Jenny's Kundalini Yoga Classes

13/12/2022

Rumi: “Don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots down there are riotous."

Nathaniel Branden: "The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance."

I have been exploring and testing the value of rest, and I would like to invite you to do the same.
I can easily feel the resistance to rest - doing is what I've been taught is the only way-. Actually, I feel like a total rebel, slowing down and indulging in moments when I just lie on the sofa.
There are moments though when the body calls for rest, when the resistance to "just being" is less, and these are moments to be treasured as so much happens when we do nothing. The processing of "stuff" we might not even be aware of, turning off the mind and enjoying the physical feeling of warmth and safety under a heavy blanket. I have noticed emotions coming and going, the occasional insight, the knowing that something was taking place without me being quite aware of what it was.

This is a long introduction to say that instead of a yoga class this week, I invite you to spend the hour consciously resting your mind and your body. Maybe lying down, or having a bath, without listening to a programme, being available for whatever comes. If you feel up to it, you could use that hour to feel in to the year gone past, what worked for you and what didn't work so well, feel it more than think about it. And feel into what your longings are for 2023, maybe crystallise them into a couple of images or sentences.

If you feel the need to move your body and/or do a guided meditation in the coming weeks, then I invite you to chose one of these recordings: https://www.youtube.com//videos

I send you all my love and all my best wishes for a joyful and restful Christmas season, as well as for the manifestation of a life that is truly aligned with your authentic, beautiful self.

29/11/2022

Instead of the class this week I would recommend listening to Pema Chödron's audio on the Buddhist practice of Metta, or sending loving kindness to yourself, to someone you love, to someone you feel challenged by, and to the whole of humanity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRhkrQFbERs). I find Pema Chödron's writing and audios inspiring anyway, but this meditation is a great way to open the heart. We can supplement it with kundalini yoga exercises and meditations later!

On the subject of healing, I am struck in my personal explorations by the power of letting the body follow its wisdom, and there are various modalities for somatic therapy, but as well by the extent of healing possible by a field of intention. I seem to trip over different expressions of it daily, whether it be Otto Scharmer's Theory U (that comes with the MIT stamp of approval), Cambridge professor Rupert Sheldrake's Morphic Resonance, family or systemic constellations, Lynne McTaggart's experiments on distance healing and the academic papers written on them (https://lynnemctaggart.com/intention-experiments/evidence/). I have no doubt that coming back to the wisdom of the heart and the body is what we need most urgently now in all fields of our lives, and I thank you for accompanying me on this journey through the practice of kundalini yoga, as well as reading my ramblings!

18/11/2022

09/11/2022

Last week-end I followed a yoga workshop on Stress and Vitality, one of five "Level 2" modules we can follow as kundalini yoga practitioners. I hope to share a distilled version of it in class. In its essence it is about drawing from our vital, "pranic" energy, not from our reserves, and being discerning about what we spend our attention and energy on. I slept 10 hours after our first day, so I thought we would experiment this Friday with the set and meditation we learned that day!

Separately, I would like to share two resources with you:

- Yoga Nidra is a deeply healing guided meditation, which you can do at night before falling asleep, or when you have a quiet 30 mns. Kamini Desai offers free yoga nidras on her app and on Spotify.

- Understanding women's cycles is key in knowing how to ride the waves of monthly cycles, and longer cycles from puberty to menopause. The Red School is an excellent source of wisdom on the topic, with free podcasts, and online workshops. Share this resource generously as our society still has a lot to learn to honour these cycles and their gift.
Just to add to this, Tree Sisters founder Clare Dubois is taking a year off while she goes through menopause. As she comments on it, she highlights how it is a time of deep reset and integrating past trauma.

05/02/2022

Yogi Bhajan said "I never told you that you would not have problems. I told you that you would be able to get through them!"
A strong navel centre will help you get through what life throws at you. A strong centre helps you project who you are strongly in the world, and helps set boundaries.
This set for navel centre and elimination helps strengthen and activate the third chakra.

19/01/2022

As I was looking for new sets I stumbled upon the navel adjustment kriya. I became curious and tried to find my navel centre. After a bit of fumbling I finally found it, pressing hard with two fingers pressed against my belly, it was pulsing strongly, just to the left of my navel. A balanced navel centre is in the centre at or below the navel.

The navel centre, or third chakra is key in kundalini yoga - as it is in martial arts, and in Stephen Borgess' polyvagal theory (the vagus nerve is the body's longest nerve, it connects the guts to the brain and has a strong influence on our capacity to stay calm). Guru Rattana writes beautifully about how Yogi Bhajan was getting his students in the 1960s to strengthen their lower chakras, or their container, while the flower children were revelling in the upper chakras experiencing bliss and oneness (often collapsing soon after because the container hadn't been built).

I invite you to explore your navel centre (this is NOT navel gazing!), and welcome any feedback or comments on the topic, we are all exploring together!

Unfortunately I won't be leading a class this week, but next week, Friday January 28th I suggest we do the Set for Navel centre and Elimination, as a change from Nabhi Kriya!

https://www.kundaliniyoga.org/lesson_10

28/08/2021

This week we will do a gentle set, excellent for stretching, scanning the body for any tension and helping remove those tensions and blocks. It is the set for elevation: https://www.3ho.org/kriya-elevation

PM or e-mail if you wish to take part!
The classes are Thursday 9.30-10.30am UK time and Friday 5-6pm UK time.

This easy set of exercises is excellent as a tune-up. It systematically exercises the spine and aids in the circulation of prana to balance the chakras.1. Ego EradicatorThis exercise opens the lungs, brings the hemispheres of the brain to a state of alertness, and consolidates the magnetic field.Sit...