stiffness or even pain in the hip area and sometimes they would refer to their chests and how tight it may be after a cold or flu. The hips and heart seem to be receptacles for frustration. “My hips are so tight!” people say, or “How do I open my chest—no matter how hard I try, it doesn’t seem to respond!” This is because much of our emotional issues are concentrated in the hips and heart. It seems to me the heart, chest and hips are receptacles for our painful memories, hurtful emotions and unresolved issues. But on the other hand they are also the founts from which creativity flow, so we express a need to open the heart and hips in order to open ourselves to connect more deeply with our bodies and innate creativity. And in this connection lies the solution to our sometimes very complex emotional states. This is the gift of yoga to you, greater awareness unravels the emotional issues, yes difficult at first, but transformational as we grow and continue of our yoga path.
THE ISSUES ARE IN OUR TISSUES
Yoga doesn’t rid us of our anxieties, our fears, our sorrows or our stress: it just creates awareness that we have these fears, anxieties, sorrows and stresses and if we stay long enough on the yoga path, we start to understand why we harbour these emotions, I call it: awareness that the issues are in our tissues. From a purely Western point of view, it may not make sense that we store our “issues in our tissues” for that Western medicine has alienated us from our bodies and why we have certain diseases and illnesses. However, from a spiritual point of view, it starts to make sense that our mind, body and emotions are inextricably linked. We are much more what we think rather than what we eat! However, we are always surprised when yet another issue arises just as we think we have now worked through it all. My yoga teacher, Sri Durga, used to call it stirring the coffee grounds. There is always something more, yoga seems to penetrate our membranes of defences to reach the deepest, most primitive layers of experience. So the practice of Yoga can feel like opening Pandora’s Box: a primal storehouse of memories, emotions and experiences awaits us. The problem is that this storehouse of memories, emotions etc. seem to evade us most of our life until we start to practice something like yoga which brings us within reach of the subconscious mind. And this is the power of yoga, it transforms us, yoga forces us to live in the present, to focus on what is now in front of us and to being mindful of the here and now.
Once our yoga practice starts to be more than just another set of exercise and we connect deeply with ourselves, our body, emotions and mind, in other words when the transformation starts, we are confronted with unexpected consequences. We seek peace, but yoga brings anger and disharmony, we see happiness, but yoga brings sorrow and sadness or we seek love and yoga brings us rage and anger! We all respond differently to what yoga throw our way, I have noticed two kinds of responses:
The nervous system sounds the alarm and moves us into a fight or flight lockdown.
Or, the emotional energy that comes surging forth from our depths creates a state of denial or cognitive disassociation.
Whatever option we choose, each one forces us in a different way to look at ourselves and to start to acknowledge that we are on a path of change, of self-healing and making peace with the story of our lives.
YOUR STORY
Every life on this planet is worth a book! We all have a story to tell and in that story there are different chapters, actors and scenes. We constantly move in and out between the different stories and scripts. Some is simple stories: my grandmother died when I was 10 years old – this is what this sadness is about. Or more complex: my partner is abusive, cold and emotionally distant, he/she isn’t taking care of me – why I feel such anger and frustration. Or another scenario might be: look how my teacher is assisting that person over there; I’m clearly not one of his/her favourite students – reason for my resentment and jealousy. Our story usually fits our mental and emotional patterns (or samskaras). And this is the amazing aspect of yoga, it creates awareness of the patterns and the reasons why we repeat these patterns so that we can mindfully start to change our mind and say: I am not my father or I am not this pattern I am repeating, I am not this anger, this rage, this jealousy or depression. Once we cognitively start to recognise and realise that we are just repeating old samskaras, then the healing, the transformation can start to happen.
We have this amazing power within us, the power to change our story. Change is the only constant we can be sure of, so instead of fighting change, why not accepting it lovingly into your life and see how different your life might become!
THE CHALLENGE
Unfortunately affecting this change in our lives doesn’t come easy, the Ego will try to dissuade you from change, from transformation, it will always try to navigate back to the old familiar patterns and this is the challenge: to change before the pattern become too deeply ingrained. Our mind has specific way to cope with the different stories in life, it likes to run away with a story, give it so many add-ons that we later become confused and in this chaos of confusion we start to repeat old patterns, fear, anxiety, anger, resentment etc. reach into the depths of our consciousness and takes residence there. The danger is that later we cannot remember what the original issue was! This coping mechanism of our mind and Ego lure us away from the original and deep emotion that needs our attention. In this way, it reinforces the very patterns that clearly contribute to our suffering. And it short-circuits the opportunity the story gives us: to go inward and root out the long-standing samskaras that cause us suffering.
THE SOLUTION
This might sound like a cliché, but there is great truth in the statement of my life partner: “Let’s not confuse the issues here!” Whenever we have a difference we need to sort out and I would bring in too many other issues, he would call a time-out moment and remind me of this. It is hard not to bring in other narratives and even harder to focus all our attention on this one story in the here and now. It is human nature it seems to reach to the depths of our minds and to pull out old stories and trying to connect them to what is happening in the here and now. Staying present, being mindful of the moment are tools that can assist us on our path, it can help us to handle our stories better, resolving them quicker, reaching an understanding of the why and how on a deeper level of our being. So yoga is about inhabiting our bodies in a deep way and teaching us to be mindful.
HOW YOGA HELPS
I have written about this, but I am going to repeat it here again: I have this little experiment I do in my yoga classes to illustrate certain truths – I would ask my yogis do to a simple Tree Pose, focusing all their attention on that pose for that moment. Amazingly, when we breathe deeply, focus our attention and will, we can all do a well balanced Tree Pose. I would bring them out of the pose, ask them to feel what they have done and then I would do the other side. Once they are in the pose I would ask them to think about their day, their problems, work, money problems etc. and like clockwork they would all lose the balance and focus. Yoga helps us to sort the issues, by forcing us to be in the moment, focus on what is at hand and to do that well. In that way yoga transforms us, makes us more focused, looking at the issues one by one and transform each one over time.
Google “yoga and hypertension” or “yoga and high blood pressure” and the number of articles are just staggering in support of yoga being beneficial in assisting to regulate blood pressure. One thing is also very clear from all these articles and research and that is that yoga is not a cure for hypertension, just an aid in helping to ensure a lowered blood pressure. The one thing that is missing from most of these articles is the data to support their findings, so when one of my yogis who is busy doing her Yoga Teacher’s Training Course with me reached the module on yoga and high blood pressure, we decide it would be a good exercise for her to collect some data on blood pressures pre and post a yoga class.
The class was a normal Hatha yoga class of 45 minutes followed by a 15 minute period of relaxation. We basically took everybody’s BP before class and then again after class directly after relaxation session. And the info from that is in support of what most studies find, yoga does lower the blood pressure. With the exception of three blood pressures that showed an increase, the rest all decreased. Here with a chart of the pre and post BP’s:
Yoga can be a very effective and non-invasive way of reducing high blood pressure. It is particularly effective in reducing the diastolic number – which is the most important. It is suggested that people with high blood pressure should only practice certain asanas (postures), whilst acknowledging that there are other asanas that are not suitable for them. The yogic practices of meditation and pranayama (breathing exercises) are also particularly beneficial for people who suffer from high blood pressure. We did not include any specific pranayama, but focussed throughout the class on proper deep breathing. As an inversion we did include Halasana (plow pose) followed by Viparita Karani (legs up the wall pose). I gave no special instructions or warning during this class about what they could and couldn’t do, we decided that all classes would be uniform and the same practice was repeated for three classes.
ASANAS
People with high blood pressure are usually cautioned to be careful in approaching exercise. This is generally because vigorous exercise puts stress on the cardiovascular system, including raising heart-rate and blood pressure. Before engaging in any sort of exercise program, including yoga of any type or variety, people with any sort of cardiovascular condition including high blood pressure should consult their physician. However, yoga asanas are not considered to be cardiovascular exercises as such. Rather than placing the focus on cardiovascular fitness yoga is more about achieving a balance between body and mind, energizing your body in the process. According to The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali an “asana is a steady comfortable posture”. During most exercise practices the heart is put under stress as the requirement for blood and oxygen is increased. In asanas however, the requirement for blood and oxygen decreases as there are not strains and every muscle is relaxed. When done with conscious breathing asanas balance and stabilize autonomic nervous system resulting in the regulation of blood pressure.
The asanas that regulate the blood pressure belong to the forward bends, supine, sitting, and some of the inversions group. However forward bends are the fundamental asanas to be practiced by persons suffering from high blood pressure, as the sense organs: eyes, nose, throat and tongue are relaxed thereby resting the sympathetic nervous and creating a positive effect on the parasympathetic system. It the appendix of his book Light on Yoga, B. K. S. Iyengar recommends the following asanas for individuals suffering from high blood pressure: Plow Pose, Head to Knee Pose, Heroes Pose, Accomplished Pose, Lotus Position, Corpse Pose and the Pachimotonasana Series: Half Lotus Intense Stretch Pose, Three Limbs Facing Intense West Stretch and Seated Forward Fold.
