I’ve felt a nudge toward turning inward as of late, even before this stay at home deal. During this time, you may feel that it’s hard to get in a quiet space with yourself, especially if you have young children that are now home all day long. But, most of us are able to find at least a few quiet moments in the day. Perhaps it’s getting up a bit earlier than others in your household, or a someone in your household could take a turn playing with the children while you take this time to go within.
This is the perfect time to learn and know your truth, your Sat Nam. What is your truth? Who are you? Have you been stuffing yourself deep down inside while doing all the things you feel the need to do on a regular basis? Slow down and get uncomfortable with your truth. Write it down. Free journaling or writing is one way to do this. Write whatever comes to mind without judgement. Let it out and do not criticize what is written. Words may be repeated or sentences, just let it be. It may take a few days for you to get in the groove, but stick with it. Another way is walking outside, alone with your thoughts. Push aside any lists or petty things that come up and let your thoughts come freely. You may use a device to record these thoughts that come up during your walk. Again, do not judge what comes up. Try each one and see what resonates with you.
Your “truth” is your core being. Strip away any beliefs that were taught to you by society or others. Step back from what you have read and studied. While these may all have been what has shaped you and helped you decide what you are today, they can also be a hinderance. Have you ever really questioned why you are who your are today? Do you believe something just because this is something that someone placed upon you and you carried it with you without really observing the reason behind it? I’m not just talking about religious beliefs here, but core values and other ideas and thoughts that make you up, as a person. Really feel into what makes you, you. Away from all that society places upon you. If you were alone, living in a remote area, how do you think you would act or be? Would it be any different than how you are day to day now?
Some societal pressures are conducive to us as humans, such as being kind or proper hygiene, but others are a hinderance and make us step away our truth, our Sat Nam.
Why do we do the things we do? Why these certain methods of learning? Why do we work the way we work? What do you feel works for you? Your family? How can you bring about positive change to these things you just felt were required off you or you had never thought or questioned about? Ideals and ideas that you absorbed from other’s teachings and methodology.
Now, write these out as a list, leaving room for comments. Write the reason you feel you hold these things to be true. Then, ask yourself if they are really your own truth. Be honest with yourself. There’s no one to judge you, except yourself and if you feel ashamed or scared about what you wrote or thought, that is something you have found to work with. Brene Brown has a great audio book on shame(The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connection, and Courage). It’s something we don’t want to talk about or think about. It’s unfortunately in and all around us. Take some time with this and anything else that comes up. You don’t have to feel like you need to work on every little thing that comes up, this might be too overwhelming. Take one thing at a time.
Go into yourself. Feel the feels. Be uncomfortable. Be honest. Be your truth. Feel your truth. Truth is your identity.
Try this Kundalini yoga kriya(kriya is series of postures, sounds, and breath that work together for a specific outcome):
Sat Kriya
Instructions
- Sit on the heels in Rock Pose, knees together.
- Stretch the arms over the head with elbows straight, until the arms hug the sides of the head.
- Interlace all the fingers except the index fingers. Cross the thumbs over each other(traditionally the right is masculine and the left is feminine).
- The spine stays still and straight. This is neither a spinal flex nor a pelvic thrust.
- Remain firmly seated on the heels throughout the motions of the kriya.
- Begin to chant “Sat Naam” with a constant rhythm of about 8 times per 10 seconds.
- As you pull the navel in and up toward the spine, chant “Sat” from the Navel Point. Feel it as a pressure from the Third Chakra.
- With the sound “Naam”, relax the belly.
- As you continue in a steady rhythm, the root and diaphragm locks are automatically pulled. The steady waves of effort from the navel gradually enlist the movement of the greater abdomen.
- The breath regulates itself – no breath focus is necessary.
To End:
- Inhale and gently squeeze the muscles from the buttocks all the way up along the spine.
- Hold it briefly as you concentrate on the area just above the top of the head.
- Exhale completely.
- Inhale, exhale totally and hold the breath out as you apply a firm mahabandh – contract the lower pelvis, lift the diaphragm, lock in the chin, and squeeze all the muscles from the buttocks up to the neck.
- Hold the breath out for 5 to 20 seconds according to your comfort and capacity.
- Inhale and relax.
Taken from https://www.libraryofteachings.com/kriya.xqy?q=Sat%20kriya%20sort:relevance&id=db3cbe9b41c54be99b17aaf2e5caa839&name=Sat-Kriya
I am personally deepening my daily meditation and yoga practice. In deepening, I’m not talking about necessarily making it physically more challenging, but going deeper into how I view it or how long I’m practicing. Breathing meditations are one that are good to focus on when you are wanting to go inward and rest more. They’re powerful and effective. I always feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Just simple segmented breathing (https://www.3ho.org/files/pdfs/various-breaths.pdf) is one to start with or add to your day. It requires nothing that would go against any one’s religion or belief system. It is a technique that slows the mind down and allows the body to fully relax. Focus on the breath. Breath is a commonality we all have. Breath is our life-force. Breathe into your space and bring in expansion of mind and body.
Sat Nam to all you beautiful souls.
Out to the special ambulance that Angel transport had waiting. They would take her an hour away to the hospital I was supposed to deliver at. I wasn’t able to go with her. It took several hours for me to be discharged. By the time I got to see my daughter again, it was midnight, 7 hours after her birth. The attending doctor we saw that night was absolutely horrible. He pretty much interrogated my husband and I before he let us back to see our daughter. After doing some scans, they noted that she had a severe brain anomaly. We were so tired from the day that we briefly saw her and then went back to the rooms the hospital kindly provided patient’s parents. The next morning, we went back to see her again. An older doctor was there this time. The first words out of his mouth were, “You did nothing to cause what is wrong with your baby. It is not your fault.” I immediately liked this doctor. What a different approach he had than that awful doctor the night before! This doctor kindly and patiently explained his findings. Unfortunately, her cerebellum didn’t form properly during development. The cerebellum is responsible for multiple functions of the body. Which includes breathing and swallowing, two major needs to live. He told us that we could take time to decide what we wanted to do. How long we wanted to keep her on life support. He said that we could keep her on it for as long as we wanted, but said her quality of life wouldn’t be good for an extended period on life support.
