Yogi Blogginni: Destination Yoga Manifestation

Well, it has been an interesting process, continuing this personal sadhana with this meditation. At the start, the self-loathing and resistance that was coming up was overwhelming. I’ve found that happens anytime I quit my meditation practice for a length of time – Yogi Bhajan described this as the “meditation being hell on earth” instead of bliss experience.

Invariably, I’ve been resisting doing this meditation until just before I go to sleep. Procrastination, if you will. Somewhere along the line, I decided to commit to writing 3 journal pages a day – “morning pages” as they’re known, but I haven’t been doing them in the morning (or when I first get up). I’ve moved from a small journal to an 8-1/2″ x 11″ journal, and this made that process seem exponentially harder – and it took longer. These two things have been something of a move on my part to “giving myself the time of day,” being present with myself, instead of frittering away the hours with the wide variety of activities that seem to take me out of myself and my circumstances; movies, TV, FaceBook, emails, phone calls, etc.

I’ve been resisting the journalling even more than the meditation! A few days I just gave up and skipped them, but I’ve forced myself through the meditation. A few days of the meditation were absolutely awful; I didn’t want to be doing it, and I was completely disinterested and distracted and impatient. On a couple of days, I actually was reading Yogi Bhajan lectures while I chanted, which is probably better than not doing the meditation at all, but sure didn’t seem too rewarding. Then earlier this week, I had a couple of days where I really went deeply into the meditation and was present with it. One day I paused and brought my hands in prayer pose at my third eye, and then went back to the meditation, and it was like all my chakras opened up into alignment and there was this deep state of open-ness and acceptance of some of my circumstances. Last night, I was feeling angry and frustrated at some of my circumstances – and my unproductive reactions to them, and brought that into the meditation, chanting with an intensity I haven’t for quite some time.

Although the meditation has a physical warm-up as it’s first segment, I’ve really been feeling like doing a physical yoga set before it prepares me to reach a deeper level with it, and I feel better the next day as well – or at least I had a better day the last time I tried this.

I don’t remember exactly which day I started, so to reach 40 days I have to continue through this coming weekend. Then I’ll decide whether to switch meditations or continue with it.

So, not having posted here in ages, I’m back. Not that I was “away” but the blog was down for a while. Dealing with career impasses, I’ve started doing the “Meditation to Attract Opportunities” as a daily sadhana. This morning, or rather end of yesterday, was day 5. I’ve been doing the warmup for 11 mins., the first 8 hariangs per breath for 22 mins, and the last 16 hariangs per breath for 31 minutes. The first four days were BRUTAL. It’s been interesting watching all the ways I procrastinate before starting, and then am kicking and screaming in my head throughout. Today was quite a bit better, however.  I’ve come to understand that the longer I go without meditating regularly, the harder it is to plunge through the mishigas that’s accumulated once I try to get started again. Mostly it’s been a lot of self-loathing and frustration that hovers around me throughout it. Today was better, not necessarily because that wasn’t there, but perhaps because my mind was bouncing around to lots of other things as I chanted.

Yesterday I also did an intermediate reformer Pilates set and the 55 minute Subugh Kriya. I figured, feeling as stuck as I’ve been, I probably needed to try to make a spiritual and physical connection of that magnitude to try to re-adjust my attitude and psyche. So then I tried to go to a gallery opening in the evening, and it was rather comical. Thinking I knew exactly where the gallery was, I arrived to find it closed. I realized I’d confused ACME and ACE galleries, and went down the street to ACE, which was also closed. Then I realized ACE also had another location further west in Beverly Hills. If only I’d written down the address before I left home. So driving to BH, while stopped at a light, Zee shouts out from the sidewalk, “ARTHUR!” and I picked her up and we drove over to the actual opening. She’s always got such fun energy. But she decided to continue to the Santa Monica Pier to a concert there, and I headed into the opening. Immediately I found myself next to the gallery owner, whom I intended to ask about their web developer opening. It took a few minutes to take in the scene before I decided to talk to him, however. Busy as he was, I didn’t find him terribly receptive, but was glad to make the connection with the énfante terrible of the LA art scene. I liked the show and headed over to my later destination, where I had a great chat with a musician who’s had some rather astounding successes. Then I stumbled upon and poked my head into yet another opening of a rock photographer on Robertson, and finally headed home.

