Conquer your Anger and Fear Kundalini Yoga at Yoga+ on February 20

Do you experience butterflies in your stomach, jitters, heebie-jeebies? Are you gritting your teeth? Are you feeling like you can't move forward and something's holding you back?

There are certain emotions that can hold one back. These are anger and fear.  Anger that is not expressed stays in the body and becomes ingrained in the psyche as neuroses which become habitual reaction patterns.  Fear, on the other hand, is an instinctual reaction to avoid harm and remain safe. The sensations are tangible - the butterfiles in the stomach, shakes, jitters. Fear manifests doubt, suspicion and ultimately, non-action.

Next Saturday, on February 20, I'll be conducting two feature Kundalini Yoga classes in Manila specifically to "Let Go of Inner Anger" at 10am and "Shift from Fear to Love" at 2pm. The kriyas and meditations will help channel inner anger and fear to break these habitual patterns and to consciously act instead of unconsciously react to the challenges of life.

I'll be giving a gong bath at the end of each class to release any remaining stagnant energy and blocks. The sound vibrations will repair the body at the cellular level and allow deep healing to take place.

If you want to conquer your anger and fear and welcome more loving relationships into your life, the classes will be held at Yoga+ Makati located at the 3/F Cambridge Center, Tordesillas St. Salcedo Village, Makati.  The rate is P799 per class or P1,499 for both classes. For info, contact (+632) 847-0697 or (+63-927) 558-1829.

Bring Prosperity to your Life at Global Mala 2015

at the Global Mala Project

Grateful to be part of this year's Global Mala Project in Manila on September 26 at White Space. Teresa Herrera-Anthony set up this event to be part of the worldwide collective celebration and service. There are over 150 countries participating on this day.

A 'mala' is a garland made up of 108 beads that is used during meditation. The purpose of the Global Mala Project is to bring the global yoga community together to form a 'mala around the earth' through collective practices based upon the sacred cycle of 108.

Teresa shares the vision of her teacher, Global Mala Project founder Shiva Rea, who put out a call to action in 2007 to make a difference by sending out loving energy to all life. Teresa  said "We're using yoga as a platform to promote health, wellness, consciousness and action." All the proceeds of the event will go to the Children International Philippines Foundation.

For the event, I prepared a kundalini yoga kriya and meditation to 'Bring Prosperity to your Life'. The intention is to be able to open up to the infinite opportunities  by activating the heart and brain centers. By opening up the heart center, it will increase compassion and sensitivity to others which is also in line with the Global Mala intention of bring people together through yoga, peace and social change.

Prosperity is not just about wealth and income. As defined, it is the state of being prosperous. So, you can be prosperous in peace, in kindness, in relationships, in time, in success, and others. Yogi Bhajan, the founder of Kundalini Yoga in the United sates said that prosperity "is like a rosebud when it flowers and opens up and shares its fragrance... When a man or woman is prosperous, it is the fragrance of security, grace, depth, character and truthfulness that a person can share. Like a candle emits light, a human emits prosperity. Prosperity begins with our internal attitude, and flows outwardly. When we connect with an internal attitude of prosperity, we become like a magnet. The abundance of the universe flows to us with out stopping."

I ended the session with Yogi Bhajan's 3 laws of prosperity, which if put into practice will adjust one's attitude completely. It's very simple and universal. First, be kind to everyone. Second, never speak ill of others. And lastly, never speak ill of yourself. Satnam.

Photos at the event:

warming up for the kundalini yoga kriya

with Teresa Herrera-Anthony, Malu and Liana

it's all about Fascia!

Meet Dr. Adolf Brown. He is an applied kinesiologist based in Ubud, Bali and so far, one of the best anatomy teachers that I've ever met.

I've heard of 'fascia' before but this is the first time I've understood its importance and the relation between the physical and energetic bodies.  He defined fascia as connective tissues composed of microtubules containing fluid that is electrolytic. Fascia is the ground substance of the energy body. Another concept of how yoga, the physical body and energy body interact. The physical body is the vehicle for the energy body.

