Adding One Little Thing to Your Life, Could Change it Forever!

Now I like to think that I am a healthy person.

I went vegan not long back (no don’t worry, I don’t care if you eat meat), am gluten-free, dairy-free and corn-free for health reasons and eat mostly organic fruits and vegetables. I do yoga at my lowest once a week if not every day and I meditate multiple times a day.

Yet, I still struggle with one thing. One seemly little thing....

Drinking water.

You see I have never been good about drinking water and it is not even that I have a problem with the taste.

I just do not even think to drink it most days.

I have tried everything, adding fruit, lemon juice, carrying around a big bottle, carrying around a small bottle, even writing reminders, but nothing sticks.

Now on a seemingly side note I also have asthma and GI problems, on top of other pesky issues (I'll get back to this in a moment).

You maybe wondering why is she bringing this up?

What does that really have to do with water?

Or maybe you’re saying well duh you don't drink water so of course these are problems.

But if you think about it... if you didn't feel thirsty would you be drinking water all the time?

Thirst is not actually a reliable indicator of dehydration for many people and this has been an ingrained problem for me.

I am not thirsty so I don't need to drink water....

But did you know "the Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly about 13 cups (3 liters) of total beverages a day and for women it is about 9 cups (2.2 liters) of total beverages a day." (from the Mayo Clinic)

I'm lucky if I'm consuming 2 cups a day some days...

Water is a basic building block of life right? Along with air and food, humans need this to function and even survive.  We take in this life force every moment of the day often not even stopping to think about where it came from or how important it is to our survival.

Do you know I discovered recently that dehydration directly affects histamine and mucus production? Both being connected to asthmatic systems? Hmm. So now my lack of water is connected to my breathing and allergies.

We also know that water is a main element in your body's elimination system. So a lack of water leads to the buildup of toxins and can lead to autoimmune disorders and general GI issues.

But this still didn't explain why I couldn't get myself to stick to drinking water. I knew it was good for me. I tried everything, but seemed to always self-sabotage.

What is interesting though, is as I began looking at things from a yogic stand I saw some connections I never saw before...

So lets take a look at the intake of water and such from a yogic stand.

In the east they call this life force many different names: one is prana. The classical "definition" of prana is: the energy of the universe. Yogi Bhajan once said "Praana is the most powerful and most creative thing God ever created, because out of praana came life."

Now let us take this a little further. In Kundalini Yoga, we look at the body as not just one physical body but 10 interconnected physical and energetic bodies.

You have the soul body, the negative mind, positive mind, neutral mind, physical body, arc line, auric body, pranic body, subtle body and radiant body.

The topic of the 10 Bodies can be a little hard to understand when first looking at them. I am working on a beginner course and future blog posts that will actually go through them all so don't worry and stayed tuned!

Today though I want to look just at the 8th body, the Pranic body.

This is the body that deals with your prana and is closely connected to your physic body. In eastern numerology if you are born in August on the 8th, 17th or 26th of a month you may have a weak pranic body.

I personally was born on October 8th, so this applies to me!

Two areas are closely tied to a weak pranic body: Fear and being open to illness.

If you think about this just from a personal experience stand (which I always encourage you to do) how does your breath react when you are scared?

If you are truly scared your breath goes all haywire, often times becoming rapid and shallow.

Now think about when you felt ill last. Were you taking calm, deep breaths?

Now lets put these two concepts together.

Water, food and air are all prana.

When I began my yogic practice, I did not think twice that many of the pranayam exercises were difficult for me. Aren't they for everyone?

What opened my eyes was my pranayam Module Weekend for my Teacher Training program.

Each weekend focuses on a different topic with intensive practices relating to the specific topic and with a month long practice leading up to the weekend.

For the pranayam weekend we were asked to do a combination of 30 minutes of pranayam exercises each day (not all together and many quite simple to while doing daily tasks) on top of stopping and take slow deep breaths as often as we were able.

I got through maybe a week of doing any of the practices, which is very unlike me. I tend to only miss at the most a few days of our daily practice, if any at all. This month I almost didn't even do the practice. And to top it off I started experiencing physical asthmatic discomfort as I worked to bring prana into my body.

