This short warm up set was created by Guru Singh using some of his favorite asanas to help you connect deeply with your body. Practice them from a space of gentle, loving awareness, giving yourself permission to take things slow, and acknowledging any information brought forth from your intuition. Throughout this warm up set, breathe long and deeply through your nose. Be mindful of your bones, your circulation and your breath as you practice. This is a beautiful opportunity to learn more about yourself and connect to the infinite source of wisdom that lives within you! Tuning In We begin every Kundalini Yoga class by chanting the Adi Mantra: Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo three times. Chanting the Adi Mantra heightens your sensitivity and receptivity, creating a sacred space for your practice. Mantra Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo Translation Ong Namo: I bow to the subtle divine wisdom Guru Dev Namo: I bow to the divine teacher within. Instructions: Start by sitting in easy pose with a straight spine. Take a few nice deep breaths, becoming present for your practice. Bring your hands into prayer pose at the heart center, thumbs pressed into the sternum. Close your eyes, and focus your attention at the Brow Point. Inhale deeply, and chant the mantra in one long breath as you exhale. Chant in a monotone, except for the word dev, which is chanted a minor third higher than the rest of the words. Ong: The word Ong is a variation of the word Om. Om refers to God in the Absolute, or unmanifested state. Ong refers to the infinite creative aspect of God, or God as the Creator. When you chant Ong, the ng sound is emphasized, and is created in the upper chamber of the sinuses, like a conch. The mouth remains open, increasing the resonance of the sound. - Page 1 of 11 -
Namo: The word Namo means to call upon, or to bow with deep reverence and receptivity. When you chant Namo, the oh sound is held much longer than Nam. Ong Namo calls on your consciousness to become subtle and receptive to its higher resources. It instructs the conscious and the subconscious to let go of the normal restrictions to functioning that is imposed by the limited ego. (The Aquarian Teacher, page 78) Guru: The word Guru refers to a source of knowledge that relieves pain and increases awareness. When broken down, Gu = ignorance or darkness. Ru = light or knowledge. Guru is that which brings us from darkness to lightness. When you chant Guru, Gu sounds a little bit like the word good. The second syllable, ru, rhymes with the word true. Dev: The word Dev refers to the the subtle, etheric realms of God, where wisdom and sophistication live. Remember, Dev is chanted a minor third higher than the rest of the words. Guru dev namo calls upon the subtle wisdom that is stored and carried through the subtle and radiant bodies of the aura. *Yogi Tip: Sometimes, you will see people chanting this mantra in two distinct breaths. This is not how it was taught by Yogi Bhajan. Please do your best to chant this mantra in a single breath. If you MUST take in a little air after chanting Ong Namo do not take in a full inhale because you will change the rhythm of the mantra. - Page 2 of 11 -
Asana 1 Sit in Easy Pose. Grab hold of your knees. From your Heart Center, rotate your torso in a wide sweeping motion, creating a large circles around the hips. The head and shoulders follow the Heart Center. Inhale as the body rotates forward. Exhale as you rotate backwards. The correct pace for Torso Circles varies a little bit - but is approximately 2 seconds per rotation. Practice Torse Circles in both directions for the same amount of time. To End: Inhale to the center, exhale and relax. - Page 3 of 11 -
Asana 2 Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine. Bring your hands into prayer pose above your head. Inhale as you twist to the left, Exhale as you twist to the right. To End: Inhale to the center and hold the posture while suspending your breath. Exhale and relax. Asana 3 Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine. Extend your right leg out to the side, keeping the left heel tucked in. Inhale, raise your arms up. Open the chest and the belly as you gently stretch up and back. Exhale, stretch towards your toes, moving from your hips. Not everyone is able to touch their toes - do the best that you can. You will find that your flexibility will increase over time. Keep inhaling up, exhaling down, with long deep breathing through the nose for 1 minute. To End: Inhale up - stretch up, opening the chest, shoulders, abdomen and neck. Suspend the breath. Exhale and relax. - Page 4 of 11 -
Draw your right leg back in and give yourself a few moments to integrate and experience how your body feels. Repeat this exercise with the left leg stretched out and the right leg tucked in for 1 minute. - Page 5 of 11 -