Yoga is really about awareness including body awareness, the ability to connect with the body. Dr. Brown said that 'the more we can see within the body, the more we understand the body, the deeper our yoga practice can be."

And to me, the most important thing right now for me in anatomy is fascia, the connective tissues that surrounds the bones, muscles, blood vessels, digestive track, organs and nerves which serves as an energetic communication system. What fascia does is measure electrical circuity to allow the prana, our energy life force to flow through our body.

The Spiritual Energy System by Alex Grey

To illustrate the importance of fascia, let me use Dr. Brown's example. He said that our bones are surrounded by fascia like, shirt sleeves surrounding our arm. The fascia condenses down and becomes ligaments which then connects to the fascia of the next bone. The muscles are surrounded by fascia that condenses down and becomes tendons and connects to the fascia of the bones. The organs are surrounded by fascia and held by ligaments onto the skeletal, and continues to the bones. The brains cerebral cortex is surrounded by fascia and blood vessels.

Part of what Yoga does is it reorganizes the fascia, it moves the fascia restrictions to allow the energy to flow. Unresolved emotional trauma can get stuck in the fascia and creates fluidic restriction which can then blocks the energy and can cause emotional breakdowns. One of the purpose of yoga is to mobilize spinal joints, open the fascia and process an energetic charge release.

The physical body is the vehicle for the energy body. The physical aspect of yoga is to create alignment in the body through the postures to open the energetic channels so that this energy can flow freely. Ultimately, the purpose of yoga is to develop alignment of our energetic body to get to higher states of consciousness and meditation.

And I say amen to Dr. Brown when he emphasized that "The most important issue in yoga is not flexibility and ability to do difficult postures but awareness. Awareness of the body and of the breath and awareness of the anatomical and physiological principles that underlie each posture. From awareness comes control, from control comes grace and ease."

Yin Yoga Meridian Class

Donna showing us the 'churn the butter' asana

I'm glad that my #HYTTManila co-teacher Jayme Timbol pulled me to attend Donna Esteban's Yin Yoga Meridian Master Class at Yoga+ Makati.

Each month, Donna conducts a two-hour class focusing on specific organs. And this Saturday, she focused on the kidneys and urinary bladder.

As you know, we have two kidneys located in the lower back. The kidney functions to remove waste products from the blood, regulate water fluid levels (works with the urinary bladder) and produce blood-vessel protein (angiotensin) to regulate the blood pressure. 

Donna said that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), aging signifies depletion of the kidneys. She stressed that the kidney is the basis for the body's reproduction and development; and receives and stores essence from the other organs. As our body's organs decline with age, the essence stored in the kidney depletes and eventually, our bones and tendons weaken, the hair turns gray, loss of memory, prolonged lower back issues, over fatigue and exhaustion to the point that there is no longer will. 

Meridians focus on specific channels that conduct energy throughout the body. If the flow is blocked, the body will not function properly.  As we age, she suggested an exercise to stimulate and balance the kidneys (watch video below).  

It is interesting to note that there were a lot of students in the class and I am pretty sure that most of them like me, have taken Donna's advise to heart and do the set of kidney exercises each morning. This just means that people are becoming more open to alternative healing modalities and now accepting yoga, specifically yin yoga, as a form of therapy. 

I am currently practicing kundalini yoga and one of the benefits of the practice is the ability to control and move energy. In kundalini yoga, applying the tantric/yogic tradition of Chakras or energy points in the subtle body, the kidney and urinary bladder including the reproductive organs and glands are part of the Second Chakra, the Sacral Chakra. This chakra is located at the lower abdomen below the navel and is represented by the Water element. The second chakra is the seat of emotions, where all our experiences associated with love and hate are stored.  The water element signifies the aspects of flow. It is said that if we are not fully connected to this chakra, physiological problems occur (which surprisingly is related to TCM) - lower back, ob/gynecological, pelvis, libido and urinary ; and emotionally, difficulty in creativity, manifestation, honoring relationships, obsessions, addictions, oversensitive, manipulative and  learning to 'let go' arise. The signs of a weak connection are jealousy, guilt, possessiveness and shallow relationships. 

