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Preparing
for and Concluding
a Kundalini
Yoga Session
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To
Begin
Sit
quietly and be with your breath. Consciously slow down the breath
and breathe from the belly. Be with the sensations in your body.
Tune into your own rhythm. Allow a few minutes to calm down, center
yourself and create your own space.
Tuning
In
Before
beginning Kundalini Yoga practice, always "tune in"
by chanting the ADI MANTRA
as follows:
Sit in easy pose,
or any meditation posture that you find most comfortable, with
a straight spine and center yourself with long, deep breathing.
Then place the palms together in Prayer Mudra at the Heart Center,
fingers pointed up at 60º, base of thumbs pressing against
the sternum.
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Inhale,
focusing at the 3rd Eye Point and the heart and chant,
"ONG
NA MO"
("I
call on Infinite Creative Consciousness")
while exhaling.
The Ong
is
vibrated in
the
back of the throat, the cranium and nasal passages. Properly
done, it stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands which
automatically tunes us into higher consciousness.
Ooooooong
is long,(o as in oh) Na
is short,
Moooo
(o as in oh) is extended.
This
mantra is chanted either on one deep breath, or if you need
to you can take a sip of air from the mouth, but do not
breathe through the nose between the two parts of the mantra.
"GURU
DEV NA MO"
("I
call on Divine Wisdom")
Gu
and
Ru
are short. Deeeeeev
is extended. Na
is short. And Mooo
finishes up the breath.
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Inhale
deeply through the nose before you repeat the mantra. Repeat 2
or more times. The purpose of this mantra is "to tune in."
So chant it as many times as you feel you need to get connected.
This chant protects and connects us with our higher selves. It
also links us with the "Golden Chain" of teachers who
brought Kundalini yoga to the world. In other words, our teachers
are with us in suble body guiding and helping us.
Ong
means Creator, Namo
means to call upon, or to greet, Guru
is the Teacher or the energy that brings light and dispells the
darkness.
Dev
means transparent or nonphysical.
Concluding
a Set
After
a long relaxation, particularly one that follows a series of exercises,
you will find that doing the concluding exercises below helps
to ground you and bring you back to reality:
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1)
On your back, begin rotating your feet and bands In small
circles. Continue in one direction for 30 seconds, then
in the other direction for another 30 seconds.
2)
Cat Stretch: Keeping both shoulders and the left leg flat
on the ground, bring the right arm back behind the head
and the right knee over the left leg till it touches the
floor on the far side of the body. Switch legs and arms
and repeat the exercise.
3)
Still on your back, bring the knees up and to the sides,
and rub the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands
together briskly, creating a sensation of heat. Continue
for I minute.
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4) Clasping
knees to chest with both hands, begin rolling on the spine.
Roll all the way back till the feet touch the ground behind
the head, and all the way forward till you're sitting up.
Do this 3 or 4 times at least.
(5) Sit
up in easy pose, palms together in prayer mudra at the heart
center. Eyes are closed. Inhale completely and say a prayer
of thanks. Exhale and let the thought go.
(6) A
happy conclusion is to sing this song: "May the long
time sun shine upon you, all love surround you, and the
pure light within you, guide your way on". Repeat.
Repeat
if you wish. Then chant 3 long Sat Nam's. Saaaaaaaaaat
is long and Nam
is short.
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