So, looks like one can say the Apocalypse is here now. Things are going absolute nuts out there with folks who had no clue this was coming one day and even for some of us who had some idea or an inkling that something was on (all our tin foil hat buddies and conspiracy theorists) however, were always distracted by the ebb and flow of life and business has been on as usual, until now. Things have come to a grinding halt in our human world, while everything else in the outside world is flourishing since the human virus (us), are being contained in the most strange and unexpected way. For those of us who have been living solitary for a while this quarantine is nothing new but for some of us who have constantly been occupied with something worldly, with little time for growth and self exploration, the time is now. We have all the time in the world now to go within and learn how to meditate, breathe more consciously and stay connected with the essence of who we really are.

" It is always better to live with reality, because otherwise, without fail, reality will come to live with you. "
                                                                                                                                                     - The Aghori Vimalananda

The masses are driven by fear and in these apocalyptic times, the truth is being revealed. Karmic balances are being settled and all the other species living in the wild are rejoicing and thriving as the human virus is being contained. People with weakened immune systems and the ones living in fear are the first ones to be affected by all this fear mongering and this too is by design, to cull a majority of the populace. There is enough scientific evidence which suggests strong EMF frequencies are a hazard for all life forms on Earth, and humans are no exception to this. Still there are 5G towers coming up all over the world which seem to be strongly connected with the huge number of outbreaks of the Coronavirus or Covid-19.

The media is controlled and censored heavily with trolls and paid disinformation agents doing the rounds regularly. Most world leaders are being controlled by the TPTB and nothing coming out from official sources can be believed and trusted blindly. Pay attention to signs in the world outside and get some sun everyday. There will be major cataclysms happening which will shape the course of our future. There is nothing to fear when we allow our intuition to guide us. We are all in this together, however not everyone will be there with you as this is where paths begin to diverge ... The choice is always between love and fear and the ones who fear, do so because they lack true knowledge of the self and the universe is now putting us in a place where we have the opportunity to explore these uncharted territories and discover the magic of life.










Find your own answers and don't believe anything you read or see, unless it resonates with you, completely ! I am here for you, always ... I am Another You !

Trust that Ma takes care of all her children and everything is bound by certain laws of cause and effect. We always have the chance to change our crazy ways and rediscover a new version of ourselves each new day. We are born anew with each sunrise and its a new you, a new day ... make better choices and remember to stay connected with the breath at all times. The New Earth is something that each one of us will co-create by simply envisioning it. We dream our reality into being ... We will manifest love and harmony on Earth, and it starts with us.

Be Love ... Be Light !

((( In Lak'ech Ala K'in )))


Here are some interesting posts for the apocalypse ... :)

• How I Became a Third Eye Junkie
• Nataraja : Becoming the Cosmic Dance
• What is Tantra Yoga ?
• How Porn Affects the Human Brain
• What is a Lightworker ?
• Atman : Understanding the Sacred Self

The word “tantra” literally means a technique or a technology. This is an inner technology. These are subjective methods not objective methods. It is a limb of yoga called tantra yoga.

The human mechanism is a composite of the physical body – an accumulation of food consumed; the mental body – the software and memory part that makes the individual function in specific ways; and the energy body – the fundamental upon which these two are housed. What is beyond this is non-physical.

Tantra is a means to go beyond, so that compulsiveness of the body and mind does not keep us trapped in our limitations. It is about learning to use the body, not as oneself, but as a stepping-stone to deliver this being to the highest possible dimension.


Tantra is not about unbridled sexuality, as assumed by many. Sexuality is a fundamental instinct instilled in our bodies to ensure the species perpetuates itself. This is a basic requirement. At the same time, one must know the limitations beyond which it will not carry us. It is only on recognizing the limitations and the longing to touch other dimensions enters, that yoga and tantra become relevant.
People thinking in terms of “I have sexual needs so I will follow the tantric path,” is nonsense. In tantra, it is not that someone is using just sexuality to grow. They are using every aspect to grow. Unfortunately, there may be people who are attracted to such a path for the wrong reasons. They go because they want a spiritual sanction for their sexuality. Why do you want to bullshit yourself about spirituality? Handle your biology as biology, you do not have to give it other names.

Sexual needs can be fulfilled by forming relationships for that purpose, either within or outside the fold. Using spiritual process to fulfill sexual compulsions is reprehensible and irresponsible. It can lead to various levels of loss because the tantric process is not only used for the individual’s spiritual growth, but also to create an energetic space to support other possibilities that bring well being to many.

The simple principle of tantra yoga is: whatever can take you down can also take you up. The ways in which a man usually sinks in his life are through food, alcoholic drink and sexuality. Tantra yoga uses the same three vehicles to rise up. Unlike sexuality, which tends to find release at the lower level of the energy system, tantra is about building our energies to the fountain-head of the uppermost dimension of the energy system, so that one’s energies spill from the top. Of the different energy manifestations in the body – referred to as the 114 chakras – spilling from the top three is considered the highest. If you have to build up to this, every basic instinct, including the sexual instinct, emotions, intellect and survival process must be used to build and hype the energy system. The intention is to deploy all instincts for which a certain amount of energy is dedicated in the body. If one goes into an actual sexual act, the build-up and the purpose of it will be lost.



Tantra means you are able to use your energies to make things happen. If you can make your mind razor sharp to cut through everything, this is also one kind of tantra. If you make your energies work upon your heart to become utterly loving and you can burst forth with enormous love that just overwhelms everyone, this is also tantra. If you make your physical body enormously powerful to make it do incredible feats, this is also tantra. Or if you can make your energies do things by itself without employing the body, mind or emotion, this is also tantra.

Only when energies meet and mingle and a Guru’s energies overwhelm and override the shishya’s energies, it leads to an orgasmic experience – a union, but not of the sexual kind.

If all you want is to do a meditation or spiritual practice, you don’t really need a Guru. The Guru is here essentially to overwhelm you with nameless ecstasies. So tantra is a technology of salvation, not enslavement.

Reference : Sadhguru (Isha Foundation)


Related Posts :

• Sacred Sex : The Awakening of your Soul
• Watching Porn is Draining Your Vital Energy
• Find Harmony : Balance the Yin Yang Energies
• Pleiadian Teachings on Sexuality and Consciousness
• Tantra : Awakening the Kundalini Shakti
• Dealing with dramatic spiritual upheaval

From total indulgence in sensual pleasures while experiencing the divine through tantric practices, to abstaining from any sexual thoughts or activity for long periods of time can have a life changing impact on one's consciousness and general perception of reality. As we begin to conserve our sexual energy, we create more Ojas or Radiance in our Auric field, affecting others positively around us. On our earthly sojourns, we meet many people while pursuing this idea of 'love', which is defined by most as an inherent need for another to fulfill us in some way. It is beautiful, it is painful at times ... it serves its purpose. As beautiful the act of love making is, when over, it leaves one drained of our radiance as the ancients have always known, and we seem to have been hypnotized by our 5 senses into believing false, self gratifying ideas.

