Sat Nam,

How’s everyone feeling? 

It’s week four of lockdown here in Sydney and what I’ve noticed is huge amount of fear floating around.  It doesn’t help that the media is sensationalising an already difficult time creating more fear and I can understand if you’re finding it  a bit hard to see the woods from the trees at the moment.

Fear is a deceptive bugger.  I know too well how deceptive fear can be as I lived in extreme fear for over ten years when I suffered from a panic attack and anxiety disorder.

When I was suffering one of the things for me was buses.  Every time I got on a bus I would have a panic attack.  I remember the feeling of standing at the bus stop in absolute terror as I waited for the bus.  If I had the courage to get on the bus, the overwhelming fear would build up, my heart would beat faster, the adrenaline would pump, my thoughts would race through my mind becoming more irrational each second as fight or flight would take over to the point where I would have to get off the bus.

I get on the bus these days with no fear and I’m amazed each time at how safe a place would give me such terror. 

That’s what irrational fear does, it deceives you into believing that you are not safe and pushes you to avoid situations, hide, get angry, judgemental, lash out and at the extreme become hateful.  It also pushes you to make decisions that are not always the right ones.

In yoga we are taught we have three minds, the negative, the positive and the neutral mind.  Each mind plays an important part in your well being and contrary to common belief the negative mind when in balance is a good thing.

The negative mind is like your life insurance, it assesses risk and warns you when you are in danger.  It’s the mind that stops you from investing in the Internet scam or walking off a cliff.

When out of balance it can take you down a rabbit hole of fear.

Kundalini Yoga is awesome for balancing the negative mind, allowing you to see the wood from the trees and making rational decisions. 

We use a lot of breath work in Kundalini Yoga and your breath is an amazing tool to move you through fear.  

Next time you are feeling overwhelmed with fear, stop what your doing, and consciously slow down your breath by inhaling for 10 seconds, holding the breath for 10 seconds and exhaling for 10 seconds. Keep this going for at least 3 minutes and feel your body start to relax. If 10 seconds is too long try 5 seconds.

There are also specific Kundalini Yoga Kriyas like Relax and Release Fear or The Stress Set for Adrenals and Kidneys that move your body in a way that releases tension and moves through fear.  Whenever I’m feeling overly fearful I’ll practice a Kriya or use a breath technique and without fail I feel more relaxed and my thoughts become more clear and rational. 

Try it and see how you feel. 

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Unfortunately due the current Covid situation in Greater Sydney we will have to reschedule our Radiant Body Retreat.

We are looking at dates in October or November so we will keep you posted. 

My teacher friends Akal Tera and Rob are teaching live online classes via Zoom.  Message me if you would like more details.

Stay well and see you on the mat. ❤️

Love

Adette