Today I managed to break through and finally finish the Lynda.com Flash video tutorials I’ve been putting off. I’ve got two actionscript tutorials lined up next – hopefully I can complete them. Some serious procrastination going on with these; plugging through the online training can be really tedious, but I need to learn them.

And I made some headway on a song a couple of days ago. The lyric framework is clear; the actual content doesn’t all fit together yet. My studio is rather ridden with little dysfunctionalities, but I’m ironing them out, bit by bit.

So I guess the meditations are breaking through some of the resistance.

I thought I’d mention a couple of sets that I think work really well together. It seems a lot of times a set will just work on the upper body or the lower body, or actually, there seem to be a lot that ignore the legs altogether. But the “Firing Up The Metabolism” set in “Self Experience” on page 11 works on the legs continually for quite a while. So I like to pair it with “Kriya to Open Your Wings” in Guru Prem’s “Divine Alignment” book. It takes quite some time to make it through both sets, but it’s an amazing workout, and really does something fantastic to you.

Not to mention that the first time I did them together, I went to an opening, and made a connection to my first art exhibition for my video work. That was interesting.There’s always a temptation to say, “well, if I do this set, I’ll get what I want,” and sometimes that happens, but sometimes it’s just a great pay-off of being able to show up in life with a good attitude, and be open to the gifts that lay along the path.

Right now I just need a paying gig. So I’m gonna keep plugging away at these and see if they help me follow through on the job hunt and projects I’m trying to get rolling.

I came across this set  in a text that described the set but didn’t include instructions for people to do the exercises, so I collected previously published instructions for each exercise where possible, and added new photos and text where I couldn’t find the instructions.

http://yoga.destinymanifestation.com/AddictionSet.pdf

Well, frankly, the last few days I’ve just been depressed. It’s seeming like one of those times when I come up with every rationale for why Kundalini Yoga is just a waste of time, a diversion from the things I really need to be doing (but am not doing either) and is not helping me make a living in any way. I did five days of Sadhana, and then the next day couldn’t bring myself to get up. I’ve been tired a lot, and stressed out.

Today I was feeling toxic; tired and lethargic and didn’t really want to do anything or deal with anybody. But Paul is visiting and invited himself over, then we didn’t go to the Lake Shrine because he didn’t want to deal with LA traffic. Generally I’ve found an energetic set will blast through that, once I can bring myself to sit down and do it. But often it can take the whole day to reach that point if I don’t do it in the morning – and I hadn’t. So it wasn’t until about 4PM that I got to it, and then procrastinated on one of the Facebook Kundalini Yoga groups a bit, posting some info for other folk. 5:30PM I started the “Exercise Set for Metabolic Change” from “Kundalini Yoga for Youth and Joy,” which it appears they’ve finally re-issued. It was listed on the Ancient Healing Ways site, anyway.

Gurmukh used to do this set frequently, although I don’t remember ever doing the whole duration of the exercises. You’re supposed to dance with your eyes closed for 20 minutes to Don Cooper’s “Twelve Months” which only seems to be available on cassette from Ancient Healing Ways, but I discovered it was somehow related to Bara Maha, and found an Indian version that seemed a lot like something you’d dance to at a Greek Restaurant. I even did the full bowing 31 minute version of Jaap Sahib at the end (“will build stamina and inexhaustible energy”). Then I collapsed and slept an hour and a half. All the usual delusions throughout; oh, this isn’t so bad – I’ve got this down! I can do this forever! Minutes later, I can’t do another single one! Then, deciding to stick with it since I got this far and want to see what it’s like to do the full duration.

So after I got up, I was a little less depressed, but it’s edging back in. And it’s 11PM already. The weekend has slipped away.

So I made it to sadhana three days in a row. Didn’t get much else done the last two days, though.

Keval led today and Monday. Today we did a set for the immune system. Then once we did long “Eck Ong Kars” I did the “Adjust Your Flow” set while chanting.

I just do each of the four sections for 7 minutes – the length of each chant – but once again did 7 minutes of “Mental Exercises” during “Rakhe Rakanhaar” and then finished the last section for 7 minutes of “Wahe Guru, Wahe Jeo” and finished the last 14 minutes the way you’re supposed to. I suppose I’m a bit defiant, unwilling to be an obedient little yogi who does what he’s told. Yogi Bhajan says somewhere, “all your troubles in life come from not doing ‘Wahe Guru, Wahe Jeo’ in the proper pose for the proper length of time.” Oh well. Well, frankly, my lower back – or liver or kidney or something – ends up hurting when I do.

