So this blog is a repost of another blog… http://thedailylove.com/the-power-of-kundalini-yoga/ I thought those of you who are doing our new 40 day kriya (and those of you thinking about it!) would find this interesting.
“The Power of Kundalini Yoga
I had one of those very real dreams last night. When I woke up I had to check the date to see if it was indeed New Year’s Day today…In the dream I was with a group of people heading to a New Year’s Eve party. I decided to get out of the car alone and go into a house. I walked through a door and onto a mountaintop. Looking into a big bright sky, I stood contemplating what my intentions were for the New Year. Then I woke up. I’m feeling pretty strongly that the dream had something to do with the effects of the 40-day yoga challenge I’m doing at L.A.’s Golden Bridge Yoga right now. I don’t know what day I am on out of the forty, but I am past the halfway point at least. I stopped keeping track after about day three.
Golden Bridge’s teachings focus on Kundalini Yoga. I’ve been practicing Kundalini with them inconsistently for about 12 years. When people ask me what the difference is from other types of yoga, I always say, for me, it is a much more spiritual experience and I feel the very strong power of my mind over my body. I have only tried other types of yoga elsewhere a few times. I didn’t find much difference from those boot camp-style training classes I do at my gym. In Kundalini we are so often reminded that we are all on our own personal journey. We are not to try to keep up with others, but to continue to expand further at our own pace; where we are in the moment…in our own moment.
When I got the email announcing the 40-day challenge I thought, “Oh, good for those people!” and “I can’t/won’t make time/a commitment to that”. I deleted the email. A few days after the official challenge start-date I went to a class. The theme of the meditation was about making the decision to do something. I hadn’t even given myself a chance to decide. I just said “Nope” without even considering that I could do it, even though I knew it would be a really good thing for me. Deciding to do something is the first step in doing it. Wow. As simple as that. Feeling as amazing at the end of the class as I always do, I made the decision that I could and must do it. I needed it. I could do it because I decided to. I felt so liberated.
Within the first few days I had a fascinating experience during the final meditation in one of the classes. Lying down with my eyes closed I saw the sky above me. There were big, heavy, rusted chains separating me from the sky until—very slowly and gently—they fell down toward me, dissolving as they reached closer to my body. When I got home I started getting rid of things that had no meaning in my current life, like objects given to me by people from my past. I began to feel so much clarity in my mind about what was going on in a few of my current relationships…deciding to let go of what needed to be let go, deciding to rework what needed to be reworked.
Each day I continue to feel clearer in my mind. The top of my head feels wide open, as does my chest, rib cage and heart. My eyes feel huge. I am so alert—which may have prompted a good friend of mine to say, “You are so focused. So much less…blonde.” I have new muscle definition in my arms and stomach. My waist is smaller and my legs stronger. What I love is that all this is happening without even breaking a sweat, yet I feel my heart pound. And no one is yelling over me that I am not keeping up. I’m feeling very, very electric…very, very human.
I know now that I am going to continue on after this 40-day commitment. I am looking forward to what I will decide to do then, when I am standing on that mountaintop. As for the New Year’s resolution in my dream: I have definitely decided that I’m going to cancel my gym membership.”
# # #
Neely Shearer is a clothing designer/consultant in the fashion industry. She lived in Japan for 7 years before moving to L.A. Her cat Max decided to adopt a kitty during this 40-day yoga challenge.
40 day blog from LA
/in Blog /by RadiantlightyogaSo this blog is a repost of another blog… http://thedailylove.com/the-power-of-kundalini-yoga/ I thought those of you who are doing our new 40 day kriya (and those of you thinking about it!) would find this interesting.
“The Power of Kundalini Yoga
I had one of those very real dreams last night. When I woke up I had to check the date to see if it was indeed New Year’s Day today…In the dream I was with a group of people heading to a New Year’s Eve party. I decided to get out of the car alone and go into a house. I walked through a door and onto a mountaintop. Looking into a big bright sky, I stood contemplating what my intentions were for the New Year. Then I woke up. I’m feeling pretty strongly that the dream had something to do with the effects of the 40-day yoga challenge I’m doing at L.A.’s Golden Bridge Yoga right now. I don’t know what day I am on out of the forty, but I am past the halfway point at least. I stopped keeping track after about day three.
Golden Bridge’s teachings focus on Kundalini Yoga. I’ve been practicing Kundalini with them inconsistently for about 12 years. When people ask me what the difference is from other types of yoga, I always say, for me, it is a much more spiritual experience and I feel the very strong power of my mind over my body. I have only tried other types of yoga elsewhere a few times. I didn’t find much difference from those boot camp-style training classes I do at my gym. In Kundalini we are so often reminded that we are all on our own personal journey. We are not to try to keep up with others, but to continue to expand further at our own pace; where we are in the moment…in our own moment.
When I got the email announcing the 40-day challenge I thought, “Oh, good for those people!” and “I can’t/won’t make time/a commitment to that”. I deleted the email. A few days after the official challenge start-date I went to a class. The theme of the meditation was about making the decision to do something. I hadn’t even given myself a chance to decide. I just said “Nope” without even considering that I could do it, even though I knew it would be a really good thing for me. Deciding to do something is the first step in doing it. Wow. As simple as that. Feeling as amazing at the end of the class as I always do, I made the decision that I could and must do it. I needed it. I could do it because I decided to. I felt so liberated.
Within the first few days I had a fascinating experience during the final meditation in one of the classes. Lying down with my eyes closed I saw the sky above me. There were big, heavy, rusted chains separating me from the sky until—very slowly and gently—they fell down toward me, dissolving as they reached closer to my body. When I got home I started getting rid of things that had no meaning in my current life, like objects given to me by people from my past. I began to feel so much clarity in my mind about what was going on in a few of my current relationships…deciding to let go of what needed to be let go, deciding to rework what needed to be reworked.
Each day I continue to feel clearer in my mind. The top of my head feels wide open, as does my chest, rib cage and heart. My eyes feel huge. I am so alert—which may have prompted a good friend of mine to say, “You are so focused. So much less…blonde.” I have new muscle definition in my arms and stomach. My waist is smaller and my legs stronger. What I love is that all this is happening without even breaking a sweat, yet I feel my heart pound. And no one is yelling over me that I am not keeping up. I’m feeling very, very electric…very, very human.
I know now that I am going to continue on after this 40-day commitment. I am looking forward to what I will decide to do then, when I am standing on that mountaintop. As for the New Year’s resolution in my dream: I have definitely decided that I’m going to cancel my gym membership.”
# # #
Neely Shearer is a clothing designer/consultant in the fashion industry. She lived in Japan for 7 years before moving to L.A. Her cat Max decided to adopt a kitty during this 40-day yoga challenge.