5 reasons to celebrate Winter Solstice

You may be wondering what Winter Solstice actually is? It’s the moment when the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun, therefore we are exposed to the least amount of sunlight and the biggest amount of darkness. This planetary situation has a direct impact on our bodies, minds and general wellbeing, regardless whether we’re aware of it or not.    

1. Connect with the universal flow

Consciously approaching Winter Solstice is little bit like driving a car and being aware of the road signs so we know that soon we have to slow down because we’re coming to a junction. We would be probably ok without the warning but may need to be more careful or break really fast. It’s much easier to navigate our inner landscape with the natural rhythms of nature. When we are approaching Winter Solstice consciously we know that there’s very little light available to us, it’s the time of going inward, slowing down and cultivating our inner light. Naturally, we may be feeling a bit down or sluggish and want to hide under warm blanket with a cup of tea. Having this awareness we can let ourselves do that with much more compassion and self-love. It’s called self-care not laziness. The more I listen to my body and connect with the natural rhythms of nature, the more peaceful, healthy and harmonious my life seems to be. It’s about going with the flow of the Universe not against it.     

2. Hope

Let’s face it, it’s dark, cold and going outside doesn’t appeal but deep inside we know that Spring is on its way and it will be beautiful again soon. Hope keeps us going. Similarly whatever darkness we may be facing in our lives we must accept it for what it is, feel it fully and in the same time pray and hope that things will change and the light will shine again soon. Let’s be grateful for the darkness as it helps us to appreciate the light even more. In the midst of dark, cold Winter we sometimes feel that it will never end but finding hope in our hearts will see us through. This too shall pass…     

3. Slow down

During Winter Solstice energies are low, even animals hibernate, so it’s not time to go out most nights and run around shopping malls. It’s the time to slow down, listen, go within and enjoy the silence. There will be time for making our goals and dreams come true but now it’s time of slowing down and going inwards to generate energy for the new season. Take time off this festive season and enjoy doing nothing, snuggling up, watching movies and resting.    

4. Re-new yourself

The main reason for slowing down is gathering strength and energy for the new phase of the year. We can’t expect different results next year if we start with the same energy we always had. When we stop, nurture our inner space and raise our vibration in this potent time of the Solstice we renew ourselves to start new. It’s the re-birthing of the Sun and we can re-birth ourselves too, it’s our choice and creativity. Nobody can do it for us. Will you take this opportunity?

5. Enjoy your inner light

Realistically there’s a certain amount of light available to us this time of the year. So trying to chase more light is pointless. This is when we turn inward and cherish the light we have inside. And the more we nurture our sacred space and more it nurtures us. It’s not available only to some special people, it’s available for everybody. All we have to do is to connect with our inner light and cultivate this relationship.

So there you have it, a small guide into Winter Solstice. If you would like to celebrate Winter Solstice with like-minded people and really feel its power come and join us on the 21st of December online or on the 22nd of December in Manchester.

I’m wishing you lots of awareness, self-compassion and gentleness during this festive time.  

Sadhana - daily spiritual practice in Kundalini Yoga.

What is sadhana?

Sadhana is an important part of Kundalini Yoga. In this blog, I will explain what sadhana is, its purpose and effects. We will look at traditional sadhana and how to create your own personal sadhana.  

Sadhana means daily spiritual practice. It’s a self-discipline that allows one to express the Infinite within one’s self. Discipline of the mind and body to serve the soul. 

The main purpose of sadhana is to reconnect with ourselves. In order to do that, sometimes we need to move our physical body and shift the stuck energy there, free our body and mind of obstacles, create more space and peace in our being. Other times we need to sit still and listen to the inner voice, cleanse our mind, transform our limitations, heal and expand. 

It’s a continuous process that requires constant awareness and presence. 

3 steps of sadhana

There are 3 steps of the daily spiritual practice. They are called sadhana, aradhana and prabhupati. Sadhana is a daily practice, aradhana – walking in our daily practice, prabhupati – mastery, eloquence, and excellence that we are if we are doing our daily practice. 

Sadhana is our discipline, this is where we create and maintain positive habits. At this point, we may skip the practice, try to bargain and ego may stop us from committing fully. As we stick with the regular practice, we feel its effects and the benefits of the practice go deeper. This inspires us even more to be consistent and committed. 

Aradhana is when the spiritual practice becomes second nature. We don’t need to negotiate with ourselves anymore, we know exactly why we are doing it and the effects of the practice are visible not only in our practice but also in daily life. The practice becomes deeper, we are cleansing the subconscious mind profoundly, letting go of many limitations, obstacles etc. And with consistent practice we can enter the third phase… prabhupati. 