Yesterday I found myself feeling like I was trying to get attention by doing the mental exercises set, and wanting to show off what a perfect yogi I am so somebody would notice. That and also wishing somebody would notice how I can do Japji without reading it. Never mind that I couldn’t do that without a recitation to follow along with. So much for cutting through spiritual materialism. But it’s interesting how the whole purpose of sadhana is to cultivate a focus on God, and I’m still too restless and impatient to just sit and do that, needing something to focus on and distract my mind from the actual meaning of the chanting. If only I could bring that approach into my work life, doing my work to cultivate a connection with God, but letting the work distract me from it in the course of it, until I don’t need to distract myself from it anymore.

I had a weird dream last night. There was this yogic saint in this outside garden, sort of like the Japanese Garden by Balboa Lake. I didn’t want to encounter him directly, or speak with him, sort of like I never wanted to talk to Yogi Bhajan, but he’d answer the questions I had without asking him them, just sitting there in the group. So I’m avoiding the saint. Blair Breard was there too, we were walking around the garden. Then there was this buffet, and I get this flimsy paper plate, and I start loading it with meat in gravy, and cauliflower and chick peas in sauce, and rice and other stuff, and the plate is collapsing, and I look around to find a sturdier plate, and find a little cardboard carton that fits right under it to support it, and just as I do that, the woman who was serving the saint, whom I realized was Lahiri Mahasaya after I woke up, started apologizing to him for serving him meat. He walked over to her, and focused on her, looking into her eyes, and she walked away in a daze, aimlessly wandering around in a state of dumb bliss.

Then I woke up, feeling a lot more peaceful than I usually do, and not as knotted up. It sort of felt like a visitation, and left me wondering about reading the Self Realization Fellowship lessons that I haven’t made time for, but it was just time to go to sadhana, and in a minute, the alarm went off. I actually took a cold shower like you’re supposed to this morning too. But I had a lot of mucous in the back of my throat which kept making me cough.

This is just slightly more interesting than the presidential and vice presidential debates, I’m sure. So now the 10% of the day given to God is all up, and what the fuck do I do next?

Oatmeal isn’t too interesting without the Ume plum in it. I didn’t realize how much that added to the flavor of it until it was missing. I only had 3-1/2 hours of sleep… I wonder if I should nap, get the rest, or try to keep going throughout the day. There’s a rehearsal in Culver City tonight at 7:30PM. How will I keep going? I just made a very un-yogic pot of coffee too. So much for the PSN – Post Sadhana Nap.

Meanwhile, I contemplate that job opening listed at Sounds True in Boulder. I don’t really want to move. During sadhana I was wondering about all the things that have happened here in LA since I decided not to pursue the job in Espanola working with IKYTA. I feel a stronger calling to OneTaste – to at least find out if it’s all my mind has made it up to be. But then, the bay area? It leaves me thinking about the people who come to LA wanting to be actors and then don’t have the courage to go to auditions, and eventually realize they haven’t become actors.

I haven’t done any worthwhile musical endeavors while I’ve lived in this apartment, which has been 7 years now. That’s disheartening. There’s this dichotomy between spiritual calling, spiritual support for the rest of my life, and spirituality as avoidance of responsibility.

Dear Abbey:

Everyone in my cult is healthier than everybody else I know. Some of them even have jobs. My friends don’t understand why I’m in it. Should I leave it?

It’s funny the whole idea of the Kundalini Yoga teacher who’s out to convert the whole world and get them to try it. I find that funny because I keep trying and people are never interested. I guess I’m not a born salesperson? But it struck me this morning how it’s probably a much better approach to try to find the people who ARE interested, and stick with them. Somebody was talking in a podcast about relationships how trying to change people to be the way you want them to be is “an act of aggression.” Interesting perspective, and food for thought on the nature of acceptance. But then, what about the people who might be interested in kundalini yoga but just haven’t discovered it yet, just because they haven’t been looking in the right places? Hmmm.

So, I haven’t posted here for a while. I guess it feels like my practice has been on a “Maintenance” basis; like when I can’t stand the pain anymore I dive back in. I recommitted to sadhana for about a week and a half a couple weeks back, and then one night I said, “to hell with it; I’m not going tomorrow.” Since then it’s been hard to get back in the groove.

