Kundalini Yoga - Free On-Line Training Lesson 14 - Prosperity

Spiritual practices have traditionally focused on raising energy from lower to higher frequencies and from the lower to the higher chakras. Many spiritual disciplines concentrate only on the upper chakras and totally ignore (or try to ignore) the lower chakras. Some spiritual paths still condemn the body and the lower chakras, which they consider as bad. I knew one woman who would practice only third eye meditations. She even refused to do yoga or any practice that got her in touch with her body. She also lost her husband (He lost interest in her.)

Many spiritual paths today at least give lip service to using their techniques to help us deal with the challenges of our stressful technological world. However, the fundamental basis of the teachings often remains the same-renunciation and escapism from material reality. It is not surprising then that devoted practice produces the same results as it did when the goal of spirituality was to renounce the physical body and worldly pursuits. In fact, if we start losing interest in this world and our participation in it, the technology is working.

I personally found this out over twenty years ago when I first started practicing Kundalini Yoga and meditation for six to seven hours everyday. I was definitely succeeding in raising my energy. The problem was that I was so ungrounded and out of my body that people had to look up to the ceiling to talk to me. I couldn't figure out why I just wanted to hide. The basic problem was that my personal practice was incomplete. I was raising my energy, but I was not bringing it back down.

I used to do all the prosperity meditations that Yogi Bhajan taught, with no results in my personal life. During one meeting with Yogi Bhajan over 15 years ago, he thanked me personally for all the wealth that I had brought to the 3HO organization. At the time I could barely support myself. This was a wake up call for me. I knew I had to figure out how to bring prosperity to myself as well. The answer is not a quick-do-this-meditation-for-forty-days fix. I am still discovering that the answer is simple and complex at the same time.

The simple answer is that in order to manifest we have to be present in your bodies and connected to the Earth. We have to BE HERE NOW. To attract and receive, we have to be home when the postman arrives. It takes careful, vigilant practice to cultivate an awareness of Self. We have to train ourselves to be present to the feelings and sensations in our bodies. We have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable with what we feel. We have to process the mental stories that come up, so our emotions become pure expressions of our soul instead of mental trauma dramas. We have to cultivate a strong navel center so we can take effective and timely action. We have to cultivate a powerful base chakra so we have the ability to stay present. We have to be comfortable and free in our second chakra so we can simultaneously contain (consciously hold) and expand our creative energy.

THE ASCENT
Many yogic practices focus on the ascent of energy. In Lesson #8 we covered the Locks or the Bhandas which help facilitate raising our energy up our spine. The ascent is an important part of every spiritual path. Learning the Bhandas also helps us contain, focus and monitor our internal energy. Actually all yogic and meditation practices raise our vibrational frequency. The question is what do we do with the energy. If we are not conscious of our bodies and the energy in our bodies, the energy will dissipate. We feel good for a while, but soon afterwards we need another session to revitalize ourselves again. We contribute good energy to the world and share good vibes, but we are unable to manifest for ourselves unless we can remain conscious of our own presence.

Mastering the ascent is a necessary first step, but not the whole story. The goal of the ascent is to experience universal oneness. When the crown chakra is open our perspective on life changes. While we are experiencing life as a human being, we need to bring the universal perspective back into our daily lives. Alone the "up and out of the body" approach to spirituality incorporates implications which actually limit our spiritual development and certainly our ability to lead productive and prosperous lives.

THE PATH OF LIBERATION
The human spiritual journey involves both raising our energy to higher frequencies and integrating this higher vibration into our bodies, perceptions, thoughts and daily activities. The ascent up the chakras is the path of enlightenment. The decent from the crown chakra down to the base of the spine is the path of manifestation. Together the ascent and the descent comprise the path of liberation.

Practically translated, in our quest to be liberated, accepting and honoring our humanness is as important as merging in Divine consciousness. The descent requires that we care for our bodies, embrace our feelings, earn a right livelihood, learn to live by natural laws and be at one with Mother Nature.

Many of us were former (past life times) sadus, yogis, saints, priests and nuns who have mastered the ascent. This lifetime we are trying to figure out how to master the descent. We are living in the material world in order to become masters of it. We have to learn how to support ourselves with our own creativity. We have to learn now to gracefully and meaningfully interact in relationships. We have to learn to honor our humanness.

To do so we must honor our bodies and activate the highest expression of our first three chakras. We have to learn to be comfortable in the world, in our bodies and with each other. We have to bring Heaven to Earth. We have to master the spiritualization of matter, starting with ourselves.

