Needing some help, guidance perhaps, inspiration at the moment

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Lynn!

Glad you followed your intuition and wrote, you will receive some really

inspired messages from the group, I am sure! A couple of things came up as I

read

your message. As far as your affinity with the Mantras, you are connecting to

the sound current, the Shabad, which is a very healing space to be in. Very

profound changes and shifts can occur with that practice alone. I have seen it

take place with many of my students who are drawn to the Shabad more than any

other aspect of KY. There are 84 energy points in the palate which are

stimulated as you chant a specific mantra. Through chanting we absorb more

prana. The

Healing Mantra Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung may work well for you in your

situation. It stimulates Kundalini to flow in the central channel. It causes the

pituitary master gland to tune the entire glandular system. It purifies the aura

and activates self healing through manifesting a sense of security. This

mantra helps you develop a pattern of health.

Mantra is Kundalini Yoga, every aspect of your practice whether chanting,

practicing kriyas, meditating are all part of the practice. You don't have to

stand to practice! You can sit in a chair, or a wheelchair, for that matter, and

move your upper body and raise the Shakti. Once you "tune in" you are

connected to the lineage. Kundalini Yoga awakens awareness. It strengthens the

health

and well being of the physical body, it is very useful for emotional balance,

mental clarity, stress relief, and personal transformation, which you have

already experienced. Just follow your inner guidance, if you feel you would like

to call in a teacher to help you modify the movements for your particular

situation, do it! There are no accidents, perhaps your path will be to inspire

and

help others who are suffering some form of incapacitation of the physical

body yet have a deep need to practice the original "power yoga!"

Wahe Guru! Keep up, YOU are an inspiration!

Blessings in Health!

Guru Ravi

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

Most important thing is to do what you can. Can you sit in a straight

backed chair with both feet on the floor, balanced? If so then you can

do spinal flexes from that pose and twists. Even Sat Kriya (Whoopeee!).

 

There are so many ways to adapt and adjust. When I tore up my knee

about 15 years ago and could not sit in easy pose or on my knees, I

got very well acquainted with front stretch and stretch pose!

 

It all depends on your doctor's limitations. Listen to him or her and

mybe push the envelope only a little bit. What about pranayamas? And

meditations too, just sit in a chair with the spine straight and both

feet on the floor. Kundalini Yoga increases your creativity, so be

creative. There's lots you can't do but there's also lots you can.

Most of all enjoy, heal yourself through chanting (Ra Ma Da Sa) and so

forth.

Regards

Kundaliniyoga, lynnoc wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone, good Saturday afternoon:

> I am summoning my courage to write to this group, as I'v been a

silent lurker

> for a month or so. I began Kundalini Yoga in the afermath of

surgery on my

> knee, for a torn meniscus and chondro malasia. I had seen an add on

Amazon for

> a Yoga tape that looked "different" and I thought I might like it. I

had

> never found myself gravitating to other Yoga systems I had tried on

numerous tapes

> --I'm an impatient kind of person and they all seemed rather slow,

and did

> not capture my interest. Kundalini Yoga was different, from the

moment I saw it

> on the first tape I used; I more than liked it, I fell in love

with it. I

> began to do it daily, signed up for a class at our local Kundalini

Yoga Center,

> took a private lesson. And then after only about a month of this, I

fell

> thanks to a very weak leg, about ten weeks after my knee surgery,

and broke TWO

> bones in my ankle. I had emergency surgery, and spent six days in

the hospital. I

> was sent home in a cast with a wheel chair, crutches, a walker, and

strict

> instructions not to do much, i.e. not to put ANY weight whatsoever

on that leg.

> So I have been working from home, seeing clients (I am a

psychologist); doing

> research (I am a professor of doctoral students in clinical

psychology and a

> researcher); and wasting time browsing the Internet. I have been

listening to

> healing Kundalini mantras on CDs that I purchased, but otherwise

I've not done

> much of anything except work that I have to do, and that I can do

from my

> perch on the couch.