As I was flipping through the pages of 'Aghora : At the Left Hand of God', I came across the chapter on Sex and in particular, the part on Ojas caught my attention. After reading it, I felt this was a timely reminder for me ... as this is something that has been one of the recurrent lessons for me this year. From chasing orgasms in Tantric ecstasy to practicing celibacy is a journey towards discovering our true nature, and purpose to reincarnate on Earth in this lifetime. Maintaining a balance is key. There is much work to be done and it would be prudent to remain focused while allowing the true seeds of unconditional love to blossom within our being.


Ojas

Humans...believe that through sex they are creating a child. Why should they want a child? They just want someone to reproduce their own attributes [genes], someone who will appreciate and love them.....Real creation becomes possible only when they become aware of that impulse and transcend it....

For creation you must use the semen in a different way than you use it for procreation. Semen is that substance in the male body which has the ability to create. Only procreation is possible if it is expelled from the body, ejaculated during the sex act. If it is retained within the body, stored instead of being wasted, then real creation becomes possible through ojas. Ojas is the source of the body's metabolic energy...

It is said in Ayurveda that ojas is derived from semen, but this is not quite so. Ojas exists in association with the head and the nervous system. In fact the "aura" or "halo" which you can see around a person's head is composed of his or her ojas. When I say that loss of semen causes loss of ojas you must remember that sex is all in the mind. ...When thoughts of sex fill the mind the Kama Agni (Fire of Lust) [dopamine] becomes inflamed. Heat is anathema to ojas. The Kama Agni causes a disturbance in the ojas, which alters the brain chemistry and directs the endocrine glands to begin to secrete. The effect is first felt on the prostate in men and the Bartholin's gland in women. Whenever oozing from these glands occurs you can be sure that ojas is being dissipated. During celibacy the ojas goes on and on harmonizing itself.


Women are lucky in that every month all the filth in their blood is drained out. This is the function of menstruation, and each menstrual cycle strengthens a woman's ojas because there is less waste material in the body to disturb digestion or brain chemistry. Unfortunately, since women are nine times more passionate than men most of them will find that this increased ojas merely serves to increase their sex drive.They will be impelled to copulate more, and all the benefits will be lost. Ayurveda recognizes that the substances which rejuvenate the body also act as aphrodisiacs and warns that when a rejuvenating effect is desired, sex must be restricted.

Ordinary sexual activity destroys ojas, but so do thoughts of sex and sexual fantasies even if you do not act on them. In fact continual brooding about anything is equally devastating to the ojas because thought causes the mind and brain to heat up and this mental heat, no matter what the cause, causes excessive physical heat. According to Ayurveda, excessive heat in the body leads to constipation, the root of most diseases. Heat also causes hypersecretion of all the glands, which in turn excites the mind via the body. It's a vicious cycle. Excess coolness in the body can be readily dealt with; excess heat is dangerous. Any unnatural heat ruins the ojas just as surely as does, an inflamed Kama Agni.

Likewise, harmonious thoughts increase ojas. How often have you heard someone say to a pregnant woman, "What a glow you have about your face!" That glow is the aura, composed of ojas. You might think that a pregnant woman's ojas would be low because her body tissues are being depleted to furnish nutrients for the baby. But because of the emotions of motherhood [oxytocin], the overwhelming love for the child being formed, ojas actually increases....

From the Art of Living website ...

Ojas is a certain type of energy, vibrancy in you. Like in the morning you are very vibrant, then you go to work and get tired, and in the evening you don’t have that same energy, right?

In the same way, when you are enjoying through the five senses, you see television for three hours, or you sit in a movie for three hours and come out, your Ojas is spent. If you listen too much, or eat too much, your Ojas is gone. Too much sex and Ojas totally gets depleted. Ojas is spent when you are engaging in any of the five senses.

Ojas can be rebuilt in the system through proper food, rest and attitude, but not very late in life. You cannot say that you are trying to rebuild your Ojas at the age of 60 or so. It has to be done before a certain age. It is like you cannot become very flexible after a certain age.

Ojas is certain vibrancy in you, energy. Our body has seven substances and Ojas is one of them. In the pulse reading you can see that.

After a certain age, the testosterone hormone is gone; similarly Ojas is related to, let us say, hormones. You cannot build those hormones at a later age.

During teenage, Ojas is maximum, and then if one keeps up with a good routine, good food, then Ojas continues through the middle age. And in the middle age, you can increase it or completely get away with it. That is possible. But after sixty or seventy, you cannot say, ‘Okay, now I want to bring back the Ojas into my system’. It may be possible but it is difficult. It depends.

Source : Aghora : At the Left Hand of God


Related Posts :

• Sacred Sex : Awakening of your Soul
• Relationship Challenges Men and Women Face
• How Porn Affects the Human Brain
• Loving An Empath
• Money and the Spiritual Life
• Watching Porn is Draining Your Vital Energy
• Tantric Sex and the Body of Light

Greetings Dear One .... If you have been following this blog for a while, you have probably witnessed how it has been evolving .... with time. What initially started of as a way to vent out feelings and emotions has turned out to be one of my life's missions which I am happy to have discovered .... at the right time, as always.

Relationships teach us emotions ... our emotions have a lot to say about ourselves. Once you are awakened to your own soul, there is no looking back and going back to someone you think you were. Perhaps, this change is what most of us find hard to wrap our intellect around, also because we haven't yet been able to open our hearts to loving all .... our mind, this sense of separation (the ego) keeps us in a perpetual state of suffering, as it desires ... its disappointed ... it seeks ... it fails .... it also wins at times .... giving it a false sense of accomplishment and momentary gratification. Finally all seeking, no matter what it helps accomplish has emotions attached with it ... which keeps bringing us important lessons, so we can evolve.

The Dark Night of the Soul may seem like recurring for some of us in our lives because he haven't yet learnt what was meant to be learnt .... sometimes the lesson is simply to let go of our illusions of the ego mind and just be. It is however not so easy without the guidance of someone who has walked the same path. For that reason we have our spirit guides, if only we listen to them enough through our own intuition. But we must go through a certain dark passage in our lives once we truly surrender to the universe to show us the way .... only then we truly appreciate the light. Until then we can keep reincarnating many lifetimes without having achieved much, which is essential to our progress as souls.


