Befriending your body

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Experiencing unity and wholeness requires the mastery of the five

elements or tattvas - earth, water, fire, air and ether. Kundalini

yoga is a science designed to achieve this alignment. Each

astrological sign embodies the energy of one of the first 4

elements. The energy of the element is abundantly available when the

Sun is in a particular element. When the Sun is joined by other

planets in that element, it is even more abundantly available. This

is the time to tune into and take advantage of these universal powers.

 

Taurus embodies the earth element. The Sun will be in Taurus through

May 19th. Venus is in Taurus until May 29th, Jupiter through the

month of June and Saturn through the month of July. This is an ideal

time to work with the earth element and our physical body.

 

AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BODY

 

To achieve peace, we must be at peace in our body. To be at peace in

our body, we must develop an intimate relationship with our body. An

intimate relationship is based on a two-way communication. How do we

develop this relationship with our body? First, we must care for and

love our body. Second, we must listen to and pay attention to what

our body is communicating to us.

 

We can begin by noticing what type of relationship we currently have

with our body. How do we feed it? With nourishing food and drink?

Do we chew our food so that it can easily digest the nourishment?

How do we dress it and care for it? Is our body more than a means

of transportation for our thoughts or a way to display our presence?

 

The main thing to keep in mind is that the body, being the physical

element, vibrates at the slowest frequency. The mind vibrates at a

much faster frequency than the body. Therefore, the mind has to slow

down to effectively communicate with the body. One of the best ways

to slow the mind down is to slow down the breath. The mind follows

the breath. The breath creates a link between the body and the

mind. The body also responds to the breath because it can be felt in

the body.

 

THE BODY'S LANGUAGE

 

The body is definitely impacted by our thoughts, but verbal

communication is not the body's language. The body's language is

ATTENTION AND FEELINGS. The body responds best when we pay attention

to what we are feeling and to our physical sensations. When we do

so, we are communicating directly with the body in a way that it

understands. The body can respond back with sensations and

feelings. In sum, we communicate with the body NONVERBALLY. This is

an art that we must develop. We can train ourselves to bring our

attention to and stay with the sensations in our body. The

guidelines are actually quite simple. If we are thinking and have

thoughts, we are in our minds. If we are feeling sensations and have

no words, we are in our body.

 

The body responds to TOUCH, MOVEMENT and RHYTHM. The body needs to

be touched. The body needs to move. And the body needs to function

at its own unique rhythm.

 

ATTENTION AND KUNDALINI YOGA

 

The practice of Kundalini yoga gives us a perfect opportunity to

develop a loving relationship with our bodies. While we do the

exercises we pay attention to the effect that each exercise is having

on the body. Our goal is to activate various parts of the body. We

are creating alignment and stimulating an optimal functioning. We

are not punishing, jerking around or beating up our body. We want to

stretch and strengthen, not strain or hurt. Our bodies know the

difference. If we simply pay attention, we will sense the difference

and be alerted to how far to go and when to stop. One rule of thumb

I use is " Is this going to hurt when I am done? " There is a fine,

but clear, line between keeping up during a challenging exercise and

injuring yourself. The more we pay attention to our bodies, the

easier it is to identify that line.

 

Between exercises, we pay attention to the effects by feeling the

energy and the sensations in our bodies. We often overlook this

aspect of our training. Yet it is during the relaxation when we are

consciously " doing nothing " that we can actually listen to our body.

This is the optimal time to stay present and let our bodies

communicate with us. They have much to share if we would just stop

long enough to pay attention, be patient enough to learn their

language and be humble enough to give value to the messages.

 

ENJOYING BEING IN THE BODY

 

Our ultimate goal is to enjoy being in our body. It doesn't happen

over night. It is a gradual process. Our first experiences are

often uncomfortable. Discomfort is the main reason we stay in our

minds and avoid a relationship with our body. Emotions are stored in

the body. We get in touch with unresolved emotional traumas when we

are present to the feelings in our body. The good news is that the

emotions speak to us. As we listen to what our body and emotions are

trying to tell us, we learn a lot about ourselves and resolve a lot

of previously undefined malaise. Being present to the sensations in

our body is how we consciously deal with the energy of our emotions

and our desire nature as human beings. Overtime the emotional energy

becomes a means of communicating in the moment and a method to

receive the messages from our soul.

 

Our body is like our child or a pet. It needs to be loved. We love

it by paying attention to it and listening to it. It feels abandoned

and abused when we are in our minds. It feels loved when we feel it

and touch it. Many people have the powerful experience that they no

longer feel abandoned and lonely when they start being lovingly

present in their body. They realize that they had abandoned

themselves and now know how to end the anguish of separation.

 

THE INSTRUMENT OF YOUR SOUL

 

The body is an instrument of our soul. We fine-tune it with

Kundalini yoga. Yogi Bhajan calls Kundalini yoga the yoga of

awareness. We start with the body. Our touchstone is that we can

expand our awareness as far as we want to as long as we stay in our

body. We can hold the universe in our bodies. The tendency, of

course, is to leave our body. I invite you to train yourself to stay

present in your body no matter what. This is a challenge. But the

payoffs are great. You will not feel abandoned or abused. You will

learn to love yourself. You will be able to heal yourself. You will

be able to manifest. You will develop a powerful presence and

charisma. You will know what to do because you will be able to

listen to your soul. You will love being alive at every moment.

Your body will become your best friend.

 

GUIDELINES

 

Here are a few guidelines to use to practice being in your body. Add

to the list as your experiences enrich your awareness.

 

1. Feel your breath in your body.

 

2. Slow your breath down until your body relaxes.

 

3. Practice communicating non-verbally with your body. Be aware of

what the body responds to.

 

4. Listen to the sensations in your body as ways that it is

communicating with you.

 

5. When a sensation feels good, keep your awareness there and enjoy

it.

 

6. When a sensation feels uncomfortable, keep your awareness there

and allow it to express itself.

 

7. Allow without judgment or interpretation all sensations in your

body.

 

8. Treat your body as your best friend.

 

(Source: kundalini yogaclasses.html )