Prabhupati is the mastery of the Universe. All our hard work is paying off now. The conscious mind has merged with the subconscious mind, complete integration. This is where we rest in neutrality, and harmony. We go beyond the polarities of time and space. We still feel the polarities but they don’t affect us. This is a neutral space of mind, with a lot of harmony, balance and peace. Our presence is strong and it's working for us, we radiate peace, stability and grace. 

So this is why we turn up on the mat! To daily chip away at what doesn’t serve us and reconnect with our Selves. It’s a long and continuous process, but luckily, we experience small positive effects of it daily, not only at the end of the process. 

Now let’s get practical, what does sadhana look like? In general, there is a traditional Aquarian Sadhana and sadhana that one can create for themselves.    

Traditional sadhana

Traditional Aquarian Sadhana as recommended by Yogi Bhajan is 2 and a half hours long, consists of 

1. Reading spiritual text called Japji Sahib. 30 mins 

2. Yoga practice (kriya). 6o mins 

3. Chanting aquarian mantras. 60 mins

Your own sadhana.

Alternatively, we can create our own sadhana and consider how much time we have daily, and what are our needs and goals. Not everybody can commit to 2.5 hours of daily practice so this is a great solution. Your sadhana can be 15 minutes or 2 hours long. It can be as short as 3 minutes, consistency is more important than quantity. Equally, you can choose what you would like to practice. Whether it’s a yoga set, or a few postures, meditation, mantra, breathing or even a lifestyle intervention. As long as the sadhana is serving its purpose which is balancing body and mind to serve the soul, all methods are fine.   

I’m curious to know what are your thoughts about sadhana? Does it sound inspiring and motivating or difficult? Would you like to create your own or attend the traditional sadhana? Drop your comments below.   

Link to attend

I’m thinking of re-starting the group sadhana, it will take place online so everybody can attend from the comfort of their own house. More details and the link to book is here. Who is coming?

Gobinday Mukunday Mantra

This mantra deserves its own blog post.

It’s a powerful, potent and profound mantra - that’s worth learning and worth learning about.

Here is the mantra:

Gobinday – Sustainer

Mukunday – Liberator

Udaaray – Enlightener

Apaaray – Infinite

Hariang – Destroyer

Kariang – Creator

Nirnamay – Nameless

Akamay – Desireless

There are at least 5 reasons why it’s important to learn and practice this mantra. 

1. Subconscious blocks.

   This mantra helps to clear out rubbish from the subconscious mind. Any obstacles, pain or attachment in the mind can be removed with regular practice of this mantra. This is the beauty of mantra transformation - just do the practice and your mind and your energy will start shifting. Mind acts as a recorder - whatever we put into our mind will be played out in our lives… which takes us to the meaning of the mantra.  

2. Powerful affirmation.

   The meaning of this mantra is powerful. Sustainer, Liberator, Enlightener, Infinite, Destroyer, Creator, Nameless, Desireless. Our higher self is all those things… So the more we chant this mantra, the more we connect with those parts of ourselves that are sustaining us, liberating us, enlightening us etc, etc… That’s a powerful affirmation, or at least it’s very different to all the things we say to ourselves or think about ourselves on daily basis.

3. Connecting.

This mantra is an ashtang mantra which has 8 beats, 8 parts. These kinds of mantras are more powerful than others, quickly connecting us to the source, to the Divine. So this is your mantra if you need the connection with your higher self or the Universe.  

4. Fear.  

Fear is not all bad… Fear helps us stay safe and react to situations when necessary. However, when we live with too much fear and it paralyzes us or stops us from doing things which we are meant to do - only then we need to find ways to move fear from our body and mind. And this mantra really helps to move from fear to trust and faith, where we are aware of the danger but we see possibilities and opportunities as well.  

5. Compassion and patience.

As this mantra opens the lock of ignorance and darkness it grants those who meditate on it with patience and compassion. 

I think these reasons are powerful enough to inspire one to learn this beautiful and powerful mantra, meditate with it and reap its benefits.  

Which one of those benefits resonates with you the most? Let me know in the comments.

P.S. This week and next, we are still working with this mantra at yoga so join us if you wish. 

Join weekly live classes, or learn more about Kundalini Yoga here.

What is YOUR prosperity?

People often seem surprised when I talk about prosperity at yoga. They tell me that those two things, yoga and prosperity, don’t naturally go together. Prosperity starts with the state of mind and the state of the mind has a lot to do with yoga and meditation, right?

Prosperity is about your relationship with yourself and your own infinity. If that relationship is spontaneous, you are secure, you work hard, you serve people then prosperity is a flow, it flows to you and through you.   