Asana 4 Stand with your legs approximately hip width apart, toes pointed out. Bend your knees as far as you can into horse stance. Do not let your knees go beyond your toes. Place your hands on your thighs, just above your knees, with the fingertips pointing inward. Begin flexing the thigh muscles. Inhale as you come up, exhale as you come down. As you inhale the weight is distributed more towards the toes of the feet. As you exhale, your weight is distributed more towards the heel of the feet. Practice for 1 minute. To End: Inhale up, suspend the breath. Exhale and immediately go into the next posture. - Page 6 of 11 -
Asana 5 Squat down into Crow Pose and bring your hands into Prayer Pose in front of your body. Keep your knees open wide, and do your best to keep your spine perpendicular to the ground. Try to keep your heels on the floor. If you are unable to keep your heels on the floor, try putting a blanket under your heels. If you are having trouble keeping your balance, or squatting down far enough, try widening your feet and knees even more. Relax in this position for 30 seconds. You may choose to hold the posture for longer if your body needs more time to sink into this stretch. Asana 6 Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine. Meditate for 3 minutes. Focus on your thighs, pelvis, hips and spine. Be mindful of the relationship between these parts of your body. - Page 7 of 11 -
Asana 7 Stand up with both feet on the floor, about hip width apart. Feel both feet rooted into the ground, with your weight evenly distributed across your feet. Lift your right leg up, bringing your right knee gently out to the side and pulling your right foot in towards your left knee. Flex your right foot. Bring your arms out to the side with your hands in Gyan Mudra (index finger and thumb touching). Keep your eyes open, focusing them in front of you to help you maintain your balance. Hold this posture for 1 minute, breathing long and deep. Switch legs and hold the posture for 1 minute. Repeat both sides again. To End: Inhale and place both feet on the ground. Exhale. Inhale deeply again. Exhale. - Page 8 of 11 -
Asana 8 With your feet hip width apart, inhale and sweep your arms up over your head, stretching up and back, keeping your heart open. Exhale as you bow forward from your hips, trying to touch the floor with your fingertips. Repeat for 1 minute, breathing long and deep. To End: Inhale and swing up. Exhale, bow forward from your hips and let your body hang in this position. Continue to breathe long and deep for 30 seconds. Inhale and come back up to standing. Exhale and relax into Easy Pose. - Page 9 of 11 -
Asana 9 Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine. Place your hands in Venus Lock (instructions below). Meditate with long, deep breathing for 3 minutes. Feel your skeleton. Feel the bones of your hands, your spine, your entire body. Feel the blood circulating into and out of your bones. Become aware of your breath. Feel gratitude for every organ and system of your body. Venus Lock - Page 10 of 11 -
In Kundalini Yoga, we often use Venus Lock in dynamic asanas, coordinated with the breath - but you can also use it in a meditative posture, resting the hands in your lap. Venus Lock gets its name because it utilizes the fleshy mound at the base of the thumb - also known as the Venus Mound. As you probably know, Venus is associated with sensuality and sexuality. Practicing Venus Lock can channel sexual energy and promote glandular balance in the body. If you identify as a male: First, place the palms facing each other, then interlace the fingers so that the left pinky is on the bottom. Put the tip of the left thumb into the webbing between the right thumb and index finger. The tip of the right thumb rests at the fleshy mound of the left thumb. If you identify as a woman: The entire sequence is reversed. First, place the palms facing each other, then interlace the fingers so that the right pinky is on the bottom. Put the tip of the right thumb into the webbing between the left thumb and index finger. The tip of the left thumb rests at the fleshy mound of the right thumb. Asana 10 Remain in Easy Pose with a straight spine and Venus Lock, begin chanting Healthy Am I, Happy Am I, Holy Am I, I Am, I Am. Chant from your Heart Center for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, begin chanting: My prayer is that my life will begin as I discover the Sage within. Chant for 1.5 minutes. After 1.5 minutes, meditate quietly for as long as you like. Allow your body to integrate all that you have done. Closing your practice In Kundalini Yoga, we end our classes by singing The Long Time Sun. When you have finished your meditation, you may choose to close your practice in this way. Bring your hands into Prayer Pose at your Heart Center. Sing May the long time sun shine upon you. All love surround you. And the pure light within you guide your way on. Repeat a total of 3 times. End with a long Sat Nam. You may also choose to say a prayer at this time. It s a beautiful way to complete your practice. - Page 11 of 11 -