Taranjeet Kaur

We are keeping up + New classes!

September 3, 2019

One tired morning with our newborn girl I scrolled through Google researching anything of interest in this new area I found myself in, jolly East London. I couldn’t write (tired x a million) as I researched I found this space, literally called The Space East around 20 minutes away.

I visited a bunch of times thinking – Where’s the Kundalini Yoga? What if? Then I went to Baby massage and Mum and Baby Yoga and looooved the space! So I’m trialing out classes Tuesday 10th September 6.30-7.30 am. I’m trying, I may stumble but what if it works?

I taught at home to a few friends and at a festival, though teaching in a space for a required length of time is a whole new thing for me.

My weaknesses are new things – experiences, switches, gadgets, and things to remember. So I’m coming out of my comfort zone to experience something new that could potentially fail.

I’m also launching classes a little closer to home, my stretch goal for that is 26th September.

I was with a friend recently and he spoke of a time when Yogi Bhajan (the founder of Kundalini yoga) was starting out, he commented on when no one attended his classes to be ‘the best classes were the classes of one’. A yoga teacher said the same thing a while ago while gathering students there was no show to her classes, instead of sitting and feeling sorry for herself she taught exactly as she would if there was a room full of people.

‘Good and bad, we are not sad – we are keeping up!’
Yogi Bhajan

In all honesty, I didn’t do that when there was no show to a workshop I hosted. I sat and drank green tea from a can in a giant room happy to be in the cool when it was so hot outside.

I learned nothing from that. What Yogi Bhajan and my friend learned were self-discipline, to carry on anyway, to fine-tune, to keep up.

Classes start at The Space East, Forest Gate Tuesday 10th September 2019. You can book via their website or on the Mind Body App.

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Mantra lovin’: Sat Narayan

August 5, 2019

There’s a mantra I love that you can watch about in the video below, it‘s all about going with the flow, though as Leonie Dawson mentioned in a video recently – Go with the flow but swim a little!

The flow I’m referring to is staying in your own flow, when outside yourself things are changing, feel chaotic or not as you envisioned or wanted. Sat Narayan, to be in the true flow of what is happening with acceptance of what it is.

Sat Narayan – True sustainer

Waheguru – indescribable wisdom

Hari Narayan – Creative sustenance

Sat Nam – True Identity

My favourite versions of Sat Narayan are by: Hansu Jot and Carola Zafarana.

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Outside overwhelm and expectation

March 4, 2019

When I first explored expectations, I thought of what I had expected from others and the environment. Much deeper I find there are many expectations I set on myself, this is about how I am dropping them and picking up to-dos when I’m ready to.

I’m 35+ weeks pregnant, some of the information will reflect that. These skills can be used by anyone, you may see similarities and get inspiration from them.

In the later stages of pregnancy, I can so easily become overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed as if I have been working all day, done errands then look at my own to do list thinking ‘So, erm, what was my objective here?’ It’s only 10 am, in fact, some days I only properly ‘wake up’ at 2 pm.

I literally have no energy other than to turn on a relaxing track and nap.

Husband and extended family are supportive, reminding me IT’S OK to rest, relax, do nothing for a while.

I miss the excitement of Sadhana practice, the drive to get things ticked off my list and the celebration of accomplishments. Thinking I can get all things done while growing a watermelon doesn’t work.

After a lot of resistance, I have accepted I can get things done by going slow and resting often. Not to ignore the intuitive voice that sounds like it’s in pain ‘I am so tired’.

A resource I turn to when overwhelmed or need the time out is Martha Beck’s Gathering Room on Facebook. In a recent episode, she shared ‘Force is still a force, creativity is flow. Let go of expectation, be continually expecting something new’.

Often I am expecting something specific to happen, like completing three tasks or to have enough energy to be out all day.

However, if I expect something with no strings or specifics, something new will happen.

It always does. Never fails.

Martha’s health issues allowed her to see that everything is ‘A gradual awakening from suffering’. No one wants to be in suffering through in small ways we are.

Like when I wake up after a night of unexpected insomnia and bathroom trips and I’ve slept but somehow I’m tired like I haven’t slept at all, that is a form of suffering. Now I practice thinking of it as a gradual awakening rather than what is, what will be all day.

Just before entering the Gathering room again, I was reading about the benefits of weekly planning over daily. This interested and annoyed me as I got a pricey daily planner at the start of the year. Instead of going out and buying one (shifting an old habit) I copied the layout into my Bullet Journal.

