2011 Mastering Anxiety Yoga Study Begins!

Sat Nam - Welcome everyone to the second study using the techniques of Kundalini Yoga to manage anxiety and stress. Let me know how you are doing as we go along. Use the blog to communicate with other participants.  

This is going to be a wonderful and transforming experience.

Sundari Satnam Kaur

I thought the pranayama wasn’t really working for me. I have so much tension in my muscles that I always seem to need to stretch before breath work or meditation. I’ll try to do that before class. I missed one class and didn’t sleep well for a few nights, so thought, “ah, it was working”. When I stop, the anxiety increases. We are on class five now. I think these tools (pranayama and chanting) are going to help me for the rest of my life. 

My main challenge is to set aside time to do yoga and pranayama each day. I know I need to but get distracted. I would love to hear from others how they protected the space to do their practice.    2010

I am so thankful I found this class at a time when my direction was so foggy.  Been caregiving for the past 2.5 yrs and that ended when my passed in Feb of this year.  Since that time I have ridden the waves of grief and asking for assistance to keep me afloat.  This class arrived just in time.  I am so grateful for  the information that has been passed to me and thankful that I apply the effort to that I need in hope of healing.  I am aware that positive changes are occuring in me…I am more centered, calm, affirming, serene, empowered and alive than I have been for a number of months both during and after my mom’s caregiving.  I am taking  more time for me, that is new, doing the things I am urged to do and enjoying the experience.  It is wonderful .  Sat Nam. 

I have been amazed at how many people have shared that they have been experiencing a higher level of emotions even while their panic and anxiety is settling down. Perhaps, by giving way to emotions, there is a clearing that is taking place. 

Yogi Bhajan has spoken many times about Kundalini Yoga clearing up the garbage in our subconscious. Maybe that is what people are feeling, the cleansing process. Wahey Guru

Though I have missed our recent classes I have spent time practicing yoga at home and at  area yoga classes. I have learned that I need to take the time for meditation, for breath work, physical practice and for reading text that supports the yoga philosophy.  It has become something that I do each day and no longer falls under the category of things I try to make time for.  It has become as automatic and necessary to me as the food I eat for nourishment. 

I think I have spent much of my life looking outward for ways to manage my depression and anxiety.  I have filled my life to the brim with activities and though they have been worthwhile have left me little time for quiet.  Being still always meant sadness or horrible feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness.  I have been doing yoga consistently now for 9 months.  The changes are amazing to me. My mind is no longer a battleground but for the most part peaceful.  When it is not or I am confronted with stress my body and mind no longer react the way they have in the past.  I can’t describe that physical change but it is so profound. I feel like my body is making a sedative that releases when I need it! I have learned that everything I need is within me I have just had to work to uncover it.  

Namaste 

Reply from Sundari  - It has been good to hear from you. I was wondering how you were doing. Thanks for sharing. It is so great you are finding the support of daily practice. Sat Nam

Sat Nam

We have reached the half way point of our eight week class. I have gotten to know each one of you and the connection between all of us is deepening. This is good as we move forward learning more about yoga and how to release stress and anxiety is every aspect of our lives. 

There is so much more to come in the second half of our class. I can’t wait. Please share your experiences on the blog. You will be very surprised how we are all experiencing similar reactions and emotions as we delve deeper into the yoga experience. 

This meditation uses the energy points of the hands that correlate to energy points in the brain. The pressure created in the hands helps to balance the two hemispheres of the brain. By inhaling deeply, you feel stronger and calmer. When you exhale through the mouth with segmented breath,you are strengthening the parasympathetic nervous system which can calm your reaction to stressful situations. By exhaling with segmented breath through the mouth, you are also stimulating the pituitary gland and this helps strengthen your sense of clarity and decision-making. This meditation will help resolve the inner conflicts one feels when so many different demands are overwhelming your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical needs.    Taken from Yogi Bhajan’s KRI International Teacher Training Manual, 2003.