I even could not, emotionally, get through more than one minute of our one minute breath practice without sobbing...

I was so relieved to just make it through the weekend, that I pushed aside any thought of pranic work and went on to the next month. Fast forward to a month or two later as I felt safe enough to begin looking into my experiences from that weekend.

I know I am a giver.

I feel fulfilled when I serve others and give of myself (often without thinking of my own energy limits). But when it comes to receiving I become uncomfortable. I assure people I am fine on my own, that they do not need to trouble themselves. I will make full healthy lunches for others while I personally skip meals, or just grab a shake.

I have also been controlled by fear of my own potential for most of my life. Falling into a more supportive role for everyone around me.

When I stopped and thought about it, I realized I struggle accepting prana in any form into my life.

Let us say that again.

I struggle accepting life force, for my own well-being, into my life.

WOW.

That is pretty intense.

But knowing the root concern allows us to fix the issue not the symptoms. It is not that I don't like to drink water, I personally struggle to allow any prana into my body that is not vitally necessary.

So what do I do now, you ask? What do you do now, if you are in the same place as me?

It is a big thing to handle partially because a lack of prana leads to physical and emotional imbalances. Including a strong feeling of fear when dealing with life...

Well my friend, now we work to heal ourselves.

We work to allow bits of prana into our life every day. It may start as a trickle, but as we work to unblock the faucet, the flow of prana will grows to a strong stream.

I spoke about your breath and gave a few simple pranayam here to get you started that can help.

Also try the Ra Ma Da Sa meditation for 11-31 minutes a day:

Here is just a simple track I recorded of the Ra Ma Da Sa meditation mantra. There is just around a minute of the melody vocals to get you started and then up to 31 min of just a simple relaxing backing track to chant with. So you can listen to your own voice while chanting.

Posture: Sit in Easy Pose (sitting on the floor, with legs crossed) or in a chair with feet planted firmly on the ground, with the spine straight, and a light Neck Lock applied (chin pulled back slightly).

Mudra: The mudra (hand position) is most important. The elbows are bent down by the sides, and are tucked comfortably but firmly against the ribs. The forearms are almost perpendicular to the floor, with the hands extended out at a 45 degree angle from the center of the body. Most importantly, the palms are perfectly flat, facing up, hands bent back at the wrists. You should feel a pull in the lowest part of your forearm as you almost hyper-extend your wrist to make the palms flat. (This tends to be the most challenging part of the meditation so it is important not to let the hands relax out of the position.) The fingers are kept side by side, except that the thumb is spread from the other four fingers.

Eyes: Eyes are closed.

Mantra: This mantra consists of 8 basic sounds:

Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Say So Hung

Translation:

Ra - Sun

Ma - Moon

Daa - Earth

Saa - Impersonal Infinity

Saa Say - Totality of Infinity

So - Personal sense of merger and identity

Hung - The infinite, vibrating and real.

This mantra taps into the energies of the sun, moon, earth, and the Infinite Spirit to bring deep healing. It is important to pull the navel point powerfully on the words So and Hung. Note that the word Hung is not long and drawn out. Rather, it is clipped off forcefully as you pull in the navel. Chant one complete cycle of the entire mantra with each breath. Then deeply inhale and repeat. Remember to move the mouth precisely with each sound. Try to feel the resonance in the mouth and in the sinus area.

Mental Focus: You can choose to mentally visualize the person or persons that you are wanting to heal, as you send this energy to them for their well­-being.

Time: Continue chanting for 11 to 31 minutes.

To End: To end the meditation, inhale deeply and hold the breath, as you offer a healing prayer. Visualize the person you wish to heal as being totally healthy, radiant, and strong. See the person completely engulfed in a healing white light and completely healed. Then exhale and inhale deeply again, hold the breath, and offer the same prayer again. Exhale, inhale, and hold, repeat the prayer, and exhale.

To complete, inhale deeply, stretch your arms up high, and vigorously shake out your hands and fingers for several seconds. Keep the arms up and hands shaking as you exhale. Repeat two more times and relax.

