Sat Nam,

I was watching a speech made by a General to a group of college graduates the other day, and his first piece of advice for them was to make your bed every day because from the start of the day you’ve already completed a task which will give you a sense of accomplishment and set the tone for further tasks to be completed throughout the day. He also said if it’s the only thing you manage in a day, you’ve succeeded in accomplishing something and the silver lining is you get to sleep in a made bed when night comes. I’ve been making my bed everyday for years for just these reasons. Even on my worst days I make my bed and if nothing else happens, that made bed gives me a much needed sense of accomplishment and hope for more.

Sadhana (meaning dedicated personal practice) is a bit like making your bed. It sets the tone for the day and if you achieve nothing else in that day you have achieved time with yourself. Yogi Bhajan gave us a traditional sadhana to practice each morning which starts by chanting the Japji Sahib, a sacred prayer given to us by the first Sat Guru, Guru Nanak about bowing to the divine within. This is followed by a yoga set and number of specified mantras to sing. This sadhana takes around 2.5 hours to complete and must be practiced in the ambrosial hours, (the early hours of the morning around 2.5 hours before sunrise). For allot of people this type of commitment can be a bit overwhelming, so if this is something you would find difficult to do, rather than doing nothing, find whatever it is you can do to go within at the start of each day. I walk for an hour and meditate most days on the cliff overlooking the ocean as the sun rises. When I wake with a feeling of dread and fear because I’m worried about the day ahead, once I complete my practice, I feel more connected to my peace within where faith and love lie.

So if you don’t already, try starting your day by making your bed and revel in this small accomplishment. Add to this a sadhana practice even if it starts with just 3 minutes of meditation a day and build from there. Something is better than nothing, and I can attest to the change I have felt since I have been doing this as being more centred, balanced, at peace and able to face the pressures of life with much less angst.

One of the sutras (words to live by) Yogi Bhajan gave us for the Aquarian Age is “when the time is in you start, and the pressure will be off” so start.

What do you do to go within each day?

If you would like to practice traditional Sadhana with a group of people Robbie Chapman and Guru Devi practice Sadhana at Bronte beach north end every Wednesday morning (weather permitting) from 5.00am. For more information contact Robbie at robbie.wellness@gmail.com

This Saturday night we have Spring Equinox. Following Equinox I will begin a ten week series working through the Ten Bodies to balance our bodies ready for summer. More on that next week.

Maya Stange will hold a special Equinox class on Sunday 24 September at 4.00pm at Soul Flow Yoga to celebrate.

Just under a fortnight to go until the Kundalini Yoga Collective will be running it’s 2nd biannual Kundalini Yoga Festival from Friday 29 September to Monday 2 October at Mangrove Yoga Centre. This is an exciting event where you can experience the essence of community as you immerse yourself in the Kundalini practice. It will host our wonderful homegrown teachers and some amazing international teachers who will be running classes and workshops. For more information please go to Kundalini Yoga Festival on Facebook and book your tickets!

Classes this week:

7.15pm Tuesday – Adette at Soul Flow
9.30am Thursday – Adette at Soul Flow

See you on the mat. ❤️

Love and light,
Adette