>

> The surgeon X-rays my ankle every two weeks, and says the healing is

going

> wonderfully, (he took the staples out at two weeks) but he still

will not put me

> in a walking boot, as there is now so much hardware in my leg, (I've

never

> seen anything like it, I was stunned when I saw the first

post-surgery X-rays)

> and he said I am not "ready" to do anything that calls for even

balancing

> myself with the bad leg. He shakes his head and said solomly "you

had a really bad

> break." Which is not too inspiring somehow, its a little

frightening. But I

> have faith that I will get through this and walk and maybe even walk

better.

>

> I am sure that I could do quite a bit from the couch, or the wheel

chair,

> following some of my tapes. I am hesitant to call anyone for a

lesson, as I feel

> so flaky about what I've been doing and not doing. But I somehow

lost my

> momentum, and have been thinking about writing to all of you, as you

seem so very

> knowlegeable about so many subjects. And some of you are into

healing, and

> healing is needed here.

>

> I want to get going again, given the limitations at the moment which

may be

> many, but still I can do what I think made such a difference to me

in my few

> short weeks of doing Kundalini Yoga. My back pain which has been

chronic for

> about 30 years, went away in a matter of a week. It was astounding,

and I so much

> loved the chanting etc, something I had not expected at all. I

walked away

> from classes with a smile on my face, especially when the teacher

wasn't "too

> serious" and took a personal interest in the students in the class.

>

> If anyone has suggestions, ideas, recommendations for me, I would be

very

> very grateful. I want to get motivated to move again, in this unique

and quite

> magical way. I am older (64) and arthritic, so I was doing

everything with some

> revisions (and my physical therapist took tapes home to study how to

make the

> revisions needed, liek she made donuts out of little towels to make it

> possible for me to "kneel" though I broke my ankle before I had a

chance to try

> this out in class.

>

> Now of course I can't even get onto the floor for the moment. But I

need to

> get back into Kundalini Yoga as fast as I can, I feel it will make a

huge

> differnence to my process of healing. I thank you so much if you

have ideas for me,

> and inspiration. I can't quite say why I love the chanting

meditations as I

> do, but I do. I can't seem to do them outloud very well on my own,

and I feel

> slightly lost now about how to resume my path to Kundalini.

>

> Thank you everyone here, I have been so impressed by the kind

responses that

> you provide to everyone's questions, and I appreciate your

willingness to

> speak to a real novice, who barely got going. I was a little fearful

about writing

> to you all, but then I reread some past digests, and thought, you would

> probably encourage me to write to you, to ask for help from your

vast storehouse of

> information about the body and healing.

>

> Lynn

 

>

 

>

 

>

 

>

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam, Lynn,

 

I'm glad you wrote to this group about your situation! They are a

very knowledgable and always-uplifting bunch! I see you've already

received several responses specific to what kriyas and exercises you

should be able to practice while you're recovering. I would like to

share a bit from my own experience and hope that you find it

encouraging.

 

In 1994 I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. I

spent many years exploring various roads to wellness with some

success in some areas. I had not at that time discovered kundalini

yoga. When I WAS introduced to KY in 2001, I was convinced that

practicing it could address the underlying glandular/endocrine

system imbalances of my condition. But just at that time I gave up

engaging in any physical activity because it was too painful & too

exhausting. I had tried to cut back, modify, do less, go gentle,

all to no avail, & I was just worn out from being in constant pain.

I worked one-on-one with a wonderful KY teacher but found that I

couldn't consistently do any of the sets she was recommending, not

even for a few minutes a day. But I also loved the mantras. So I

finally decided that I would "just" chant every day, since it seemed

like that was "all" I could do. I listened to mantra CDs with

headphones on, sometimes flat on my back in bed when I was in too

much pain to sit up. I chanted out loud, connecting to that healing

sound current, creating the vibration within myself. I rearranged

my DNA -- I changed on a cellular level -- & eventually I began to

heal. Today I'm able to work full-time again, do cardio & weight-

training workouts, do kundalini yoga (the physical postures as well

as the mantras!), & I'm preparing to take KY training this fall.