But a funny thing happened one of those days. I remembered Gurushabd saying one day after Sadhana (years ago) that he was going on his morning walk, and I’d been recounting Julia Cameron’s admonition to take a daily walk to improve your life, and I thought I’d give it a try.
At sadhana that morning, the yoga leader was subbing for Gurushabd, so I figured he was out-of-town. I went up Beachwood Canyon to the ranch where the Hollywood sign trail starts, and found the gate hadn’t been opened yet. I hiked for about 45 minutes, and as I neared the parking lot again, I saw what appeared to be a turbaned man approaching. As he came into focus, sure enough, it was Gurushabd! There’s a 3HO song “Walking Up The Mountain” that comes to mind. I was so astonished at the coincidence that I didn’t mention he’d been a partial inspiration for the walk.

Last week I was feeling stuck, and stuff wasn’t getting done. I figured sadhana might be a way to jump-start the path to getting back on track. Gurushabd was leading that morning (it seemed he played Jap Sahib instead of Japji at sadhana… I was a bit late and only heard the end of it) Well, I headed home afterwards, and had one of the most productive days I’ve had in months.

Last night I couldn’t sleep and headed over for it, and Keval was leading. It was an interesting set that had a sequence that’s in one of the kidney sets included, but after long Eck Ong Kars I just went right to sleep. I hope I wasn’t snoring. It’s always funny when somebody snores through sadhana. There was this cricket merrily chanting along with all the chants. Wahe guru!

Kavel gave me a big “HI HIMAT!” as I was struggling to tie my shoes, but all my groggy head could muster was a grumbled “Sat nam…” I came home and slept prolifically.

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Mental Exercises Set (with my clearer layout than the original manual)

That mental exercises set, from the Fountain of Youth manual, always looked really goofy. You do the sequence of poses to “Rakhe Rakanhaar” for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I kept trying and could never find the un-interrupted time to get the whole time period completed. Finally, one night I said to myself, “I’m going to get through this tonight!” About half-way through, I began to squirm and my mind was looking for every excuse to quit. I’d then ask myself, “but then you’d have given up and will have to start over again. Is that REALLY what you want to do? It’s just one of your patterns of procrastination and avoidance rearing it’s head.” As the time went on, I began to see, clearly, each pattern of procrastination and feel their intense call to distract me from what I was doing.

At sadhana I often try 7 minutes of the set along with the chant, but I figure it’s not intended to be done that way. It does let me re-experience the awareness of those 135 minutes, however. The thing is that many recordings of Rakhe Rakankaar don’t repeat the last phrase properly, so you can’t do the last posture of the sequence.

Affirmation

If I need your approval to be great,
If your slander can tear me down,
If my dreams are subject to your opinion,
Then god bless me,
For I am lost.

If fear causes my surrender,
If doubt clouds my mind,
If my clarity is tarnished by my anger,
Then god bless me,
For I am lost.

If my aim in life lacks altitude,
If I am afraid to be great,
If the thought of failure holds me standing still,
Then god bless me,
For I am lost.

Everything I will ever need,
I have within my soul.
Everything I need to learn,
The universe will deliver.
Every truth that exists,
The infinity holds within.
Tap into that wisdom,
And let the rejoicing begin.

I will never be average.
I will fail 1,000 times at greatness,
Before I settle for good.
I will go out on the limb,
While the branch is breaking,
If I’m not falling down,
Then I’m not aiming high enough.
Fear is not a factor,
I can always get back up.

If something triggers my fear,
I will fight it until I have it conquered,
Or until I die…
Which ever comes first.

— Haripurkh Kaur Khalsa
(Guru Singh’s daughter)

This poem is published in a book of poems and illustrations by Miri Piri Academy students, available from Guru Singh’s wife, and I believe, through his website.

Despite the remarkable help I’ve experienced from my Kundalini Yoga practice, I often wonder if I’m stuck in a cult. I was out with some friends having dinner, and one guy remarked that his ex had been a dedicated Kundalini Yoga practitioner. He made an off-hand comment about it being a cult. Is it?

