Kundalini

I believe it was Christmas of 2005. My mother-in-law bought me the "best selling Yoga dvds" on Amazon. It's funny to think how much Amazon has changed in 21 years. Raviana's Kundalini Yoga with Ravi Singh and Ana Brett. They're a married couple where she demonstrates and he for the most part leads with a voice over. She joins in from time to time in the voice over. I fell in love with these dvds. Little did I know how much they would change my life.

At the time I was a career waitress. Ramsey worked full time in an office and I worked part time, Friday - Sunday, 5am - 1:30pm or whatever time they decided to let me go, at Bob Evans. I would intentionally get up at 3am to practice "Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond".

It typically begins with centering. "Ong namo guru dev namo"  I call on my higher

self to help me do my best. After this, a breath primer. Long deep breathing, which I later learned as durga breath or three part breath and breath of fire. Lee, one of my students regularly comments that breath of fire is hyperventilating. She's not wrong but boy does it clear your mind. Throughout the practice there would be short bursts of movements with 45 - 60 seconds of meditation in between. During the meditation, we close our eyes to turn inward. Inhale "sat" and exhale "nam" the truth within you.

This practice taught me how to breath and pause.

Raviana has quite the library and I think I own just about every disc they put out. In addition to the movement, there's chanting and guided meditation. Much different than the style of Yoga I lead. In a way it allows me to have something of my own.

As a waitress, I was required to entertain as much as bringing food to customers. I loved to talk about Yoga to my tables. I had one couple I waited on every weekend. The fellow's name was Steve and he was always working towards getting healthy. He was a type 2 diabetic amongst other things. At one point he even bought the dvds. He brought them in asking me which one I wanted to share. I declined since I already had all of them. He was disappointed. He tried to practice them but it didn't work out since he couldn't get on the floor. That was an eye opener for me. Side note, you can do most of the movements in a chair or in your bed. He also made a comment about Ana not having a six pack. I felt offended. Thank goodness we've come along way from those body standards.

My practice shifted in a completely different direction from Kundalini. I've never had a traditional Kundalini class so I don't know if I've had the real deal or not to be honest. Every time I feel lost though, I always find my way back to my dvds. They make me feel really good. I feel balanced and alive afterwards.