Prosperity is understanding in each moment that whatever you need and more is available when you need it, you will always have enough to live with grace, enough to give to others and share.  

There are many different definitions of prosperity. And I think it’s important to consider… what  prosperity means to you? We all have different ideas how prosperous life looks like and it’s important to think what is YOUR PROSPERITY. 

For some people prosperity is having a luxury lifestyle, eating in fancy restaurants, etc. and for others is working 4 days a week, walking their children to school and having more freedom. So I invite you to reflect on what prosperity means to you! How do you see yourself prosperous? 

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing..

• Prosperity is opposite of neediness, when we are prosperous we have our needs met and needs of those around us are also met. 

• Prosperity is the opposite of greed, prosperous people allow flow of money, goods etc to flow thru their lives. 

• Prosperous people don’t hoard toxic emotions.

• Prosperous people exhibit self-esteem and self-worth. 

• Prosperous people are empowered and empowering. 

• Prosperous people are open-hearted and open-handed

• Prosperity is a state where you are guided and your prayers are answered. 

• Prosperous people are mentally expansive, they are intuitive and creative. 

• Prosperity is inspiring and elevating. No matter what the current circumstances, a prosperous person creates, delivers and fulfills.   

• Prosperous people fulfill their destiny, they have whatever it takes to fulfill their destiny. They are living their dharma, away from karma. Dharma is your reason for being here, right now, the highest expression of this. Prosperity is your satisfaction. Clarity. 

• Prosperity is about fulfillment of your true self, knowing your purpose. 

Poverty consciousness:  

• Fear

• Lack of trust in the Universe. 

• Giving responsibility to others.

• ‘There is not enough’ attitude. 

• The world owes you something.

• Inability to receive.

Prosperity and poverty definitions are from ‘Yoga for Prosperity’ by Siri Kirpal Kaur Khalsa. 

If you want to go deeper into your prosperity join my classes online or in person. 

Difficult emotions on the beach

Summer - the time of holidays, festivals and fun in general. However, emotionally it’s not always as straight forward. I’ve been on the most beautiful vacations in the past and all of the sudden anxiety and stress appeared. Have they really just appeared or did I finally stopped and was able to listen to my body? I’m convinced it’s the latter. It’s very common to get sick or start feeling those uncomfortable emotions when we finally let go and have enough space to look what is actually happening in our body, mind and soul.

So here are some ideas on how to cope if difficult emotions appear on your vacation or staycation.

1. This is normal.

   I don’t know about you but when I was for example in Mexico and started feeling anxiety and stress I thought right away that there is something wrong with me. I felt that I shouldn’t feel bad because I’m in such beautiful surroundings and I should be feeling grateful. Whatever we are feeling in any moment is absolutely fine. Accepting ourselves and our emotions is the first step we must take to free ourselves from those emotions. Additionally, many people feel uncomfortable emotions when they take time off so this is absolutely normal.

2. Welcome your emotions.

   Welcome your emotions as guests but when the guest overstays its welcome it’s time to move them along. If you are able to do it, entertain your guest, ask why it’s here, what it wants and needs. This can start a wonderful journey of discovery and healing. Sometimes all we need is the awareness or those emotions, sometimes we need to talk them thru, heal them, maybe even apply healing practices such as yoga or meditation. But always treat your guest with as much love, kindness and gentleness as possible.

3. Move your emotions.

   If the guest overstays it’s welcome move it along. The best way to move your emotions is thru movement such as yoga, run, dance or any other physical activity. But it’s important to find the right time to do it. If you move it too fast you may lose opportunity to transform that emotion and heal it. If you move it too late it can spoil your holidays or even lead to depression or anxiety.

4. You are in charge, not your emotions.

   Whether you choose to transform and heal or put your emotions to the side and deal with them later - it’s your conscious choice. Be in charge of your mind, your mind is your servant not your master. However, it’s difficult to be in charge in a stressful situation is you are never in charge otherwise. Which is why we meditate! When we are meditation, we are giving our mind simple instructions to follow so mind get’s used to idea who is in charge. So meditate regularly :-)

5. Support.

   You don’t need to do it all by yourself. Talk to your friends, family maybe even a therapists if you need a professional help. Sometimes it’s difficult to figure it all out by ourselves. Reaching out can create stronger relationships and helps to find solutions faster. Maybe support could be a book or a walk in nature? Find the support that works for you.

   I feel that difficult emotions on holidays are little bit like the elephant in the room, so I hope this brought a bit more ease and peace to you. Maybe you won’t need it this time when you go on holiday but if you are feeling some uncomfortable feeling when you are off, remember this is normal and ‘this too shall pass’.