Sex, is a powerful medium to connect, heal ... exchange energy .... while experiencing the divine in this union of the opposites, the masculine and feminine energies. The world thrives on Sex, however its true purpose remains widely unrecognized as most seek instant gratification through constant orgasms and remain lost in the imaginary world of fantasies. It may be a very confusing period for some of us who are in difficult relationships, because of a changed lifestyle or worldview which may not be in sync with our partner .... this may lead to a lot of chaos and suffering in our lives, as the human drama plays out .... Sex and Love are two terms which have been twisted and manipulated by 'consensus reality' in so many ways that it has taken many perverse forms and keeps human consciousness in lower densities ... not allowing us to move towards higher frequencies. Love is who we are .... Sex is a way of expressing this love towards someone we are mutually drawn to from the deepest core of our being .... not solely because of other external factors such as looks, social status .... etc. Until we have recognized ourselves as a 'soul' ... our 'ego' will meet the 'ego' in others .... and we continue to feed our illusions and fantasies, as long as it lasts .... When two souls unite ... the divine magic beyond our limited self is experienced.


I came across this beautiful article on 'Soul Sex' which I deeply resonate with .... Hope it makes sense to you too .....

Are You Ready for Soul Sex?

Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with sex: media, magazines, movies, billboards. It’s everywhere and constant. Marketing and advertising uses sex to sell everything from hamburgers, to underwear, to cars.

As you know Sex itself is an incredibly powerful energy that when not understood can be the source of much confusion and suffering.

Regular sex is simply about a release, or relieving yourself of stress. It’s the type that leaves you deeply unfulfilled.

Soul sex is the understanding that it is really the exchange of energy, your energies and your partner’s. It’s alchemy that when engaged together in love can open and heal you, your mind, your body, your heart and Soul. Real sex is an energetic exchange and sharing not just a means to release or satisfy the body. Your body might be satisfied but, if sex just remains on a purely physical level, it will be a fleeting high. Real fulfilment cannot be found through the body alone. Pain and pleasure come and go.


The pleasure from sex that arises simply through the body is incredibly transitory. Soul sex happens when you recognize who you are and who the other is. First and foremost, you are Souls, not just a physical body. Then your lovemaking becomes the opportunity for your Souls through the vehicle of your body to dance, exchange, communicate, play and express loving as a gift to each other. When you engage your beloved sexually with the fullness of love and you no longer see your partner as a separate self or simply as another body of flesh, a profound shift occurs within you and your lovemaking will deepen. Then the real exchange happens on the Soul level. At the Soul level there is a sacred communion, the illusions of separation between you and the other drop away and you dissolve as ONE.

As you realize that you are not the body, your partner is not the body, but you are Souls, you can allow each other’s body to serve as a temple becoming the portal into a deeper dimension of the Infinite. What you then exchange with your partner through your bodies is Love energy itself. Then it becomes in the truest sense Lovemaking. You are both sharing the love that you are in that moment.

So Soul sex is the surrender of yourself, not just to your partner but also to the Divine that is living alive within him/her Itself.

Then, something magical happens. Sex moves from needing something, trying to get something, or a game of power and control. It is a letting go of control. It becomes about deep surrender to that which is living and breathing us all.

True lovemaking happens the more you realize and embody that what you are is LOVE itself.

When you make love, you let go. Then there is no you or other. There is only Now. There is only Freedom.

Perhaps this is why we are so obsessed with sex a culture. Yet what we are really seeking is not simply a momentary release – but something far deeper. We are searching for that which is formless and beyond pain or pleasure.

You are ultimately seeking your true Self.

Sex then becomes no more a path to enlightenment, but the very manifestation of Enlightenment itself.

Your lovemaking becomes the expression of the true Light of who you are, manifesting itself as an offering through your body.


So:

Give up all techniques, strategies and resistances to loving. Let go. Release. Relax. Trust. Dive in. Embrace.

Simply surrender.

When you surrender, there is no more you or another.

There is no more lover, loved or loving.

There is only Love.

Love. Now.

~ Kute Blackson


Source : Daily Love


Related Posts :

• How Porn Affects the Human Brain
• Loving an Empath
• Challenges Indigos Face on Earth School
• Watching Porn is Draining Your Vital Energy
• Secrets of the Pineal : Third Eye Mechanics
• Money and the Spiritual Life
• Pleiadian Teachings on Sexuality and Consciousness

There is a lot already said about Awakening, Enlightenment and Non-attachment by many ancient masters and teachers. This blog/website began about 8 years ago following a sort of sudden awakening while trance dancing in the jungles of Goa. My humble expressions of truth which I have gathered from various sources are all put together here on Psychedelic Adventure. That one experience propelled my life in an unknown direction, with some unseen intelligence guiding me along each step ... while telling me to trust my intuition and surrender to what comes forth while following your passion in life ... which for me is the quest for truth so i can bring more meaning to this earthly sojourn, my life.

After this awakening followed a series of realizations and magical discoveries about this exciting universe we are an integral part of. Magic is all around us, all we need is the eyes to see it. After I lost a dear friend quite suddenly, my life changed in a big way as it made me question everything. This was the first time I experienced the death of someone close to me, until then it was all theoretical. Now I begun asking questions pertaining to my own existence and what happens to us when we leave the physical body. On this quest to find meaning I came across many interesting things on the Internet. Some of these subjects I resonate with deeply and have blogged about quite extensively are Crop Circles, Shamanism, Orbs, Healing, Psychedelics and Altered States of Consciousness just to name a few.

The difficult part about waking up is that not everyone around you may be experiencing a similar shift in consciousness as you are. This can be a bit troublesome as the friends who once hung out with you suddenly stop coming over and you too feel like you have gone beyond the need for people being around you all the time and you truly value and appreciate those moments spent in complete silence. :) You would rather be by yourself pursuing certain new found interests which bring more joy and happiness in your life than anything else you have previously known. If you have felt any of this, trust me you are not alone. There are so many of us feeling a storm stirring deep within our soul pushing us towards our imminent evolution, which is showing us a new way of living, in harmony with all beings we share this space with. A new vision of a new sense of self is emerging within each one of us tuned into our heart space ... operating from a place of much peace and divine guidance.

Living consciously, while being sensitive to energies around us can be a gift and a curse at the same time as most empaths would agree. Like most labels, the label of an Empath may seem like a special title to inflate one's ego but it really is an innate capacity within each one of us and there are ways to listen to that inner voice that guides us, which begins with silencing our noisy mind and clearing up the excessive mental clutter. To be in this world, yet detached from the illusions of the ego mind, is the path to true freedom which allows one to live more fully and in alignment with natural laws. Once we live our lives from a place of awareness, brand new realizations pour into our nascent consciousness from time to time ... allowing us to free ourselves from the shackles of the egoic mind while tuning into higher realms of divine consciousness, the true essence of who we are.

