If you are reading this and you are a man, don't worry. Yogi Bhajan did not exclude you from the practice. It's about perspective. From the yogic perspective, woman is SHAKTI, the feminine aspect of God, the power through which God created creation itself. More from Shakti Parwha: "Woman is the embodiment of God's power. The word Shakti means 'God's power in manifestation' Adi Shakti is the Primal Power". That primal power has been worshipped for centuries in the form of Goddesses. " The mantra for men is slightly different than the mantra for women. Men practice living IN the Grace of God, while women practice accepting themselves AS the Grace of God. If you are a man who has worked with this practice (or are working with this practice) I am very interested in your experiences and the ways that a man's practice is similar to or different from a woman's practice.
According to Shakti Parwha, the GGM was given to a group of women yoga students in San Francision, California on September 22, 1970. The women asked Yogi Bhajan how to control and channel their powerful, sometimes overwhelming emotions. "For the first time, he taught the special meditation that is designed to awaken the power of the Adi Shakti, the Goddess, within each woman.
You may be thinking that this meditation is loaded with verbal landmines, words like God, Goddess, Primal Power, Men, Women. Yes, it is. I am certain that this journey will take us through some pretty interesting territory and you may have a bit of an allergic reaction to some of the words. That's okay. I've had some allergic reactions too. If you are allergic to the word God, just take a deep breath. Maybe this will be an opportunity to dive underneath your reactions to words, ideas and concepts that you think are already clearly defined. If there is one rule for our journey together, this is it:
DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK.
Here' the practice, offered to you exactly how it was offered to me 5 years ago.
GRACE OF GOD MEDITATION (GGM)
PART I
Lie on the back, fully relaxing the face and body. The eyes are closed.
MANTRA:
I AM GRACE OF GOD (woman)
I AM IN THE GRACE OF GOD (man)
INHALE deeply. Hold the breath in while silently repeating the mantra 10 TIMES.
You can tense your fingers one at a time to help keep count.
EXHALE all the air out. Hold it out and silently repeat the mantra 10 TIMES.
Continue this process of repeating the mantra 10 TIMES on each INHALE and
10 TIMES on each EXHALE, for a total of 5 INHALATIONS and 5 EXHALATIONS.
This totals 100 silent repetitions.
PART II
Relax your breath and, with the eyes still closed, slowly come sitting up into EASY
POSE (sit comfortably).
Bring the right hand into GYAN MUDRA (index finger curled under thumb, other
fingers extended, palm up, wrist resting on knee, elbow straight)
The left hand is held up by the left shoulder, palm flat and facing forward. This
is called the "vow" position. Your hand is held up as if taking an oath.
Keep the breath relaxed and normal. Tense one finger of the left hand at a time, keeping
other fingers straight but relaxed. Meditation on the governing energy of that finger
the repeat 5 TIMES, I AM GRACE OF GOD or I AM IN THE GRACE OF GOD.
Continue this sequence for each finger moving from the little finger to the thumb.
- Little Finger Mercury (water) the power to relate, communicate and make decisions
- Ring Finger Sun/Venus (fire) physical health, grace and beauty
- Middle Finger Saturn (air) channel emotion to devotion, patience
- Index Finger Jupiter (ether) wisdom and expression, open space for change
- Thumb (earth) positive ego
When both parts of the meditation are completed, lower the left hand and relax for a few minutes.
Some comments from the original instructions I received from Gurmukh (I'm not sure of the original source, but if anyone is and can let me know, that would be wonderful!):
It is said that when a woman practices this meditation for one year, her aura will become tipped with gold or silver and great strength and God's healing power will flow through her.
The technique of positive affirmation has been around for thousands of years. It is nothing new. Words increase in power through repetition, and when you are repeating truth, the impact is enormous. Yogi Bhajan gave us this meditation, which is one of the most powerful affirmations a woman can do. The fact is, woman IS the Grace of God. Woman is Shakti. The problem is, she doesn't know it.
This meditation is designed to evoke and manifest the inner grace, strength and radiance of each woman. It helps her tune in directly with the Adi Shakti, the Primal Power within her own being. It empowers a woman to channel her emotions in a positive direction, strengthen her weaknesses, develop mental clarity and effective communication, and gives her the patience to go through the tests of her own karma. It enables her to merge the limited ego into Divine Will, as well as improve her physical health.
By practicing this meditation a woman's thoughts, behavior, personality and projection become aligned with the infinite beauty and nobility unveiled by the mantra. It balances the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, ether). The amazing thing is, this is such an easy meditation to do! You might pass it over because it is so simple, and not realize what a profound effect it can have on your life.
Practice it faithfully TWICE A DAY FOR 40 DAYS.
It is recommended for women going through menopause to practice is 5 TIMES A DAY.
Practice it on an empty stomach.
No comments:
Post a Comment