by Savitree Kaur There are a series of 4 suspension of breath exercises that does an amazing job strengthening the Pranic Body, which resides in the lungs next to the heart. The Pranic Body relates to our endurance and energy levels, or life force. It impacts how fearful or fearless we are, how alive we feel, how relaxed or anxious we are, how motivated we are, whether or not we can see our projects to the end, and how connected we feel with our physical body and our Spirit.
These 4 suspension of breath exercises come in order of difficulty, getting more challenging with each one, and by what they develop, building on top of the previous. They are:
Visit us here and scroll down to the Suspension of Breath Series meditations. You will find two videos per meditation. One is the tutorial, and the other is the practice that you can follow along with us. You might consider practicing these, in order, for 40 days each, or continue one for longer than the 40 days, advancing to the next level only after you feel some mastery over the previous. Taking these practices slowly gets you to your goal faster than rushing through. It's about pacing, not racing. Building an intimate relationship with the breath has a payoff that is well worth the dedication. It is the bridge that connects your physical self to your true, essential Self.
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A famous Vedic storyThere is a famous story about ahimsa* told in the Vedas, the vast collection of ancient philosophical teachings from India.
A certain sadhu, or wandering monk, would make a yearly circuit of villages in order to teach. One day as he entered a village he saw a large and menacing snake who was terrorizing the people. The sadhu spoke to the snake and taught him about ahimsa. The following year when the sadhu made his visit to the village, he again saw the snake. How changed he was. This once magnificent creature was skinny and bruised. The sadhu asked the snake what had happened. He replied that he had taken the teaching of ahimsa to heart and had stopped terrorizing the village. But because he was no longer menacing, the children now threw rocks and taunted him, and he was afraid to leave his hiding place to hunt. The sadhu shook his head. "I did advise against violence," he said to the snake, "but I never told you not to hiss." *ahimsa means respect for all life and practicing non-violence towards all living things by Mehtab Kirtan
We’re all clumsy at times, and can make silly mistakes. How do we treat ourselves afterwards? Do we mull over how we could have done things differently, and consider all the possible scenarios in which the incident could have been avoided? Do we take precious time out of Now in order to call ourselves stupid? ...Who’s side are we on? Belittling and berating serves to weaken opponents and enemies. If we ever belittle and berate ourselves, we are actively weakening ourselves, and are therefore actively fighting against ourselves. ...Who’s side are we on? Don’t fight against yourself, Side with your Self. You didn’t incarnate in your body in order to trash-talk it. You don’t inhabit your mind in order to curse yourself. Your soul chose this body to uplift this body: Your soul chose this mind to uplift this mind. When you side with your Self, you actively take care of your body, and actively care for your mind. To take care of your Self is to love your Self. To side with your Self is to love all aspects of yourself, not just your lovable aspects. In loving all aspects of ourselves, we practice loving all aspects of humanity. In being forgiving, gentle, and patient with ourselves, we practice gracing this planet with these virtues. As we bless ourselves with forgiveness, gentleness, and patience, we allow the world to progress and heal in a loving manner. We allow love to be primary principle of the new world order. Fight the fight that’s right: side with your Self. by Savitree KaurThe pressure is on... to get things done, to share when you don't feel worthy, to communicate something difficult, to figure out how to feel better, to alleviate the overwhelm and make a decision... to not take things too seriously and give yourself permission to enjoy life. I share with you a few powerful, actionable quotes.
When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off. --One of 5 Sutras of the Aquarian Age. I heard my 16 year old son saying this several times the week before we went away for winter break - dare I say, it was his mantra for the week - and he had an overwhelming amount of work to get done with an unreasonable amount of commitments to manage. He started, and he completed. When you want to learn something, read about it. When you want to understand it, write about it. When you want to master it, teach it. --Yogi Bhajan This quote changed my life. It gave me the permission to teach when I didn't feel I was good enough. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. --Rush song Freewill. Decide to choose intentionally rather than by default. Overthinking is just your ego wanting to keep its current job as head honcho. Your ego exists to be your servant, not your boss. Choose the wellness approach over sickness; build your life rather than fight your life. It's easier on the wallet and makes for a much better quality of life that is both healthful and on your own terms. It puts the power back into your hands and cultivates self~ love and authority. And yes, allow yourself to enjoy life. In Ayurveda, one of the 3 tenets of good health is BLISS. Because without it, are we truly well? Pressure? Let it out, make a choice, start, and enjoy the ride. With love, grit and gratitude, Savitree by Savitree Kaur
We all have blind spots. No matter how much work we’ve done, they exist. Happily ever after happens with commitment and follow through, and by letting your ego to crack open again and again. That cracking is not fun, and in fact it often comes with some unwelcome physical symptoms. In order to push past the part where you normally get stuck and where the self-sabotage begins… or in case you don’t recognize it as such… where the cycle begins because a behavior or situation outside of you is totally unacceptable so you find yourself responding in a way that is totally justified but also looks familiar… you will need to break that pattern and respond in a totally different way. That’s transformation. In contrast, as they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We are blind to our blind spots, and we will defend our position no matter how many times we find ourselves there. Trying to shift out of our recurring issues on our own doesn’t often work because our thinking got us there. That’s why having mentors and coaches is invaluable. Unlike friends, they aren’t afraid of your rejection. They have one job, and that is to place the mirror in the right place so that you can see that blind spot. They are there, not to do the work for you, but to give you the opportunity to do the work yourself by bringing light to it and then by holding vision for you to get there. They assume you are capable and will hold you to that standard. Even better is when you get to share with others what you’ve learned through your own transformation. Not just the solution, but more importantly the process. Paying it forward is the best part. Because working through your blind spot with a mentor and getting unstuck from a recurring cycle is just the beginning. You get to take that experience and help others through your unique angle, and in so doing, you will find that you continue to help yourself even more than you help the other person. Likewise, your mentor is helped more than you. It’s a beautiful thing. |
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July 2020
Favorite LinksKundalini Yoga Quotes:“I’d never felt anything like it; it was just an opening of energy and a feeling of such liberation.” -Marika Bethel, owner, Glowing House |