Research also indicates that shoulder stand is particularly effective as the pose calms the body, “lowering blood pressure by clamping down on the carotids effectively making the local pressure very high. This sends a message to the parasympathetic system, which assumes that the brain tissues are suffering from too much blood, and orders the heart and circulatory system to compensate with pressure cuts.”[sic] (The Science of Yoga: the risks and the rewards – W.J Broad).
PRANAYAMA
In addition to practicing asanas, Yogic breathing has been shown to have a positive effect on blood pressure. Even for those who’ve never been exposed to yoga before, deep breathing can help to reduce the effects of constant daily stress, including rise in blood pressure. Conscious breathing lowers blood pressure (as well as the amount of the stress hormone cortisol) that is present in the body. Extended pranayama can lead to a sustained lower heart rate. A recent study showed beneficial effects even from short-term practice of regular pranayama and meditation techniques, with significant reduction in resting pulse rate, systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure. Pranayama has been shown to influence the cardiovascular system with decrease in heart rate, and blood pressure:
Uijayi Pranayama (or Victorious Breath): This is a balanced and calming breathing technique which builds heat in the body and increases oxygenation, it also this also affects the cartiod sinus which helps to normalize high blood pressure, and
Naddi Shoddi (or alternate nostril breathing): This is very calming to the nervous system as a whole.
MEDITATION
Meditation is another beneficial yogic practice for people with high blood pressure. The body’s physical reaction to stress is not always the same for everyone, but with negative stress there is no real relaxation between one stress situation and the next. Meditation is the study of concentration. The mind and body are very intimately connected; when the mind is completely at ease, the whole body gains complete rest. Practicing meditation techniques in times of physical or mental stress helps to manage the “fight or flight” response to negative stress and lower blood pressure.
There is no single meditation technique that is best for everyone. The right technique is the one which focuses the mind and to elicit the relaxation response. Some examples of meditation techniques are:
Deep Breathing Meditation: This meditation can be practiced almost anywhere and is the cornerstone for many other relaxation practices.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: A technique for reducing anxiety by alternately tensing and relaxing the muscles. As the body relaxes so too does the mind.
Mindfulness: By focusing attention on a single repetitive action such as a word, mantra, breathing, picture or candle the mind becomes calm and focused, bringing the nervous system into balance.
Yoga Nidra: A guided practice, which puts the body and mind into a deep state of relaxation.
STRESS
According to many studies, high blood pressure is influenced by the stress and strain of the modern lifestyle. There is a wealth of clinically significant research that suggests adopting yogic practices and principles can help to improve health and mental well-being, increasing resiliency to stress, and, by extension, to high blood pressure. It may seem like stating the obvious, but if one reduces stresses on the mind and the body by eating healthy diet focused on pure, wholesome and nutritious foods, practicing yoga asanas, pranayama and meditation the blood pressure can be controlled within normal limits.
Important note: If you want to try any of the previous suggestions, do not stop any prescribed medications without consulting with your doctor first. Most of these studies have shown that alternative therapies have the ability to help people with pre or mild hypertension avoid medication, or help people who can’t tolerate medications, but are not effective enough for people with severe cases to get off medication altogether. People with hard-to-control blood pressure, however, can use these therapies in conjunction with medication to help bring their numbers down even more.
I recently did my annual Yoga Retreat (17-19 April 2015) with a group of my yogis at HaPhororo Retreat Centre in Hartbeespoortdam and would like to share some insights that came out of this retreat and again why a retreat is so important, the immeasurable value of a yoga retreat.
The Waterfall that represents the name of HaPhororo
A retreat refreshes and revitalizes, gives the opportunity for more time spent in meditation, contemplation, yoga and rekindles and deepens one’s relationship with the Divine. A retreat is an opportunity to seek out Divine Grace, to surrender to the silence and hear the Inner Voice speaks and thereby attain a degree of spiritual renewal. The purpose of a spiritual retreat, as an addition to daily spiritual activities, is to temporarily leave behind the usual distractions we all face for a time long enough to allow relaxation and for an inner change to occur: the ongoing conversion of heart that is critical to deepening our resolve to stick to our chosen Spiritual Path.
When I think of retreats I am always inspired by Christ who went away for long periods or who got up very early in the morning to pray in a solitary place (Mark 1:35-37). Sometimes Jesus would spend an entire night in retreat: “In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12). And, this is also relayed: “The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.” (Mark 6: 30-32) No doubt, the apostles were energized by the response of the crowds they encountered, but they still needed a chance to recharge before carrying on. A Yoga Retreat adheres to this calling and I want to encourage my yogis and every yogi to at least undertake one Yoga Retreat in your life with your teacher.
A Magnificent Labyrinth
The Basic Elements of Retreat
Retreats differ from conferences, seminars, and meetings in that the primary work is interior spiritual development through a prolonged period of reflection rather than simply being exposed to information and techniques. The retreats I organised are based around a traditional offering of plenty own time for reflection balanced with activities (talks, yoga, walks, labyrinths, golden silence, meditation etc). For me a retreat must include:
Minimum duration. A common format is a three day retreat that begins Friday evening and ends Sunday afternoon. However as everybody noted during our last retreat at HaPhororo, another day would have been beneficial. And we have decided to extend the end of the year Retreat with another day.
Meals. Having meals at the retreat site avoids disruption of leaving to another location for meals or cooking it self; the meal becomes, instead, an effective component of the retreat and plays a role parallel to the fellowship meals that Jesus shared with his Apostles. HaPhororo offered us a delectable and fantastic vegetarian meal three times dialy. It is important to realise just as the soul is nourished during a retreat the body will need good sattvic nourishment to keep up with the spiritual nourishment.
Adequate time specifically set aside for meditation, contemplation and silence. Each retreat should maintain a balance between meditation, contemplation, silence and the other activities. It is in the moments of silence that we internalize and grasp the spiritual lessons we learned during a retreat. It is during these moments of silence that our understanding of yoga and our own spiritual side deepens.
A restful setting, with availability of nature walks. In order to accomplish the goal of “retreat,” the site should have some degree of insulation from the ordinary busy life; even if located in the heart of a city, the retreat site should have grounds for walking and a relatively quiet and peaceful atmosphere and Haphororo strike a wonderful balance in this case.
Personal space. We all need personal space away from the other retreat goers at some point during the day to reflect on our own, to rest, a retreat is hard work on many levels, and HaPhororo offered excellent accommodation with ample opportunity for privacy.
Spiritual direction. Though not everyone may take advantage of it, my retreats offer the opportunity for yogis to speak to me, to get guidance, spiritual direction and for many a retreat renew their commitment to their spiritual path.
The Zen Garden
Encouraging Retreat Participation
Usually personal retreats can be arranged with very little effort and the retreat centre leave it up to you what and how much you want to do. Personally I am not for this type of retreat, because very often you end up doing nothing and the purpose of visiting a retreat site is lost.
A group retreat inherently encourage individuals on the retreat to participate, to get involved and ultimately your participation lead to greater and deeper understanding, the development of your own inner wisdom and also grasping the path of yoga more fully.
If you are in another country or even city in South Africa and you are reading this, I want to encourage you to do a retreat and a retreat is best done with your own teacher. I know there are many retreats being advertised, but I do not encourage people to do a retreat with a stranger. Only your teacher will know you, if your teacher doesn’t do retreats, why not encourage them to present a retreat.
Koi Pond at HaPhororo
To Yoga Teachers (South Africa only)
Are you a yoga teacher and want to present a retreat but have no idea what to do on a retreat, how to go about it? I will present a Retreat Workshop for Yoga Teachers in 2016, if you are interested please send me a message and I will contact you with all the costs, dates and venue information. I have spend many hours and days with my own teacher on retreats, attend various retreats in India in 2005, 2007 and 2009. I have conducted 5 retreats with my own yogis up to date and would like to impart and share my knowledge with other teachers who would like to offer retreats to their yogis.
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~Buddha
Many of us has programmed our lives with certain statements, ideas and thoughts, which we belief to be true and we repeat this process of affirming these statements, ideas and thoughts on a daily basis. Sometimes we repeat the same statement over and over to such an extend that we become that statement. The sad part of most these statements, ideas and thoughts are that they are repeated out of fear, ignorance and because we firmly belief that is who I AM.
My career life started out in 1994 as a 2nd language teacher and during my first year (I started teaching in the middle of the year) I inherited a class who was neglected by their previous teachers and who had a 0% pass rate in Afrikaans 2nd language. They all belief that they couldn’t spell and they didn’t want to learn Afrikaans (at that point SA changed from Apartheid government to the democratic elected ANC-led government) and would usually use statements such as “I don’t want to learn Afrikaans” or “I have never been able to spell” or “I don’t need languages, I am going to be a scientist” to convince me to give up on them.
Initially my work was less about teaching them Afrikaans than it was about teaching them that a change in their beliefs about themselves and changing their minds about their future will benefit them.
