Several people have asked me recently how to deal with being emotionally triggered by someone – I thought I’d re-post this article as a helpful tool. Enjoy!
http://www.thetemplepriestess.com/2010/11/clearing-out-triggers-with-kundalini/
I was contemplating on the question of how to distill tantra down into a short sentence. It is very hard to distill it down because it is a complex philosophy – when you translate the word tantra, it means ‘expansion of the consciousness through the five senses’. To distill it down to the essence even more – I think of it as being able to sense and play with yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) energies and, if you want to focus on the sexual aspect of tantra, being able to transmit these energies from you to your partner. When you learn to sense and circulate them between you, it brings you both to transcendent awareness and connectedness. Learning these skills can take some time, don’t give up on the first try. Think of it as a game, your skill improves with each hand. It is truly worth it I promise!
This is a three part series. The first two articles are about how to develop a heightened sense of subtle energies through various meditative practices. The third article includes exercises on how to activate the kundalini as sexual energy and run it through each chakra. If you already are a regular meditator – you’ll probably still get some new insights. Enjoy!
Meditation for Beginning Tantric Work
(Part 1)
Meditation is considered by many to be one of the oldest forms of wellness practices around. Of course, no one can truly say the exact place and time where meditation practice began.
Some speculate that it can be traced to approximately 5000 years ago, when ancient peoples stared into the flickering flames of fire pits and noticed its calming effects. Some scholars postulate that its continent of origin was Asia and the practice spread, especially into India, Japan, and China.
What Is Meditation?
Meditation is simply the practice of neutrally attempting to focus your attention on one thing for a period of time. You can focus your attention on:
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like water flowing between you,
In this first article, we begin by learning about the Asian technique of Qigong and then we continue on to the practice of guided imagery.
What Is Qigong?
Pronounced “Chee Gung,” Qigong is a unique exercise system of Chinese origin. Through individual exercises, practitioners build up their health and prevent illness by combining a discipline of mind, body, and the body’s Qi (or “life force”). According to the National Qigong Association (NQA), Qigong (sometimes spelled Chi Kung) is derived from the Chinese words “Qi” meaning Energy plus “Gong”, meaning work or practice. It is a term that describes a Chinese exercise system that focuses on cultivating and attracting Qi, the vital force or life-force energies – this is the basic key in tantric practices as well.
We include Qigong as a meditative practice here because it involves focusing the mind on simple body movements and the movement of the breath.
Qigong draws on many elements. It includes regulating the body through posture; regulating the mind through quiet, relaxation and concentration of one’s mental activity; regulating the breath; and self-massage and movement of the limbs. It covers a wide range of exercises and styles, such as tuna (venting and taking in), which emphasizes the practice of breath; still Qigong, which stresses meditation and relaxation; standing stance Qigong, which emphasizes the exercise of the body by relaxed and motionless standing posture; moving and dao-yin Qigong, which emphasizes external movement combined with internal quiet and practice in control of the mind; as well as various forms of self-massage.
Chinese Qigong has been practiced with a recorded history of over 2,000 years, but it wasn’t until 1953, when Liu Gui-zheng published a paper entitled Practice on Qigong Therapy, that the term Qigong was adopted as the popular name for this type of exercise system. There have been many Qigong schools in China. Although each school adopts unique methods, they all agree on the basic importance of regulating the mind and deepening the respiration.
Check out this video to get you started.
What is Guided Imagery?
Guided imagery can be used as a form of meditation. It involves guiding yourself through a scene or scenes where each of the senses is evoked, using images that elicit relaxation. It can be a form of visual or sensory meditation, because you are using focused awareness on one or more of your senses. It is often used in reducing stress, boosting the body’s wellness, and enhancing a state of calmness – as well as cultivating your tantric Qi.
The following is a brief exercise that you can do to show the power that the mind has over the body and its physiological processes:
* Imagine holding a fresh, juicy, yellow lemon in your hand. 
* Allow yourself to feel its texture and see the brightness of its yellow skin.
* As you slice it open, you see and feel the juice squirting out of it.
* Taste the lemon and let the juices run over your tongue.
* Suck on the lemon and taste the sour flavor as you notice your cheeks pucker and you heavily salivate.
After this guided imagery exercise, notice what physical changes occurred in your body, for example, the extra saliva and the twinge in the cheeks. You did not have a physical lemon, however, with mental images you created some of the same effects. We tend to be surprised about how much our thoughts do, in fact, affect our body. Think of what you could do with this power.
There are several good books available with sample scripts on guided imagery. To make it easy for you to start the practice, here is a sample script I’ve created from various trainings, mentors and workshops over the years, which I use with my clients. It is best to get comfortable with the general structure of it and to read through it slowly to allow the visualizations and sensations to appear to you. You can then read it into a recorder for playback.