The benefits of weekly planning are that you can see all your priorities, tasks and appointments all in one place. You delegate priorities over the days and it works as stepping stones to a goal.

From experimenting, weekly planning is working better. Though with husbands working hours and my nap times, it is becoming more like an accountability tracker. I can see how and where progress is to be made which is something!

I’ve come back to old useful habits, instead of ‘painting’ on my list I will put ’15 mins journal’ as that’s all the time I need to play pressure-free and usually I go onto paint from there.

I write 1 – 3 tasks down on my whiteboard and if I complete only one I remind myself ‘Hey you wrote an article today! That’s amazing!’ The same goes for when I note down to read, naps, walk I remind myself ‘I am in such appreciation that I can read this long book and take it in!’

I’ve been practicing that every day is different and to go with the flow since week 6 of this journey. Now it feels I have the added experience building of no expectations, to be present and only expect something will happen, not try and predict what, just be in the flow.

Stand outside overwhelm, there you have less frustration and more fun.

How you get there only you can experience, though to begin, become still.

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Practicing the 5 Aquarian Sutras in real life 2/5 There is a way through every block

November 12, 2017

This is number two in a five part series, for information on the Sutras and to start at 1, go here.

There is a way through every block. Huh? What? Every block? Yes there is. Here’s how I apply this to life and know it works practically.

When I’m faced with a situation where it seems all the circumstances have turned against me such as something hasn’t come on time, my travel route has changed last minute, funds are not as high as I would like, people have cancelled, I turn to this.

When I’m feeling nervous or some anxiety at a self made block I go over this. It makes it quicker to identify blocks too, until I started Kundalini yoga I didn’t even see my ‘self made blocks’. They can be defined as a limitation put on yourself by yourself without any conscious knowing until you listen to that thought ‘I can’t do….I can’t get….I’m afraid to…..I’m worried that…It isn’t usual for me to….’ And recognise- there’s my self made block! I used to have many, I still have some. I find that 40 day practices really help with this especially if you track your progress, keep a journal or photo album of that time.

Blocks I come across many times are going to new places and doing new things, especially if there’s driving involved! Imagine if I had never of broken through a few driving blocks recently I wouldn’t have built two new pieces of furniture, picked up scripture from a friend, listened to an interesting talk in English or gone to get new glasses! I would have never had the learning of when the carparks were less busy or taken the opportunity before the Christmas rush or seen that myself driving in London was actually completely doable . Ultimately I would have kept my experiences small had I taken on ‘I can’t drive there because I’ve never done it before’ or ‘I can’t drive there as the car park will be busy and I won’t be able to park’.

These are self made blocks and sometimes take a little reflection to look over self limitations.

There is a way through every block reminds me of the Yogi Bhajan quote – ‘I don’t believe in miracles I rely on them’.

I used this regularly while doing my yoga training, in the Summer as it seemed near impossible to meet up with people. Just when I thought things wouldn’t happen, I’d stop and surrender and think the above quote then suddenly our plans were on! This happened with a night out with girlfriends and the day before a friends Anand Karaj (wedding).

It brings about positivity, possibility and opens you up to a way being found with minimal effort. Similar to the saying ‘Where there’s a will theres a way’.

A mantra in Kundalini yoga that works to dissolved blocks is Aad Such Jugaad Such, Hai Bhai Such Nanak Hosee Bhai Such, find out more here.

You can go deeper with this, and some do in saying ‘Let Wahe Guru lead the way, it is all his will’. Wahe meaning wondrous and Guru meaning being led from darkness to light. Whatever faith or name you give for God/the Universe/Divine it’s all an act of surrender, stillness and from there an answer will come or be shown to you.

‘Surrender is an active participation with the flow of the Universe.

‘Obstacles’ appear as conflicts in our lives because we are in duality. When we let go of duality, we let go of drama. Surrender brings with it a great sense of relief because it frees up our inner resources to ride the wave fully and get to where we want to go. Fast.’ –Savitree Kaur

It’s a good mantra to have while working either on your own projects or in your day job because we can be faced with ‘problems’ at any time. It opens up a channel to trust and know that there is a way through every block and no one else will see you through to success, but you. See how other empowering skills come to play here – trust, faith, self reliance, responsibility, being in a flow. They all start here, right where you are.

Try it for this week, when you feel the world is against you or there’s a hiccup in your plans. Even when things on the outside are going well, how you feel internally may not match up, it’s up to you to see yourself through. You can journal about your experiences and share some light in your stories or connect with others in how they have got through things they once saw as blocks.

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