As the weather improves, blossom gives way to tiny fruits visible on the branches of trees and bushes. Everything in the garden is looking greener – seedlings are now growing vigorously, small shoots and delicate green leaves are appearing everywhere. What better time to reflect on Abundance!
Breath and Reflection
1) Practice “Easy Breath” for some time, if possible out of doors in a natural setting, thinking of the abundance of air to breathe and prana (life force) to revitalize all of your being. Take notes about your experience.
2) Breathing in, bring Light into the heart centre, breathing out send Light to the whole body. Take notes about your experience.
Abundance also manifests as Divine Love and Divine Grace:
Reflection: Just look back in your life. You can see that grace has been functioning in your life to a large extent. If you look at where grace has worked for you, you will find there the proof and the evidence of divine love. Try to recall every situation in your life where you can clearly see how grace was operating. (Swami Radha, Time to be Holy, p. 217)
3) Breath in to a count of 4 and out to a count of 4, allowing the breath to become steady and smooth: Ask – What does abundance mean to me? Write.
4) Chant Om Krishna Guru, with the thought in mind: How can I bring more of this abundance into my life? Make notes.
Kundalini Yoga
Inspriation from the internet: Lakshmi represents the beautiful and bountiful aspect of nature. As Bhoodevi, the earth-goddess, she nurtures life; as Shreedevi, the goddess of fortune, she bestows power, pleasure and prosperity on those who deserve her grace. To realize her, one must respect the laws of life and appreciate the wonders of existence.
5) Read the section in the 2nd Cakra in Kundalini Yoga for the West on Self Image. (Swami Radha, Kundalini Yoga for the West, pp.118-121)
– Chant a mantra of your choice and reflect on where an image you hold of yourself may be an obstacle to opening yourself to abundance.
– What images or daydreams could prove useful if consistently applied?
– Practice the DLI and put this new image of yourself in the Light.
Hatha Yoga Hidden Language
Tadasana – Mountain
In the Inner Life of Asanas Swami Lalitananda describes a magical moment from her childhood, skipping down a path, warm June sunshine, the fragrance of wild roses, buzzing bees: a moment of connection, of oneness. (p.97)
6) Choose a place where you can stand outside, somewhere where you are safe, warm and comfortable, and take your attention to the breath. (Or you might choose to go to a place in your imagination – a beautiful outdoor setting that is familiar to you.)
Stand still, straight and upright; bring yourself to a still place within.
– Observe the subtle changes in your body as you relax and your mind begins to still. Can you ”let go of your edges”? Where does your body end and the rest of nature begin? Make notes.
– Reflect on the word ‘abundance’: When have you felt that sense of abundance? Again, make notes.
7) Stand in Tadasana.
– Feel the presence of Divine Mother. What does it mean that the world is Her body? Ask yourself: How are you a part of Her?
– Repeat a mantra silently in your mind as you stand in the Mountain, and lift your awareness to your heart centre. What do you know in your heart? (Swami Lalitananda, Inner Life of Asanas, p.99)
Gomukhasana – Cow Face
The cow is sacred because it is an authentic symbol of motherhood, keeping creation alive. (Swami Radha, Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, p.204)
8) Practise or visualize yourself in Gomukasana. Repeat the Divine Mother Prayer.
The magic wishing cow is found in the mythology of more than one culture – a primary symbol of goodness and love. Visualise your magical wishing cow and make a wish. (Swami Radha, Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, p.207)
Reflect and make notes.
Padmasana – Lotus
9) Find a comfortable sitting position with legs crossed and the spine straight and lifting:
The lotus symbolizes the opposites of birth and death, male and female, and the interaction of creative forces. (Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, Swami Radha, p.125)
The blue lotus is the special flower of Tara, the Mother of Compassion for Tibetan Buddhists. Wherever the lotus flower has made its home, it has immediately created an atmosphere of sacredness, beauty and awe. …
Divine Mother with her many names (108 names in all) are shown seated or standing on a lotus, which presents them to us as being beyond human nature. For both Hindus and Buddhists, the lotus is symbolic of spiritual attainment, the flowering of human potential. (Swami Radha, Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, p.126)
Reflect and write.
10) After some hip stretches and other warm ups, visualise yourself in the lotus pose, or practise the lotus pose. Reflect on what the lotus means to you.
– As you sit, visualize a lotus growing from the root upward to the stem, the leaves, the bud, and then blossoming in the light of the sun. How are you like the lotus growing through the muddy waters into the Light?
– Reflect on Tara, the bodhisattva of compassion, as you do the lotus. Ask her a question important to you, and listen for her response. (Swami Radha, Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, p.131)
11) Practise the lotus visualisation in the way suggested in Appendix D of Swami Radha’s Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, pp.255-7
Vrikshasana – Tree
A fascinating Egyptian painting of the thirteenth century B.C. showed the mother goddess distributing food and drink from the branches of the Tree of Life. In fact, she is part of this tree. (Swami Radha, Hatha Yoga: the Hidden Language, original1987 ed., p.111)
12) Stand in the Tree pose. Ask yourself, ‘What abundance can I share with others?’ Make notes.
Shavasana
13) Take the word ‘abundance’ and relax in Shavasana while listening to Swami Radha’s Relaxation CD.
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