“I never want to hear you say you’re not good at Afrikaans in my class again,” I’d say. I’d ask them to switch to “I’m learning Afrikaans” or “I’m getting better at Afrikaans” or “I’m working on my spelling.”
So whenever they would employ negative self-talk I would draw their attention to that, stop the class and then transform it into positive statements. “I know it sounds freaky, but give it a chance,” I’d have to say. “Yes, I know it you don’t feel like changing your mind yet!” They’d roll their eyes and just laughed at me. Slowly but surely some of them started to change their minds, started to realise the impact of positive self-talk in their lives and some of them actually started to enjoy Afrikaans. Some of them employ it in their other subjects and they were less overwhelmed at the enormity of passing matric that year. By the end of that year and in the final exam nearly 60% of that class passed Afrikaans.
Keep Calm and Change Your Mind
Most of us repeat negative thinking patterns and self-defeating ideas, we sometimes nurture it, because that is all we know and we feel safe in them, even though we wish at the same time we could change it all. Well, there is a way out, it can change and that change starts with you changing your mind!
Let’s draw the class with language issue closer to our own lives. For a moment think of a statement that you hold to be true for you. Now, think carefully, where does that statement come from, who told you that it is true for you? And why do you keep nurturing that statement, even though you know it is not true for you, even though you know it makes you unhappy and want to change it.
If you read this blog, I am sure you know what is an affirmation. And this is the golden key to changing you mind and ultimately your life. Affirmations – I’m sure you’ve heard about them. An affirmation is, simply, positive self-talk, its a way of changing your mind. It’s a statement about ourselves or our situation, phrased in the present tense as if the statement is already true.
Affirmations are agents of change in our lives. I’d like to share with you 4 steps which I use to create mind changing affirmations:
Identify your negative self-talk, thoughts, ideas and beliefs about yourself.
Take those thoughts, ideas etc and create an affirmation for each one out of what you have written down.
The next step is to carry those affirmations with you and use them, daily!
And in time you’ll see the change you want to see in your life.
1. Step One: Identify those negative ideas and thoughts
I know you would want to type it on your PC or Tablet, but be old fashioned, sit down, think about them and write them down in a diary or journal. It is important that we physically connect our neurons with these ideas and thoughts on paper and at the same time we intuitively connect to them as well. What our bodies do, our subconscious learns from.
Fold a the page in your journal in half lengthwise, and then unfold it. On the lift side, write a list of those self-limiting statements you’ve been thinking and saying. “I can’t afford a new car.” Or “It’s hard to lose weight.” Or “I’ll never be successful in my career.”
Now, for a few days listen to yourself, write down the negative self-talk, thoughts and ideas as they arise, make note of the situation in which they have arise and why. Once you are sure you have exhausted that topic it is time for the next step.
2. Step Two: Create some affirmations out of those old beliefs.
This is the difficult step in this process. You need to create new statements for yourself, positive ones that can replace the old ones. Remember your fear of the unknown, your comfort zone will make it initially difficult to come up with new statements, but persist, it will come to you.
Down the right side of your paper, across from each left-side statement, write a new one that transforms that negative statement into a positive.
Examples:
“I can’t afford a new car” becomes “A new car is a real possibility for me.”
“It’s hard to lose weight” becomes “Losing weight is easy for me.”
“I’ll never be successful in my career” becomes “I’m good at my job and deserves success.”
The new statements must be in the present tense. Write “I am…” rather than “I will be…” or “I’m going to be…” Avoid using the word “try” because “I’m trying” is a self-perpetuating statement.
To get around your disbelief about writing something that feels untrue and seems impossible, you can write things like “I’m learning to….” and “I’m getting better at….” It’s still present tense, still a positive affirmation. Something like “I’m getting better at saving money” might feel better than “I’m good at saving money.”
3. Step 3: Begin using the new affirmation statements.
The next step is to make those affirmations part of your life and to start to belief them. As you repeat them over and over they will become the new tune according to which your life will unfold.
However, I have to warn you, changing years and years of programming isn’t easy, it take will, effort and determination to change your mind. And if you slip, don’t stay and wallow in the mud, pick yourself up and start by repeating those new affirmations again. If you catch yourself thinking or saying any of your old (negative) beliefs, stop yourself. Transform it into the positive, right then and there.
Ask your family and friends to help by simply pointing out any negative self-descriptions when you say them. When they do, transform the negative to the positive immediately, and say the new statement aloud to them.
You’re literally changing your mind.
4. Step 4: See the Change unfolding
Goethe said: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
Changing your mind doesn’t happen over night. But starting to manifest a positive life with greater possibilities must be better than what we have. The power of this process is, as you change, those around you will see the change, and they will be influenced by that change. You become a powerful agent for change not only in your own life, but also in the lives of those around you. And that is an empowering thought I think.
We are all familiar with non-verbal communication – it is that aspect of our daily communication that requires no words, but rely on facial and body expressions, hands gestures, frequency of glances, pupil dilation, blink rate of the eyes, aspects such as pitch, volume, intonation and rhythm of the voice it also includes aspects such as the space and time around our bodies and environment. Non-verbal communication represents two-thirds of all our daily communications. All these indicators help us to code and decode messages from and to other people and as humans we are very good at it. We are constantly busy interpreting what other are saying to us non-verbally!
Only a small percentage of the brain processes verbal communication. As infants, non-verbal communication is learned from social-emotional communication, making the face rather than words the major organ of communication. As children become verbal communicators, they begin to look at facial expressions, vocal tones, and other non-verbal elements more subconsciously. We are fluent in non-verbal communication long before we are fluent in words and sentences.
Spiritual Non-Verbal Communication
Mudras (the word means gestures) are the non-verbal communication aspect of yoga and Spirit. We employ our hands, face and even full body to activate certain energies on the subtle level of our existence and we communicate these energies to Spirit with the help of mudras. A mudra is a spiritual gesture and an energetic seal of authenticity employed in the art of communicating with Spirit.
When we sit for example in Padmasana (lotus pose) we not only stimulate the process and flow of prana or energy in the body and on the subtle levels, but we are also indicating to Spirit our intention of sitting for meditation and thus inviting conducive energies to flow while we are in this state of meditation.
Different Mudras
In Tantra Yoga there are 108 mudras that we use to communicate to Spirit what we want to change, achieve or influence during such a performance. It is not the goal or scope of this article to give a description of all of them, but I would like to share a few general and powerful mudras with you and encourage you to please use these mudras when you feel the need for them.
8 Basic and Important Mudras
1. Atmanjali Mudra (Gesture of Prayer) – The gesture is used for both greetings and farewells, but carries a deeper significance than a simple “hello” or “goodbye”. The joining together of the palms is said to provide connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain and represents unification or “yoking”. This yoking is symbolic of the practitioner’s connection with the Divine in all things. Hence, performing Atmanjali mudra is an honouring of both the self and the other as the gesture acknowledges the divinity of both practitioner and recipient. On a spiritual level it communicates our devotion and readiness to give gratitude to the Divine for all our blessings. It also expresses our reverence to the Divine.
2. Abhaya Mudra (Gesture of Promising Protection) – Is a hand pose that is the gesture of reassurance and safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection and bliss to the devotee. In Abhaya mudra, the right hand is held upright, and the palm is facing outwards. This is one of the earliest Mudra found depicted on a number of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina images. This mudra is usually used by a spiritually stronger person (like a deity, master or guru) to dispel fear in his/her disciples and to bring calmness into their hearts and situation. This is also a mudra that is depicted in Christian Iconography of Christ. We see Christ promising protection though this mudra to his flock.
3. Varada Mudra (Gesture of Granting Wishes or Mercy) – It indicates a gesture by the hand and symbolizes dispensing of wishes or mercy. For Varada mudra, left hand is used. It is held out, with palm uppermost and the fingers pointing downwards. Again this mudra is mostly used by a spiritually advanced soul like a deity, master or guru, and is used to indicate that you need to practice the art of forgiveness in order to receive certain wishes or mercy. We see this mudra being used extensively in Christian depictions of the Christ when he shows his wounds in his hands to his disciples, which demonstrates the Great Act of Mercy the Christ performed on behalf of all his followers when he granted forgiveness to all by his sacrifice.
4. Dhyani Mudra (Gesture of Meditation and Contemplation) – This mudra forms into a sort of bowl in your lap and is commonly used in meditation. This is symbolic of emptying yourself to be filled with light. The gifts of light might come in many forms, like expansion of consciousness, greater insight or ease of mind. The point is to let whatever comes come, and trust that you are being cared for. The hands and fingers form the shape of a triangle, which is symbolic of the spiritual fire within all of us. When we assume this classical meditation mudra, we are indicating to Spirit that we are ready allow the Divine Force to act within me and for me. It is an indication that we surrender to Divine Will.
5. Jnana Mudra (Gesture of Knowledge) – In Jnana mudra the hands are placed on the knees in seated meditation with the palms facing up. This mudra gives a feeling of spaciousness and has a subtle uplifting effect on the body and mind. In both Chin and Jnana mudra the connection made by the thumb and index figure is said to create a kind of circuit by connecting the terminus of certain nadi thus re-circulating the body’s vital energy. This mudra connects us on a subtle level to the vast body of spiritual knowledge in the Akasha (ether) and increases our spiritual wisdom.