If you are a visual person here is a video explaining the meditation:

Most importantly with any healing process:

Don't judge yourself if you "fall off" or don't do as well as you hoped one day. It happens, life happens.

Just take a deep breath and pick up where you left off.

I also find that a support system of any kind can be a great help as well.

So let us start TODAY! I know I am recommitting with all of you today. Right here right now to let the Life force of the universe nourish my body.

So let’s see if we can add at least one extra deep breath, a moment of letting someone help us and yes, an extra glass/ bottle of water a day.

We can do this! We will open ourselves to the prana of the universe and maybe even start drinking those glasses of water ;)

Bright Blessings,

Param Sevak Kaur

*Please share your thoughts and progress in the comments. I'd love to hear about your journey!

Finding the healthy path with unhealthy relationships

So there have been a few things floating about in my head over the last few weeks and I wasn't sure which one was going to win out for me to write about.  But what has been on my mind the most it seems lately is what does one do about relationships with others that are unhealthy.

So I've talked loads about coming to peace with yourself and I will most likely continue to talk about that. But, the question comes up:

"What do you do when the relationship with someone else in your life is unhealthy?"

Hmmm that is a tough one. Right? Especially since often we care about the person, that is why they are in our lives. 

Where is the line between helping and loving others and helping and loving yourself drawn. 

I know I have always personally struggled with this. If I love the person I should support them, stay by there side and help them right? That is what you do for a person you love. But when do you draw the line? When do you say, "this is not healthy for me". 

This is not always easy. 

Many times we stay in toxic relationships, be they romantic or just platonic, because we feel it is "the right thing to do". I know! I'm the queen of this mentality. I often put others needs above myself in attempts to care for them and love them. But love without guidance can hurt sometimes more then it can help. What you say? How does that work?

Simple.

Sometimes at a certain point by trying to "help" a person you are actually not helping but sheltering and not letting them walk their own journey.

Now I'm not saying don't help people. Not at all. I'm saying you have know when it is time to let the person walk by themselves. You can be there on the side lines if they fall walking in the right direction, but you can't hold some one's hand forever while they run around where ever they wish.

So, how do we know? How do we figure out when it is time to stand aside and say, "No you have to walk on your own now. I am not going to hold your hands this time?" 

I have found that when you really care about someone you give your love and energy to the relationship. Therefore when things start to go south, or it becomes obvious things are not healthy or supporting you, it is time to have a serious talk with yourself. 

Ask yourself two questions:

1) Am I Happy?

This is a big one. Be honest and real with yourself. Are you actually happy cut and dry simple. No.. well sometimes on a Thursday when the sky has four clouds and I'm wearing my pink shirt answer. Just cut and dry at this moment when you look at the relationship are you Happy?

If you answer isn't a resounding YES! Then it is time to look at why. This process is not always pretty, but it is necessary. 

2) Does the person support my growth as a human being?

If you don't feel inspired, supported or uplifted when you are around the person maybe it is time to look at the role they play in your life. The energy you surround yourself filters into your being and can shape the path you walk in this life. Hell if I have to choose to be surrounded by positive, loving people or negative hateful people I sure as heck am going to choose the people who are positive. Have you ever been in a great mood and then someone at the office was just so negative and it felt like it just sapped out all the joy in your day? Why would you want to surround yourself with that all the time? Of course you can't always help who you are surrounded with, but if you can choose and if they are someone you care very deeply about, wouldn't you want to have them bring you up not down?

So now if you were honest with yourself, you know if this person belongs in your inner circle. If you listen to your inner self it will never steer you wrong.

Try this Kriya if you really are unsure which way to go. It can help you tune into your intuition:
*note make sure to tune into your higher self with the Adi Mantra  before you start your practice (a video is coming soon for you all :) )

Kriya to Know Through Intuition

This kriya develops your ability to open to the Unknown through intuition and sensitivity. The first exercise done with the One Minute Breath links the Heart Center, the Arcline and your projection. Feel your magnetic field and Aura as you meditate. Establish an open, sensitive and unlimited field.