‘Safe Place Guided Imagery’ Script (Copyrighted):
To begin this guided meditation, sit or lie down in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Notice your body and be aware of any tension. Begin releasing any tension you notice with your breath as you exhale. Allow your breathing to gradually slow down. As you do this, allow yourself to picture in your mind’s eye a safe place. Notice what the first comes to mind. What type of place does your mind choose as a safe place? (Allow Pause)
What does it look like? What does it sound like? Can you feel mist on your face? Can you taste the air – is there salt on your tongue or something else? Allow yourself to notice if there are any birds overhead. Hear the sound of the birds chirping, singing a song. Notice if there are any breezes in this place, feel the wind on your cheeks…
Notice the ground beneath your feet. Is it dirt or sand? What does it feel like on your feet? Is it warm or cool on your toes? Allow yourself to lie down in the safe place and feel the ground beneath your body. Notice the gentle earth below warming your body, allowing you to relax even more and feel safe during this meditation. (Allow pause)
Feel the weight of your body resting on the ground, allowing gravity to help you release any tension into the ground and let go of it. Imagine that with each breath – that any tension gets washed away…
Look above you into this sky and notice the color of the sky. Is the sun shining?
Is the sky clear? Notice if there are any trees around. What kind of leaves do they have? What color are the leaves? Pick one of the leaves and notice what it feels like, what’s the texture like?
Then notice a tree stump in this place and go and sit on this stump, feeling the sun above your head warming you and further relaxing you. Breathe in the warmth and vibrancy of the sun allowing it to fill you with a sense of calm and peace from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Notice as you become part of your safe place that you feel more rested, more relaxed, more at peace…. (Breath deeply)
When you’re ready, allow yourself to come back into this room and leave your safe place for now, knowing that at any time you can return to your safe place, any time you need.
After you have thoroughly visualized this place, open your eyes but stay in the same relaxed position. Continue to breathe smoothly and rhythmically, and take a few moments to experience and enjoy your relaxing guided meditation. Your safe place is available to you whenever you need to go there.
Now create your own safe place so you can return to this place whenever you need some peace and relaxation…
See you for Part II next week.
This is a brief clip from a class on how to use Future Life Progression to manifest things – focusing especially on love relationships. Many people at the end of this class had amazing results. You can ‘ride’ the wave of our group intention to manifest love in your life too!
(If this link doesn’t open on your computer, click on my products page to download the complimentary audio there.)
This week, I’ve been editing hundreds of hours of live classes – so I’ve created some audio blogs for you. Enjoy!
(If the file doesn’t open in your computer, click on my products page – you’ll see several complimentary downloads.)
Have a wonderful week!
How often do you feel fearless and sexy? Ready to take on any challenge. If you don’t feel it, how do you get that feeling in order to enjoy a date, meet new people, and experience pleasure throughout your day?
I was working with a new client who, from my perspective, is tall, glamorous and beautiful. During our time together, she admitted to me that she always feels anxious and uncomfortable in her own skin, like there is something wrong with her. The way she carried herself revealed her own self image because despite her graceful long structure, she slouched forward and drastically narrowed her chest and shoulders.
Many women can grapple with their own sense of confidence and body image. There is a common belief that if we lack confidence, it is because there is something wrong with us. What I have discovered in working with my clients is that when they feel insecure, anxious, or uncomfortable in their own skin, they are actually interfering with their bodies own natural design by:
When you physically cannot breathe, you will necessarily feel nervous, anxious, uncomfortable, insecure, and unattractive. This is the anatomy of insecurity.
YOU ARE FEARLESS AND SEXY!
The ANATOMY OF FEARLESS AND SEXY lies in how you use your body and breath Releasing old, harmful tension allows your spine to lengthen and your chest to widen. Your ribs “dance” with your breath and continually move with every inhale and exhale. Your shoulders soften away from your ears. Your entire body is long and your posture is dynamic! Releasing all the compressing tension changes your emotional state as well. Since your body can move with your breath, you feel fearless, capable, and sexy!
During the session with my client, I helped her discover what she was doing with her body and her breath that forced her to be anxious and uncomfortable. In knowing that there wasn’t anything wrong with herself, she felt a sense of relief and calm. When she walked out of the session, she was smiling, tall, and open. She looked sexy!
When you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or unattractive, take some time to listen to your body. Notice the position you are holding yourself in and if you are interfering with the natural easy flow of breath. Then, gently, slowly, and kindly UNDO tight muscles. Return to your dynamic open and tall posture. Soften. Remember: You ARE Sexy and Fearless.
Sharon Jakubecy, Your Personal Director, Certified Alexander Technique teacher.
Find out more at www.SharonJakubecy.com
You can! There are proven techniques that can help you:
Find out now in this workshop:
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As a caution, don’t identify father and mother energies with the real complex gender reference of humans. While it is true that these different energies have a polarity charge—a magnetic attraction and may tend to be invoked more frequently by equated genders—both genders can utilize these different energy natures. The nature of this father energy is to manage the environment (space outside of self) and search for a place to plant a seed. This could look like finding a business location, motivating someone with just the right idea or words, or just destroying anything in the way for clearing space for a task.