6. Chin Mudra (Gesture of Consciousness) – This mudra is used in either seated meditation or pranayama such as ujjayi. The hands rest on knees or thighs facing down. This Gesture has a grounding effect on the mind.The middle finger, ring, and little finger represent the three classic qualities of all of nature (the Three Gunas). The middle finger symbolizes sattva, (purity, wisdom and true understanding) the ring finger rajas, (action, passion and movement) and the little finger tamas, (inertia, lethargy and darkness). Classically the yogi is meant to transcend these states, progressing from darkness into light and from ignorance to wisdom. This mudra symbolizes the connected nature of human nature (prakriti) to that of Divine consciousness (perusha) and that we strive for greater connection with the Divine.
7. Yoni Mudra also Uttarabodhi Mudra (Gesture of the Highest Enlightenment) – Yoni is the origin of life. The yoni is also considered to be an abstract representation of Shakti and Devi, the creative force that moves through the entire universe. This mudra connects us with the Mother Principle in the Universe and as such serves to inspire us. It connects us with the Divine Mother and as such to the creative force in the Universe. Yoni is our muse or Divine Inspiration.
8. Pran Mudra (Gesture of Life Flowing) – In this Mudra the tips of the thumb,ring finger and the little finger are touched together while keeping the other two fingers straight. It awakens the dormant power of prana within us and as such provides us with energy when we need it most. On a spiritual level it keeps us alert and helps us to maintain clarity during meditation. It anchors us in our meditation and as such strengthen our meditative resolve.
Spirit provided us with powerful communication tools, of which mudras are extremely powerful, but also safe to use. I encourage you to explore the use of mudras in your life and use them on a regular basis, they have a profound influence on your spiritual awareness and evolution.
If you go onto many yoga websites and especially yoga forums and start to read through the issues and comments and pay attention to who publish them, one soon realises that there are two huge misconceptions prevalent under most users. The first misconception under Westerners is that yoga is just a set of exercises and they don’t want to acknowledge or have anything to do with the spiritual side of yoga. The second misconception is prevalent under the Asian users, especially Indian, who think that yoga in the West has been perverted to a set of exercises only by those who want to line their pockets. Both misconceptions of course carry some truth in it, but both also generalise tremendously.
My yoga teacher, Sri Durga, used to say that it doesn’t matter for what reason you practice yoga, whether it is purely as exercise or for more, the spiritual impact and implication of yoga on your soul is inevitable. I am doing yoga now for 14 years of which I am teaching 6 years. In all these years I have seen it over and over how people come to me for yoga and they are only interested in the physical exercise aspect, but end up so absorb and enchanted by their spiritual growth en newly found spirituality. At this point I usually remind my students that yoga is a process of transformation and every aspect of you are touched by that transformation, you cannot avoid it, as sure as the sun will rise and set, so sure this will happen.
Why does this happen? All beings strive to attain and maintain a level of happiness and in yoga this happiness is referred to as Ananda or Bliss. The truth about Ananda is that it cannot be acquired through education, wealth, toys and gadgets or the fulfilment of other earthly desires through entertainment. But Ananda is achieved through a spiritual practice and discipline such as yoga and the spiritual practices associated with yoga such as meditation, satsang, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and more.
When students become aware of this spiritual growth and evolution in themselves, they usually ask me what they can do to ensure greater progress and maintaining this level of Ananda. As with most things in life, we needs rules and discipline to ensure that we hold onto that what we have achieved and spiritual progress ask for a spiritual practice which is aligned to a few basic principles. These are my basic principles and I trust that you will find their value in your own life as well as they have proof themselves over the years to be highly effective:
1. The summit of the mountain is the same for all
When we start out at the foot of the mountain we are usually not even aware that just a few metres away somebody else is also starting to climb the same mountain. The paths start far apart, but as we progress up the mountain and the paths draw closer to each other and the summit, we suddenly realise we are not alone on the mountain. There are others as well and we all are heading to the same place – the Divine.
It is important to recognise that there are as many spiritual paths as there are people. As a yogi and spiritual traveller we need to understand this and respect each path as truth, no matter how much we might feel that ours is the one and only and correct path. The notion of correctness must be abandoned and replaced the awareness that all is appropriate.
In a spiritual context each of us is a unique blend of the the following parameters.
According to the composition of the 3 subtle basic components (Trigunas) i.e. whether one is sattvic, rajasic or tamasic by nature.
According to the five cosmic elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether)
According to the degree to which, different aspects of spiritual practice, have been completed in prior births.
According to the individual karmic account of give-and-take, destiny and wilful action.
According to our temperament – person may also adopt a certain path depending on his/her temperament.
2. Our essence is One
For many Western yogis who come from a Christian background this is an easy concept to understand and grasp as we grow up with the notion that God is One. From a spiritual point of view we have to take it a step further. We need to realise that “the kingdom of heaven is within us” and as such our essence is the same even though we may differ on the outside. The underlying awareness is that we are ALL Divine in essence and that we need to recognise the Divinity in each other and respect it.
Just as we realise that the true essence of the gold earring, necklace and armband is gold, although each looks different and functions differently, we recognise and realise that the underlying truth of those items, their commonality, is gold.
3. Progressing from gross (tangible) to subtle (intangible)
As we progress on our path the next step is to cultivate awareness regarding the states of existence around us. If we want to make progress we need to transform our spiritual practice by going from just physical actions to a practice at a more subtle level. A subtle spiritual practice is more powerful than a gross one.
To explain: Sometimes you will meet a person at a meeting, you will shake hands with that person and will be courteous and cordial even to the point where others around you might think you two are good friends and like each other. However, the physical display of friendship was merely a façade from both sides in order to get a favourable outcome to the meeting. On the other hand, two people may feel genuine goodwill towards each other, even though there may be no physical contact.
Likewise, when it comes to practicing Spirituality, simply going through the motions of external ritualistic worship (gross level), with no devotion, needs to be replaced by having real inner devotion to the Divine and an intense desire for spiritual growth (subtle level).
4. Your spiritual practice must reflect your inner level
This is one of the great dangers of the spiritual path and can throw many off the path if they are too impatient initially on the spiritual path. I have seen this many times, people discover their spiritual path and the more you as the teacher try to caution them to take it slowly, the more they push forward. It is like going to school, just because you can suddenly read and write doesn’t mean you can now skip grades and progress instantly from grade 3 to grade 6! Many aspirants look at the teacher and think teacher has attained his/her level overnight, not realising that their teacher and fellow travellers are on their own paths for years now already.
However, for the patient student who is willing and prepared to follow the teachings of their teacher, progressing according to their spiritual ability and capacity, the reward at the end is great. Just as we must heed against impatient and forced development, so we must heed against getting stuck on one level of our spiritual practice as well.
Let us go through the various stages of development from the more gross forms of worship to the more subtle forms as per the level of the seeker:
At an initial level, we feel that we can make contact with the Divine, only by going to a place of worship and through praying to a statue of God or a Divine being.
As we progress the next steps is when we feel a connection with the Divine, not just through rituals, but through reading spiritual books whilst sitting in the place of worship, while doing yoga or just watching nature.
Usually the next step is that we even feel that words are too gross and we become aware of the “vibrations” of a place. Just experiencing the vibrations in a church, temple or at a spiritual place such as the Buddhist Retreat in Ixopo or going to India are enough to spiritually nourish a person.
After that we do not need to even go to a place of worship but can experience the Divine in the beauty of Nature, high up in the mountains, at a serene lake, watching a bird feed or the sun setting.
At an even higher level, we do not need nature anymore but can experience the Divine even in daily living and at great will. No matter where you are, there is a quit presence within that permeates all in your life now.
5. Making your spiritual jumps now
The parable of the sower in the Bible immediately comes to mind here. I know many would like to read this parable as an indication that karma and reincarnation is present in Christian dogma and I am myself very partial to it. However, I also feel this parable has a deeper lesson for us and that is that we need to understand that there is an appropriate time for all things to happen in life. If seeds are sown in the dry months instead of the rainy season, then we will have no harvest. Similarly on the spiritual path, certain spiritual practices are more conducive according to the time (yuga) or era we live in.
Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an ‘epoch’ or ‘era’ within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created and destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is one full day (day and night) for Brahma. The lifetime of Brahma may be 311 trillion years. The cycles are said to repeat like the seasons, waxing and waning within a greater time-cycle of the creation and destruction of the universe. Like Summer, Spring, Winter and Autumn, each yuga involves stages or gradual changes which the earth and the consciousness of mankind go through as a whole. A complete yuga cycle from a high Golden Age of enlightenment to a Dark Age and back again is said to be caused by the solar system’s motion around another star. Currently we are in the Kaliyug and as such we are very far from the Sun. The ages see a gradual decline of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, and intellectual capability, and life span, emotional and physical strength, here follow a brief explanation of each yuga:
Satya yuga: This was a very pure era when the average spiritual level of a person was 70% (this is the level of a Saint). These people were so pure spiritually that the Path of Knowledge was best suited to them as they had the potential to spontaneously understand the implied meanings of all the spiritual scriptures.