And while I am not as old as you are, I am definitely NOT a spring

chicken, either! : - )

 

So -- since you already have a love for the mantras, put on those

CDs and chant. THAT'S kundalini yoga! I started with "Japji Sahib"

because that is what spoke to me in the moment when I needed

guidance. Someone suggested "RA MA DA SA SA SAY SO HUNG" -- I have

chanted that also & it's beautiful & a wonderful mantra to use in

the healing process.

 

And don't worry about how "well" you chant out loud on your own.

Try to let go of self-consciousness & self-judgment. The point is

that you are connecting to a healing sound-current when you chant.

Understanding that, coupled with your intention to heal, will take

you a long way.

 

Blessings on your path!

 

Nirvair Kaur

[Guest guest]

Lynn:

 

 

 

First healing happens faster if you take it in as if it was the best thing

that could have happened to you to bring you where you need to go

spiritually, materially, mentally.

 

 

 

You can think of what happened to you as if it had happened in a dream. That

is, if it had happened in a dream you would be left with how it affected

your life in the dream. You would not have to deal with the physical pain.

That's one aspect of it.

 

 

 

Our daily life is like a dream. When you die, who cares how many times you

broke a leg as long as you lived humbly, compassionately etc etc

 

 

 

So take in the experience you are going through and marvel in it and know

that it is exactly as it should be for you right now. From there, you

relinquish any desire for healing, just an acceptance and an inner

integration of the experience. That is the true yoga! What you see on tapes,

in the classroom, and so on, are ways to prepare you for the experience of

life. You got it! Now breathe through it! Relax in it. That's it! If you

want more, here are suggestions:

 

 

 

You can learn the Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Se So Hung meditation for healing, you can

learn Sat Nam Rasayan. . . You can also imagine doing the exercises of any

set you want with your subtle body (not your physical body). With your

subtle body you would imagine the total experience of each exercise (so it

is more than a simple visualization of each exercise) but without actually

using your physical body except for the finger postures, chants, and breath

works which you would actually do as described the best way you can.

 

 

 

This is exciting in a way! It is about taking in the mystery of life and

mastering it! Understand life at a new level.

 

 

 

Blessings, Awtar S.

 

Rochester, NY

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

sat nam lynn!

i think you are further ahead than you think you are, because you are

looking for ways to keep your limitations from stopping you, instead of

giving up. you are brave and maybe don't even know it!! you mentioned in

your post that you love doing the chanting and meditations, so why not

do those? i have often seen the advice here to do what resonates for

you, do what feels right, do what you're drawn to. there are some

amazing CDs of mantras and so on that you can just listen to, or chant

along with if you want to. you don't have to be sitting on the floor in

full lotus to get the benefit, i don't think. i often fall asleep to

this music. :-)

i have also read on this list that it is beneficial simply to

*visualize* yourself doing the postures, even if you can't do them

yourself. and, to go to a group sadhana (practice), and sit or lie down

comfortably and let the energy of the group wash over you. no one would

judge you if you were not able to do the asanas themselves. or, i would

be very surprised if they did!!!

try it! maybe it will help!

may you be fully healed, and soon, according to Divine plan!!

xxoo,

seattle sue

[Guest guest]

HI Lynne,

Actually, you are in a very good place in terms of learning

meditation and energy work. All the physical yoga that we do is

really to prepare the body for meditation and pranayam. If you can

sit with a straight spine, you have everything you need!

 

I wouldn't be ashamed to ask for a private session with someone. You

certainly wouldn't turn away one of your clients would you? I'm sure

if they said they were embarassed to ask for help, you would be very

warm and helpful to them.... In your position, I would ask for help

with pranyam (breath work) healing mantras and meditations.

 

Truth is, in Kundalini Yoga, pranayam, mantra and meditation are the

goals of our work. It has been my experience that when I have been

incapacitated, that I am able to achieve the most in my energetic

and meditative practices.

 

So, from God's perspective, this might be the time in your life when

you learned how to really connect with yourself and God.

 

Hope that helps,

Shabd.