Just where do you draw the line? Even if it IS a cult, can it still be beneficial? There are a number of embittered “ex-3HO” discussion groups, and Rick Ross maintains a group of articles about 3HO claiming the horrible abuses it inflicts. But the stories he relates are indicting for the individuals involved more than the community as a whole.

A woman I know says she did spiritual counseling for women (plural in her story) whom Yogi Bhajan instructed to be celibate within the 3HO community, but he “made them have sex with him.” Apparently they were scarred for life. The questions that immediately came to mind were; was it an ego trip for them? For him? Was their self-esteem so damaged they needed that interaction? Does his wife know? Is there any possible way it could have been beneficial to the women? Or did Yogi Bhajan just blatantly abuse his powers without regard for their good? Is there some spiritual level at which it’s all inconsequential? Do our moral laws and judgements so thoroughly color our perception of the encounter that it obscures the power and esteem issues involved? Such questions immediately draw into mind the “defense of the cult by those blinded by their involvement in it” issue as well. I don’t have any clear answers. Of course any women will be insulted by open-minded examination of the issue, and most 3HO people will probably be defensive.

I heard so many horrible stories of the Hare Krishnas abducting people during the 70’s and not letting them leave after they had their free meal and were worked to the bone. Moonie stories abound as well. Both organizations have done wonderful things for various communities; Culver City’s Hare Krishna community seems wonderful, and boasts one of the best vegetarian restaraunts around. A friend of mine travelled to spiritual temples all around the world with a program sponsored by the moonies, and another worked for the computer animation lab they ran. Is a cult a black and white issue? Recent articles have condemned the Kabballah Center in Los Angeles for cult-like practices. Many people I know have met their “soul-mates” there or at least praise their spiritual growth and how much it’s helped them. A friend left the Scientology community and had people pursuing him through visits to his home and family. Others claim it’s helped them immensely, although some have lost family inheritances through shyster investment advisors that preyed on the community. Who am I to say? That one hasn’t held any attraction to me.

Steven Hassan has a website called the Freedom of Mind Center. In it, he’s examined some of the issues involved. Forthwith:

Questions to Help the Assessment Process
from Spiritual Responsibility: Avoiding Abuses and Pitfalls Along the Path

1. Who is the leader?

What are his/her background and qualifications?

Have you relied solely on trust that all of the information you were given is true or have you done independent investigation?

Do you feel pressure to accept and not question at all?

Is it possible that there are misrepresentations or falsehoods?

Is there external corroboration for extraordinary claims of accomplishment or are they simply his/her say-so?

If “miracles” have been performed, can they be replicated under open observation or even under scientific conditions?

Are there other explanations for the “miracles,” such as magic tricks, hypnosis, etc.?

If there is a former leader or member, have you sought him or her out to hear for yourself critical information? If not, are you afraid to trust your ability to discern the truthfulness of what you learn?

If you find yourself saying that you don’t care if there are major deceptions, ask yourself if you knew this information before you became involved, would you have even bothered to make a commitment of time and money?

2. Are there exclusive claims made to wisdom, knowledge, love, and truth? If so, the burden of proof is on the leader to demonstrate his or her superiority, not on members to disprove it. A truly “developed” spiritual being exudes love, compassion, and humility. Any person who claims to be “superior” but does not practice what they preach is of questionable character. There is never incongruency between words and deeds. A person who uses fear and phobia indoctrination to control followers demonstrates insecurity and lack of spiritual maturity.

3. Is total submission and obedience required? Any relationship that demands giving up one’s personal integrity and conscience is dangerous and leads to totalitarianism. Be wary of those who advocate “the ends justify the means,” especially when it clearly serves their own self-interest. Also, make sure that your desire “to believe” doesn’t simply activate the common psychological defense mechanisms: denial, rationalization, justification, and wishful thinking. If a doctrine is true or a person is truly spiritually advanced, they will stand up to the scrutiny of objective evaluation. If they do not prove themselves, they are probably not worthy of your commitment and devotion.

4.    Does he/ she have a criminal record, a legacy of allegations against him/her or a history of misconduct? If there are allegations of misconduct against the leader, the responsible follower must seek out the negative information and the sources of that information to evaluate the truth. If a leader claims to be celibate and allegations are made that the leader engaged in inappropriate sex, this is an extreme violation of integrity. It must be investigated vigorously. It is never appropriate for teachers, therapists, or spiritual masters to take advantage of a power differential over followers. This is especially true in the area of sexuality. It is grossly unethical to engage in sexual relations with someone who has placed their trust in as a teacher/advisor/master. Many followers are incredibly vulnerable to this and unable to resist sexual intimacy. Anyone should be able to say “no.”