Treta yuga: This was the era when the spiritual level of the average person dropped to 55% and so they lost their potential to follow the Path of Knowledge. But they were spiritually capable enough to undertake penance (the kind that allowed a seeker stand on one foot for 12 years) and meditation (the kind that made a seeker meditate long enough for an ant hill to grow all over him).
Dwapara yuga: In this era, there was a further decline in the average spiritual level to 35%. People lost their potential for rigorous penance and sustained meditation. Thus it was Divinely ordained that they would be able to make progress through ritualistic worship. These rituals and sacrificial fires (yadnyas) were very time consuming and laborious as they had to be done after searching for the right ingredients. Along with this there were numerous steps that had to be followed to the last detail. But in this era people were religious-minded enough to spend the time, effort and money to do these rituals.
Kali yuga: This is translated as the ‘Era of strife’ and is the current period. The average person’s spiritual level has dropped to only 20%. Our capacity to do any of the above spiritual practices has greatly reduced. But considering the turbulent times we live in and the extent of the spiritual pollution we experience – the Divine has made a simple provision for us to still grow spiritually. And as Sri Durga always pointed out, your greatest spiritual jumps you can make in the kaliyug as the opportunity to grow spiritually is also magnified for those who stick to their path and their discipline.
6. Give according to your talent
All of us have some kind of resources at our disposal. A basic principle in spiritual practice is that we use these same resources to serve the Divine as part of our spiritual practice and grow spiritually. The resources we have fall broadly into four categories: our body, our wealth and worldly connections, our mind and intellect and lastly our sixth sense.
We can use our body to serve the Divine by for example cleaning a venue before a yoga practice or spiritual lecture starts. We can use our body to drive other seekers to the venue or we may offer our body to assist with the lecture or teaching.
When we are unable to offer our body, we can offer our financial resources as way to serve the Divine. We can help to pay for others who don’t have enough, we can ensure that out contributions to our spiritual teachers and institutions are regular and on time in order for them to serve us spiritually.
It is important to apply your good intellect and mind to spiritual practices that may advance others on the path. For example, you can be a guest writer on a blog such as this one if you feel you have something to share, or you can share your knowledge and experience of yoga and spiritual forums.
Lastly, all of us were born with a sixth sense; some just allow it to develop further than others. If you are gifted with a strong sixth sense the onus is on you to use it to facilitate spiritual growth in yourself and others.
In conclusion
The spiritual path is like any other path, there are signs that will indicate where you must go now or what you must do next. Some signs will stop you for a while and then there may be obstacles on your path which will require much effort and persistence to overcome. Sometimes there are exits on the path and we are tempted to take those exist, but I implore you to stay on your chosen path. If you cannot even see you hand in front of you so thick is the fog on your spiritual path, realise that you are not alone and ask for help as well sometimes or accept help when it is offered – it might just clear the fog for you. Stay on your path, but if you need to change tyres or even the vehicle, then follow your instinct and do it.
Same on the spiritual path, to make progress we must traverse all the signs, obstacles, spiritual potholes and other conditions to make progress. Sometimes we need to change from one teacher to the next, but ensure that it will further you on the path. Sometimes your own teacher might give you warnings about upcoming dangers, heed these and don’t think your teacher is just difficult or feeble. However, also take time to enjoy the journey, stop sometimes and remember to just breathe as well!
Most people today have some idea as to what the chakras are and their function in our lives. However, in the West most of us still think that chakras is a concept that comes from the East and that we in the West have no idea or concept of it. And to some degree it is true, we are less aware of the chakras in the West than in the East, but that doesn’t mean that we are not familiar with it in the West and our wisdom and knowledge grow with every tick of the clock, to the point where the West have developed and establish a well respected study of the chakras through authors such as Anodea Judith, Caroline Myss and others.
Today the chakras, auras, subtle bodies and energy field have become much more common topics of discussion in western society, than ever before. More people are moving to a greater awareness of their own body energy – some from a desire for inner growth, others from a scientific (quantum physics) perspective and still others from a renewed sense of the sacred. In the West we have heavily relied on the eastern cultures who have described energetic connections between the mind, body and spirit. Chinese medicine relies on energy meridians that correspond to psycho-physiological states. Vedic scholars, centuries ago described the seven energy centres of the body (chakras) from a spiritual context. However, the West is busy compiling and developing its own understanding of the chakras in a very practical way today.
We do know the Chakras in the West
You just have to go into art history and have a look at the old paintings of the Renaissance and even before to realise that there was some concept of the chakras present already in the West way back then. The “halos” of energy painted around the heads of many of the saints and important religious figures constitute in my view and opinion the energy to represent the crown chakras of those figures. Did some psychic or intuitive person actually saw the opening of the crown chakra of a particular individual and the only way the artist could give expression was a halo?
I have an honours degree in language and literature and as a young student, who was already aware of the chakras and their meaning; I was always amazed at how familiar we are in the West through language of the chakras. Many of our euphemisms, espressions and poetic language tend to locate energy in particular area of the body. We speak of having a “broken heart” and feel actual pain in the chest when we lose someone we love (heart chakra). We criticize others for being “unrooted”, or “pulling the rug out from under us” (root chakra). When a situation threatens our self-confidence we feel “butterflies in our stomach” (solar plexus chakra), and get a “lump in our throat” when grief remains unexpressed (throat chakra). Personally, I am convinced that we have always been aware of the chakras in the West, but due to the strict censure of the Church we have choose to hide them a little, but the time has come for the West to be more open and vocal about the chakras and realise the impact they have on our whole experience here on earth.
By developing an inner awareness of the chakras it is possible to begin a process that includes transforming and reconfiguring these energies. In perceiving the spiritual psychology of the chakras it is possible to help achieve a more balanced, energized and meaningful life and I hope that this article will help you in achieving that goal in your life.
The Root – Muladhara Chakra
Birth is a very traumatic and disorientating event for all of us and it is a blessing that we cannot remember much of it. First of all you are suddenly pushed into a world of noise and lights and strange people and surroundings from the safety and comfort of the womb. Then at some point your umbilical cord is cut, which adds to the trauma of the birthing process. All these necessary events cut us from the security of the womb and existentially we experience separation from Spirit as we find ourselves embodied in a human form. As the umbilical cord is cut we find ourselves thrust into a dangerous, insecure and vulnerable world.
Suddenly we find ourselves in a dense, human body and we sense a world through our five senses that is very different from the one where we just came from. We must start to use our body now to experience all that we can and have to for this particular incarnation. Physically this body is made up of carbon and hydrogen – the constituent elements of the earth. The root chakra becomes activated at birth, a necessity which energetically reconnects us with the “sacred matter (Mother)” in our attempt to find our spiritual connection. We quickly learn that we cannot survive if we do not feed and nurture our physical body – making our relationship with the earth both necessary and integral to our survival. Belonging to a family, clan or group helps us to survive this initial shock of being incarnated; it provides us with security, safety and a sense of belonging. If we are strongly rooted in this initial phase of our life – strong familial ties, connection with grandparents and a safe environment for your development – we are are ensured a healthy and balanced root chakra, which result in a person that is generally happy, feel secure and has a positive self-image.
However, if our sense of security and belong was neglected as young children, when fear and disruptive behaviour was the norm in our environment and if we had a disconnected relationship with nature, our parents and our clan, then we end up feeling “unrooted” later in life. Insecurities and anxiety will surface and issues with our right to be here will surface as well. Feeling disconnected from earth (the mother principle, think here mother earth) will lead to various forms of depression and other psychological symptoms such as fear of becoming ill, aging and dying, feeling ungrounded and vulnerable, chronic anxiety and unnecessary neuroses surface as well.
It is important to remember that we can heal root chakra issues through compassionate self-healing techniques such as finding ways to reconnect with the earth through spending time in nature, doing gardening or hiking trips. Establishing a practice where we honour the earth as sacred and as the Mother by exploring our caring and nurturing nature through acts such as concern through environmental issues, participating in recycling programmes and voicing our concern about issues such as pollution and global warming. A great way of healing is to foster closer relations with estranged family members, or create a circle of friends where you feel safe, secure and have a sense of belonging. Joining groups, associations or clubs is also a great way to establish a sense of felling secure and belonging.
The root chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 1-7 years. It is interesting to note how many toddlers during this time eat dirt; many if they have the opportunity bake mud cakes at some point during this developmental stage. This stage is called the formative years and that points directly to the importance of establishing a strong root chakra based in a strong group or family system for the individual to further develop.
