Kundalini Yoga Summer Solstice in New Mexico

Ego Eradicator warm up at the first day of White Tantric

This is my second summer solstice festival. The first one was three years ago in Fondjouan, France where I was still new to Kundalini Yoga. 

The festival is a nine-day event organized by 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Wholly Organization) each year to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year [in the Northern hemisphere] with Kundalini Yoga, meditation and White Tantric Yoga. 

The highlight is the White Tantric Yoga, a three-day group meditation done in pairs which is held on the first day of summer solstice. It is described as "an ancient and unique yogic science that accelerates spiritual growth by dissolving, deep-rooted subconscious blocks through the direction of a facilitator and the energy of Yogi Bhajan, the Mahan Tantric." Since Yogi Bhajan's passing in October 2004, a video is played on a giant screen is shown where he is giving instructions.

There are two places in the world where the summer solstice festival is held - in New Mexico, where the gathering started in 1969; and in France. This year  for me is at Yogi Bhajan's Ram Das Puri ranch in Espanola, New Mexico  located in a high desert terrain with an altitude of 7,000 feet and temperature ranging from 28-35°C during the day and drops down to 15-20°C in the evening. 

It was terribly hot. I was drinking lots of water, and the special electrolyte drink made with water, lemon juice, orange juice concentrate and salt.  Despite this, I did get altitude sickness on my third day there.

Drive to Guru Ram Das Puri

Before White Tantric, for six days I attended several  kundalini yoga and meditation classes and workshops facilitated by popular and renowned teachers. The yoga plus the strictly vegan food served as some kind of body-mind-spirit cleansing  in preparation of the White Tantric. Yogi Bhajan described the process “At a solstice, you have to break your patterns. You are here to go through certain changes. And you cannot live intellectually all your life. You have to live by the power of your soul.”

My regimen consisted of a very cold shower at 3 am (there's no hot water), morning sadhana at 3:45 am, 7:15 am class, breakfast of spicy potato-celery-onion soup and bananas at 8:30am, two classes, quinoa tabouli for lunch at 1:00pm, rest at 2:00pm, another two classes in the afternoon, watermelon snack in between, dinner of spicy mung beans and rice at 5:30, evening program and end the day with a gong bath at 8:30pm. I would be in bed by 10pm, completely exhausted.

3:45am sadhana

At Snatam Kaur's Compassionate Living workshop

Guru Singh leading the all star musicians

On the day of the White Tantric on the first day of summer solstice, you can just imagine how the energy was after doing six days of this type of cleansing. We were more than 3,000 people from all over the world,  dressed in white, wearing turbans,  lined up in rows in diagonal z-lines, and seated in front of our partners with knees touching. 

3 days of White Tantric Yoga group meditation

Mind you, the meditation was not easy - it even felt like torture! Imagine you're holding a Kundalini yoga meditation pose for 31 to 62 minutes long. My partner was very tall.  We were not allowed to talk and had to gaze into each other's eyes. In one of the meditation, the right arm was extended and index and middle fingers touched each other's  forehead. As my partner's arms were much longer, I felt like my head kept being pushed back. It hurt my neck and I was getting irritated by the weight of his hands but I carried on and pushed on, determined to finish the meditation.

On the last day of White Tantric, right after lunch, the meditation was to extend the arms up 60-degrees, with fingertips touching each other for 62 minutes chanting Ardas Bhaee. Halfway through the meditation, I couldn't hold the tears back. I was bawling hysterically and shaking. I must have been the only one crying at that point. I couldn't feel my body anymore and I found myself floating up, up through the roof, up to the clear blue sky. The people around me, including my partner, became a blur of white. 

After three days on that strict routine in the middle of the desert, I came to realize that it's true -- We are all connected, we're just pure energy.

all smiles after three days of White Tantric

The solstice is an auspicious time to honor the sun and recharge ourselves. I've done three so far. Last year was actually my first time to complete all three days. In France, I did only the first day since someone warned me that it's not safe for beginners to do the three days. This is baloney! If you're heart is into it, you can do all three days. The second one was in October 2013 in Bangkok. As Yogi Bhajan recommends, “You come to Summer Solstice. Here, you recharge your batteries, straighten up the line of endurance, bring courage in yourself, grow through physiological nervous energy systems, come to an understanding that you can sit with somebody for 72 hours, and not freak out.” 

For those of you who want to do the sadhana meditation for the year which is on the 4th sutra "Understand Through Compassion Or You Will Misunderstand The Times" click here. Happy Solstice! 

How Kundalini Yoga brings out your Inner Glow

Since I purchased my first gong in January this year and completed two gong classes in Hong Kong, I've been bringing my gong with me. I stumbled upon this article written by Kara Ortiga who apparently was in one of my classes at Life Yoga in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. I'm sharing it here. Thank you to Kara. :-)

MARCH 06, 2016
How a Kundalini Yoga Class Can Bring Out Your Inner Glow BY KARA ORTIGA

This month, we here at Preen are determined to work on our fitness. Be our witness (see what we did there?) by checking out our motivational #fitspo stories on new workout routines, the low-down on healthy eating, and the latest in athleisure every week—you know, just about everything you need to get those pulses racing.  