In exercise 2 the Sixth Chakra is stimulated into action with the sound of the high pitched whistle. The sound relaxes and opens. The hand lock enhances neutrality. The third exercise is the fulcrum. You create a polarity between the fixed hand position, like antennae, and the relaxed cells of the rest of the body. You welcome and receive the information and intuition from the known and Unknown. It is an excellent kriya to prepare for powerful prayer and to develop intuition.

1. Sit in Easy Pose with the spine straight. The left elbow is bent, palm flat facing the floor, in front of the Heart Center. The right arm is extended out to the front at a 60 degree angle. Close the eyes and breathe slowly and honestly. (Work up to breathing only one breath per minute.) Feel the Divine Presence around you. 11 minutes.

To end, stay in the position, inhale deep, hold the breath 10 seconds as you tighten all the muscles of the body. Exhale. Repeat 2 more times. Relax, roll your shoulders, stretch your arms and rib cage.

2. Extend the arms straight out in front of the chest with the palms touching and the thumbs locked over each other. Close the eyes and whistle a song of your choice. 7 minutes.

This posture affects the parathyroid and you may feel a pressure in your neck.

3. Put the hands in Lotus Mudra at eye level. Relax the entire body but hold the hand position firmly. Close the eyes for 3 minutes.

This is an intertwined action when one part of the body in a confined posture becomes the antenna and the rest of the body is relaxed to receive.

To end, inhale and clasp the hands in front of the Heart Center and press as hard as you can. Exhale and repeat 2 more times. Then relax, talk, and ground yourself for a few moments.

© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

[This kriya can be found in Transformation, vol. 2]

So now that you know if this person is someone who honestly supports your life and growth, as a person, it is time to apply this knowledge to your life.
If this relationship is not healthy then it maybe time to move away from this person and allow new people into your life. *Note: If you are in an abusive relationship and fear for your safety or the safety of others please seek professional help. If is okay to ask for help!! You deserve a life full of love and light, from yourself and others. 

This can sometimes be painful for all parties involved depending on the amount of energy you have invested into the relationship.

But breath, life is full of change and motion and this is just another change in your amazing beautiful life!!!

If you feel stressed about the situation you are in you can try this simple meditation as well:

Meditation for the Calm Heart  

1. Sit in easy pose with a straight spine, close the eyes or look straight ahead and leave the eyes 1/10th open.

2. Place the left hand palm down on your heart center. Bend the right arm resting the elbow against the side of the body, and hold the right hand in gyan mudra (thumb and pointer finger meeting with the other fingers extended) at the level of the shoulder.

3. Inhale deeply and retain the breath as long as you comfortably can.

4. Then, exhale slowly and hold the breath out as long as you comfortably can.

5. Continue for 3-5 minutes.

Note: Do not hold the breath in or out so long that you’re gasping or in distress. You may need to experiment a bit. Holding the breath out can be more difficult than holding the breath in because you are confronting a fear of death, but just relax and take it slowly. Soon you will be able to move past that fear and grow in your strength. 

 The Meditation for a Calm Heart can be found in Meditation as Medicine byDharma Singh Khalsa, MD. 

 Much Love and Light to you all! I hope you continue to walk forward strong and tall! Bringing the light and love you all deserve into each and every relationship.
P.S.K

Some Holiday Stress Busters: The "Art" and Yoga Edition

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells 

Presents on their way,

 Why oh why won't the meetings stop

 And when is my next payday? 

Hey!

Sound Familiar? Or maybe for you there are family requirements, friends you haven't seen in months all wanting to see you by next Tuesday, or even something simple as just too many events you are trying to attend. 

Even the most enjoyable events and people can become an added stressers if you aren't careful this holiday season. Last post we talked about some good breathing exercises to help relieve stress, but this time I wanted to look at a different way to help you keep your sanity and enjoy this holiday season.

It is called Art, Yoga and Expressing yourself!

Have you ever found that if you sit down and let out your feelings on paper you tend to feel better?
I know it can help me, so I gathered together a good holiday Kirya and Meditation to relieve some of the crazy holiday stress and then I invite you to take time after the Kriya and taking a shavasana to take some time and just let yourself create.