Is he or she a “trust bandit,” stealing hearts, souls, minds, bodies, and pocketbooks for his or her own ends?

5. Does the leader demonstrate psychological problems and awareness of their existence?

Does the leader have addictions to power, drugs, alcohol, sex, even television or shopping?

Does the leader have emotional outbursts?

Does the leader physically abuse followers?

Does the leader drive expensive cars and wear expensive clothes while extolling the virtues of renunciation?

Does the leader financially exploit followers by expecting them to live in poverty while he or she indulges in luxury?

Is the group or leader’s driveway habitually filled with luxury cars while ordinary people find him or her inaccessible and unreachable?

Does the leader ever encourage deception or use deception as a “technique” to trick followers into so-called correct thinking and understanding?

Codependent behavior by a spiritual teacher should be a warning sign of danger. Codependency includes: obsessively trying to control others; allowing people to hurt and use them; lack of clear boundaries; being reactive, not proactive; tunnel visioned; obsessive worrying and denial; expectations of perfection and suppression of human needs. (Beattie, Beyond Codependency, Harper/Hazelden, 1989)

6. Are questions and doubts permitted within the organization?
A healthy spiritual environment must engage individual followers at their level of experience and should encourage them to feel and think and therefore question their beliefs and exercise good decision-making. In this way, the follower can investigate, discriminate, and test the dogma and the environment they are being asked to accept, between what his or her personal issues are and what might be an unhealthy environment. If intense pressure is used to dissuade people who wish to talk with former members or critics, it is a clear sign of information control. Controlling information is one of the most essential components of mind control.

7. Is the organization open or closed?

Are there organizational secrets?

Are there “in” groups and “out” groups?

Are there restricted teachings for initiates only?

Are there secret texts and publications “for your eyes only”?

Is there real financial accountability?

If a group says that you can look at its accounting records, does it actually provide access?

The only way to know is to ask to see the records. If you are afraid to ask, what does this say about the atmosphere of the group?

8. What structural checks and balances exist within the organization to prevent abuse of power?

Are there divisive sectarian biases, even in the name of interdenominational ecumenicism and universality?

Is there an independent “ethics”committee to challenge and change policies of the group?

If there are abuses or injustices, what structure exists to correct them?

Can anyone legitimately question the actions of the leader without threat of emotional withdraw or fear of expulsion to “hell”?

Do the rich and powerful get preferential treatment?

Are “indulgences” (spiritual pardons) sold?

Is there a “code of silence” against unethical behavior of leaders?

March 28, 2008
Harmonizing with the Universe
The Benefits of Singing

Singing is an act of vibration. It takes music from the realm of the unformed– whether that is in your mind or from that magical space of inspiration–and moves it from within to without. From the first breath singing moves the energy in a circular way inside your body. As the breath fills your lungs, it brushes against the second and third chakras—the centers of creation and honoring self and others. Instead of merely exhaling, pushing the air past the fourth and fifth chakras where heart charka and the center of will and intention reside, singing engages both the heart and mind. Sound vibrations from vocal chords resonate in the sinus cavities, filling the head with motion and sound while the brain lights up with the processing of the mathematics of music. This marriage of activities brings the third eye into play and opens the door for inspiration from the crown chakra before sending the sound out into the world.

Once the vibration begins, it is sustained with each note, moving throughout your body and the space around you. This can help you to harmonize your frequency with the world and with the divine. The use of the voice can bring about catharsis, a cleansing from the expression of emotion, which is why we feel better after singing certain types of songs. All of this occurs even if we are not conscious of what we are singing, but when we really connect with an intention, the power of the voice and music together are powerful tools in creation.

Even if you are not a singer by nature or talent, you are not left out. If you have a voice, it is your birthright to celebrate life with song. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel you have a nice voice. Chanting or humming, singing solo or with others, your voice is yours to enjoy. Whether you sing along to the radio or use vocalization as part of your meditation time, singing and harmonizing are healing activities that bring your body’s vibrations into alignment with the universe.

So I just finished Shiva Rea’s Creative Core Abs DVD workout.