Kundalini yoga has sets of exercises (or kriyas) and meditations to enhance the flow of the energy and address specific issues such as in this case, the kidneys, the urinary bladder, the second chakra. I'm confident that in due time, kundalini yoga will likewise be accepted as a form of healing modality. Meantime, I will continue learning and studying about meridians. 

Donna's next Yin Yoga Meridians Master Class is on June 14 (Liver and Gall Bladder) and July 12 (Heart and Small Intestine). 

Kundalini Yoga treat in Yoga Plus

I love sharing what I'm currently into and so, after coming back home from the yoga retreat, I invited a bunch of friends to join me in a kundalini class at the sprawling new studio of Yoga Plus in Salcedo Village in Makati.

I have to hand it to kundalini teacher Marisa HardNah, not only was she happy to oblige, she even came up with a poster (right photo) indicating that "the path to higher consciousness begins when our head learns how to bow to our heart."

Well, my friends were in for a surprise. Kundalini is different from any of the mainstream yoga practiced in Manila. Instead of a standard set of asanas, kundalini focuses on kriyas to address a health concern or emotional issue. The kriya is designed to work on a specific organ through elimination, purification, etc and heal  at the cellular level. For example, to address anger, the liver or the third chakra is most likely unbalanced and thus, the kriya to bring new circulation to the liver, spleen and adrenals may help.

Each kriya varies and as Marisa emphasized, there are over a thousand different kriyas.  A kriya is a set of asanas combined with breathing techniques (such as the breath of fire), body locks, mantras, hand mudras and the length of time for each kriya may be as short as 15 minutes to as long as 40 minutes.

Annie and Tessa with Marisa 

The class normally starts by tuning-in. The Adi mantra which goes "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo" is recited three times. The translation is I bow to the subtle divine wisdom, I bow to the divine teacher within. This is an ancient mantra as taught by Yogi Bhajan, to center to the higher self and to spiritually guide both the teacher and the students during the class.

Actually, tuning-in before the class is not new. In ashtanga for instance, the opening mantra is "Vande Gurunam Charanaravinde..." The difference is, in Kundalini, the mantra is recited while sitting in an easy pose, with straight spine, the palms are placed together in a prayer mudura at the heart center with fingers pointed up at 60 degrees with the base of thumbs pressing against the sternum.

After tuning-in, the sequence in kundalini usually starts with spinal warm ups and stretching, then the kriya (may be more than one),  then meditation. The closing sequence  includes a cat stretch, spine roll, rubbing of the hands and feet together, singling in english "May the long time sun shine upon you" and reciting Sat Nam three times.

with Yoga Plus Neil, Dina and Dinah 

For this special class, Marisa wanted it to be extra special and thus, found three kriyas that would [as she indicated in the poster] "release tension, re-vibrate your life, kiss depression and fear goodbye and be you."

The kriyas that she chose and its benefits were: (1) Elimination and circulation kriya - to drain lymph glands in the groin and thighs, maintain potency, stimulate the sex nerve, regenerate the nervous system, improve digestion and elimination and release toxin from the throat glands;  (2) Commanding the Command Center of Glandular system kriya - to clean the subconscious mind and bring clarity in times of chaos. Stimulates the pituitary glands to strengthen intuition; and (3) Pitta kriya - to destress, stabilize mood, conquer depression and strengthen resolve.