The Sacral – Svaddhistana Chakra
Now that the individual is more at ease and secure in his/her environment and have come to grips with physical reality, enters the next energetic challenge for the individual – the energy of the sacral chakra is about establishing relationships. The second chakra holds the energy of all relationships we encounter in our lives – the first relationship we encounter is that with our parents and the energy of this relationship lays the foundation for all future relationships in our lives. If we were nurtured by our parents we will find it easy to nurture other relationships in life, but if we experienced rejection, future relationships may be more challenging for us than usual. During this phase we learn the value of give and take of sibling rivalry; the devotion or betrayals of friendship; the intimacy and vulnerability of sexual attraction; and the ability to produce and nurture our own children.
If we do not learn to connect to others through emotional intimacy we remain alone, estranged or dissociated. When our early needs for intimacy and love are thwarted through abandonment, abuse or neglect, we find it hard to trust and begin to doubt our ability to attract love or find passion and joy in life. Eventually we end up with issues relating to intimacy, physical avoidance, accepting or perpetrating abuse in relationships, sexual dysfunction, parenting problems and a lack of passion and motivation in life.
To heal the energy of this chakra involves learning to recognise our wounded “inner child” and how to respond to the demands which manifest as episodes of painful memories that arise – these can be of neglect, rejection or abuse. A great deal of healing can be achieved if we can learn how to forgive not only others, but also ourselves and in that forgiveness we learn how to release guilt and blame. It means gently finding the courage to open ourselves to emotional intimacy and often a wise and trusted counsellor or healer can facilitate this process. Developing self-compassion and self-nurturing is the key to balance the energy of this chakra.
The sacral chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 8-14 years. It is during this phase that young boys will develop a love for their mother and the greatest hero in a girl’s life would be her father at some point. Proceeding to school suddenly they meet new people and they form “best pal” friendships and suddenly teacher is always right and you are always wrong, because teacher said so! It is also during this time that many will experience their first love and the elation that goes with it, but many will also experience the pain of a broken heart, learning the reality of relationships.
The Solar Plexus – Manipura Chakra
Now that we have established a relationship with the world and with those around us, the next challenge of the solar plexus chakra is to create a sense of self in relation to the world we live in – other words we need to learn to love ourselves now. It is time to assert our self-worth and self-esteem. During this phase we need to become masters of our own universe and in doing so we empower ourselves to fulfil our desire to be the best we can in this life. The energetic challenges of solar plexus chakra are are locked up in the desire to learn self-control, humility and awareness of our purpose in life.
However, if our desire to establish a strong sense of ourselves is met with over-control, shaming, authoritarian and intentional ego-damaging behaviour, we are left with a debilitated and wounded sense of self. These manifests as a sense of “I am not worthy” and guilt, other manifestations include a lack of confidence and poor self-esteem. Many feel disempowered, victimised or lacking a sense of purpose, feeling that life is a constant battle. In turn, when we feel deprived of power, we may resort to modes of controlling like bullying others; confuse aggressiveness for assertiveness, manipulating others with either tyrannical behaviour or emotional blackmail.
To heal the energy of this chakra comes about through restoring a sense of personal power, self-respect, courage, healthy humility and learning the power of grace. When we face our own stories and fears with compassion and loving-kindness, we learning that there is release and grace in these episodes and that is an extremely empowering moment for such an individual. If we learn to use the power of love to transform our issues of guilt and shame, we nurture a sense of innate goodness within ourselves, at the same time we create awareness that we are co-creators with the Divine, instilling a sense of personal power. Finally, becoming aware of the deep spiritual qualities of our own nature helps us to act responsibly and move forward with self-initiative, meaning and purpose.
The sacral chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 15-21 years. This is one of the most challenging periods of life not only for the individual, but also for the parents. Suddenly their innocent child disappears into his/her room only to emerge on morning looking like an alien. And if they don’t spend time in their rooms behind closed doors, your child spends more time in front of the mirror making sure that there is not a hair out of place. It is the time in life when the young adolescent discover his/her body and the powerful sexual energy it houses. The individual also become aware of he/her own sexual identity and how parents and society reacts towards them determines much of their behaviour later in life. Fortunately this phase also passes and the next phase is a more balanced phase.
The Heart – Anahata Chakra
The heart chakra serves as the bridge between the lower energies and the next three higher energies. As we exit the solar plexus phase into our heart, we come to experience ourselves as safe, connected and respected. Our energy begins to shift from a focus on the individual self towards a more generous and altruistic outlook. We notice that we feel grateful for the opportunity to live life, and want to give back. The heart chakra now becomes activated as the centre of love, compassion, kindness, devotion and generosity. The direction of energy in the body begins to move upwards in its desire to reconnect to the greater source of Divine love. We begin to experience universal compassion – the sense that we are connected to all beings on the planet. We may feel our hearts touched by images of young children a world away playing amongst the rubble of war. We know and have a sense of caring both for ourselves and others and feel compelled to take this love out into action.
As I have stated above, the heart is the bridge from the energies of the lower chakras into the higher chakras and if we experienced a lack of security, intimacy and self-esteem in the lower chakras, then we have problems with a heart chakra that will be closed and fenced off. Typical issues of the heart chakra are displayed and manifested as lack of compassion, anger, hatred, stinginess, being overly concerned with safety and protection, fear of loving too much and showing love to others, unexplained grief and heart-ache may all indicate wounding in the heart chakra.
To heal the heart chakra, we need start from the bottom and work our way up again. We need to first pay attention to the old wounds that still lurk in the lower chakras before we can successfully heal the heart chakra. Learning to love ourselves and our shadow places is the first step towards creating a sense of love and compassion for others. Accepting the gift of forgiveness and allowing ourselves to forgive allows deep healing within the heart chakra – forgiveness both for ourselves and others. Visualisation, devotional chanting, yoga, prayers and meditation are powerful vehicles for opening the heart. Many people find that compassionate encounters with the suffering of others are a means to open their own heart. It is also important to become aware of our own divine nature and beginning an intimate, sacred process of surrender to the Divine order. In other words let go and let God!
The heart chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 22-28 years. During this time many people bridge the divide between a life as a care-free youth or student into a responsible citizen who care for those around him/her. For most it is also the time during which they will meet their life partner, get married and settle into a life that is marked by much love and reaching out. It is a time that we cross many bridges, at age 28 an important bridge is crossed in the sense that up till then your body grew and was young, from now on the body will degenerate and age will take its toll as we progress.
The Throat – Vishuddha Chakra
Our voice with all its own vibrations brings us now in direct contact with other vibrations around us. As we grow into deeper awareness of our chakras, we also begin to discover our ability to tap into the vibrational energy field around us. The wave patterns of sound become our connection to an unseen world that we are aware of, but don’t know yet how to experience it. This is where the energy of the throat chakra becomes valuable as it helps us to make sense of all these different vibrations which we use for communication, self-expression, creativity, speaking our truth, and at the subtlest levels, telepathy, channelling and clairaudience (ability to perceive sounds outside the physical realm).
When our self-expression in the throat is repressed or silenced in some violent way, the throat chakra closes down and energetically our ability to express ourselves appears blocked. Instead of being a two communication system, the one way is blocked, energy comes in, but doesn’t leave us and this impediment of the natural flow of vibrations result in a person who has no voice or who carries no authority in his/her voice. We are all too familiar with the childhood maxim “children should be seen and not heard”, the silencing of women’s voices in our patriarchal systems and the stifling of creative talent for fear of ridicule impedes the flow of throat energy. Many people have deep and dark family secrets that they shamefully keep, others lives in constant fear, because they are being yelled at or shamed into silence by an over-bearing parent, all actions that will impede the throat chakra. Eventually the chakra will “shutdown”, the person will rather keep quiet than to speak his/her truth or mind in order to keep the peace and eventually this will lead to a complete lack of self-expression from such an individual, leading to frustration and anger.
Just as King Edward VI in the King’s Speech had to learn that he has a voice and that he has the right to speak in order to overcome his stuttering due to the stifling voice of his father and Queen Mary, we also need to realise that we have a right to voice. The next step to healing the throat chakra is finding our own truth and relearning the ability to express ourselves. Once we have achieve this we can proceed to give ourselves permission to cry, to voice our hopes, fears and opinions, we can share our stories and we can engage in active listening with others. We can honour self-expression through finding creative outlets – writing, art, gardening or music. For some people it is important to reduce the pollution of vibrational noise through meditation or silent retreat.
As the throat chakra begins to heal, the grosser vibrations of sound no longer create interference. We begin to tune into more subtle layers of vibration, including the development of psychic abilities such as telepathy and clairaudience and opening to divine revelations such as those experienced by mystics through the ages.
The throat chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 29-35 years. During this time many people find that they have to talk their way through life, they have to talk to get that next promotion or they have to talk to convince others of an opinions or view. It is also the most vocal time in personal relationships with our partners as many problems are sorted out verbally and we also need to do a lot of talking to our children who are suddenly at ages where vocalisation becomes important. It is also a very social period in the life of most and as such demands much attention to how we express ourselves in this phase.
The Third Eye – Ajna Chakra
Our third eye is not only the centre of our intellect, but this is the centre where we develop qualities such as discernment, inner knowing, wisdom and clairvoyance or intuitive seeing. It is the place where we develop our ability to stand outside of a situation, become the observer or seer and without getting too involved make conscious choices about the road ahead or the situation in hand.
