BlissQuest: Got Yoga?

Some of my favorite yoga DVD's being watched over by Lakshmi.

(Yoga teachers in above photo: Mantra Girl, Ravi Singh and Ana Brett, Gurmukh)

Listening to right now: Mantra Girl's Truth

Today's Happiness Formula: A picture of a grumpy black and white kitten staring at me, barely 2 months old, a kitten who just passed away this January but whose 16th birthday we celebrate today.

Whether we believe in a creator God or the power of the Universe or our own innate Godliness or the Spirit of the World, we all believe in something larger than ourselves. True atheism (as opposed to agnosticism) can be a hard stance to maintain, and from personal experience, I think, it comes from a closed heart -- or one that, for whatever reason, wants to be closed, wants to deny hope.

But we are hardwired to look for meaning, to hope for hope, to believe, to have some sort of faith, whatever form that may take.

The denial of this is very much a part of the darkness in the world today -- though there always has been darkness and light has always won out -- or we wouldn't be here.

And there have always been negative people saying the world is about to end -- now we just think we have the technological and scientific basis to say it and so we think we are smarter than people before us who just thought an angry god would be doing them in.

Meaning. Hope. Belief. Faith.

We all need a path, a map, a guide, and in our quest to be fulfilled, happy humans, this is a huge piece of the puzzle -- a piece many people are overlooking or not bothering with because it can be hard work -- this thinking-for-ourselves thing.

I have come to accept that I am, at my basic essence, a Seeker, but I do think I finally have some sort of grasp on what works for me (after many, many years of reading and trying and getting frustrated) -- and for me, it's a mix of ingredients.

The main ingredient is daily yoga.

At first, starting about 14 years ago, it was Iyengar yoga. Erich Schiffman. Whom I still adore. (I heart his book and highly recommend it.)

But that type of yoga seemed to quickly evolve into another form of fitness, seemed to lack a more direct spiritual experience (and for some people, this is the exact opposite of the truth; this is just my opinion).

I also found myself constantly surrounded by competitive, ex-dancers. I myself am an ex-dancer. We are competitive. Period. Put us in a room together and it quickly turns into "who's the most pretzel-y."

And we push and push...until someone hurts herself. And that's the thing, instead of finding some calmness at my center, I was always hurting myself. I needed a change.

I think, based on how long we've been in this sweet house, I did Kundalini yoga for the first time about 8 years ago. I don't know how or why I came to it.

But I have never looked back.

There was chanting! And so many types of breathing! And the movement was unlike any other yoga.

Other forms of hatha yoga emphasize the hips -- stretching, splaying, twisting the hips. Not good.

Kundalini yoga emphasizes loosening up the spine -- the place that needs to be in alignment before anything else works properly -- and it focuses on strengthening your center, your gut.

(Of course, this is also about chakras, which maybe I will cover in some other posts.)

You sit in Kundalini, almost the entire time.

The first time I did Gurmukh's tape, I felt like someone had just pumped fresh oxygen straight into my brain. I was so high!

It reconnected my head to my body.

And then I crashed. For days, my body detoxed and it wasn't pretty or fun. It was sweaty and felt like the flu but wasn't the flu.

So I went back to Gurmukh but took her in smaller doses.

Then I eventually found Ravi and Ana, a husband and wife team. And now, they are almost all the yoga I do.

So much chanting!! I discovered that I love to chant! It makes me happy. It fills me with joy. It cures whatever ails me. (Nothing quite as annoying as a convert, is there?)

(For great chanting, Mantra Girl's DVD or CD are both quite wonderful -- modernized and fun yet it maintains its dignity.)

Kundalini keeps me in my body, in my life. That's the point. It keeps me connected to and desirous of my bliss. It shows me how to get there and how to stay. It is a great and accurate map pointing to all that is possible and good within us.

Because that's what a religion or a philosophy is supposed to do for you -- show you the way. Not close off your options. The map is not the territory. Yoga is not me -- it is a way to get to me.

Besides daily journaling, there is nothing more important that I do to keep me from drowning in today's vast and deep sea of noise, activity, information...

Yoga is my life raft.

How about you?