Datta Kriya Yoga

I have started Datta Kriya Yoga classes this year, once a week.

This is a very relaxing form of Yoga, very unlike the Hatha Yoga with postures/asanas.

"Datta Kriya Yoga consists of Pranayama exercises (breathing exercises) and concentration exercises. Coupled with these exercises are mudras.

The benefits of Datta Kriya Yoga are improved physical health, better focus and concentration of mind and improved spiritual well being.

There are only four simple kriya exercises to learn.

Anyone with physical problems can sit on a chair and practice the exercises. There are no difficult postures."

More on this to come!

Daily Inspiration - Yoga Emails

It can sometimes have one feeling scattered when they are checking many websites for their daily dose of Yoga inspiration.

An easier way is to have some daily inspiration emailed to you.

I signed up for a few daily emails on the International Sivananda Vedanta Yoga Centers website http://www.sivananda.org/publications/mailinglists/subscribe.html

Every morning these feed into my inbox and I keep them on my phone and view them during the day. When the next day's daily emails come, I then scan the the old messages the day before to really understand their lessons finally, and then discard them from my phone. I filter them into a Sivananda folder from my Hotmail inbox.

This means that each day I focus on that day's lessons at certain down times...lunch, waiting in a line, waiting for a meeting to start, rather than gossipping with work colleagues.

This daily inspiration leaves me feeling very centered and is a great tool offered from the website.
http://www.sivananda.org

In the Light

Amazon

(http://astore.amazon.com/caribbeanyogi-20) Please click on this link to see my recommended Yoga readings....Additionally, you can be directed directly to the Amazon site via the link at (http://www.researchease.com) Happy reading!!

Returning After a Break

Dear All,

It has been a while since I have worked on Caribbean Yogini, with all manner of other matters distracting me.

However, in the true sense of Yoga, I would like to devote some time to this blog more regularly and make it a part of my Yoga practice.

In my absence, I have been catching up on my Yoga reading. Through Amazon I have bought the following books, all of which I strongly recommend:

• Kundalini Yoga - Swami Sivananda
• Yoga Anatomy - Leslien Kaminoff
• The Sivananda Companion to Yoga: A Complete Guide to the Physical Postures, Breathing Exercises, Diet, Relaxation and Meditation Techniques of Yoga - Swami Sivananda
• Yoga (101 Essential Tips) - Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center

I have also recently started my own practice at home. I have been practicing Yoga since October 2008, but I have never done my own practice, so this is an excellent experience. I started this week, and have been doing a morning and an evening practice. Along the way, I will pick up techniques to improve my practice, but thank goodness I have finally started because I have thought about it for so long.
To finally commit to something I have been procrastinating about is really uplifting.
Namaste

Liberation - Swami Radha

I recently listened to a talk by Swami Radha about Liberation that has touched many people's lives and has some excellent points, delivered by Swami Radha in a very direct and clear fashion.

She spoke about Liberation not being seen as being on Cloud 9, but rather you are in the here and now of your own daily life.

She suggested that we deal with our self-made prisons such as:

• attachments (concepts, habits, complelling forces, mechanical reactions, beliefs)
• self-deception
• fears and anxieties (some self-created or from an uncultivated imagination)
• false security
• pride
• interference of the many personality aspects
• grudges
• perceived necessities

Continuing, Swami Radha stated that Yoga is part of Liberation, where you are the Doer in your life and are therefore free to Undo so many of your self-made prisons. This I found a very compelling thought.

Her next suggestion was that we make a list of our Self-Made Prisons, for example:

• work - this may be unsatisfying work due to a lack of courage to make changes for the better. For instance, you may have the security of a 8 to 4 job, but you may also be angry at yourself for needing that security balnket. Possibly, you have not re-trained or re-educated yourself, or you have squandered your saving so you cannot afford the re-training or re-education; or you may have been lazy in not changing your situation.

I believe it is a good idea to make this list of your self-made prisons and as you do it, you may become opened up to many other opportunitues you may have afforded yourself and to other avenues that you may have tried.

More to come soon on liberation by Swami Radha

In the light

Yoga Retreat Planning

The past couple of weeks have been spent in locating a place in Tobago for our annual Retreat.

We checked out a few eco-resorts:

http://www.cuffie-river.com/
http://www.kariwak.com/
http://www.tobagothenest.com/

We finally settled on:

http://www.castararetreats.com/

All of these eco reorts look special, and we will probably try each one at some point, but we are really looking forward to a nice peaceful Retreat at Castara, where we can do our Yoga Workshops on the deck and head down the steps to the beach. Castara is also a fishing village so there should be a lot to see.

Namaste

Yasodhara Ashram - Trinidad Following

This post will let followers know about learning about the Yasodhara Ashram (http://www.yasodhara.org/), Swami Radha and Swami Sivananda.

A work colleague of mine, who I currently attend Kundalini classes with, invited me to my first Hatha Yoga class. I arrived there and met a petite and soft spoken individual, my Yoga Teacher. She had done extensive training in the Yasodhara Ashram and currently taught classes right through the week.

We started off with Hatha Yoga and practiced this for one year, closing off with a Retreat at eco resort, Footprints (www.footprintseco-resort.com) in our neighbouring island, Tobago. That Retreat was wonderful...we ate healthy and nutrious vegetarian dishes from the hotel, had a lovely private villa with our own pool and we would sit on the deck next to the pool to conduct our Retreat Workshops.

The serenity and quietness did a lot for me, and it was then I really came to appreciate a quieter life. I felt more in touch with myself and a lot more at peace without more worldly distractions. Since then I have sought a quiter lifestyle and feel better for it.

My teacher travelled to the Yasodhara Ashram for more training in the summer, and on her return, we used the Retreat to get familiar with the Kundalini Yoga system and Mantras, using the large charts and starting to journal our thoughts. I do not generally journal my thoughts so this was a challenge, but it was good to think outside the box, and pretty amazing what you can come up with.

We have just completed a year of Kundalini classes and will be starting back in September after our annual Retreat which of course I am really looking forward to. On to more Kundalini, Hatha and introducing Dream Yoga.

I now really enjoy reading books from Timeless (www.Timeless.org) and do a lot of Yoga research to understand myelf and the teachings as best possible. My goal in 2011 or possibly 2010 is to attend Teacher Training at the Yasodhara Ashram, then do the Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Certification immediately following. This is another reason why I truly enjoy exploring the many aspects Yoga as much as I do.

Swami Radha's teachings have inspired me. Her devotion motivates me in many of my endeavours, an I use her books as reminders when I feel I am a little off the right path in life. Also her stories of her guru, Swami Sivananda, and the many others whose paths she crossed were so interesting and open-minded that they really touched me.

There will be more to come on how we will be working on a Yasodhara Center in Trinidad.

Namaste