From the third eye centre we develop and create our belief system and we learn to judge fairly like Solomon from this place. However, if we are faced with a fear-based and authoritarian belief system, then we start to doubt our own sense of wisdom and of knowledge and ultimately we doubt ourselves and our ability to form our own truths. The result of this inability to form our own truth leads to confusion, negative beliefs, blind faith, narrow mindedness and mental rigidity. We may feel cut off from our emotions and become overly attached to empirical, dogmatic theories and beliefs and very often the individual may be overly argumentative to the point where he/she will aggressively defend their point of view, even make war about it or kill for it.
Allowing the inner guru to take charge and to bring us to the point where we develop the willingness to see is the first step that we can take on healing out third eye. This willingness to see means that we open ourselves to that truth that is beyond physical seeing and allowing our intuition and inner knowing to become our guiding light and primary guru or teacher. When our inner guidance starts to develop and when we start to listen and trust our inner guidance, then we can assess our old fear-based beliefs, judgements and criticisms and as we see that there is nothing to fear, we can let them go and replace them with our inner knowing and new truths. It is also process of opening the heart and to start “feeling” the messages of the heart instead of “thinking” what they should be.
We can heal the energy of the third eye by placing a greater emphasis on using and developing our inner awareness and witness consciousness. Another import ant technique is to look for the symbolic and esoteric importance behind events or interactions. One of the most valuable tools in our shed of techniques are to record our dreams in a dream diary en to start to see a pattern in the interpretation of these dreams. Practicing equanimity, detachment, and surrendering judgments may also help us on our journey of healing. As we become aware of the deep spiritual qualities of our own nature, we move into a place of greater clarity, wisdom and acceptance in the third eye.
The third eye chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 36-42 years. Around this time most men and women will start to enter their menopause/andropause and we start a hormonal change in our bodies. As a result of this we start to rethink our lives, our purpose and many either divorce during this time or they change careers or they just start to relax more in life a bit, adopting a more relaxed attitude. Much thinking is done during this time as well, as most start to realise old age and retirement is around the corner, old beliefs is shed and overall the individual enters a more embracing approach to life than before.
The Crown – Sahasrara Chakra
Our innate nature is Divine and as we develop greater awareness of this, our energy is increasingly drawn upwards towards its desire to unify with our source of Being and Origen. In yoga this process is described by the last limb of yoga namely samadhi, this process of spiritual awakening or enlightenment is facilitated through opening the crown chakra. Energetically, an open crown chakra appears as light emerging from the top of the head, hence the halo above so many saint’s heads in paintings.
Connecting to Spirit or the Divine and living our Truth and the willingness to surrender to the Divine are all indicators of a balanced and properly functioning crown chakra. When we are at this stage we can inspire others with inspirational ideas or thoughts, we have the ability for prophetic thought. It also allows for a deepening of our devotion, experiencing Divine ecstasy, transcendence and liberation from identification with suffering.
If this chakra doesn’t function properly we experience this period as the “dark night of the soul” as it was described in the poetry of St. John of the Cross. When we are distracted or overwhelmed by the difficulties and pain of life, we may experience loss of faith in a compassionate Divine force. We start to doubt our own belief that we are spiritual as issues of disbelief and depression cloud our inner knowing and overshadow our Divine nature. We falsely identify with the world and our bodies (maya or the illusion in yoga) and feel “existential angst” which disconnects us from our realisation that we are on a journey back to the Divine. For some the sense of isolation and spiritual depression may seem unbearable and they may end it all with a violent act against the soul.
The greatest healer of this chakra when wounded is our ability to surrender to the Divine and to trust the spiritual process in our lives. To commence the healing process, it is wise to find a spiritual path or practice to which the individual can commit completely and with full surrender. It has now nearly become a cliché, but living in the present moment, trusting that we have all in that moment and that every moment is Divinely perfect opens us to all the experiences that life offers us and it instil in us a trust in the Divine process. Mystics, saints, great gurus and even the Christ and The Buddha through the ages have turned to prayer, meditation, contemplation, yoga and silent retreat to support their spiritual journey; we can learn from these great souls and make time for our own time with Divine on a regular basis. A trusted spiritual guide or teacher may offer compassionate facilitation along this path.
The crown chakra corresponds to the physical age of man which is 43 and onwards. If you listen to dinner conversation around a table where people of this age group is present, sooner or later the conversation will turn to “do you remember this or that” or you will suddenly realise how this or that friend of yours have change his/her views suddenly about the Divine. For many this time of their lives is an opportunity to open an elegant window onto the soul and see the miracle of the Divine in their lives in every moment. During this time many see a culmination of all the other ages and as they age there is a deepening of their understanding of the amazing qualities, attributes and spiritual nuances of their soul. It is the journey home manifested and we realise that our journey is not just about reaching our destination, but it is also about all those little stops along the way.
Shortly after people started doing yoga with me, they want to know when will I teach them meditation. And great is their surprise when I usually tell them that they are already busy learning meditation since the very first class. Yoga in its very nature is a meditation of the body and once the body and nerves have sufficiently been calmed and prepared by a regular yoga asana practice, then only can I start to teach meditation. This process in the West takes anything from about 6-8 months.
As Westerners, we need to understand that our bodies and nervous system is condition to our very active and rajastic lifestyle, work and play environment. Another problem initially is our bodies itself, as we are not used to sit cross-leg for long periods of time, within five minutes of an untrained body the body will become restless, legs will start to itch and needles and pins will develop, this is all signs that your body needs more yoga asana and that your nervous system is still too excitable to sit for meditation. As I live in South Africa, many white people doing yoga with me have the typical large Germanic bone structure and many of the Africans have also a large structure, which makes sitting in meditation that more challenging. Back issues, poor core strength and very inflexible hips makes the sitting worse for many.
It is my experience that a person who starts with meditation in an unconditioned body don’t persist with the practice, while a person who has sufficiently being prepared through an asana practice is much more persistent and successful in the long-term with their meditation practice.
This meditation article addresses the techniques to lead you to meditation and how to choose your own daily meditation practices.
Meditation: Practice the Art of mindfulness
“Calmness is the ideal state in which we should receive all life’s experiences,” writes Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952), founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship, in the book Inner Peace. Yogananda is regarded as one of the great spiritual teachers melding East and West. Through meditation, he writes, one can cultivate a wonderful inner quiet that will melt away stress and nervousness.
To meditate, you need to break away for a brief moment from your everyday schedule and life. Start by switching off your cellphone, unplug your landline, shutdown your computer, ask your family to allow you some time on your own and ask them not to interrupt you. In other words you need to ensure that you won’t be interrupted during this time.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Where Should I Meditate? You may wish to set aside a special corner of one room, your own private sanctuary, a calm, quiet and peaceful place. You might furnish the area with objects or icons that have spiritual meaning for you, developing a little altar or shrine. Use what will put you into a contemplative frame of mind. You may want to enlist the help of Mother Nature by bringing a lovely rose with a beautiful fragrance or spend time at the ocean listening to the surf crashing upon the rocks in you live near the sea, or for me a peaceful walk barefoot through my own garden puts me immediately in the right frame, or stand near a stream with water, a waterfall or even a water feature in your garden, anything that you know that will calm you down will be appropriate.
How Should I Sit When I Meditate? The classic posture is to sit with legs folded and hands resting quietly on the lap or the knees. And I would suggest that you make yourself as comfortable as possible in this position. Use more cushions under the tailbone to give your pelvis a tilt and a more comfortable position, the key is to find a way of sitting that is comfortable for you. I do not recommend laying flat on your back as this position reminds the body of sleeping and this usually happens very quickly.
Should My Eyes Be Open or Closed? I recommend closing the eyes, especially if you are new to meditation, this way you withdraw a key sense from the outside world and it already becomes so much easier to still the mind if there is one less sense that stimulates it. Also keep the face “soft” by relaxing all the facial muscles, drop the jaw slightly and these simple steps should already make it easier for you to become more relaxed and mindful.
How Long Should I Meditate? There is no fixed time frame. Initially I recommend a sitting of just five minutes for about three months just to condition the body and then a gradual increase over time. The secret is to listen to your body, over time it will tell you how long it will and want to sit. Another big issue is how much time do you have? If you have only about ten minutes say in the morning, then you sit in meditation for only ten minutes. Flow with your own time is key for me. As Sogyal Rinpoche writes in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: “your practice should bring you bring you to a certain state of mindfulness and presence, where you are a little open and able to connect with your heart essence.” To begin, try short sessions; then break for one minute. “It’s often during the break that meditation actually happens!” writes Rinpoche. It may also be useful to get into the habit of setting aside the same times every day, be they for prayer or meditation. David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and author, recommends rising 15 minutes earlier than usual to give your day a “contemplative dimension.” Without these precious moments, he says, “your whole day can slip away into a mad chase,” but with them your entire day can be imbued with meaning and joy.