One of the eternal teachings of Buddha is that of non-attachment ... I came across this beautiful article by Matt Valentine on Buddhaimonia !





Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.

– The Dalai Lama

You’ve probably seen or read something like it before on the Internet.

A beautiful image with a short quote that says something to the significance of “let it go” (if you don’t believe me, type “let go” into Google and look under the images tab).

And I’m not talking about the Frozen theme song, I’m talking about the idea of letting go of things in your life, whatever that may be.

But rarely is it actually explained how to actually “let it go”. More often than not it’s become no more than a slogan for happy living, with vague guidance at best.

What I do find interesting though is that most of us seem to realize intuitively how important it is to live without clinging to things, even if we’re not exactly sure how that’s supposed to happen.

But there’s a vast amount of wisdom in Eastern thought that can help us learn how to let go of the many things which bind us and keep us from finding peace as well as keep us from experiencing the limitless freedom that exists in our everyday lives. That’s where the teaching on non-attachment comes in.

The teaching on non-attachment, as described in Buddhist and Hindu thought, is often misunderstood- especially in the West.

It’s usually misunderstood as the detaching from all worldly things in a physical sense. Which most of us aren’t all that interested in doing (and, also intuitively, we feel is unnecessary). The common image of a monk or yogi living and meditating away from civilization doesn’t help that misconception either.

In fact, when Buddhism first came to China somewhere around 2,000 years ago by way of these reclusive and hermit-like practicing Buddhists, the Chinese apparently didn’t dig it all that much either. They didn’t see the point of removing yourself entirely from worldly activities and becoming these sort of recluses from society.

But they were very much interested in Buddhism in general, and would go on to spur one of the most significant reforms in Buddhist history- the birth of what’s called “Mahayana” (or “the great vehicle”) Buddhism.

The reason I mention this story is to illustrate why it can be so dang confusing to understand what’s meant by non-attachment in ancient Eastern thought. This is because technically there is a side of Buddhism that’s about becoming that mountain recluse or hermit and living by yourself for the rest of your life.

Fortunately, the Chinese realized the truth early on that such a way of living only aided in the path to realizing peace and was in no way a requirement.

The truth is peace and the ultimate freedom can be obtained right here within everyday life. So then if stripping yourself of all possessions and worldly responsibility isn’t the point of non-attachment, what is?


What is Non-Attachment?

The Buddhist teaching on non-attachment is ultimately about realizing the truth of yourself. That is, realizing that you’re an expression of the entire cosmos. That you’re in the cosmos, that the entire cosmos is in you in a very real and observable way, and that there is no separating the two (and everything that comes with the realization).

And the teaching on non-attachment is about living in such a way that you live without such obstructions that keep you from realizing this.

So, for instance, it’s not about not being able to get married, something which Chinese Buddhists began allowing which Indian Buddhists didn’t, it’s about not attaching yourself to your spouse or the concept of marriage.

This means living in a way that instead of keeping this image of your spouse in your mind and falling in love with that image, consequently running into problems when that image changes, you let them free and accept them fully for who they are in each moment no matter what changes.

In Zen Buddhism, when students complete their study they’re allowed to enter back into a “normal” life and do things such as marry and take jobs. This is because it’s understood in Zen that non-attachment isn’t about physical items, locations, and such, it’s about the ideas we occupy our minds with.

It’s about what we believe about ourselves and the world around us.

This means that you could lead a perfectly normal life on the surface, but from within live in a way that you don’t attach yourself to any of the things that are a part of your life.

This doesn’t mean you stop caring about them, on the contrary you appreciate them so much more because you’re ever-aware of that they won’t last forever.

So just as you can hold a picked flower in your hand, being well aware that the flower will wilt and die in a matter of days, taking in the smell and beauty of the flower, you can live your entire life savoring every moment knowing that in each moment everything can (and often does) change.

How We Attach in Our Everyday Life

Any belief that you’re this separate entity which exists detached from the rest of existence, and your attempts to cling to these ideas as well as your attempts to cling to expectations about the way the world is supposed to work, cause friction between yourself and the rest of the interconnected world and result in pain and the inability for you to find peace. Ultimately, in a nutshell, that’s what it all comes down to.

But what does this look like in your everyday life? Putting aside all the cosmos this and interconnected that talk, how can we begin to notice this in our daily lives?

When it comes down to it, all attachment originates with the ego. The ego, a construct which was built through years of conditioning and is in no way a “real” part of you at all, is what convinces you that you’re this separate entity disconnected from all other living and non-living things.

So how does this look in our everyday lives? Your ego is an image, it’s who you believe yourself to be. And when reality doesn’t match up to the image, friction happens and pain occurs. Pain caused by your attachment to the ego could come from:

• Not hitting your personal performance goals at work, leading you to question if your abilities are declining.
• Not performing as well during a basketball game with some old friends as you used to when you were younger, realizing you’re not as fit as you used to be and maybe no longer the athlete you thought yourself as.
• Finding out your spouse cheated on you and your dream of having a family and living the rest of your life with this great person consequently shattering.

Also, when life doesn’t = your expectations, the same happens:

• Losing a loved one and having to come to grips with the fact that this person who meant so much to you and who you’re used to having in your life is gone forever.
• Being fired from the job you’ve had for the past 10 years and thought you’d spend the rest of your life at.
• A co-worker whom you trusted stabbing you in the back to win a promotion over you.
• To see this more clearly, think about something that doesn’t surprise you. Think about a sandwich. Let’s say you really like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and you’re used to having one every afternoon for lunch.

Provided everything goes as normal, you enjoy your sandwich and have a pleasant lunch. But if it turns out your husband or wife pranked you and threw some soy sauce in there when they made your sandwich (no wonder they offered to make it today…), you wouldn’t have a very pleasant lunch.

The surprise of the PB&J not adding up to your expectation is what caused you the pain, not that soy sauce was in it.

If you were to have eaten that sandwich like you had never had a peanut butter sandwich before in your life, without expectations, not only would the real thing have tasted better, experiencing every bite like the first time, but you wouldn’t have been disappointed when you were pranked with the PB&JS (peanut butter and jelly-soy) your spouse made for you because you would have had no expectation of how it should taste.


How to Let Go

The same basic ingredients apply in all methods of letting go, but there’s multiple ways to go about doing it. One very important point I want to mention with regards to the entire subject though is to not attach yourself to any one method of letting go.

It sounds odd that you can find a new attachment through trying to let go of all attachments, but it’s a very real thing to look out for. Don’t get mixed up thinking the finger pointing the way to the moon is the moon itself.

