In keeping from January’s theme, February continued to be almost overwhelmingly full of wonderful things and people for me. This 3-minute Meditation to Balance Nervous Energies (a.k.a. for Hair-Trigger Efficiency) was extremely helpful for keeping my energy going and getting things done throughout the day. The meditation is short, but the breath can be challenging! And the effects are delightful! If you tend to waffle over decisions to be made, or feel tongue-tied about the perfect thing to say, try this meditation! I found that with this meditation, so many small things flowed easily throughout the day, giving me a delicious feeling of accomplishment (after which, I enjoyed an even more delicious rest).

In February, I spent a week at an international music industry conference in Montreal with a group of Alaska musicians, and once again felt honored to be part of such an amazing group of people. We worked together as a team to get things done effectively and efficiently, covered for each other, and uplifted each other to do our best with performances and community-building activities. When things went sideways, we gave each other the moral and energetic support needed to carry the day. We developed a great reputation as a warm, welcoming group who really has their act together! I believe that 90+ days of this 3-minute Meditation for Interdependence has helped revolutionize my relationships and grow into this amazing dynamic of teamwork that helps us all relax into being supported by each other.

Now that the springtime itch for new adventures is upon us, I’ve started this delightful yet short Meditation for Self-Blessing and Guidance by Intuition. (The video is much longer than the actual meditation.) After practicing this meditation for just a few days, I am already noticing how easily I can navigate frequently re-arranging schedules and activities and trust that it’s all working out fine.

May these meditation nuggets be helpful to you as well! Cheers,

I hope 2018 treated you well! Even if it felt like last year put you through the wringer, I’m willing to bet you secretly learned something important to you along the way.

My big takeaway from 2018 had to do with learning new ways to balance the way I use my time and energy for my own needs with how I contribute to the community of others with whom I am connected. I am happy to report that I did experience some victories and am sharing some of that story below. But first, a few super super-quick Kundalini Yoga kriya and meditation videos to help us keep up:

• 1-minute Meditation for Stress Relief
• Lungs and Bloodstream Energy Boost (3 minutes)
• Improved Digestion and Weight Loss (3 minutes)
• Self-care Pranayama (5-6 minutes)
• Communication Booster (5 minutes)
• Cut Negativity and Fatigue (3 minutes)

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

I’m used to keeping myself busy, and I have burned out in a big way in years past – a few times over. It was an unkind thing for myself, my loved ones and the larger community. I’ve also witnessed and held space for other people who burned out, sometimes with life-threatening consequences. 2018 brought it all back for review during a 3-month period when I somehow continuously and chronically overbooked myself. I made it through, but I finally got the lesson. A few things kept me going:

1. Prioritization and Focus: I did the things that needed to be done, when they needed to be done – and focused on the things that only I could do. I let much of the rest go and gratefully accepted help from others when possible, especially when it allowed them to learn, grow and shine!
2. Values and Vision: I reminded myself of the positive and compelling reason(s) why I was doing these things, and that it was my choice, not my obligation, to do them. I reminded myself that these are my responsibilities – my ability to respond, which includes the power to re-negotiate, delegate and defer action when appropriate and possible.
3. Commitment to Self-Care: I gave myself the uncompromising promise of a real, honest-to-God vacation (and I followed through; it was glorious). I got decent sleep. I ate mostly healthy food. I walked around the block to clear my head once in a while. I protected some time for the people and activities that bring me joy, and I enjoyed them profoundly.

Will I ever be that busy again? Probably. And I will make sure to protect some time through all of it to recharge my batteries. It turns out that self-care really is important, not selfish.

I saw that in an infinite and abundant universe, when we take needed time for ourselves, we generously create opportunities for other people to step in and contribute in the ways they are uniquely able to do, or to learn and grow in the ways they need or desire to grow. I gratefully saw this in action at my job in a consulting firm. When others in the office took time to care for themselves and passed responsibilities on to me, they created opportunities for me to grow and contribute in new ways. They also supported me in sharing or handing off some of my responsibilities to give some of my other coworkers opportunities to grow or contribute in areas they are enthusiastic about.

