Back from Hawaii

The first Akupara Yoga Retreat -- Earth, Water, Fire Yoga Retreat -- on the Big Island of Hawaii was a great experience! We had gorgeous weather (rain in the evening to help us cool down, and mostly dry during the day), a great time on our excursions, and met some wonderful people.

The folks at The Center at Kahuna Falls really went above and beyond to make our retreat wonderful. The retreat center is gorgeous, and we enjoyed swimming at the top of their on-property 400-foot waterfall. The outdoor-garden shower was one of my favorite places at this off-the-grid island hide-away.

Everyone LOVED the Ayurvedic food! Who knew a cleansing diet could be so incredibly delicious?! Many of the students were trying to figure out how to get our chef to come home with them.

This was the first time many of the students had done 3HO Kundalini Yoga, and they really enjoyed it. In fact, two of them are looking for Kundalini Yoga in Louisville, KY. If you know of anyone who teaches in the 3HO style in Louisville, please drop me a note!

http://www.akuparayoga.com/

Kundalini Training Picture

Here's a graduation picture from the Kundalini Teacher Training portion of my 500-hour yoga teacher training program. You'll notice that students and instructors are dressed in all white. That's to expand the auric field, which surrounds the physical body with a protective sheath of energy. (Chanting in Sanskrit or Gurmukhi before a yoga class, or silently repeating a mantra will also expand the field.) Some of us are wearing head coverings as well. This serves to contain one's vital energy, without allowing it to escape. Keeping prana (vital energy) inside is one of the core practices of both Hatha and Kundalini yoga. The three bandhas (jalandara, uddiyana & mulabandha) and pranayama (breath exercises) are some common practices that help to bring more vital energy into the body and hold it there. Control of the vital energy brings protection, health, and is said to extend life. Plus, my friend Sydney says I look quite attractive with a head covering!

Namaste & Much Love,

Rachel

http://www.akuparayoga.com/

Flights to Hawaii

I just recently booked my flight to Hawaii for the May "Earth, Water, Fire Yoga Retreat" and just discovered that a different airline is running a sale on flights to Hawaii from all across the US. I can't take advantage of the sale, but you can! If you've been thinking about joining us on the Big Island of Hawaii for the May 24th-30th retreat, check out American Airlines sale.

(I know this isn't exactly a philosophical or inspirational topic, but wanted to get the word out! My next post will be back on topic.)

Much love,
Rachel

www.akuparayoga.com

Mantra

During a private yoga class yesterday, I was teaching a student the Maha Mrityunjaya -- a chant to Shiva -- and was surprised at how much I love working with Mantras! I know it sounds funny to be surprised at remembering activities I enjoy, but I often forget things that I like to do.

Perhaps my mind is so filled with activities that need to be done, like errands, taxes, work, obligations, and so on, that it "crowds" out the fun. Or it could be my ego flavor (I occasionally "do 9" for those of you familiar with the Enneagram). Regardless of the reason for my forgetfulness, I was happily caught in a joyful activity yesterday. What a great feeling to accidentally slip into one of my favorite pass-times!!

There are numerous translations of the word Mantra. A common practice in Tantra (a spiritual tradition that sees true divine nature in everything and everyone), the Sanskrit word mantra comes from man-, from manas or mind, and tra-, to transcend or protect. So, the translation I prefer is that a mantra helps to protect us from our minds, or helps us to transcend the mind. As should be clear from the fact that my mind often forgets enjoyable activities, I definitely need protection from it!

http://www.akuparayoga.com/

Speaking from the heart

Sat Nam is a Gurmukhi mantra used frequently in Kundalini Yoga (one of two styles of yoga that participants in this May's Earth, Water, Fire Yoga Retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii will enjoy). It means "my identity is the truth" or "I am the truth." The mantra is traditionally repeated internally with each breath during Kundalini classes, and often chanted aloud with certain exercises or meditations. As a student in a Kundalini Yoga teacher training -- part of my 500-hour yoga teacher credential -- it seems as though I have chanted Sat Nam hundreds of thousands of times in the past three weeks.

So, I was reminded of Mansur al-Hallaj, the Persian Sufi mystic and poet, who was martyred in 922 CE for saying "Ana al-Haqq": which also means "I am the truth" or "I am God." He was killed for saying something that my entire teacher training group, and millions of Kundalini Yoga students worldwide chant daily. Yet, we all have certain beautiful expressions in our hearts that we stop ourselves from saying, for such small insignificant reasons. The next time I feel myself holding back something true and filled with love, I hope to remember al-Hallaj and that the worst thing that could happen to me from speaking truth is a bruised ego.

Compared to martyrdom, a bit of embarrassment doesn't seem so bad! Besides, my ego could always use more humility.

Sat Nam.

Love and the Heart Center

In sanskrit, the heart center is called 'Anahata' which means unstruck -- according to Swami Satyananda Saraswati (whose Kundalini Tantra is one of the textbooks for the Kundalini Teacher Training I'm currently attending in Sedona):

"This centre is known as such because of its relationship with the heart, which throbs, beats or vibrates to a constant unbroken rhythm. It is said in many of the scriptures that there is a sound which is non-physical and non-empirical, which is transcendental in nature, and this sound is endless and unbroken in the same way that the heart beats faithfully and continuously from before birth up until death."

One of my teachers, Shraddhasagar, often describes this "unstruck" vibration as being the only sound not made by two objects striking. Because it is born of true love, there is no need for friction to create this sound.

www.akuparayoga.com

Week 1 of Kundalini Teacher Training

You may have noticed that this May's retreat in Hawaii will include both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga practices. I have been practicing Kundalini Yoga for about three years now, and find that it really enhances my more established Hatha practices. It's also great for clearing the mind of self-imposed limitations, shifting energy levels, and -- in my experience -- occasionally invoking states of bliss. So, when one of my teachers (Sraddhasagar of 7 Centers Yoga Arts in Sedona) told me her center would be hosting an intensive Kundalini Teacher Training as part of a 500-hour Yoga Instructor credential, I was thrilled, and of course registered as a student. Having completed our first week of training, I have had some time to reflect upon a small portion of the wisdom inherent in the teachings of Yogi Bhajan (who brought Kundalini Yoga to the West in the 1960s and founded the Kundalini Yoga organization 3HO) and Swami Saraswati Satyananda (founder of the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger India, and author of one of our course texts: Kundalini Tantra). I have been inspired by both their teachings daily and hope that this quote from Yogi Bhajan will help to uplift you as well:

"If you are not beautiful and graceful, there is nothing beautiful or graceful. This is a truth, for you are the universe and the universe is you." (Sermon on Two Cushions, October 14, 1971)

We all have times in which our minds engage in negative self-talk, about all the ways we are not quite 'good enough'. Seeing this quote helped me quickly remind myself that when these thoughts arise, it is merely my perception that needs to change. When looking at the world, I can choose to focus on the positive (love, beauty, nature, grace) or the negative (hate, war, famine), and this will impact my experience. The same is true of looking at myself. Thinking of myself as a 'work in progress' feels much better than seeing only the flaws!

http://www.akuparayoga.com/