There are only two requirements for this activity:

1) Do Not Judge Yourself

2) Do the Best You Can With Where You Are
--------------------------------------

What you will need for this Stress Busting set:

• You (rather important don't you think?)
• A device you can keep track of time with
• A piece of paper (it doesn't have to be anything fancy)
• Something to draw with (a pen, some markers, crayons, ect.)

So without further ado lets get to the Holiday Stress Busting!!

So since this is the first time I've offered a full Kundalini Yoga set let me introduce you to how we start:

In Kundalini Yoga we begin a practice with Tuning In. 

We Chant Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo. Which means "I bow before my highest consciousness". 

It is a wonderful way to connect to your internal teacher and connects you to the golden chain of teachers who have come before. Take a few deep breaths, bring your hands to your heart center and begin. This is a wonderful video that explains the mantra:

So your tuned in Great! Lets do a few warm ups and then we can start the kriya.

Come into Easy Pose (which is a comfortable cross leg position) bring your hands to your knees and begin Sufi Grinds go at least a full minute each way before coming back to center. Inhale and exhale as you move. Remember you are your breath.

Inhale and bring your hands to your shins and begin spinal flex for another minute or so, inhaling forward and exhaling rounding the spine. Be careful to be gentle to your body in all of these exercises. Inhale to the center and exhale relax.

Now begin gentle neck roll moving with your breath spending at least a min going in each direction.

Here is a video that gives visuals for these warm ups as well as others you can add to your practice :)

Now on to the Kriya:
Please Note:  Follow all the times and not add or take anything out of a kriya when practicing it. If you need to reduce times please make sure to reduce them all equally. Also if you need to modify a pose do so!! Listen to your body and do your best to Keep Up! Even if you have to just visual the exercises, visual it perfectly and you will still receive some benefit!

KRIYA TO THROW OFF STRESS

Well done!
Now lay out on your back and relax. You deserve it and shavasana or corpse pose allows you to intergrate everything your just did. 

Here is a beautiful mantra I have used for ya'll before that I love to play softly during Shavasana:

 

Slowly come out of shavasana wiggling your toes and fingers, allowing the breath to return to your body and stretching out. When you have gently awakened roll up to a sitting position and grab your drawing impliments. 

Give yourself some time and just let what ever you feel out. Don't judge it or try to explain it. This is for you and only you so let go. I like to listen to mantra while I work on art but you can work in silence or listen to what ever you like.

When you are done set it aside and prepare yourself for meditation. This meditation is made up mostly of breath work so is a great way to build on what we talked about last time.
 

MEDITATION TO PREVENT FREAKING OUT
 
POSTURE: Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine, and a light Neck Lock.
 
MUDRA: Interlace the fingers with the right thumb on top. Place the hands at the center of the diaphragm line, touch- ing the body.
 
EYE FOCUS: Eyes are closed.
 
BREATH: Concentrate on the breath at the tip of your nose. Notice from which nostril you are breathing. Within 3 minutes you should know. Then change it. If you are breathing primarily through your left nostril, consciously change to your right nostril. Be sure to keep your shoulders completely relaxed. Practice changing this breath back and forth for as long as you like.
 
TIME: You may work up to 31 minutes.

*KRI has a great collection of kriyas and meditations (including these two) call the Crisis Kit

To finish up make sure you sing the long time sun. I like to sing it first for myself then, for someone I love and then for the world around me. It is a beautiful way to end your practice. 

So how do you feel? Better? What is great about this practice is that you can keep doing it and the benefits only grow. 

Much love and light to you all in this holiday season!
Bright Blessings
Param Sevak Kaur (The Whole Soul Modern Girl)   

How to thrive in this holiday season

Wow! It has been a while since I sat down to write a post for the blog. Where has the time gone?? 

Well I am back ya'll and full of new information and topics to share with all of you thanks to some amazing workshops and training I have been fortunate to be a part of.
So since we just pasted Thanksgiving here in the states and are heading into the Winter Holiday season, I thought I focus the next few posts on how to have a healthy and happy Holidays!!


Part I: Breath it is good for you!

