'Yoga Nidra' - Sleep Meditation

​Dear All,

Here's another way to fit some meditation into your busy schedule. Do it while you sleep. This is not as crazy as it sounds. According to the philosophy of yoga, there are 4 states of consciousness:

• Awake
• Dreaming Sleep
• Dreamless Sleep
• Turiya - Pure consciousness

That last state, Turiya, is actually the state we're taking baby-steps to get to in our weekly group meditations, but while awake. If you want to try and touch it while asleep, and the 'wandering mind' is switched off for the day, here's what to do.

Ideally, you need to do a footspa/footsoak before going to bed to get the day's 'jangle'/'static' out of your system. Before your head touches the pillow, raise your kundalini, put on a bandhan and hold your attention at the top of your head until you can feel your vibes. Finish off with kundalini-bandhan again, and lie down. You're not thinking and the focus of your attention should remain at the top of your head while you drift off into sleep.

This is 'Yoga Nidra' or sleep meditation.

A recent book by Arianna Huffington, called The Sleep Revolution and supported by the latest scientific research shows how important a good night's sleep is to our well-being, health and quality of life. You could be super-charging that with a bit of yoga nidra :o)

Both waking and dreaming could be the same thing: a movie with you as the main character and the projector is the mind. Therein lies life's limitations - being stuck in the script. Here's how to overcome mental limitations.
 
See you at group meditation tomorrow.
Regards

Your Path to Health

​Dear All,

Dr. Katya Rubia, who is a Professsor of Cognitive Neuroscience at King's College, London, and has been practising sahaja yoga meditation for a long time, has put together the website below(link), which summarises some of the scientific research showing the positive effect of  the meditation on anxiety, depression and other ailments.

The health and well-being benefits from the regular meditation('thoughtless awareness') do become noticeable to you even if you're 'fine' to begin with. It's like putting money into your bank account. 

And, if you happen to have a friend who may be coping with any of the conditions listed, then why not introduce them to sahaja yoga meditation, which you can do by raising their kundalini and teaching them how to meditate.

Meditation Research:

This 5 minute talk describes the importance of your liver to your overall health.

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

More below.

Regards

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The photo above of Shri Mataji occupies a prominent position in Vashi Hospital, India, where therapies are based on sahaja yoga methods. They describe the photo as 'Dhanvantari swarup', meaning 'in the form' of Dhanvantari. The reason for this description is because Shri Mataji cured a lot of people and seemingly knew the remedy for every problem or ailment. Dhanvantari is said to be the 'god of medicine' and founder of Ayurveda and can be compared to 'The Yellow Emperor' of traditional Chinese medicine. The 'god of medicine' in ancient Greek is said to be Asclepius, whose symbol was a serpent ascending a staff ('the rod of Asclepius'), which has been adopted as the emblem on medical emergency response vehicles:
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This emblem has been likened to kundalini ascending the central channel or sushumna. So 'hidden'  in plain view may be  the association between health and kundalini awakening. The ancient Greeks, appear to have  been in possession of a lost knowledge hinted at in certain medical terms still in use for parts of the human body eg 'fontanelle' (little fountain), which is  the bone at the top of the head through which the kundalini flows like a little fountain and felt as a cool breeze or wind ('pneuma'), having risen from the 'sacrum' ('sacred') at the base of the spine.

All of which opens the possibility of some truth in an old prediction about future human beings no longer getting sick or old.

The Power of Your Hands

​Dear All,

Your hands are important. Through your regular meditation , the vibes which can be felt as the 'cool breeze' above your head, start flowing in your hands and you can use this to help your chakras; raise a friends kundalini, cure someone; vibrate water'; express creativity and do many other useful things.

The annotated photo below shows how your subtle system works regarding the power of your hands.

If you can't feel much on your hands, it could be because of the state of the vishuddhi - if you smoke, try and cut down . Or try massaging the hands with olive oil.

At the throat, shown in photo, the drinking or swallowing reflex may be felt in deep meditation. If you're lucky you may get the 'taste' of a sweetness at the back of the throat. This mechanism is referred to in yoga as 'kechari mudra' *. This is said to be 'amruta', 'ambrosia' -  the fabled 'food of the gods' and 'elixir of eternal youth' :o).

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards


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​* Kechari Mudra is extensively described in the ancient literature of yoga, particularly Raja yoga('Royal yoga') but it is littered with mistakes and false practices. Kechari Mudra happens spontaneously after kundalini awakening, not before in the same way that the steering and wheels of a car only work once the ignition is on, not before.

Make your stress go away in 2 minutes so it's easier to meditate.

​Dear All,

A number of you have said how fantastic you feel when you meditate but haven't yet managed to establish this as a daily routine because of being too busy or stressed even. Here are a couple of tips for helping you overcome that.

The first recommendation is from some good advice given in Ayurveda (Indian classical medicine) for maintaining health and well-being throughout life. There are a number of practices that we do every day without thinking about them eg. brushing our teeth or combing our hair.

This is part of most people's daily self-care. Two more things could be added to this which need not take more than 2 minutes each and preferably done in the evening: a foot and head self-massage with coconut butter/oil.
(The usefulness/importance of this is shown on the chart below that links points on the foot and head with your chakras. If the chakras are clear (free from catches), then the kundalini energy flows freely and you achieve a deeper meditation and are more likely to meditate because it's easier.)