It was, in my head, one of the most unusual yoga classes I had ever attended, beginning with a discourse on the significance and meaning of the full moon, followed by some astrological trivia, and then chanting.

It’s not exactly what you’d expect of a typical yoga class, but the results, to be felt almost immediately, are also not quite like any other. The exercise merges yoga postures with meditation, breathing exercises, and incantations. You will be asked to hold your breath, clench the area near your sex organs, and suspend unique positions. At one point, you will find yourself rocking your body back and forth, moving your butt up and down while standing on tip toes, all while focusing your gaze on the tip of your nose (and not to be embarrassed when it seems like you’re cross-eyed). You will end the class in meditation, lying on your back for about five minutes while the teacher walks around the room striking a gong. But these seemingly odd exercises are actually a practice that cleanses your mind and body.

Kundalini refers to the energy that is pent up at the bottom of your spine. And by practicing the techniques taught in this class, you are awakening this life force and making it flow to the crown of your head, releasing it at higher energy channels in the body. At Life Yoga Center in the Fort, where classes are available once a week, it is referred to as the Inner Glow class—a beauty yoga designed to arouse a healthy outer radiance by purifying from within. And this purification process will surely be felt.

In the middle of the class, during moments of stillness when you are asked to meditate, this is where you begin to feel the energy surging within—a subtle vibration will engulf your body, as if you’re floating on the surface of a calm sea. It’s a delicate out-of-body experience unlike any other. Remember that gong I was saying that the teacher plays at the end of the class? It’s my favorite part—the melodious striking of the gong sending soft waves through my body. After one class, you’ll feel lighter inside, with a more positive demeanor. You feel relaxed in a way that isn’t just on the surface, and this feeling, they say, can last for almost a week.

Rosan Cruz, who is the instructor of the Kundalini class at Life, maintains a fun and ethereal vibe in the room. Her instructions are conversational, and she encourages everyone to smile. Music is also a big part of every session, since you meditate to some soulful, pop mantra-filled tunes playing in the background. If you’re open-minded and looking to expel not just the fats from your body, but also the impurities of the mind, then sign up for Kundalini class. I’m a believer.

Life Yoga Center. Eight Forbestown Road, Burgos Circle, Bonifactio Global City. (02) 886-7500. (0927) 692-1199. For more information, e-mail info@lifeyogacenter.com and visit their official website.

Theta Healing Teacher Training with the founder Vianna Stibal in Tokyo

With Vianna Stibal in Tokyo, Japan

It was a dream come true for me to finally meet Vianna Stibal, the founder of ThetaHealing in Tokyo, Japan. I took the instructor's training course in Basic DNA, Advanced DNA and Dig Deeper from April 14 to 23, 2016.

I was actually surprised to see a hundred or so Japanese who were in the instructor's course. Most were re-certifying and the rest, like me, it was their first time.  There were also those who flew from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and even, from Israel.

Apparently, ThetaHealing is quite popular in Japan. There are already two hospitals that are practicing and using ThetaHealing.  In fact, my sacred singing crystal bowl teacher based in Akabane, Hiroko Kato, told me that she studied Basic DNA.

With the graduates of ThetaHealing Advanced DNA

ThetaHealing is a form of energy healing modality. The practitioner goes into the theta brainwave state to facilitate a shift in the reality of the person receiving the healing. There are five different frequencies of the brain: Beta (14 - 28 Hz), the thinking and talking state; Alpha (7 - 14 Hz), the relaxed, meditative state and known as the gateway to the subconscious; Theta (4 - 7 Hz), the deep state of relaxation, realm of subconscious where a deep sense of spiritual connection and unity with the universe can be experienced; Delta (0 - 4 Hz), deep sleep, realm of the unconscious mind; and lastly, Gamma (above 40 Hz), the high mental activity state associated with insight and high-level information processing.

In the theta brainwave state, the brain practically slows down. This is the place where memories and sensations are held. It governs attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. According to Tools for Wellness, "Theta is the brain state where magic happens in the crucible of your own neurological activity. Theta brings forward heightened receptivity, flashes of dreamlike imagery, inspiration and your long-term forbidden memories. Theta can bring you seep states of mediation. A sensation of 'floating.' And, because it is an expansive state, in Theta, you may feel your mind expand beyond the boundaries of your body."

Furthermore, brainwave experts state that the 7 - 8 Hz frequency is the "optimal range for visualization, mind programming and using the creative power of your [the] mind begins" (source here)  The concept behind ThetaHealing is precisely this, to go to the theta state to use the creative power of the mind to create anything and change reality instantly.

