BREATHE & MOVE IN THE MORNING

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Kriya for BREATHE & MOVE IN THE MORNING
(Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power, Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa, pp. 249-250)

Sit in easy pose. Lock your fingers behind your neck. Place any loose hair outside the finger lock so that your fingers touch your neck. Close your eyes, inhale deeply, hold a few seconds, then exhale with force through your nose and hold out for a few seconds. Repeat.

Same posture. Immediately begin breath of fire, 2 to 5 minutes. Inhale deeply and focus on any part of the body where you want to circulate healing pranic energy. Exhale and relax briefly. Sit quietly for 1 to 2 minutes, eyes closed, breathe normally. Be aware of the breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

Still in easy pose with you spine erect, the rest of your body relaxed, interlace your fingers behind your back in Venus Lock. Bend forward and touch your forehead to the ground. If you cannot reach the ground from easy pose, sit on your heels and bend forward so you can touch your forehead to the ground. Keeping the fingers interlocked, lift the arms straight up as high as possible towards the sky. Hold that position and chant “Ong” continuously, inhaling deeply between repetitions. This posture is called “Yoga Mudra.” Chanting in this posture helps capture the mind. It relieves tension in the upper back and shoulders and clears the lymphatic system. It helps bring extra circulation to the head and neck. After 1 to 2 minutes, inhale and slowly sit up. Then lie down on your back in corpse pose, arms at the sides, palms up. Relax for one minute.

Lying on your back, lift both feet up 24 inches from the ground and bend alternate knees into the chest, bringing one knee in while the other leg extends out. Continue alternating with a “push-pull” motion, keeping both heels parallel to the ground at the 24 inch height. Concentrate the breath at the navel point. Do this for 1 to 3 minutes. This picks up the pranic energy. It energizes the navel center and helps regulate elimination. (This exercise MUST be done immediately following #3 above.)

Cow and Cat. Plant your arms and legs firmly so that you’re on all fours. Your hands should be straight down from the shoulders with the fingers pointing forward and the elbows straight. The knees are straight down from the hips, knees apart about 12 inches with the heels together. The arms from shoulder to wrist are straight and do not move. The legs from knees to hips are straight and do not move. This is a two-part motion. Inhale as you lift your head up and tilt the pelvis like a sway-back cow. Exhale, tilt the pelvis the opposite way, the chin comes to the chest and the back is arched into an “angry” cat position. Make the motion very smooth in transition. Inhale through the nose into cow and exhale through the nose into cat. Inhale “Sat,” exhale “Nam.” If your wrists hurt, then make your hands into fists and put your knuckles on the ground. Do not go too fast. Do not lead with the head. The head should move last. Cow / Cat is a total spine exercise. It brings circulation into the face and head and releases stored energy for healing the body. It can “make your eyes glitter with a special light.” Yogi Bhajan has also said that this exercise virtually polishes all your vertebrae! Continue for 1-3 minutes.