Instructions for foot and head massage, which is also a very good way to get rid of your stress, is shown below.

The other tip is to raise your kundalini and put on a bandhan before you leave the house in the morning even if you think you don't have time to sit for a short meditation. Once you can establish this as a regular practice, it's a short step to pausing and actually sitting for 5 minutes.

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards

​Foot Massage:

Sit down with one leg crossed over the knee of the other leg so that you can rub the sole of the foot with both hands. Take a large blob of coconut butter on your finger and rub it between your palms until completely melted. Now rub the toes between both palms; followed by rubbing the whole sole of the foot, applying pressure with the finger tips on any points where you experience any pain. The foot massage is ideal after a footspa.

Head Massage:

Again using coconut oil, rub with the tips of the fingers into the scalp, concentrating on the mid-line of the head from back to front.

Growing Flowers - The Art of Self-development.

​Dear All,

Below is an annotated photo showing you where the main chakras are in your body and the innate quality you can develop within yourself by meditating on them.

The process is like cultivating flowers to bring out their individual fragrances. With the meditation you have an extraordinary power of similarly transforming yourself into the ideal version of yourself and seeing that reflected back to you in a happier and more enjoyable life.

And there's science supporting this:

The chakras  govern the endocrine gland system which regulate the body hormones, which, in turn, are responsible for how we're feeling moment to moment and day to day. The capacity for joy and fulfillment could lie in our biology.

You can take a print out of the photo and stick it on the wall where you'll be able to easily reference it for your meditation. There's some additional notes below to explain what meditating on a chakra consists of.

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To meditate on a chakra do this:

1. Raise your kundalini and put on a bandhan.

2. Keep focus of attention on top of head until you can feel the sensation of kundalini (cool breeze)

3. Remain sitting like that for 5-10 minutes to allow kundalini to take you into 'thoughtless awareness'

4. Now let your awareness shift to the part of your body corresponding to the chakra you want to meditate on.

5. Ask your mother kundalini to give you the 'fruit' or 'fragrance' of that chakra. For example, at Nabhi you could say: "Mother, please give me vitality & health and the nourishment of the vibes".

6. If your connection was properly established in steps 1, 2 & 3 above, then you should begin to experience an 'expanding' sensation on the chakra.

This is how the chakras become 'enlightened' and begin to manifest their qualities. You can only find out if this is true or not by trying :o) . You should aim to develop all your chakras in this way. What you'll notice after a while is that your kundalini flows stronger and you can achieve a deeper meditation.

Here's Dr. Brian Wells on how the chakras relate to the autonomic nervous system: Chakras & Plexuses

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards

Transformative power of meditation - the 5 elements.

​Dear All,

The table below shows some of the noticeable effects the meditation can make to your appearance. Usually, it's your friends and family that notice it first. In some people it can take a short time, in some people it can take a longer time. It depends on how regular you are in your meditation. And it all comes about through break down of vibes within you  into the 5 elements of which they are formed(Light, Air, Water, Fire, Earth).

A quick explanation about 'amaa' in 4th line of the table. According to Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine), the food we eat and the strength of our 'digestive fire' is very important to maintaining our health. Ideally, we should all eat according to the capacity of our digestive fire to transform the food into life-sustaining 'Ojas' .

Where this transformation does not fully take place, it may be eliminated from the body but could leave a residue which is referred to as 'amaa', which is said to be the source of illness, dullness, lack of energy, chronic fatigue etc.

(This is probably the reason for the advice to avoid eating large meals before going to bed when digestive fire is weakest. And making the mid-day meal the largest because that is when the digestive fire is strongest)

Through regular sahaja yoga meditation, the 'silent fire' within us is strengthed, which may explain how health is improved and maintained.

More explanation given in the 7 minute clip : How effects of meditation can show on the face.

 

Element	Sanskrit	Effects
Light	Tej	Radiance of skin
Air	Vayu	Feeling of 'cool breeze'
Water	Jal	Emollience – softness of skin
Fire	Agni	'Silent fire' burns off 'ama' to sustain health
Earth	Bhumi	Subtle fragrance/gravity

  

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards

Previous related email: Nourishing yourself through your meditation - the 5 nectars.

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How to decode your fingers for better health & well-being.

​Dear All,

With regular meditation, it's possible to improve your health and well-being by understanding the sensations of heat and tingling felt on the fingers. The two photos below give an easy explanation. The attachments(photos) can be printed off and placed where you meditate to help you with the decoding of your fingers.


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The photos show on each hand what the usual cause of a 'catch' is. For example, if you can feel a heat or tingling sensation on the right thumb (right swadisthana chakra), then perhaps you have the tendency to over-think or over-analyse. Use of the ice-pack on the liver can help.

Your fingers are like an early-warning system because they are linked to the chakras and the chakras are linked to the organs of the body. You can 'clear' a chakra even by rubbing the corresponding finger until heat and tingling disappear and you get a cool sensation instead.

The video clip self-diagnosing through vibrational awareness gives you more knowledge about this.

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards

Related previous email: Overcoming barriers to progress - habits, conditionings & back agnya.