What Is Healing?
Healing, from the perspective of Kundalini Yoga, is different from curing. Curing is removing the illness, problem, or issue. Healing means to make whole. A person who is healed may also have an illness or disease.
When your body is in rhythm with infinite consciousness, there is health or ease. When this rhythm is lost, there is dis-ease. Understanding the art of healing in this way allows you to feel liberated and whole throughout your life, even as you encounter times of both conventional health and illness.
How Does Your Yoga Practice Heal?
Each Kundalini Yoga session or class involves practices that touch all aspects of your being.
- Tuning in stimulates your mind and spirit to align with your intentions and practice as well as supports you with the wisdom of the Masters.
- Physical exercise helps bring energy--prana--to your body. The rhythmic exercise and synchronization of body, breath and mind (chanting Sat on every inhale and Nam on every exhale) bring you to a still point of focus and clarity.
- Each kriya is a complete action--each sequence of posture, breath, and sound (mantra) is integrated to allow the manifestation of a particular healing state in which you become aligned with your personal inner truth and the Infinite truth. Some kriyas are simple, one exercise only. Other kriyas are more complex and involve many exercises.
- Relaxation brings rejuvenation to your body and mind.
- Meditation brings clarity and self-realization.
- The projection for peace and healing is uplifting.
As a result of practicing Kundalini Yoga in this systemized way, you bring healing--wholeness to each yoga session.
A Suggestion
Approach your practice with sacredness and simplicity. Practice what is helpful to you in your life. What is helpful is also healing. At times of challenge, you may feel lost. In reality, you have an inner truth that can guide you--you already know what you need and where you need to go to realize your destiny. Your yoga practice can be a compass, indicating true north--your destiny, pointing you in the right direction.
Questions for Growth
- What does healing mean to you?
- Meditate on the areas of your life that need healing. When life brings pain or disappointment, what is your most immediate response? How would you adjust your response so you feel more empowered and relaxed, even during challenging times? (You can also direct your healing intentions for anyone you know who needs help.)
- What stops you from realizing your dreams, from standing up for yourself and your values?
- What areas of your life trigger your most negative sensations, either physical or emotional? What steps can you take to heal yourself so that events or situations in your life do not negatively affect your physical, mental, or spiritual well-being?
- Choose a yoga set or meditation that will help you heal. Commit to practicing it for 40 days. The repetition of the kriya or meditation gives you a deeper experience of the benefits of the practice. Choose something simple and helpful to you.