Yesterday was not only a spectacular Full Moon...it was a "true" blue moon....which means there were two full moons in the same zodiac sign. I'm not usually one to pay much attention to astrology except in reverse. What I mean is, I don't look up astrological information to know what's coming....but I do notice when everyone I know is experiencing some kind of challenge/shift/opportunity and almost always this correlates to some kind of astrological thing-ah-ma-bob.
So, for the week leading up to this Blue Moon I have felt S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D! I often felt a huge weight on my chest and when I looked at my to-do list I just wanted to throw my hands up, hide in my cave and pretend the "real" world didn't exists. I went through about 3-4 days of this feeling totally helpless...and then I remembered: I have TOOLS to handle situations like this!
One of the totally awesome things about Kundalini Yoga is that there is always SOMEthing we can do to make ourselves feel better. For me, my go-to tool when I am feeling overwhelmed (or disconnected from God, or unsure of what decision to make, or even just really happy) is Japji.
Japji is the "Song of the Soul" and it was written by a super-awesome teacher who lived in India a few hundred years ago called Guru Nanak. Japji is a 40 verse poem/song/prayer. They say that each verse relates to one element (earth, water, fire, air, ether) and one chakra. The first verse relates to the 8th chakra and ether element (so the most etheric, "out there" quality we have as human beings)...and then the energy of the sound current travels down through the chakras until the very last verse, which relates to the earth element of the 1st chakra (or our most rooted, physical element). When I chant Japji I visualize and feel the energy of the universe manifesting and sinking in to me. I feel like the rhythm and sound of the words creates a very peaceful, connected easy space within me. I really do feel like my soul is singing.
So, on the 4th day of my pre-blue-moon-stress-out I remembered Japji....I sat down and chanted it right then and there and I kept chanting it or having a recording of it playing around me all day for the next several days. And it made all of the difference. I could right away feel myself shifting from "how can I do this?!?" to "The Universe will take care of me." And that is a much happier place to be.
Japji is one of my favorite things...in the world, because it is so beautiful and SO effective. And you can experience the beauty of it too! Japji is always the first thing we do in the Aquarian Sadhana.
Sadhana is a lovely yoga and meditation practice that happens before sunrise (I know, I know...it's early....but it's also totally worth it!). You can experience the beauty of Japji and the entire Aquarian Sadhana at YogaSoul on Thursdays and Fridays 4-6am and Saturdays 4:30-6:30am. Also, a fellow yogi, Sat Rattan is offering 40 days of Aquarian Sadhana at Rivebend Yoga Studio in Saint Paul in honor of her upcoming marriage...5am every day until 12/21. If you need more info or have any questions please feel free to shoot me an email.
Blessings,
Nirmal