AHHHHHHH!
It is that time of year again. Yep, you know it. The air is turning chili, the stores are all playing Christmas music and Santa seems to be everywhere!

 It is time for the winter holidays.

A wonderful time of joy and laughter, but also for many people, a time for a great deal of stress and worry.
Quite often we feel pressured to please everyone around us, trying to buy the most or "best" holiday gifts, cater to whims of family and friends and even fill our already full schedule with even more events and commitments.

So it makes you wonder... in our attempts to create such a joyous holiday season have we lost the real focus of the season? 

Do you find you get lost in the lists, commitments and that one last item to bake?
I know I do.

So lets stop for a minute and take a deep breath.
Thats right. Breath slowly in and then let it out. Now don't you feel better? And that didn't take very long at all did it?

The first things we do as a baby is take a deep breath. So lets check in with ourselves. How are you breathing?? Is it short and gaspy? Are you breathing with your stomach or just in your chest? Do you feel the air filling up your lungs and then completely empty out?

Now: I'm going to let you in on a secret. 

Many people actually don't actually understand how they breath. 

It is understandable though, as we breath automatically, but lets take a moment and get to know ourselves a little better. And understand how our amazing body performs such an important function.


The Basics:

From: "Take a deep breath" MAY 2009 Harvard Mental Health Letter

When you inhale your intercostal muscles and diaphragm contract, the intercostal muscles moving the rib cage up and out and the diaphragm flattening downward, expanding the chest cavity. This expansion creates a negative pressures space which must be equalized. With the decrease of internal air pressure the air from outside your body floods oxygen into to your lungs.  When we exhale the muscles relax and the chest cavity returns to it's normal size. This creates an area of higher pressure inside the body forcing the carbon dioxide to rush out of the body.

For a full scientific breakdown see here.

So now that we understand the basic mechanics of how we breath, lets look at two different breathing exercises to help keep you calm and grounded this holiday season. 

Breathing for Your Health

Long Deep Breathing

Some of the many benefits:

• Relaxes and calms.
• Regulates the body’s pH (acid-akaline balance), which affects the ability
• to handle stressful situations.
• Gives capacity to manage negativity and emotions, supporting clarity, cool headedness, and patience.
• Activates and clears the nerve channels.
• Reduces and prevents the build-up of toxins in the lungs by encouraging the clearing of the small air sacs (alveoli).

Long Deep Breathing uses the full capacity of the lungs, by utilizing the three chambers of the lungs:

 Abdominal, or lower
 Chest or middle
Clavicular or upper

Long Deep Breathing starts by filling the abdomen, then expanding the chest, and finally lifting the upper ribs and clavicle. The exhale is the reverse: first the upper deflates, then the middle, and finally the abdomen pulls in and up, as the navel point pulls back toward the spine. First, practice by separating the three parts of the breath. Sit straight on the floor, in a chair, or lie on the back. Initially have the left hand on the belly, right hand on the chest to feel the movement of the diaphragm.

Such a simple breath, but a powerful one. Continue to breath in this fashion for a least three minutes.  

What I love about this breath, is that you can do it anywhere, around anyone with no one really the wiser. 

So when another holiday bill comes in or some one is asking you to do just one more thing. STOP and take that long deep breath. You will be amazed how you will feel more relaxed and able to handle things.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Some of the many benefits:

• Is both integrating and grounding.
• Creates a deep sense of well-being and harmony on the physical, mental, 
• and emotional levels.
• Can help with headaches, migraines, and other stress-related symptoms

How to do Alternate Nostril Breathing:

The breath is always relaxed, deep and full when doing this exercise. Have the left hand in Gyan Mudra or relaxed on your knee. Use the thumb of the right hand to close the right nostril, and the index finger or ring finger of the right hand to close the left nostril. Close the right nostril and gently and fully inhale through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril and exhale through the right nostril. Then inhale through the right nostril. Close the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril. Continue repeating, alternating nostrils after each inhalation for at least three minutes.

There now how do you feel? Better? 

I thought so!

The holidays don't have to be a time full of stress and woe; just stop and remember your breath. It is there for you and doesn't cost a thing. 

Lots of Love and Light to you all. 

PSK