Core work is usually hard for most people, and of any of the yogic sets in Kundalini yoga, I find myself resisting or procrastinating doing navel sets the most. They say if your navel center is strong, you’ll never be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gurushabd went as far as to say that the people in the World Trade Center obviously didn’t have strong navel centers or they wouldn’t have been there on 9/11. A wave of irritation flowed through the class after that pronouncement. Despite yogic arrogance, there’s truth to the benefits of a strong navel center. It keeps you on track, gives you the ability to follow-through on your ideas and commitments, and supports your confidence. Navel fire is the spark of commitment, the spiritual corollary to the “fire-in-the-belly” they talk about in the film “Wall Street.” Over-developed, a person can become domineering, over-bearing, and unreasonable.

A strong navel center needs to be supported by a balanced first chakra, sense of self, groundedness. It needs an open heart center to allow the truth to be expressed and heard, and to allow the self to connect the animalistic survival functions with the spiritual dimensions.

The Shiva Rea DVD isn’t a Pilates method, and never claims to be, but I recognized a lot of the exercises as familiar from Pilates. Of course, the Pilates method integrates a variety of yogic exercises along with other techniques, so Shiva Rea very well may have gone directly to the source, and I just found the exercises familiar because I know them from the later Pilates techniques.

Pilates is all about building a strong core or navel center. At least that’s what the trainers always spend their time discussing. In reality the system stretches and opens up all the limbs while building long lean exceptionally strong muscles. But after several years of Pilates, after doing the teacher training for it, I still hated the Pilates mat workout, whether beginner, intermediate, or advanced. The only one I thought was interesting was the mat reformer series, which presents the exercises you do on the reformer on the mat; many exercises are the same, but the sequence is different. The reformer is a modified bed with springs, developed for rehabilitation of hospital patients who couldn’t get out of bed. If you ever see a Pilates “apparatus” you’ll probably see a reformer first, although there are modified chairs and the “cadillac” – another immobile bed with pipes and springs above it. I love the Pilates equipment and the sets on them, but the mat work is dreary, hard, and boring.

Unfortunately a lot of people seem to think Pilates is just for women. Any athlete whose performance relies upon strength and flexibility will see huge benefits from the practice, including football players. Joe Pilates himself was a boxer. Dancers and gymnasts love Pilates because it gives them flexibility and strength, focus and control. The surge in interest in it has been tied more to wealth and vanity than a real understanding of what it offers. Unfortunately, it has been so absurdly modified from studio to studio that you hardly know what you’ll get anymore. That is just what the NYC school was trying to trademark and prevent, and many teachers were angry about that – probably because what they were teaching bears little resemblance to Pilates.

For instance, the Menezes book on the technique bears little if any relation to the system taught by Roman Kryzanoska, Joe Pilates’ protégé.

(A better Pilates Method Book by Romana and Sean)

Sean Gallagher and Romana Kryzanowska

I met someone last weekend that had a herniated disc, a spinal injury that I’ve seen Pilates used to heal frequently, and the person said her Pilates work hadn’t helped it at all. I think there’s also a big difference between rehabilitative Pilates, and general exercise Pilates, and the thoroughly trained teachers can do both. Many people get certification for it without enough supportive work to learn the rehabilitative aspects of it.

I saw a magazine article that said Pilates doesn’t give you an aerobic workout and won’t help you lose weight. That was about as informed as the NY Times obituary that said that Yogi Bhajan’s White Tantric Yoga was a sexual practice. Unfortunately, the way some people teach Pilates, it IS slow and meditative, and doesn’t elevate your heart rate. That wasn’t the way it was intended. I saw a woman who lost 35 pounds in less than 10 sessions (typically 2-3 per week). Core work gets you slim. That fat may be the psychological “protection” we think we need, or ballast that keeps us sinking underwater. I think there’s probably a lot of psychic baggage trapped in it, so it’s hard to shed it.

But back to the DVD: Shiva Rea’s dance background seems to shine through in it, because it incorporates a lot of Pilates mat movements and a whole assortment of other abs routines in a constantly moving, never boring workout. I still associate the word “workout” with ending up tight and sore, but this set centers you and opens you up. I don’t think it was very long either; maybe half an hour. I think I’m going to come back to this DVD, hopefully frequently, because it made doing that core work fun, not dreary or boring. It’s not often I can say that.