What this means is, first and foremost non-attachment is a state of mind. New attachments will always threaten you, so to live with the state of mind of non-attachment, to realize the importance of living in a way that you go with the natural flow of things and respect the impermanence of all life, is the basis of realizing non-attachment.

Again, there’s many ways to go about it all, but the first step is generally to begin working to identify the ego.

This is generally done through some form of meditation, particularly mindfulness as it allows you to observe yourself “silently” in a way and watch what unfolds and arises from within you. This can take time, and can be challenging, but the process itself is very rewarding.

To strive to live with mindfulness in each moment, whether you’re sitting on the meditation cushion, walking from one place to the next, or are at work, is to shine a light on your entire life and uncover the presence of the ego in each area of your life, even the furthest reaches that lay hidden deep in your subconscious.

To live with mindfulness is also to live fully engaged and yet unattached in that very moment. To be mindful is to be open and accepting of whatever may come in any moment, so mindfulness is a multipurpose tool in letting go of the many attachments we often hold.

But there’s another way to help us let go in our everyday life. To look deeply at those things in our everyday life, especially ourselves, is to realize not only the interconnected nature of all things but also the impermanence (that is, the fact that nothing lasts forever).

This is a technique I go into detail about in Zen for Everyday Life, but because there’s so many ways to use it I’d like to go over another way you can use contemplative meditation to begin helping you let go of the many things you cling to.

Meditating on the End of Your Life

Meditating on death sounded like a bit of a harsh title, but that’s essentially what this meditation is about. Keep in mind, you don’t have to go too deep here. If you do choose to do so though, be careful, you might not like everything you find (which is the same in all forms of meditation, but especially so for this). But I can promise you it will be healing.

This is just another way of taking contemplation, the act of looking deeply at a thing as far back as it will go, and using it on yourself to help you let go of the various attachments that inhibit you from finding peace.

To meditate on death, simply imagine it’s your time and everything that will come with it. You could be on a hospital bed, your personal bed, or somewhere else.

For best effect, imagine the process is pretty far along, and you’ve been looking back on your life. You’ll likely have to sit with this exercise for some time before things begin coming to the surface, but they will come.

Maybe you begin seeing flashes of your daughter, who you’ve fought with for years, come into your mind. You won’t always know why, but by focusing your mind on this near-death event certain things will arise naturally.

Part of this process can be active with contemplation, trying to actively imagine what kinds of things you might regret, want to have done differently, or feel relieved you can finally let go of, and another part of it could be more passive by simply thinking about the situation to yourself for a moment and then proceeding to sit and follow your breath with mindfulness and then acknowledging whatever thoughts arise as a part of that.

However you decide to do it, meditating on the end of your life, the entire experience in as much detail as you can possibly imagine, can be a powerful and highly beneficial exercise.


The Power of Letting Go

What is it like to let go completely? You’ll have to find out for yourself, but there’s a few major changes that will occur as a result of you learning how to overcome all attachments and live freely:

1. You’ll see the beauty in all of life and experience it in its fullness without any “distortion”.

2. You’ll be completely free in each moment and in the truest sense, no longer chained down to attachments.

3. You’ll find peace through having learned how to let go, stop causing friction to your being, and ultimately expressing your true nature.

4. You’ll gain the ability to adapt to any and all changes and keep your peace of mind.

5. You’ll find a great sense of joy in every moment and realize life as one great big adventure because you’re no longer held down by anything.

If you want to learn how to let go and live truly free in each moment, Zen for Everyday Life is a great resource that can begin you on the path and equip you with the tools you’ll need. You can get Zen for Everyday Life and learn more about the book by clicking here:

Get Zen for Everyday Life: How to Find Peace and Happiness in the Chaos of Everyday Life

The topic of letting go and non-attachment is surely a big one, far larger than any single post could cover, but I hope this has helped move you forward in some way towards greater freedom in your everyday life.

Reference : Let Go & Find Peace


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Breaking through Life's Density

Humanity is in the throws of a truly sensational transition. More and more people are waking up and beginning to fully release themselves from "the drama". We're feeling into the blocking density, not retracting in fear and denial, but beginning to penetrate and break out. Steadily, progressively, we're realising our magnificent light. However, its not an easy ride. To attain the lightness of being to truly launch ourselves into multi-dimensionality we have to make many breathroughs. In particular, we have to process and release our karma. So what exactly is karma and what is its purpose? Here's a point of view based on my own personal experience...

Karma: A Learning Experience

Our universe is moving to ever increasing vibrational harmony. We're seeking and finding ever finer ways of experiencing pure presence. In order for us to do this, every aspect of consciousness must be harmonised - because everything is interconnected. There is one unifying web. Just as in nature, if a vibrating fly lands in the middle of the spider's web, the spider at the centre is going to feel it no matter where on the web the fly is.

We've come from a place of maximum separation. When the universe miraculously exploded into being, it attained maximum multiplicity of form. As consciousness flowed outwards like ripples on a vast ocean, the vibrations of energy slowed down and condensed into matter - a superlative illusion of separation from the 'All That Is'.

And we as Unity Consciousness - the glue binding the separation together - dreamed an opportunity: to infuse ourselves as apparently separate souls into the multiplicity of form, forget our true nature and fully identify with the separateness.

The Master 'Plan'

It wasn't a plan as such, although to some, it may have seemed that way. It's simply the case of 'the One', exploding into being, through interrelated flows of consciousness and then losing itself in the relativity. In other words, becoming identified with the illusion of reality. In a way, karma is what makes the illusion seem real. It creates the experience we're having, the harmony we manifest; until we process what we need to, break through and create a higher harmony.

In forgetting ourselves, over time, we re-awaken and remember again. Thus we gain a taste of the miraculous. A feeling and positive experience of the everything that we are - pure harmony, unity and interconnectedness. Things that can only be experienced having first tasted absolute isolation.
In our departure from the unifying presence, our decent into darkness was rapid. We contravened all the natural laws of the universe. In our exploitation, we shaped reality according to our selfish needs and desires. In so doing, we built up eddy currents of convoluted and blocked energy within the natural flow. So compelling, nightmarish even, were these eddy currents that our very souls became swallowed up into them.

Karmic burden

It's not our fault that this happened of course, as individual souls, we are protagonists in a much greater story: the One coming from consciousness through unconsciousness - bringing light into the darkened recesses of the universe. We are (unfortunately!) at the front end of that. I say 'unfortunately', but of course the breaking free - back into the Source - is the most sublime, the most exquisite of experiences. It's what makes life living.

But even we - as Unity Consciousness - couldn't begin to dream of the distortions we'd take on; the actions we would perpetrate against other sentient beings. Take for example humanity's treatment of Mother Earth and the animal and plant kingdoms.

