Choosing A practice
How do I choose a meditation to practice?
This question always comes up, both for beginners and for those who’ve been practicing for a while, as there is so much to choose from!
First, define if you wish to practice for your own healing or if you wish to help the healing process of somebody else.
(The meditations for healing others is part of the Spirit Remedies section)
Then, watch the relevant videos.
Be honest about your level of practice:
If you are new to meditation, start with a shorter duration (3-11 min)
if you have no experience with pranayam (breath exercises), then start with those practices that have easy breath patterns.
You can explore and try a few practices before you commit to one.
Preparing the space
The best space for practice is a clean and quiet place, where you can be relaxed and undisturbed, without much sense stimulation like strong light, smell, or noise. It is recommended to put your phone on “flight mode”.
The air in the room should be fresh.
Make sure that the room temperature is right – not too hot, and not too cold, to allow you to fully concentrate and dedicate yourself to the practice.
Effective practice routine
As many traditions have identified, the best time to practice is the early morning.
Practicing before sunrise would be ideal. It is known as the ‘time of the nectar’, when everything is quiet, the prana (life force) is strong and clear, and you are not yet occupied with the day’s tasks.
If you don’t practice in the very early hours, try and make the practice your first activity of the day. It is like taking a shower.
If you can’t practice at the same time of the day, try and make sure to practice anytime within a 24 hour cycle – every day.
You can also practice any of the meditations for a single session – when you feel that you would like to have an immediate shift of your state of mind and flow of energy, or for sending healing to someone else.
The recommended effective practice time frame is to practice the same meditation daily, at the same time, for 40 days.
Why 40? Because this is the time-frame that would allow for a change of patterns and habits.
Then, if you wish, you can consider a longer commitment of 90 days, 120 days, or even 1,000 days – to master it.
Meditation Times
There is a recommended practice time for each one of the meditations. However, if you find it too challenging you can begin with a daily practice of 3 minutes and gradually build it up to the recommended duration. It can be done by adding one minute every day, or practicing longer when you feel that you can actually hold your concentration for a longer time. The usual durations of Kundalini Yoga meditations are 3, 11, 22,31, 62 minutes, or 2.5 hours.
Do not exceed the time mentioned for each specific meditation.
How to sit
The most common way to sit is on the floor, using a yoga mat, a carpet, or sheep skin. You can also use a meditation pillow to support your posture. The common posture is easy pose, a cross-legged position.
You can also sit in in Rock pose - on your heels, or in lotus pose, if it is comfortable for you. or any posture that would allow your spine to be straight.
It is recommended to do a few warm-up exercises to prepare you for sitting.
If you find that sitting on the floor is extremely uncomfortable or even impossible for you, you can sit on a chair. Just make sure that both feet are flat on the ground, and that your spine is straight.
How to breathe
In these meditations there are different breathing techniques, called pranayama, meaning ‘the expansion of the first unit of the life force.
The basic, correct natural breath is breathing through the nose: the navel point moves out on the inhalation, and in on the exhalation.
It is common for many people to breath with the reverse pattern (with the navel point moving in on the inhalation and out on the exhalation – which is called paradoxical breath). You are invited to bring your awareness to the breath in these meditations, and make it a habit to breath in the correct way, not only during the meditation practice.
A correct practice will benefit the quality of every breath you take.
Breathing properly brings a proper management of your energy, on physical, mental and emotional levels.
Eye Focus
In most of these meditations you are instructed to keep the eyes at specific points of focus: between the eyebrows (also known as the third eye point), at the tip of the nose, or to keep the eyes one-tenth open (or nine-tenths closed). The positions of the eyes stimulate the optic nerve and the secretion of the pituitary and pineal glands.
These powerful techniques increase the communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, so that the third eye, the intuitive capacity, will be awakened.
It might feel strange and even uncomfortable at first. Be patient and keep going, as the muscles and nerves are introduced to these specific positions.
What is a Mudra?
Mudras are specific positions of the hands and fingers.
These positions direct the flow of energy of the body and brain, as each area of the hands connects to a specific area. The left and right palm correlates with the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Each finger relates to the qualities represented by a different planet, and element.
The pressure of the touch of the fingers should be strong enough to allow the energy to flow, but not too strong that it would block the flow.
What is a Mantra?
In Sanskrit, ‘man’ means mind, ‘tra(ng)’ means wave.
A mantra is a sonic formula that helps to control and direct the waves of the mind.
When repeated with reverence, in the right rhythm, it stimulates the higher glands and vibrates in the meridians, the channels of subtle energy.
How to chant the
Siri Gayatri mantra
There are a few ways to chant the Siri Gayatri mantra ( RaMaDaSaSaSaySoHung):
The classic/ traditional way to chant
Monotone
Kirtan Kriya style
Ascending scale
Rhythm, pronunciation and projection are the main keys to an effective practice.
Make sure that the rhythm is steady. Ensure that you pronounce the Ra sound by touching the tongue on the upper pallet.
Be clear about your intention and project your intention as you chant.
You may use the recordings that are offered for you on this website, or you can use other versions that are available from different musicians.
It is recommended that you follow the specific way of chanting as instructed for each one of the meditations, for safe and beneficial results.
Animated By Studio Poink
Timing the meditations
You can either use a music track and adjust it to the duration of the time you wish to practice, or, if you choose to chant without any recorded music, you can use a timer from any device ( from your phone , a kitchen timer, etc.)
How to begin and how to end
Begining We begin every Kundalini Yoga practice with the Adi Mantra. “Adi” – means first, primal.
Repeat the mantra three to five times:
Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo
“I call upon the infinite creative consciousness”
As we sit in easy pose with the palms flat together at the center of the chest, the heart-center, the thumbs pressing against the sternum.
This is the way we tune in to our higher consciousness. Like tuning into a radio channel, adjusting the frequency to one of clarity, receptivity and connection.
Ending: At the end of every meditation practice it is recommended to stay seated silently for a few moments.
And then end the session chanting Sat Naam three times.
Sat means Truth. Naam means identity, name, a vibratory identity.
Sat Naam
Journaling
Any healing process is a journey. Any meditation practice is a journey.
The destination of both is the same: your true self.
These journeys always hold challenges, insights and guidance.
Journaling is a wonderful way to keep track of your journey, to record the events, the questions ,understandings, and insights ,
deepening a conscious dialogue with yourself, which later you can read again and learn from. You can also share your contemplations with others and might help them, or get their feedback and comments.
Head cover
It is recommended to cover the head while practicing, using a natural fabric.
The head cover helps the practitioner to stay concentrated and contained.
It helps the balanced flow of energy in the higher centers.