While at The World Yoga Festival in Reading this year, I did a Sadhana by the lake each day. That’s one thing that really stood out to me that though it was a yoga festival, as it wasn’t a Kundalini festival I could do more of what I wanted, there was more free time.

I got up around 4.30am each day and went to the lake to do Awakening to the ten bodies Kriya. Afterwards I went back to sleep for an hour or so as it was early it was quieter than when I’d tried to get to sleep the nights before with loud music playing from the stage tent.

While I enjoy being led through a Sadhana by someone, I really like doing my own practice too. Usually with this Kriya I have some music going, it’s quiet energetic and I sometimes need that boost first thing in the morning. At the lake I had none, just the breeze blowing and birds chirping. Though while it was dark I noticed the ducks were still sleeping, all huddled together in a big group, sweet.

Nature will keep me up.

Another thing I became very aware of while by the lake was that while doing the movements I became attached to my tent, I had left my temporary home and my mind became instead of still – scattered. Where was my Kara bracelet I had taken off for a millisecond while putting on sun lotion? Where was my journal, bag 1 or bag 2? It felt endless.

I became more aware of my breath and wondered what was the most truest thing I could bring forth? Where was the Sat Nam in all this? Forget my tent, forget items, what was most true now?

The only thing that is true is that I am present now. That’s what I have to give to myself – to be fully present.

In thinking that there was no conflict, only truth. AND I found that afterwards, even hours after, I was still vibrating internally the mantra from meditation ‘Ek ong Kar, Sat Nam, Siri Wahe, Hay Guru’. That was the first time that has happened in this Kriya, for a while actually and usually after a class.

I continued to do Sadhana with no music for two weeks after the festival then experimented with electronic mantra music from Feather and Dot. Their Guru Ram Das remix is such fun while doing frogs, on day 31 I even managed the 54!