Other considerations: Add ritual to your meditation, ritual creates familiarity for the mind and it relaxes the mind. Do things such as lighting a candle, put a flower on your altar and burn some incense. Avoid modern mixtures such a vanilla, cinnamon and strong fragrances such as rose. Start with either sandalwood or frankincense, it is said that they aid meditation and relax the mind and body. Create some ritual for yourself. After I have lit my candle and incense, I immediately go to my seat, sit and then peacefully I offer myself and my day to the Divine, then I start with a few breathing exercises and usually after the breathing slipping into the mindful state is much more easier. To end your meditation say a peace prayer or the Universal Prayer or some prayer that you like. Then add some ritual again by putting out your candle and incense if it is still burning.
Four Basic Ways to Practice Meditation
Follow your breath: This is the most universal of all mindfulness techniques. First, exhale strongly a few times to clear the base of the lungs of carbon dioxide. It is helpful to review the technique for following the deep breathing method of imagining a lotus blossom residing in your lower abdomen; as the breath fills the belly, the petals of the blossom expand; as you exhale, the petals close back up. Slowly and gradually as the mind relax, let go of the conscious breathing and allow it to just happen as the mind become still and contemplative. The moment the mind wanders off, worrying about problems, start to consciously breath again and repeat until the mind learn to let go and relax.
Observe an icon or object: Allow your mind to rest lightly on an object. If you come from the Christian tradition, this might be an image of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the Holy Spirit. Images of the Eastern gods and goddesses may also help you or a statue of the Buddha may be the object of you focus or even a candle flame. Again, focus with the eyes open on the image, as the image become etched in your vision slowly close the eyes and keep that image in your mind’s eye as long as possible, the moment the image disappear and the mind starts to wander, open the eyes and concentrate again on the image, repeating this process until the mind can relax and keep the image.
Recite a mantra: A mantra literally means “that which protects the mind.” So reciting a mantra protects you with spiritual power. It is also said that when you chant a mantra, you are charging your breath and energy with the energy of that particular mantra. Again, choose something with meaning for you within your spiritual tradition: recite the Rosary, for example. Tibetan Buddhists use a mantra for peace, healing, transformation and healing. “Recite the mantra quietly, with deep attention, and let your breath, the mantra and your awareness become slowly one,” writes Rinpoche.
Do a Guided Meditation: Guided meditation is akin to guided imagery, a powerful technique that focuses and directs the imagination toward a conscious goal. However, for this meditation you either need somebody to instruct you on what next to imagine or you need a CD with guided meditations.
Is It Really Meditation?
The techniques described here are meditation practices rather than meditation itself, which is often described by experienced practitioners as “a state of being — a state of receptivity without expectation, a merging with the Divine.” All of the techniques are practice to get to this final merged state.
Therefore, meditation practice is not meditation. One might practice meditation for years to achieve a meditative state of being. An experienced meditator might meditate for an hour to achieve a few moments of meditative consciousness.
The Benefits of Meditation Are Subtle
While you may not feel flashes of insight when practicing meditation, its effects will become apparent to you later, when you may notice that you responded to a crisis with uncharacteristic calmness, or failed to get “triggered” in a situation that would normally disturb you. Trust in the process, let go of your expectations of achieving “results” (after all, meditation is not a contest), and you will reap the results.
The real miracle of meditation, says Rinpoche, is a subtle transformation that happens not only in your mind and your emotions but also in your body. And, this transformation is a healing one. “Even your cells are more joyful.”
In the West yoga has been marketed as a system with many benefits, so I am not going to go into it in depth. We all know how yoga can enhance your mood, calm the nervous system and focus our attention, however, most of us also know that these benefits don’t last as long as we want them to last. Sometimes, moments after leaving a class the world will challenge you with a bombastic road user or a crisis at home. We are confronted with the same issues, problems and challenges once we leave a class, which leaves us frustrated and to an extent exhausted. It seems the more we want peace and harmony, the more the world would through the opposite to us. On your yoga mat and meditation cushion, yes we can taste the POTENTIAL for growth, we feel the peace and love and light and harmony, yet off the mat we encounter greater resistance. But how can we affect a more lasting change then?
Google “yoga and hypertension” or “yoga and high blood pressure” and the number of articles are just staggering in support of yoga being beneficial in assisting to regulate blood pressure. One thing is also very clear from all these articles and research and that is that yoga is not a cure for hypertension, just an aid in helping to ensure a lowered blood pressure. The one thing that is missing from most of these articles is the data to support their findings, so when one of my yogis who is busy doing her Yoga Teacher’s Training Course with me reached the module on yoga and high blood pressure, we decide it would be a good exercise for her to collect some data on blood pressures pre and post a yoga class.
Introduction
1. Atmanjali Mudra (Gesture of Prayer) – The gesture is used for both greetings and farewells, but carries a deeper significance than a simple “hello” or “goodbye”. The joining together of the palms is said to provide connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain and represents unification or “yoking”. This yoking is symbolic of the practitioner’s connection with the Divine in all things. Hence, performing Atmanjali mudra is an honouring of both the self and the other as the gesture acknowledges the divinity of both practitioner and recipient. On a spiritual level it communicates our devotion and readiness to give gratitude to the Divine for all our blessings. It also expresses our reverence to the Divine.
2. Abhaya Mudra (Gesture of Promising Protection) – Is a hand pose that is the gesture of reassurance and safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection and bliss to the devotee. In Abhaya mudra, the right hand is held upright, and the palm is facing outwards. This is one of the earliest Mudra found depicted on a number of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina images. This mudra is usually used by a spiritually stronger person (like a deity, master or guru) to dispel fear in his/her disciples and to bring calmness into their hearts and situation. This is also a mudra that is depicted in Christian Iconography of Christ. We see Christ promising protection though this mudra to his flock.
3. Varada Mudra (Gesture of Granting Wishes or Mercy) – It indicates a gesture by the hand and symbolizes dispensing of wishes or mercy. For Varada mudra, left hand is used. It is held out, with palm uppermost and the fingers pointing downwards. Again this mudra is mostly used by a spiritually advanced soul like a deity, master or guru, and is used to indicate that you need to practice the art of forgiveness in order to receive certain wishes or mercy. We see this mudra being used extensively in Christian depictions of the Christ when he shows his wounds in his hands to his disciples, which demonstrates the Great Act of Mercy the Christ performed on behalf of all his followers when he granted forgiveness to all by his sacrifice.
4. Dhyani Mudra (Gesture of Meditation and Contemplation) – This mudra forms into a sort of bowl in your lap and is commonly used in meditation. This is symbolic of emptying yourself to be filled with light. The gifts of light might come in many forms, like expansion of consciousness, greater insight or ease of mind. The point is to let whatever comes come, and trust that you are being cared for. The hands and fingers form the shape of a triangle, which is symbolic of the spiritual fire within all of us. When we assume this classical meditation mudra, we are indicating to Spirit that we are ready allow the Divine Force to act within me and for me. It is an indication that we surrender to Divine Will.
5. Jnana Mudra (Gesture of Knowledge) – In Jnana mudra the hands are placed on the knees in seated meditation with the palms facing up. This mudra gives a feeling of spaciousness and has a subtle uplifting effect on the body and mind. In both Chin and Jnana mudra the connection made by the thumb and index figure is said to create a kind of circuit by connecting the terminus of certain nadi thus re-circulating the body’s vital energy. This mudra connects us on a subtle level to the vast body of spiritual knowledge in the Akasha (ether) and increases our spiritual wisdom.
6. Chin Mudra (Gesture of Consciousness) – This mudra is used in either seated meditation or pranayama such as ujjayi. The hands rest on knees or thighs facing down. This Gesture has a grounding effect on the mind.The middle finger, ring, and little finger represent the three classic qualities of all of nature (the Three Gunas). The middle finger symbolizes sattva, (purity, wisdom and true understanding) the ring finger rajas, (action, passion and movement) and the little finger tamas, (inertia, lethargy and darkness). Classically the yogi is meant to transcend these states, progressing from darkness into light and from ignorance to wisdom. This mudra symbolizes the connected nature of human nature (prakriti) to that of Divine consciousness (perusha) and that we strive for greater connection with the Divine.
7. Yoni Mudra also Uttarabodhi Mudra (Gesture of the Highest Enlightenment) – Yoni is the origin of life. The yoni is also considered to be an abstract representation of Shakti and Devi, the creative force that moves through the entire universe. This mudra connects us with the Mother Principle in the Universe and as such serves to inspire us. It connects us with the Divine Mother and as such to the creative force in the Universe. Yoni is our muse or Divine Inspiration.
8. Pran Mudra (Gesture of Life Flowing) – In this Mudra the tips of the thumb,ring finger and the little finger are touched together while keeping the other two fingers straight. It awakens the dormant power of prana within us and as such provides us with energy when we need it most. On a spiritual level it keeps us alert and helps us to maintain clarity during meditation. It anchors us in our meditation and as such strengthen our meditative resolve.
The importance of spiritual practice
YOGA PRANAM 