Unfortunately [for me], we never made it to Pitta kriya.  Mind you, the sets were not easy and my friends were already grunting 'happy birthday Rosan' in between poses. Despite the fact that Marisa halved the timing of the sets, we still ended past ten o'clock. We didn't mind not finishing the last kriya to destress since most were already starving and tired.

with Shakti Kitchen chef Madonna English

Dinner was a healthy healing treat from Madonna's new "Shakti Kitchen" vegetarian catering. She served quinoa salad and fresh spring rolls. Luckily, Yoga Plus' Salcedo branch had a lounge area to set up the buffet spread which was complimented by Corner Tree's organic red and white wines and my favorite salted caramel chocolate torte.

Marisa wanted to impart to us that kundalini is a science and as such, there are specific lengths of time needed to obtain certain desired effects. She shared this information:
3 min - affects circulation (blood) and electromagnetic field
7 min - causes brain patterns to begin to shift and the magnetic field surrounding the body to increase in strength
11 min - changes glandular system and nerves
22 min - balance and coordinates the three minds - the negative, positive and neutral. The subconscious mind begins to clear.
31 min - affects the cells and rhythms of the body and all layers of the mind's projection
62 min - changes the gray matter of the brain, integrates the subconscious shadow mind and the outer projection
2 1/2 hours - holds the new pattern in the subconscious mind by the surrounding universal mind

Yogi Bhajan said that it takes 40 days to change a habit. He recommended to practice a particular kriya or meditation everyday straight, consistently for a number of days: 40 days will break the habit; 90 days will confirm the new habit; 120 days will make the new habit your identity and 1,000 days is requited to master the new habit.

I'm not sure if my friends would come back and practice this esoteric form of yoga but I'm happy that they showed up and endured the class. Satnam!  :-)

after class with the birthday crew, thanks guys for coming!!

Are your fingers twitching?

Madonna and Marisa HarNadh

Well, mine are. Specifically the right forefinger and middle finger. I realized this only yesterday in Anilao and my friends kidded that the cause may probably be from playing too much Candy Crush on my iPad.

Actually Madonna pointed out that I may be experiencing manifestations of kundalini.  I've recently started kundalini yoga upon her prodding. I messaged our  teacher, Marisa HarNadh to inquire about the twitching to which she said  "we're not yet doing anything in our Kundalini practice to trigger a full blown Kundalini Awakening.. if anything, the journey through the chakras will unclog blocks in your healing system to help you."  

Marisa added "An awakening is not without its inconveniences but certainly worth the effort. When we begin to awaken spiritually, new kundalini energy is released from our root chakras to travel throughout our beings. In order for this greater energy to flow through, our energetic channels have to expand to accommodate it. If we are carrying any blocks or impediments to the stronger flow, this when they will become apparent."

Aside from the fingers twitching, my body has been doing strange things lately. Madonna's 8-year old daughter noticed my right eye was spasmic last weekend and asked her mum why it was rolling off the wrong way. Yikes! Marisa explained that  in kundalini "when energy suddenly breaks free, we may experience ... muscle twitches, rushes or surges of energy, spontaneous movement and vocalizations - the list is extensive."   She said these strange physical manifestations happen because 'we simply haven't yet developed the capacity for greater flow."

I've been practicing yoga for quite some time but this is the first time I'm doing Kundalini yoga. According to Swami Sivananda, "Kundalini Yoga at its highest form is practiced for the purpose of attaining bliss, opening the heart center, developing power, serving others, attaining self-realization and ultimately merging into God consciousness."   

Ravi Singh described a typical Kundalini yoga class as follows: it starts  with a breathing exercise, then spinal warm ups and stretching followed by a set called a Kriya. He said that a Kriya is "a poetic progression of exercises which work in concert to create a synergistic, multi-dimensional exponential effect. One Kriya might focus on detoxing the liver or working through creative blocks, mastering your moods or possbly developing will power." 

Anyway, Marisa said not to worry and everything is fixable. She advised to observe symptoms and not to panic. She said "anything your body may have incurred due to lifestyle and experiences can be healed."