So we built up negative energy - a karmic burden - as a result of our actions. Upon leaving an incarnation at death, the soul moves into the angelic realms to review its life experience. It takes with it the energy it generated in the previous incarnation held within the causal body. It relives the experiences in a non-judgmental way. From a higher, non attached perspective, it gets to relive all the choices it made and the effects on other sentient life.

If there is confusion, lack of understanding and self acceptance in relation to what the soul perpetrated, then that energy remains in the causal body acting like an anchor and preventing ascension into the higher realms. This 'ballast' is our karma and it must be processed out if we are to proceed higher.


Confronting the good the bad and the ugly

It is also important to realise that karma is identification - both to the 'good' and the 'bad'. It is a common misconception therefore that by performing 'good' actions we will store up 'good' karma which will help us advance. Ascension is about non-attachment to physical experience. Full stop. The soul will inevitably ascend into higher harmonies when there is no mind trying to shape events and circumstances.

The only way to process this karma is to reincarnate and reconfront the experiences. So we choose another incarnation and take the karma with us in our causal body. The karma is now the consciousness that manifests externally and shapes the outer world creating a mirror by which we can now see ourselves - assuming of course we choose to look!

In the reconfrontation, we're being invited to bathe in the pain of the past life event and not identify. We're being invited once more into the temptation of separateness and resultant ignorance so that we may instead make the higher choice and thereby transmute the eddy currents of energy holding us. It is done by experiencing it again, but in the midst of the experience, coming from the place of pure presence and directing in the harmonising light of Unity Consciousness.

A personal sharing

I'll share an example from Chris Bourne's personal story:

"I was once drawn into an experience to test my trust in the divine order of things; to see if I could remain connected to absolute presence in the midst of excruciating mental, emotional and physical pain. It happened on the battlefields of World War Two. I strayed into a minefield, but I trusted absolutely in the divine and that I would guide not only myself, but also my colleagues through it to safety.

However my faith was blind. Yes with my right, intuitive side I could feel to proceed, that if I stayed present, I would find a way through safely. Although I trusted in the divine, I didn't trust in my own ability to sense the divine. With my left side - the physical embodiment of the divine - I was clumsy, insensitive, underdeveloped. You can imagine the outcome. I lost my left leg and injured the right. Furthermore, others who trusted me suffered too.

So in this lifetime, once more I awoke to the divine order of things and trusted in the directing flow of Unity Consciousness. However, I retained the karmic energy in my causal body. This created a life of insensitivity to the divine through my physical body. I trusted in guidance but was still clumsy in applying that guidance.

It manifested frequently through vocabulary. I'd know what the natural flow of the moment was and what the universe was inviting me to say, but found difficulty in articulating in a way which would empower, inspire and uplift others. I frequently found myself pushing buttons in other people and exploding emotional mines!

As my vibration raised, I found myself time and again activating emotional touch points in the people around me. It tested my trust in the divine and in myself to the limit. But I did trust and I did activate and confront my limitation. I worked through the inner density as it manifested in my life's journey in the outer world. Consequently, I now find myself with increasing physical sensitivity. I find I can more accurately navigate the emotional minefield of spiritual awakening with fewer unnecessary explosions!"

No need to Remember

It is important to say that we don't have to remember the events and circumstances of the past life to process the energy. We simply have to experience the karma again. This will happen naturally. It can be done through purposeful regression therapy such as that we conduct here at Openhand. However, it is also essential to say we don't have to undertake regression therapy to process the karma. It will happen naturally of its own accord if we keep raising our vibration, peeling away inner distortions and following our true pathway in life.

It is also vital to say that we won't process the karma if we're not ready for it. Regression therapy will be completely ineffective if our vibration isn't high enough to expand into the causal body and to hold presence there. This can only be fully possible when the density in the lower three bodily vehicles (the physical body, the emotional body and subconscious mind) has been mostly transmuted. There is no short cut on the path of self-realisation.

Riding the Thermals

Whether we know it or not, we're all here working to activate, confront, process and release our karma. It is only this which will truly make a difference to our lives and our evolution. Without it, we will simply keep recreating the same drama albeit with different circumstances.

Our time has come. A wave of human souls is moving into the higher vibrations. It's time to delve deep inside, to break up the density contained in our energetic fields. It's time to break out and ride the thermals into the higher vibrations, towards our next higher evolutionary state.

It is not an easy undertaking. However, we are each seeded for success and although at times life may get very tough, it is through these trials and tribulations that we attain true mastery. It's all about transcendence...



About the Author:

Openhand is the name we’ve given to the Benevolent Consciousness of the Universe. It is that energy which works within the weave of the fabric of life, helping to unravel karmic blockages, infuse soul and thereby catalyse spiritual evolution. Openhand works as a synchronistic mirror, revealing what is holding us back and how we can take our next evolutionary leap. Openhand Foundation works on behalf of this energy, helping ground its presence in this realm.



Connect with Open at OpenhandWeb.org and Facebook.com/OpenhandFoundation.


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In the story that follows, Sadhguru tells us about Shiva, the first yogi, and how he transmitted the yogic sciences to the Saptarishis.

Sadhguru: In the yogic culture, Shiva is not known as a god, but as the Adiyogi or the first yogi – the originator of yoga. He was the one who first put this seed into the human mind. According to the yogic lore, over fifteen thousand years ago, Shiva attained to his full enlightenment and abandoned himself in an intense ecstatic dance upon the Himalayas. When his ecstasy allowed him some movement, he danced wildly. When it became beyond movement, he became utterly still.

People saw that he was experiencing something that nobody had known before, something that they were unable to fathom. Interest developed and people came wanting to know what this was. They came, they waited and they left because the man was oblivious to other people’s presence. He was either in intense dance or absolute stillness, completely uncaring of what was happening around him. Soon, everyone left… Except for seven men.








These seven people were insistent that they must learn what this man had in him, but Shiva ignored them. They pleaded and begged him, “Please, we want to know what you know.” Shiva dismissed them and said, “You fools. The way you are, you are not going to know in a million years. There is a tremendous amount of preparation needed for this. This is not entertainment.”

So they started preparing. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, they prepared. Shiva just chose to ignore them. On a full moon day, after eighty-four years of sadhana, when the solstice had shifted from the summer solstice to the winter solstice – which in this tradition is known as Dakshinayana – the Adiyogi looked at these seven people and saw that they had become shining receptacles of knowing. They were absolutely ripe to receive. He could not ignore them anymore. They grabbed his attention.

