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The Mindfulness of Spring

4/26/2019

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by Jodh Kaur

Spring offers daily reminders to be mindful.

Everyday there is a change - new bird songs, fresh buds on trees and bushes, leaves growing larger and greener, flowering trees budding, blossoming, then carpeting the earth with their flowers, tulips and daffodils emerging and opening up to the sun.

​Take a moment to step outside, take 3-5 long deep breaths as you engage all 5 of your senses. Smile. This is yoga.
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How to use meditation to process Grief

4/22/2019

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by Jodh Kaur
​

Whether it is the death of a loved one - human or animal, the end of a relationship or the realization that your life isn’t exactly how you thought it was going to be, we experience grief in many ways throughout our lives.

Grief is not linear. We don’t just get over it or work through it after the loss and move on.

As we grow through life, grief will re-emerge and we will have the opportunity to experience it again, surrendering into it, seeking the lessons that lie within. Grief may visit around expected times like the anniversary of the loss or a birthday or a big event in your life, but it also may pop up when you least expect it - seeing the first butterfly in spring or hearing a song may elicit an unexpected memory followed by tears, anger or confusion. Grief can be a signal to stop, listen, and surrender. Like savasana, it’s an opportunity to integrate once more.

We can use our meditation practice to support us in this process. When grief visits, take time out to sit on your mat and play your favorite mantra. Have your journal nearby to write down anything you may want to revisit. As you listen to or chant the mantra, allow your feelings to come forward. Acknowledge them, feel and experience them, and have gratitude. Feel the anger, sadness, despair, loss, fear, uncertainty - any feelings that come up for you. Feel them. Cry if you need to, tears are healing. Hug yourself or a pillow. Feel compassion for You. Chant or listen to the mantra, letting the sounds of love and healing surround and support you.  Continue daily as long as needed to help you digest your grief with the knowledge that you can return to this practice at any time.

Finally, when you are ready, share how you’re feeling with someone else. Allow yourself to be held, supported and loved. This vulnerability builds connection, trust and understanding. And through this meditation and connection with others, we heal and restore ourselves and each other.

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My Soul Dictated Change

4/8/2019

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by Jodh Kaur


​Change is inevitable.  What’s exciting is we have the capacity to dictate change through our actions, thoughts and daily habits. Our attitude and how we embrace this change also influence its trajectory. Once we have that momentum going, all we need to do is keep up.

What brought me to Kundalini Yoga was the resolve that “I can’t live like this anymore.” I was a newlywed who recently earned my Master’s Degree, yet I was living with stress and chronic neck pain that left me feeling old, burned out and exhausted. An emotional breakdown was my line in the sand.
My soul was called to Kundalini Yoga. When I attended my first class, I knew I was where I was meant to be. In my second class I learned about the 40 day commitment and started mine that day. Within 40 days my neck pain had resolved. This was pain that periodically had me frozen in bed, it was pain that no healer or healthcare practitioner could help me with. At 32, I thought I would live with for the rest of my life. And it was gone. Within 40 days.

Truthfully, I never looked back. Why would I?

Over the last 11 years, I have healed myself over and over through my daily practice. I have experienced ongoing change in my life spurred and supported by breath, mantra and movement. While I may not approach my mat with the same enthusiasm every day, there is no question that I will practice. I keep up because I know it works. I keep up to continue to grow and change. I keep up because I don’t want to go back. I keep up for me, my relationships, for you, for us, for this community. I keep up.

It’s a simple choice, every day to keep moving forward. Just keep up. And don’t stop.

Continue this discussion with us in the 1000 Day Workshop.
​
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  • Class Descriptions
  • Urban Practice (YouTube)
    • Urban Practice: Mantra Meditation
    • Urban Practice: Kriyas
    • Medical Meditations
    • Guided Visualizations
  • Music to Practice To
  • Blog
    • UYC Blog
    • HLF Blog
    • Savitree | Authentic Relationships
    • Jodh | Plant Based Warrior
  • Contact