Father energy is the energy spent to find that place to plant the seeds. After planting, father energy “trusts” that everything will work out—or the energy state is externalized (= don’t take it personal). The only “lose” in this state is if you need to replant the seed. This energy is “grief” and the statement it makes is “I didn’t plant the seed very well.”
It is mother’s energy that takes over when we see a “sprout.” This energy nurtures and “does take it personal.” If the sprout doesn’t make it “mother” feels “guilt.” Not so quick to trust and needs an outside reference to know when “she” is done. Farmers, or just a gardener, in fact, use both states irrelevant of gender. Both energy states have equal potential to hold vision. Happy Father’s Day!
If you’d like to know more about Chriss, see his website at www.wizardscache.com.
Whether you are male or female in gender, once you learn to play with a range of energies and get more comfortable at the far ends of the pole; i.e. one partner plays in the masculine pole and one partner plays in the feminine polarity – that will help to make your romantic relationship more magnetic and fun.
In celebration of the upcoming holidays of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day-I have a guest post from one of my mentors, Chriss Lemmon PhD. In Musings, I often talk of polarity – male energy, which is assertive and female energy, which is receptive. Everyone, regardless of gender, has access to both poles/both energies. So, part of the practice of Tantra and related energy work is to access our wholeness –having access to the spectrum of polarities gives us more pleasure and happiness in life. This flexibility of range gives us more pleasure and satisfaction in our intimate relationships as well:
To protect and nurture vulnerable buds until flowers bloom is the very nature of mother energy. But not every quantum of energy blossoms to fruition or is even beautiful. We started this year looking for the positive—the seeds of happiness within. This journey began with vision—you need to see the possible. Lots of potential in the “all possible,” so preference wisely and invest (energize) the ideas of producing happiness. You are the steward for this process and now is the time you nurture these selections. Lots of attention but not too much control is the secret. Implementing a plan or creating a project, needs in the beginning focus, patience and nurturing. Mother energy is essential to human personality development.
The energy you experience in the relationship with your mother may not be “mother energy.” Here is a reference I found on www.newsweek.com (February18, 2010) “West Brain, East Brain” by Sharon Begley. “A region behind the forehead called the medial prefrontal cortex supposedly represents the self: It is active when we (“we” being the Americans in the study) think of our own identity and traits. But with Chinese volunteers, the results were strikingly different. The “me” circuit hummed not only when they thought whether a particular adjective described themselves but also when they considered whether it described their mother. The Westerners showed no such overlap between self and mom. Depending on whether one lives in a culture that views the self as autonomous and unique or as connected to and part of a larger whole, this neutral circuit takes on quite different functions.”
Be careful; don’t reduce your ability to energize the idea of self by blocking off a frequency (‘havingness’). Work with the energy to separate (heal) your reaction to someone or something from the nature of a state; the state of being referenced as “mother energy.” Happy Mother’s Day!
Contact me about our upcoming events for more individualized work on this.
For this week’s blog – I am in Paris- the most romantic city in the world – sending you a big dose of joie de vivre. Even the crows are making love here (I am not joking – I saw two crows making love in the Jardin du Luxembourg yesterday and it drew a crowd)! The tulips are blooming everywhere and the ground is bursting with new life – beautiful flowers, birds, and of course, bees. (In future posts – along with insights into getting more l’amour de vivre and amping up your kundalini energy - I’ll post some more beautiful pictures to inspire you.) Which brings me to the question of how we, as human beings, bring this spicy springtime zest into our daily lives? Sometimes, we get stuck in a drab grayness in our routine & a bit of the mundane. Don’t forget to get outside on a regular basis to remember your own joie de vivre. Even a simple thing like lying on the ground in a field of flowers, and feeling the grass on your feet or the warm air on your face can revive you and help you remember that all of life is sexy – dare I say it – even the mundane.
France is an archetype (or a symbol) of the power of the Feminine force of beauty & nature. Beauty and especially the beauty in nature can be healing and revitalizing to our thirsty soul. This week – revel in beauty – let yourself drink it in. Ask yourself – what do I find beautiful? What nourishes my soul and my body? Don’t filter – Let it in. Let yourself be nourished. You will feel recharged and attract interesting people and experiences to you. Don’t forget to email me to let me know what happens!
(As an ending note – I love the music of Shakti Tribe (Shakti represents the Feminine Principle in life). Here’s a free download of some uplifting music on their website- http://www.larisastow.com/ )
Barbara teaches clients integrated tools that help them create the life and relationships they envision. She’s been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Love and Lust column as well as other international media sources. A client recently said that just by doing the meditation techniques in her class, their business and income expanded greatly because they were more centered and present. Another client lost the fear to ask for what they wanted in life in general, so they asked for and received double their salary and several months’ vacation. Clients have revitalized their love lives and become more comfortable with themselves. The techniques she teaches are unique and powerful. She can teach you techniques to get out of the struggle mode and regain your sense of self, while still having an enjoyable work and family life using a holistic, integrated approach incorporating both traditional goal-setting techniques as well as alternative techniques derived from acupressure and yoga to help you raise your self-esteem, feel balanced, and reach your goals more quickly.