The ascent helps us discover our identity as a divine Soul and experience the Light of Universal Truth. Once we are conscious of reality beyond duality, we can use this awareness to clean up our act, to release destructive behaviors and to replace sabotaging beliefs and thoughts with universal wisdom. The descent is the cleansing process--obviously not the most popular phase of our spiritual development! However, dealing with our dark (underdeveloped) side is the only way to become self-empowered and liberated. The ascent is supposed to give us the experience of our soul identity, so we don't take our wounds so seriously. A soul perspective greatly facilitates the release of survival programming and neurotic baggage.

The descent unleashes our ability to manifest from our higher self. The activation of the first chakra creates an energetic foundation that connects us to our bodies, the Earth, and physical sensations. A balanced first chakra gives us a sense of belonging and security in the physical plane and makes it possible for us to receive and manifest. Grounded in our first chakra, we are able to use our special gifts to support ourselves and to make our unique contribution to the world. The alignment of the second chakra allows us to tap our personal creativity. An activated third chakra gives us the stamina, motivation and commitment to take appropriate action.

The complete path of liberation requires us to live in this world as householders, to have relationships, to gainfully support ourselves, to honor Mother Earth and to participate in the creation of a sustainable world. To do the above we have to be grounded in our bodies and connected to physical and material reality. When we practice both the ascent and the descent, we can enjoy our bodies, stay present in the moment and enjoy life on Planet Earth. And as Yogi Bhajan points out, the path of Kundalini yoga is one of the few paths that does not require celibacy.

GROUNDING
The majority of the Kundalini yoga kriyas taught by Yogi Bhajan in the1970's involved clearing and strengthening the first three chakras. A major theme of my first Kundalini Yoga manual, based on Yogi Bhajan's teachings, Transitions to a Heart-Centered World, is how to create the foundation in the lower triangle so that we can open our hearts and keep them open. Yogi Bhajan teaches that it is impossible to stay in the heart without being in the lower 3 chakras.

Grounding is a question of both attention and technique. It is important to practice asanas that activate and balance the lower 3 chakras. However, as I learned in my own practice, simply doing the exercises is not enough. One must be mindful of the sensations in one's body. Training the mind to be present to the breath and movement of energy in one's body is of equal importance.

The exercises below are for the first three chakras. After doing each exercise, spend an equal amount of time simply training your mind to be present to the area or point of each chakra, both in the front of your body and along your spine. Allow yourself to experience what is happening without any judgment or intention of making something happen. There is much to discover if you gently let yourself BE HERE NOW. And there is much to gain if you are home to receive what is yours.

FIRST- ROOT CHAKRA
Root lock-lightly tighten the muscles at the anus and the perineum and then release. See lesson on the locks. (#8)

Spinal Flexes

Sit in easy pose with the hands holding the ankles. Lightly pull on the hands as you inhale pressing the spine forward and exhale as you release the spine backward. The head does not move. Concentrate on massaging the base of the spine to the ground.

Spinal Flex

Pelvic Rotations

Spinal Rotations

Hands on the knees in easy pose, rotate the lower body, moving from the navel point. Gradually allow the whole abdominal area to relax and release. Stay conscious of the breath as it helps create the movement.

THIRD- NAVEL CHAKRA
Leg lifts - hands under the hips, first raise the right leg up to 90^° on the inhale and release it down on the exhale. One minute with the right leg and one minute with the left leg. Relax. Then raise both legs together. Inhale up. Exhale down.

GOLD AND WHITE LIGHT
Experiment with feeling the presence of both white and gold light. They have very different effects. Then write to the list and let us know what the difference is. This is fun. I wouldn't want to take away your experience. This could be one of the most important piece of information you receive.

SPIRITUAL WARRIOR MEDITATION FOR PROSPERITY
Yogi Bhajan has given us the following meditation for prosperity in the New Millennium, and to help in dealing with the intensity of the energy, and the challenges posed to us during the transition to the Aquarian Age.

Make sure you pump your navel point to stay in your body. The goal is to imprint the vibration of the mantra into your physical body and aura. Do this meditation for 11 minutes everyday for a whole year and let us know what happens.

You can chant this mantra in a monotone or you can chant it to music. The following musical version is available from Yoga Technology.
Blissful Spirit - Gurunam

This meditation has 40 sounds. It effects the 5 tattvas (air, water, fire, earth, and ether), the 7 chakras and the arch line. This mantra can penetrate into anything and help avoid misfortune. It has the power to break through any resistance or obstacles. It is sacred but it is not secret. If you chant this mantra you can be successful during these challenging times.

HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR - repeat before each of the following mantras. Pump the navel center (below the navel) with each Har. Use the tip of the tongue. Chant in a monotone, enunciating clearly each syllable or chant to a tape.