He watched them closely for the next few days and when the next full moon rose, he decided to become a Guru. The Adiyogi transformed himself into the Adi Guru; the first Guru was born on that day which is today known as Guru Pournami. On the banks of Kanti Sarovar, a lake that lies a few kilometers above Kedarnath, he turned South to shed his grace upon the human race, and the transmission of the yogic science to these seven people began. The yogic science is not about a yoga class that you go through about how to bend your body – which every new born infant knows – or how to hold your breath – which every unborn infant knows. This is the science of understanding the mechanics of the entire human system.

After many years, when the transmission was complete, it produced seven fully enlightened beings – the seven celebrated sages who are today known as the Saptarishis, and are worshipped and admired in Indian culture. Shiva put different aspects of yoga into each of these seven people, and these aspects became the seven basic forms of yoga. Even today, yoga has maintained these seven distinct forms.

The Saptarishis were sent in seven different directions to different parts of the world to carry this dimension with which a human being can evolve beyond his present limitations and compulsions. They became the limbs of Shiva, taking the knowing and technology of how a human being can exist here as the Creator himself, to the world. Time has ravaged many things, but when the cultures of those lands are carefully looked at, small strands of these people’s work can be seen, still alive. It has taken on various colors and forms, and has changed its complexion in a million different ways, but these strands can still be seen.

The Adiyogi brought this possibility that a human being need not be contained in the defined limitations of our species. There is a way to be contained in physicality but not to belong to it. There is a way to inhabit the body but never become the body. There is a way to use your mind in the highest possible way but still never know the miseries of the mind. Whatever dimension of existence you are in right now, you can go beyond that – there is another way to live. He said, “You can evolve beyond your present limitations if you do the necessary work upon yourself.” That is the significance of the Adiyogi.

Editor’s Note: Download Sadhguru’s ebook, Shiva – Ultimate Outlaw, alongwith Vairagya, an album of sacred chants (also available as an Android App). They’re free!



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One of the greatest spiritual teachers from India, a Yogi called Paramahansa Yogananda, left behind a treasure chest of knowledge and wisdom for millions to be inspired from. His book, Autobiography of a Yogi, considered a spiritual classic of all time made Paramahansa Yogananda a world teacher, a spiritual emissary who brought ancient Indian wisdom to the West.

His life and teachings continue to be a source of light and inspiration to people of all races, cultures and creeds. Paramahansa Yogananda was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh on January 5, 1893, in Gorakhpur, India, into a devout and well-to-do Bengali family. From his earliest years, it was evident to those around him that the depth of his awareness and experience of the spiritual was far beyond the ordinary.


Both his parents were disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya, the renowned master who was instrumental in reintroducing Kriya Yoga in modern India. When Yogananda was an infant in his mother’s arms, Lahiri Mahasaya blessed him and foretold: “Little mother, thy son will be a yogi. As a spiritual engine, he will carry many souls to God's kingdom.”


One day in 1920, while meditating at the Ranchi school, Yogananda had a divine vision showing him that now was the time to begin his work in the West. He immediately departed for Calcutta, where the next day he was invited to serve as India’s delegate to an international congress of religious leaders convening later that year in Boston. Sri Yukteswar confirmed that the time was right, saying: “All doors are open for you. It is now or never.”

Shortly before his departure, Yogananda was visited by Mahavatar Babaji, the deathless master who revived in this age the ancient science of Kriya Yoga. “You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West,” Babaji said to Yogananda. “Long ago I met your guru Yukteswar at a Kumbha Mela; I told him then I would send you to him for training. Kriya Yoga, the scientific technique of God-realization, will ultimately spread in all lands, and aid in harmonizing the nations through man's personal, transcendental perception of the Infinite Father.”

You can find more about his life here.

'Awake : The Life of Yogananda' is an unconventional biography about the Hindu Swami who brought yoga and meditation to the West in the 1920s. Paramahansa Yogananda authored the spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi,” which has sold millions of copies worldwide and is a go-to book for seekers, philosophers and yoga enthusiasts today. (Apparently, it was the only book that Steve Jobs had on his iPad.) By personalizing his own quest for enlightenment and sharing his struggles along the path, Yogananda made ancient Vedic teachings accessible to a modern audience, attracting many followers and inspiring the millions who practice yoga today.


Filmed over three years with the participation of 30 countries around the world, the documentary examines the world of yoga, modern and ancient, east and west and explores why millions today have turned their attention inwards, bucking the limitations of the material world in pursuit of self-realization.

Archival material from the life of Yogananda (who died in 1952) creates a spine for the narrative, but the film stretches the dimensions of a standard biography. The footage includes stylized interviews, metaphoric imagery and recreations, taking us from holy pilgrimages in India to Harvard’s Divinity School and its cutting-edge physics labs, from the Center for Science and Spirituality at the University of Pennsylvania to the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California. By evoking the journey of the soul as it pushes its way through the oppression of the human ego and delusion of the material world, the film creates an experiential immersion into the unseen realms. AWAKE is ultimately the story of humanity itself: the universal struggle of all beings to free themselves from suffering and to seek lasting happiness.

Get your copy of the Autobiography of a Yogi ... It is a must read !!!




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Coming into this world isn't exactly a joy ride, but it is up to us to make it Fun while we are here. In this search for happiness we come across a lot of different ways to get there, through attaining altered states of consciousness and momentary escapes by using drugs and other mind altering substances or by giving into ones sexual urges and carnal desires. All of these may seem to bring some sort of peace and happiness, it is short lived though. Overuse of any of these drains us of their vital energies which are responsible to build a strong immune system and a healthy, sound working mind-body connection. Studies have shown that there is a definite similarity between deep meditative states and orgasms which can also be compared to some of the altered states produced through the use of powerful plant based 'Entheogens'. Being able to harness this creative energy some know as 'Kundalini' enables us to be in better control and deepens our understanding of the self in relation to the external world.

Unless the Root chakra is cleansed and its blockages removed, its corresponding center in the brain will always pull our consciousness back to sexual satisfaction. We can live the same life as we do live today or we can consciously choose to make it much better. Acknowledging this dissipation of our vital energy brings back into focus certain crucial areas of our lives which we might have previously avoided confronting or simply ignored due to lack of awareness. The sexual act is sacred and our ideals today have been corrupted to an extent where sexuality has taken many perverse forms taking us further away from the truth. The only way we can find meaning in all the madness is by turning within and withdrawing our awareness from the seductions of the sensory world, instead allowing this life force to rise up into our brain and open new dimensions previously unexplored. We always have the power to re-look and re-examine our values and belief system while progressing further on a spiritual path.

I came across this eye opening TedX video of Ran Gravieli speaking about why he stopped watching porn ...


Even getting sexually involved with someone who you don't know so well can result in unconsciously absorbing some of each others energies and can make one feel drained off their vital energy. Being in a dysfunctional relationship or having multiple sexual partners, one night stands etc ... can result in contamination of ones Auric field allowing negative energies to slip in and take advantage of ones lowered frequency.