It has worked beautifully. Because everyone knows we are supported by the group, we feel a greater ease and freedom in our work, as well as a camaraderie and trust that pulls us through the difficult times. Because we all pay attention to our needs as individuals, we are better able to manage our workload as a group and reduce the occurrence of stressful, overwhelming experiences. As individuals and as a collective, we have developed a stronger sense of when to say yes to new work or pitching in where there is need, and when to say no – or not now, because we already have enough going on and would not be effectively helpful, regardless of our good intentions.

I now look to the world around me and wonder: how awesome would the world be if this balanced way of being and interacting with each other went viral?

Cheers to a wiser and more balanced year in 2019!

~ Narayanjot Kaur

Sat Nam everyone,

With all the earthquakes Southcentral Alaska has been experiencing in the last quarter of 2018 (right up to December 31!), it is worth taking a moment to acknowledge the gross and subtle impacts of the earth’s rumblings on the Alaska community.

Yogi Bhajan gave us a meditation to adjust your magnetic field after an earthquake (earthquake meditation video here). Guru Dev Singh has recommended that all Alaska yogis practice this meditation. Even if you live in another part of the state, your energy is connected to the whole in the many ways we interact with each other, and can help soothe others who are adjusting to shocks and rapid change in any aspect of life.

Yogi Bhajan also gave us a meditation to prepare for an earthquake. This meditation is said to increase your intuition and help sensitize you to feel changes in the earth before they happen (like the way animals flee a natural disaster before the humans know what is going on), including climatic changes and other natural phenomena. It is also said to maintain youthfulness of mind and body, bring health and healing ability, protect against depression, eliminate fatigue and provide a constant flow of energy.

I have been extremely grateful that so many Alaskans made it through a 7.0 magnitude earthquake with no deaths and only minor injuries, and that we were able to carry on with only minor interruptions to our day-to-day lives. Public safety and services were addressed and restored quickly and effectively. Although there was damage to buildings and roads, the port stayed open and the airport closed only briefly. We could still get food. Those who were visiting Anchorage from other places were able to get home safely and without too many delays (there were at least two major statewide conferences in Anchorage the last week of November). I am also grateful for the many, many people who reached out to help and comfort friends and neighbors.

Wahe Guru! Cheers to what I hope will be a safe and steadfast new year!

~ Naryanjot Kaur

A Sat Nam Rasayan Workshop with Hargopal – October 26 and 27, 2018 at Many Rivers Alaska in Homer

“The purpose of life is to achieve, complete, deliver and be in excellence.” – Yogi Bhajan 6/30/91

Friday Intro Workshop 6:30-8pm: Sat Nam Rasayan® is an ancient healing approach based on working with the consciousness through a meditative state. In this space it is possible to release blocks that impede the flow in our lives.
There are many conflicts in our lives. We may want a partner, but don’t know how to communicate. We want love, but may not love ourselves. We want success, but don’t believe in ourselves. These inner conflicts are blocks. Through the Sat Nam Rasayan® healing space we can dissolve blocks, allowing us to come into alignment with who we are and with what we want in life, allowing us to live more fully. Cost is $40. Register here.

Saturday full day workshop 9:00am-4:00 pm:  Have you decided to be successful in your life? Yes, it’s a decision. Too often fears, lack of self awareness, inner conflicts, insensitivity, depression, holding on to the past — all of these can get in the way. Together we will look at how those old patterns and the past have become stumbling blocks and take steps to face what is and be successful. Sat Nam Rasayan® is an ancient healing modality that works through the consciousness to release resistance, supporting people to be in alignment with who they are. Cost is $125. Register here. 

Clarity of Consciousness During Confusing Times, a Special Class with Nirvair Singh Khalsa!

We are delighted to share that our dear teacher Nirvair Singh Khalsa will be visiting Anchorage later this month! While he is in town, Nirvair Singh will be offering a special class on the five steps for realizing clarity of consciousness in our current social political climate. Please join us in this very special practice of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as Taught by Yogi Bhajan. The class will be held at Open Space Yoga in Anchorage from 2-4pm on Sunday July 30, 2017 by donation for the benefit of the Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings, followed by a social hour with tea and cookies.

Nirvair Singh studied with Yogi Bhajan since 1971. He taught accredited classes in Kundalini Yoga at the University of Alaska Anchorage for 32 years, and authored nineteen videos and four books on Kundalini Yoga. Nirvair Singh moved to New Mexico in 2011 to serve as the CEO of the Kundalini Research Institute. Learn more about Nirvair Singh Khalsa at: www.kundaliniyoga.net

Greetings! We have a burst of new updates to share from our yogi friends in Homer, Wasilla, Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and in the nowhere and everywhere world of cyberspace.