Vianna discovered this modality, when she used the same technique in her psychic readings for her clients, to heal herself from terminal cancer.  Her technique is simple "Go up and seek God." This is where ThetaHealing differs with other forms of energy healing: it uses source energy, connecting directly to the 'Creator of All that Is' and thus, immediately witness the change taking place, affecting the four levels of beliefs - the core, genetic, history and soul levels.

With classmate Mio and Game of Life creator, Hiro Miyazaki

I was introduced to this modality in 2012 when I had a healing session with Sanaiyah Gurmamal. I then took her Basic DNA course in December 2012 and subsequently, enrolled in other courses.

The game changer was the Game of Life course. I signed up for this course in 2013 and unfortunately, events happened that prevented me from taking the course. One of the events was when I contracted dengue in October 2013. So, after two years of trying to take the course, it was only six months ago that I completed it. In fact, when I spotted Hiro Miyasaki in the venue, I went up to him, introduced myself and told him that his course completely changed my life and I'm no longer where I was six months ago.

I guess the Philippines will welcome ThetaHealing as a mainstream healing modality in the next five years or so. This is similar to my experience with Reiki. I remember taking Reiki in the early 2000s when it was still unheard of and pranic healing was common. Now, Reiki is so popular. I know it's possible, in just a matter of time, that everyone here catches up with ThetaHealing.  Vianna recommended to "teach enough people so we can change the planet."

Snapchat video:

Crystal Singing Bowl lesson with Hiroko Kato in Akabane

Crystal Bowl Healing with Hiroko Kato

Recently, I've been drawn to sounds especially as a healing modality.  Sound healing is not new. Shamans, Buddhist Monks and even Australian aborigines have been using sound as a tool for healing.

I've been looking for either a citrine or rose quartz singing bowl. I like the quartz bowls more than the crystal or frosted bowls. It gives an added dimension to healing from the frequency it emits, to the color it represents and the qualities of the quartz element.

Well, somebody must be listening to my intentions because as I was surfing online, I stumbled upon the Crystal Temple website. The temple was located in Akabane, half an hour from Tokyo where I was bound to, for Vianna Stibal's Theta Healing instructor training.

Hiroko emphasizes to set an intention first

The owner and resident sound healer, Hiroko Kato, was waiting for me yesterday all dressed in white and smiling ear to ear. She owns the temple and is the resident sound healer.  Since she couldn't speak english, she had her friend act as an interpreter.

She gave me a one-on-one course on crystal bowl healing. She said that everything in the Universe is in a state of vibration and all vibration emits some kind of sound. This sound may not be perceptible to the ear. The range of human hearing is between 16 to 16,000 Hertz (cycles per second). She stressed that we do not perceive sound through just our ears but also through our skin, bones and cellular structure, ingesting and consuming sound through our whole being.

The entire body in a relaxed state vibrates at a frequency of 7.8 Hz which is attuned to the basic electromagnetic field of the earth.  Also, the ancient indian rishis referred it the frequency of Om.

Note that there are six brain wave frequencies: Beta (14 to 30 Hz) is the normal waking state, alert, active awareness and tension. Alpha (8 to 13 Hz) is deeply relaxed, passive awareness, composed, daydreaming. Theta (4 to 7 Hz) is deep meditation, shamanic work, channeling, peaceful and everything is slowed down, deep tranquility, dreams. Delta (0.5 to 3.5 Hz) is deep sleep, unaware, deep-unconsciousness. High Beta or Gamma (23 to 33 Hz) is associated with hyperactivity, stress, tension and anxiety. K Complex (33+ Hz) occurs in short spurts and is often linked with the 'aha' moments, when realizations occur.

This is the optimum healing frequency, between Alpha and Theta, being at two worlds at once and at the same time, deeply attuned to the earth's frequency. Sound healing allows the body, mind and soul to enter into this brainwave frequency, to heal the body, transform the self and restore harmony and balance.

The seven energy centers  and corresponding color and note

Sound healing works with  the chakras or energy centers. Dr. R. Gerber, author of Vibrational Medicine, wrote "Each of the chakras is linked to small nerve bundles called ganglia. Each ganglion is like a little brain center. Each of the seven chakras processes and remembers different emotional events and traumas that affect us throughout our lifetime. We seem to store specific types of emotional memories in these centers. This could be why we remember things not just with our brains but our bodies as well. This might also explain why different types of emotional distress seem to affect one part of the body preferentially over another. Chakras are considered to be emotional and spiritual processors."

The theory is, each of the chakras is aligned with a particular note on the scale (see table above) and by using the relevant notes in the area which is sensed as imbalanced, through sound healing, can bring the distressed part of the body, mind and soul back into harmony.

After the course, I ended up getting the citrine quartz singing bowl. Citrine "combines a joyful, cohesive golden yellow energy of pure quartz frequencies that align the root and solar plexus. It dissipates and transmutes negative energies while purifying and balancing auric fields.  It enhances optimism, balance, initiative and personal power." While the G note aligns with the throat chakra which is a catalyst for communication, mental acuity and new beginnings.