In ancient times, as suggested by texts such as the Kamasutra, the sexual act of union between the male and female was more about enjoying the journey than reaching the destination, which is to say the focus was on continuing the sexual act for a longer duration while delaying the orgasm, for as long as possible. Sex isn't necessarily a bad thing, only when indulged in excessively one loses a lot of vital energy which makes us feel drained and hastens the aging process, while not providing the required flow of Prana (Life Force) to reach the brain where it is utilized to awaken our intuitive abilities by opening the Ajna Chakra.

“In the ordinary sexual orgasm you meet as two excited beings – tense, full of excitement, trying to unburden yourselves. The ordinary sexual orgasm looks like madness; the tantric orgasm is a deep, relaxing meditation.”


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Many in our world today are awakening to the true essence of Yoga and the benefits of practicing yoga regularly. The Truth, in many ways is emerging in our realities making concepts easier to grasp and put in motion. Starting Yoga at an early age has its own rewards and in this post we'll speak about some of these guidelines we could share with our children to help them build strength and endurance as they mature.

For beginners, Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Yuj' meaning 'to unite' or 'to integrate'. In other words, Yoga symbolizes the union of Human Consciousness with Universal or Cosmic Consciousness. In some ways, practicing Yoga helps us dissolve the illusions of the Ego (An illusion of a separate self) and helps us awaken to our true nature in a non-dualistic way. Just so beautifully true, isn't it ... :)



Here is an interesting article by Marsha Wenig on 'Yoga for Kids'...

Our children live in a hurry-up world of busy parents, school pressures, incessant lessons, video games, malls, and competitive sports. We usually don't think of these influences as stressful for our kids, but often they are. The bustling pace of our children's lives can have a profound effect on their innate joy—and usually not for the better.

I have found that yoga can help counter these pressures. When children learn techniques for self-health, relaxation, and inner fulfillment, they can navigate life's challenges with a little more ease. Yoga at an early age encourages self-esteem and body awareness with a physical activity that's noncompetitive. Fostering cooperation and compassion—instead of opposition—is a great gift to give our children.

Children derive enormous benefits from yoga. Physically, it enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. In addition, their concentration and sense of calmness and relaxation improves. Doing yoga, children exercise, play, connect more deeply with the inner self, and develop an intimate relationship with the natural world that surrounds them. Yoga brings that marvelous inner light that all children have to the surface.

When yogis developed the asanas many thousands of years ago, they still lived close to the natural world and used animals and plants for inspiration—the sting of a scorpion, the grace of a swan, the grounded stature of a tree. When children imitate the movements and sounds of nature, they have a chance to get inside another being and imagine taking on its qualities. When they assume the pose of the lion (Simhasana) for example, they experience not only the power and behavior of the lion, but also their own sense of power: when to be aggressive, when to retreat. The physical movements introduce kids to yoga's true meaning: union, expression, and honor for oneself and one's part in the delicate web of life.




A Child's Way

Yoga with children offers many possibilities to exchange wisdom, share good times, and lay the foundation for a lifelong practice that will continue to deepen. All that's needed is a little flexibility on the adult's part because, as I quickly found out when I first started teaching the practice to preschoolers, yoga for children is quite different than yoga for adults.

Six years ago, I had my first experience teaching yoga to kids at a local Montessori school. I looked forward to the opportunity with confidence—after all, I'd been teaching yoga to adults for quite a while, had two young children of my own, and had taught creative writing for several years in various Los Angeles schools. But after two classes with a group of 3 to 6-year-olds, I had to seriously reevaluate my approach. I needed to learn to let go (the very practice I had been preaching for years) of my agenda and my expectations of what yoga is and is not.

When I began to honor the children's innate intelligence and tune in to how they were instructing me to instruct them, we began to co-create our classes. We used the yoga asanas as a springboard for exploration of many other areas—animal adaptations and behavior, music and playing instruments, storytelling, drawing—and our time together became a truly interdisciplinary approach to learning. Together we wove stories with our bodies and minds in a flow that could only happen in child's play.

The kids began to call me Mrs. Yoga, and I called them Yoga Kids. We continued to work and play together until our creations bloomed into a program called YogaKids. The program combines yogic techniques designed especially for children using Dr. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner, an author and professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, describes eight intelligences innate in all of us—linguistic, logical, visual, musical, kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal—and emphasizes that children should be given the opportunity to develop and embody as many of these as possible.

In keeping with this theory, YogaKids integrates storytelling, games, music, language, and other arts into a complete curriculum that engages the "whole child." We employ ecology, anatomy, nutrition, and life lessons that echo yogic principles of interdependence, oneness, and fun. Most of all, our program engages the entire mind, body, and spirit in a way that honors all the ways children learn.



Taking the Practice Home

If you're planning to teach yoga to kids, there are a few general things to know that will enhance your experience. The greatest challenge with children is to hold their attention long enough to teach them the benefits of yoga: stillness, balance, flexibility, focus, peace, grace, connection, health, and well-being. Luckily, most children love to talk, and they love to move—both of which can happen in yoga. Children will jump at the chance to assume the role of animals, trees, flowers, warriors. Your role is to step back and allow them to bark in the dog pose, hiss in the cobra, and meow in cat stretch. They can also recite the ABCs or 123s as they are holding poses. Sound is a great release for children and adds an auditory dimension to the physical experience of yoga.

Children need to discover the world on their own. Telling them to think harder, do it better, or be a certain way because it's good for them is not the optimal way. Instead, provide a loving, responsive, creative environment for them to uncover their own truths. As they perform the various animal and nature asanas, engage their minds to deepen their awareness. When they're snakes (Bhujangasana), invite them to really imagine that they're just a long spine with no arms and legs. Could you still run or climb a tree? In Tree Pose (Vrksasana), ask them to imagine being a giant oak, with roots growing out of the bottoms of their feet. Could you stay in the same position for 100 years? If you were to be chopped down, would that be OK? Would it hurt?

When they stretch like a dog, balance like a flamingo, breathe like a bunny, or stand strong and tall like a tree, they are making a connection between the macrocosm of their environment and the microcosm of their bodies. The importance of reverence for all life and the principle of interdependence becomes apparent. Children begin to understand that we are all made of the same "stuff." We're just in different forms.

Think of yourself as a facilitator rather than a teacher. Guide your children while simultaneously opening your heart and letting them guide you. They'll no doubt invite you into a boundless world of wonder and exploration. If you choose to join them, the teaching/learning process will be continually reciprocal and provide an opportunity for everyone to create, express themselves, and grow together.

Reference : Yoga Journal


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