It’s been a somewhat cool and mysteriously overcast solstice for those of us in SouthCentral Alaska. I look out my window to grey skies and greenery as I write this, thinking that once again, “the weather is a good metaphor for life right now.”

• My journal is an ongoing search for clarity, a daily repetition of the mantra “What am I doing with my life?” and gratitude when it comes, puzzle piece by puzzle piece.
• My consulting job greets me with the same themes of resilience and adaptation in times of change, asking “What do we do, when the world we have known is shifting and breaking down around us?”
• The news, the internet, the television and radio are a jumble and a blur of ideas and emotions. I cringe a little, and ask “Where is the truth in all this?”

Yet, I know that although obscured by clouds, the fire of the longest day of sun burns fresh light into our Earthly world just as brightly as it does in the clear blue sky that lies on the other side of those clouds. In airplanes, I’ve flown above the clouds and greeted the sun, still shining, still rising and setting on the horizon (another illusion borne of perspective more than reality).

So, I trust that in stillness and in due time, my path will reveal itself (Kriya to Become Crystal Clear | video). I trust that with open ears and open minds, we will find our solutions and seize this golden opportunity of disruption to create the future we want for the generations to come (Kriya for Beaming and Creating the Future | video). And I trust that in choosing to accept and align with our own truths (Kundalini Meditation for Self Love), we will find the truth that snakes through the media and filter out the noise.

Most of all, dear yogis and friends, I trust that we – you and I – will shine the light of our truth, our creativity, and our warm compassion (Kriya to Open the Heart Center) like that dear, reliable sun in the sky, just as brightly, no matter the clouds or pollution that hang in the air around us, knowing that sooner or later, a strong wind will blow the confusion aside.

Sat nam and warm wishes,

Narayanjot Kaur

From Hari Atma Kaur Khalsa, on solstice:

The Solstice occurs twice each year (around June 21 and December 22) as the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. The seasons of the year are directly connected to both the solstices and the equinoxes.

The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of the solstice has either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (winter solstice) for any place other than the equator.

Since the earth is changing, it is well for each individual to change along with the Sun/earth energy to be more in sync with the universe  Kundalini Yoga includes all 22  different types of yoga that were originally taught in ancient times.  Kundalini Yoga gives our nervous and glandular system the impetus to go through life’s challenges.  It is much more than stretching our muscles (which is important) but stretching our mind and consciousness.

Anchorage is turning out to be blessed with a snow-filled winter this year. Sometimes the flakes are large and still clearly crystalline when they land on my windshield. I look at them and marvel at how beautiful they are, thinking about how each flake is supposed to be unique, and then they pile up in great heaps of white and cover the frozen world beneath them. Kind of like us – each a unique being, but then we pile up and cover the earth in our billions and our evidence of ourselves, blurring together into a worldwide blanket of human presence.

Even if I don’t get out and play in the snow, it makes me much happier to spend the winter in a world sparkling with white. My kundalini teachers told me to wear white to expand my aura. Perhaps Mother Nature is expanding her aura in these parts. Perhaps if each one of us allows our uniqueness to be as clear and bright as these countless snowflakes, that blanket of human presence will make for a cheerier world until the season changes again and a new cycle of birth and growth takes over.

Meditation to Experience and Project Your Original Self

Just this week, Anchorage is finally covered in a cozy blanket of winter snow. It always strikes me how much the snow seems to calm and quiet the winter world, making it seem a little softer, a little gentler. The dark winter skies seem to press upon me to sleep, but I am also alert, knowing that a new year and new beginnings will be fast upon us. I am reminded of a few lines from the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Today I might be at rest or deep meditation in the dark and lovely woods. But I have promises to keep to myself and to the world, commitments to my Self, my community, my destiny. And those commitments will require me to exert and expand as I learn and integrate new information into my life. I think about how in Kundalini Yoga, the kriyas and meditations work on us through alternating push and pull, contraction and expansion, rest and exertion. And in life, we allow moments of rest to recharge the energy needed to be successful and victorious in all of our new beginnings.

