Practice Pages: Meditation
Three-Minute Kundalini Yoga Techniques To Repaint The Blues, Reduce Stress And Negativity And Increase Joy
“Your house is on fire, you’d better come with me,” a colleague said as he interrupting my meeting. I stood up in shock; surely he was joking. I had just been home for lunch and I quickly recollected that I did not cook, so I did not leave the stove on.
“The fire engines you hear right now are on the way to your house,” he continued with piercing urgency. As we drove up, teams of firemen were hosing down the crumbling structure and all of my worldly possessions. I had acquired embroidered silk dresses from India, valuable jewelry, paintings and trinkets from around the world. Nothing was salvageable. But strangely, as I was transfixed by the flames and the large pile of ash, I was overcome with feelings of relief rather than regret. I felt a deep sense of empty joy I had never experienced and I felt a tremendous amount of energy release from my physical body – all of the emotions and memories that related to all of my stuff. I felt as though I could go anywhere or do anything, as I was no longer bound to this earth plane – I no longer owned any belongings to worry about or put in storage. I did not even have underwear or a toothbrush for the night.
In the aftermath, dealing with the lack of insurance, I was surprised by the few odd items that I missed, including photos, letters and my favorite old and heavily worn sweatpants. People were generous with hand-me-downs, and before I knew it, I had what I needed.
I began to investigate within myself how material things come and go and how they had provided me with immediate feelings of happiness. I realized that I relied on specific events, purchases, hopes and dreams to make me happy and to cover up deep feelings of sadness, anger, resentment, jealousy and grief. There must be something else that could not be bought and could help me feel inner joy and gratitude despite a bad day or extreme tragedy.
Back at the office, I was relieved to find that my journals had not been in the fire. At the time, I had been working as a personal healer to Yogi Bhajan, the Master of Kundalini Yoga. I kept notes of his teachings and wrote everything he taught me about Yoga and healing. As I looked through my journals, I realized that perhaps I should start practicing the techniques myself and put them to the test.
Even as I practiced intense and lengthy Yoga and meditation sessions and traveled the world immersed in 100 hour intensive mantra repetitions, and even though I experienced deep states of samadhi or bliss, back home I found that throughout the day and in the midst of the ordinary stresses of life, I still needed pick-me up techniques that could reduce stress, energize my body and balance my mind. Being short on free time, I gathered Yoga gems that were quick, efficient and relatively simple. Practicing them helps me to get back on track and to remember what really matters in life.
My teacher, Yogi Bhajan, taught that happiness is everyone’s birthright, and that the purpose of life is to enjoy every moment. He shared the secrets of Kundalini Yoga and healing from India that were forbidden to be taught to the public. You can put them to the test if you feel stressed at home or work, if you have a tired brain or if you just want to feel a little more positive, try one of these simple Yoga techniques, all of which are three minutes or less. As always, consult a healthcare provider first before any new exercise regimen. You may even want to share the techniques!
Stress Buster
This exercise can help strengthen your internal resilience to deal with external factors with greater ease.
Practice: Sit cross-legged, on your heels or in a chair and raise your arms up at a 60 degree angle with your palms facing forward and your fingers spread wide. Begin to tighten your hands and arms as much as possible, so much so that your body begins to shake. Hold steadily and tightly for up to three minutes.
Effects: Helps you feel calm, balanced and ready to face any challenge.
Release Anxiety
The experience of feeling stress, anxiety and nervousness strains the kidneys, which then may makes us feel tired. Try this simple exercise to release the anxiety that gets stored in the kidneys, adrenals and lower back. It feels great!
Practice: Come into a seated position, in a chair or on the floor, either on your heels or in easy pose as shown below. Place your hands on your waist. Inhale through your nose as you twist your upper torso to the left, and exhale through your nose as you twist your upper torso to the right. Continue this pattern of inhaling and twisting to the left then and exhaling and twisting to the right for one to three minutes. To end, inhale to the center, and exhale and relax your breath and your hands.
Effects: This movement increases your energy and vitality by releasing the anxiety storied in the body and the tension in the kidneys
and adrenals.
Release Negativity
Take a moment to assess your outlook on life. Is it hopeful and positive, or is it negative? This is one of my favorite techniques that I use to change my outlook on life.
Practice: Place your hands in front of you like you are holding a cup, right hand over left. Your eyes are nearly closed, but slightly open and your gaze is on your hands. Inhale through the nose, reflecting on your thoughts and feeling, then exhale through the mouth, blowing the negative thoughts and emotions out over your hand.
Effects: This increases positive thoughts and feelings. There are times when you may feel negative or bad thoughts about yourself or others, or others may be projecting not-so-nice thoughts towards you. You can use this exercise to release any negativity you may have towards yourself or others. Go ahead, get it all out!
Joy
Whether you are a new or a seasoned yogi, you may enjoy this “do-not-meditate” meditation.
Practice: Place your hands in the shape of a lotus flower, and place them close to your forehead, without touching your face. Now do everything in your power that you can to not meditate. Think of all the negative, horrible, stressful thoughts and feelings and emotions, and tell yourself constantly DO NOT MEDITATE. You will automatically go into a deep meditative state, and the act of resisting this meditative mind will then induce the meditative mind further. Keep going, but whatever you do, DO NOT MEDITATE. Continue for two to three minutes. To finish, inhale, hold your breath and then exhale and relax. Notice how relaxed and joyful you feel!
Effects: This induces a feeling or sense of Inner Joy. The hand position automatically activates the meditative mind, and resisting meditation pulls you deeper into a meditative state.
Mahan Kirn Kaur is an internationally recognized yogi and healer who is the author of Bound Lotus, which details her journey of healing herself from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy with Yoga. She has achieved the highest certification in the ancient healing tradition known as Sat Nam Rasayan®. Mahan Kirn currently lives in Los Angeles and has a private healing practice. She teaches classes and workshops in California and around the world. For more information, visit mahankirn.com or contact: mahankirn@yahoo.com.
By Mahan Kirn Kaur
