Isha Kriya Meditation

Isha Kriya is a modified form of the meditation that I learned through Inner Engineering back in May, and for the first time it's available to everybody online. Here's is what Sadhguru has to say about it:

“For different levels of thought and emotion that you go through, your breath takes on different types of patterns. If you are angry you breathe one way, you are peaceful you breathe another way. You are happy, you breathe in another way. You are sad, you will breathe in a completely different way. Have you noticed this? Based on this conversely is the science of Isha Yoga: there are conscious patterns of breath which can leave you in a constant state of bliss and healthfulness.”
-Sadhguru

To learn more about it, please watch this video.



And if that peaked your interest, please visit this web page which will offer you a chance to try the Isha Kriya on your own.

Clarity and Energy From Meditation

It has been just about one month since I began my Isha yoga routine every day. This is a 20 minute meditation practice called Shambavi Mahamudra and I learned it at an Inner Engineering retreat in Atlanta in May. My experience at the live event wasn't particularly good. It involved an awful lot of hours of sitting on the floor and, although I was prepared with a meditation cushion, I was still not ready for that many agonizing hours of fidgeting on the floor. My entire body hurt and getting through the meditation practice was nearly impossible for me. Not only was I in all sorts of various pain, but there was so much distraction. Many of the meditation veterans seemed to be having out of body experiences and although that is great for them, it was very hard for the rookies to try to keep their minds focused. It was just a lot to take in and experience in a short amount of time. I have to say, my outlook wasn't all that positive and I might have even felt a little hopeless. I even had fearful thoughts that I simple wouldn't be able to find an extra 20 minutes during the day to devote to this. But I was committed to at least trying.

One of the biggest hurdles to doing this meditation was the fact that it must be done on an empty stomach. For me this was a problem because I am constantly snacking on something. I may not eat large quantities of food, but I do eat often. This meant that my only real time to devote to this meditation practice was first thing in the morning, which also posed a problem because of my early work day schedule. As it is, I could barely drag myself out of the house by 6:30 am. My heart was sinking, but I was committed to at least giving this a try. I had already invested a good chunk of time and money into this Inner Engineering and I just HAD to give it a go.

And so I did. Sadhguru said that the first 30 days would be the hardest and those would take the biggest commitment. I figured all 30 days would be torture, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first week was rough. Getting up at 5:30 was a struggle and my knees and hips were screaming after just 10 of the 20 minutes. But I persisted.

It was some time during my second week that my hips started to loosen up. I found that I could sit for the whole 20 minutes without focusing so much attention on the discomfort. Pretty soon I didn't feel a thing and could sit there effortlessly. The bad part is that once I cleared my mind of the pain, it left room for various other thoughts to pop up. But I didn't give up.

By the third week I noticed longer stretches of a thoughtless mind. Not only that, but I noticed it was getting easier and easier to get out of bed in the morning. I would awake before my alarm consistently and almost anxiously await the time to run into my new 'meditation room.' What started as a chore was quickly turning into something that I looked forward to. I was stunned.

Here I am 4 weeks into my new routine and I am consistently waking up hours before my alarm. I wake up every single morning wide awake and ready to spring out of bed. It seems that my body only requires 5 hours of sleep these days. Prior to starting this meditation I was almost always tired. I blamed it on everything from the lack of sunshine, to allergy problems, to post Lyme disease issues. There was always some reason for me to be exhausted. But today I am full of energy almost always. I can't remember the last time I complained that I was tired. I'm pretty sure I can throw away my alarm clock. And the best and most exciting development is the clearing of my mind. It used to be that I couldn't go 20 seconds without 100 thoughts flooding into my mind. Now I can sit for 20 whole minutes and think about nothing. If I had the chance to place a bet on whether or not I would EVER be able to achieve that through meditation I would have certainly bet against myself. I still can't believe this has happened to me. It's a miracle. I have never felt better! Meditation works. If you are a doubter, you have to do yourself a favor and just give it a try.

My Path to Enlightenment Through Inner Engineering

A couple of months ago we gave away a free copy of a book called Midnights With a Mystic by Cheryl Simone. Up until the book promotion company contacted me, I never heard of the book, but I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to offer a give-away, and I was thrilled to be given a free book myself. Who doesn't like free? What I didn't realize was how much that book would change my life.

My free book arrived in my mailbox the day before leaving for vacation. The timing could not have been any better as I normally don't make much time for casual reading. Within a couple of hours of cracking the book open at the airport my hair was sticking up on my arms. I just felt this erie feeling that I was MEANT to have this book in my hand. I completely related to everything the author said, and felt like I shared her every feeling and thought. The real kicker came when she explained how early in her life she unexpectedly received a book in the mail. She never did find out who sent the book, but she read it. The book was "Autobiography of a Yogi," a very deep and hard-to-read book that had an influence on the rest of her life. I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the book that I was holding in my hands was also sent to me (by a stranger) as if it was destined to find me.

So I read and read and by the time I got to my destination I already felt like a changed person, like several light bulbs of awareness went off in my head. I had to share my new-found enlightenment with my husband, who was surprisingly open to hearing all about it.

The reason why I related to the author of that book so much was because she described most of her life as 'perfect.' She was happily married, had a successful business, lived in a beautiful home, had plenty of money, etc. There were literally no real problems in her life, but yet she was constantly searching for more, more, more. She never truly felt happy and just had this aching feeling that there had to be more in life. Boy did that touch a nerve with me. Sometimes I stop and think, "Can my life get any better? What the hell is wrong with me that I'm not 250% grateful every single day for the life I have? What is it that I'm looking for?" I have everything I could possibly want, but it seems like I'm always looking for more. Well, what I was looking for was Sadhguru and I finally found him!

The book led me to a quest to research Isha Yoga and the Mystic himself, Sadhguru. I surfed around online and found something called Inner Engineering. If I thought the book opened my eyes . . . it only scratched the surface. There was a whole new world out there to explore and to my delight, I could do most of it right at home. It all started with this 30 minute video (Caution: the link will take you away from this blog. Please finish reading then come back and click on the links.) Every single thing this man said made so much sense. I had a feeling that I may have found the answer to all my life's problems. This man could teach me how to find my inner peace. How to finally enjoy my life. How to let go of all the external influences that have such a effect on my every emotion. Wow, just the thought of it was overwhelming.

My next step was to sign up for the Inner Engineering program which is an online course consisting of 7 one and half hour lectures by Sadhguru. After every single class I could feel the changes happening. I felt calmer, more patient, kinder . . . the list goes on. It was impossible to not think about Sadhguru and his teachings in every aspect of life. It was just a completely refreshing feeling. At the end of this online course you are invited to go to the SHAMBHAVI Maha Mudra Induction Program which is a live event to learn a very sacred meditation ritual that is completely life changing. This advanced meditation program promises amazing health benefits and all of them are just icing on the cake. The real treasure is the ability to be joyful no matter what is going on around you. If there is one lesson to be learned in this lifetime it's that you can never control your environment. If your happiness is based on external things you will never be happy. Happiness is an inside job and should not be contingent upon a single thing going on outside of your self.

I couldn't possibly endorse anything as passionately as I can endorse getting yourself a copy of the book and taking the online Inner Engineering program. It's the best companion to your yoga practice and may just make a profound difference in your life