New beginnings are exciting and fill me with hopeful expectations. They can also be scary and exhausting, especially when they involve consciously choosing my own path through life, following my own heart, my own truth, trusting that it will work out for the best even when there is no hard evidence that it will, even when people who love me worry that I am taking too great a risk. But then (thank you!) Robert Frost returns to remind me that the path less traveled holds far greater rewards in The Road Not Taken:

And that has made all the difference.

In keeping with this theme, Kundalini Yoga North is offering a special 11-day rejuvenation intensive in Homer from December 29 – January 8 that will balance the nervous and glandular systems. For yogis in other parts of the state, regular Kundalini classes are available in Anchorage, the Mat-Su, Homer, Fairbanks and Juneau. For on-the-spot or home practice, here is a short video meditation led by Yogis Sukhdev Jackson and Akahdahmah (AYKANNA) for cultivating absolutely powerful energy to meet life’s challenges (tuning in for the 3-minute meditation starts about 7 minutes into the video, following the introduction; the meditation itself starts about 10 minutes into the video).

As I write this on a sunny April day in Anchorage, it feels like summer has come early, and winter only flirted with us this year. I hear it has been the same all over the state and that people are very aware that our world is changing.

At work, I have been involved in a project about climate change. It is a very complex, challenging and juicy project that has us asking ourselves: how is Alaska going to navigate through these very apparent changes in the natural world? Who are we when our world, natural, social, cultural – is changing so much and so fast around us?

I did not imagine that I would ever really have to ask this question – not on the mat, not at yoga camp or at a party with my meditation buddies, but as a professional among government representatives, military, scientists and business people. Suddenly my worlds are crashing and melding into each other. I realize how much my own life is changing, though I have been too busy keeping up with all the busywork that seems to go along with it to notice very much.

So then I ask myself: how will I navigate through these times?

And I come back to the dharma that I have learned from the communities of meditators with whom I have practiced, from my own yoga and meditation experiences and from the awareness that has blossomed in me along the way.

I used to game the system, figure out how things work and then learn how to say and do the right things to feel like a winner. But the spiritual journey upended my world so that at some point, there was no system left to game. No right or wrong words, or actions, or people to please. I had to decide for myself and commit to myself, take the responsibility for whatever comes of my choices with no judgement good or bad – because there was nothing else to do.

Last week, I heard an echo of this in a talk given by General Ralston (retired) of the U.S. Air Force about the U.S. military and the politics of the Middle East. He talked about political decisions that have been made in recent years and had international consequences, and he remarked that it does nothing to argue about whether these were good decisions or bad decisions. We have the situation we are now in, and we must respond to it as it is. We can only move forward from here and work with the reality we have to work with. He also spoke of being an optimist, that although things might be difficult in the short term, that he believes we can get through it.

And this is the only way I can now imagine living in a world where the changes we are living through are becoming so vast, so fast and so complex that our minds and our intellectual sciences cannot keep up with them.

Sat nam and wahe guru.

Meditation for Intuition with Gurmukh

Hope you enjoyed a wonderful summer! Now that fall is upon us, we have new updates on kundalini classes and happenings around Alaska.

A few weeks ago, I was on the East Coast, soaking up a few last days of balmy summer weather. I was so grateful and appreciative of the warm sunny days, telling everyone I wasn’t ready for the cold and the dark I knew I would come back to. Two days after returning to Anchorage, we had our first freeze and snowfall. It didn’t last long, but I was surprised to find that it didn’t bother me. I didn’t think I was ready, but when it happened, I found myself admiring how pretty the snow was, and feeling a little bit of that happy excitement I used to feel as a kid when the snow gave us an unplanned holiday from school. Reflecting on this moment of humility, I wonder, what else in my life do I mistakenly believe I’m not ready for?

I’ve heard it said that our questions bring forth answers, so I’m practicing and sharing these two meditations to help smooth the way for whatever comes next:

• Tapa Yog Karam Kriya to help complete unfinished business and make room for the new
• KY meditation when you don’t know what to do to help move into the new

If you choose to do these on your own, as with any kundalini practice, please remember to tune in with the Adi mantra before doing the meditation, respect your body’s limitations (simply visualizing yourself doing the posture is beneficial), and close the practice with a mantra at the end.

Sat nam,

Narayanjot Kaur