Meditations for My Next 40 Day Cycle

I just finished a 40 day meditation cycle. I always meditate first thing in the morning for 11-15 minutes…

I just finished the cycle of the Chattr Chakkr meditation kriya.

This mantra helps to move from fear of change to boldness and courage.  It removes feelings of anxiety, depression and phobias, leaving in its place courage and victory.  Just like the snake leaving behind its old skin.

Try this mantra for fear of change:

Chattr chakkr vartee, chattr chakkr bhugatay

Suyumbhav subhang sarab daa sarab jugtay

Dukaalang pranaasee dayaalang saroopay

Sadaa ung sungay abhangang bibhootay

These words bring victory during changing times! Chant along with my favorite version by Nirinjan Kaur or keep it playing in your house! I practiced this every morning for 11 minutes (the length of the recording) and I added this mudra:

Tomorrow, I will start a new 40 day cycle, but I am not sure which meditation I will choose?

Meditation for Developing Your Human Kindness. Also known as Bandhu Dya Kriya, Bandhu means “brother or comrade;” Dya means “kindness;” and Kriya means “action.” Give this kriya a lot of reverence and do it with a lot of love and devotion. Do it very calmly.

Mudra: Rest your elbows alongside your rib cage. Place your hands in front of your chest, palms facing upward, with the two Mercury (pinkie) fingers touching and the outside part of the base of the palms touching. Keep the Sun (ring) fingers and the Jupiter (index) fingers straight and the thumbs pulled back. Touch the tips of the Saturn (middle) fingers so that they form a triangle. The mudra is held before the heart center in a comfortable, prayerful position, but it does not touch the chest.

Posture: Sit in Easy Pose with your spine straight, chin in and chest lifted. Place your hands in the mudra.

Breath & Eye Focus: Inhale through the nose in 8 strokes (break the inhalation into eight equal segments with a slight pause separating each part so that there is a distinct beginning and end to each segment. In other words, you are inhaling in 8 separate “sniffs.” Each stroke is about one “nose length.” You can feel the breath travel the length of the nose from the nostrils to the eyebrows. Each count of a stroke is about one second, so the 8 stroke inhalation takes about 8 seconds).  Eyes are open only 1/10th of the way so you  are gazing at the mudra. Exhale completely and totally with a whistle through the puckered lips. Continue for 11 minutes.

“Sat Narayan” Meditation To Reclaim Your Peaceful Presence.

Mudra: Hands are in Gyan Mudra (thumbs and index fingers touch, resting on knees or in lap).

Posture: Sit with a straight spine.

Breath and Eye Focus: Eyes 1/10th open or gently closed, focused on the Third Eye (between the eyebrows). The breath will adjust itself as you chant. Mantra:

Sat Narayan Wahe Guru (True Supporter, Indescribable Wisdom)

Hari Narayan Sat Nam (Creative Sustenance, True Identity)

Sat Narayan Wahe Guru

Hari Narayan Sat Nam

Directions:

• Chant along with this recording by Ajeet Kaur, which is my favorite version of the mantra. Put your heart into it!
• When the meditation has finished, powerfully and deeply inhale while raising arms above your head, and hold for 10-15 seconds. Powerfully and deeply exhale. Repeat inhale-hold-exhale once more with raised arms. Then lower your arms to your lap/knees and sit quietly. Feel the vibrations of the mantra in you and around you.

May you be elevated by this meditation and blessed with its strength always!

Kirtan Kriya/ Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation: A meditation for total balance.

Here is a blog post I wrote about beginner meditations, please check it out.

Kirtan Kriya, often referred to as SA TA NA MA meditation, is the most important meditation in Kundalini Yoga. If you can do only one meditation, this is it. It will readjust and align you to bring balance into your body, mind and spirit and thus your life. It is your teacher. It is your best friend. The bottom line is that this meditation works. All you have to do is do it. You can trust the process and the technology.

Check out this article on how this meditation is becoming scientifically recognized as a powerful tool for preventing or stopping Alzheimer’s disease, increasing all aspects of cognitive function, (perception, thinking, reasoning and remembering) and reducing stress levels while improving short term memory. Here is another article about it’s direct benefit for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Posture: Sit with a straight spine.

Breath and Eye Focus: Eyes 1/10th open or gently closed, focused on the Third Eye (between the eyebrows). The breath will adjust itself as you chant.

Mantra: Chant SA TA NA MA along with this 11 minute recording by Nirinjan Kaur.

While chanting alternately press the thumb with the four fingers on both hands simultaneously. Press hard enough to keep yourself awake and aware of the pressure. Keep repeating in a stable rhythm and keep the hand motion going throughout the whole meditation.

SA press the thumb and the pointer or Jupiter finger together with pressure. The Jupiter/Pointer finger brings in knowledge, expands our field of possibilities and releases us from limitations.

TA press the thumb and the middle or Saturn finger together. The Saturn/Middle finger gives us patience, wisdom and purity

NA press the thumb and the ring or Sun finger together. The Sun/Ring finger gives us vitality and aliveness.

MA press the thumb and the pinky or Mercury finger together. The Mercury/Pinky finger aids clear communication.

Visualize or feel each individual sound come in the crown chakra at the top of the head, down through the middle of the head and out to infinity through the third eye. This is very important and must be done with each sound. It is an essential part of the cleansing process. If this part of the meditation is not done, you may experience a headache.

Whatever you experience is OK. Do not try to avoid or control your experiences. Simply be with what is going on and go through it. It is all part of the balancing process.

11-Minute Variation (The recording does not follow these times exactly-just go with the flow).

• 2 min out-loud
• 2 min whisper
• 4 min in-head , continue with hand movements
• 2 min whisper
• 2 min out-loud.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Gilly the Giraffe Self Esteem Activity Book by Dr. Karen Treisman

Gilly the Giraffe Self Esteem Activity Book: A Therapeutic Story With Creative Activities to Help Children Aged 5-10 by Dr. Karen Treisman

This book puts the B in Brave! Such a useful and accessible book. Just reading the book is inspiring and has helped me to focus on how I can facilitate a positive learning environment for the students and the teachers by incorporating the story and ideas into my in-school yoga classes. The story is one that flows well by adding yoga poses, breathing activities and short meditations and the added applied practices offer many useful ways of building self-esteem activities into the classroom.

Dr. Treisman brings another part of the world to many readers-with new words and ways. This is a great book about diversity. It is colorful, eye-opening and totally relateable. The story promotes creative problem solving, by offering a view from another angle. It is like a game of Statues, where one person sets themselves up as a statue; the next person walks around, looking at the shape from different angles, and then fits themselves into the structure, which is a fun way of promoting this way of thinking.

I highly recommend incorporating these activities throughout the day. Practicing increases personal growth and strength.

Anther great book by Dr. Triesman is Presley Pug, check out my review here.

Thank you to JK Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. All onions expressed are my own.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Presley The Pug Relaxation Activity Book: A Therapeutic Story With Creative Activities to help Children Aged 5-10 to Regulate Their Emotions and to Find Calm by Dr. Karen Treisman; giveaway

Dr Karen Treisman is the prolific author and creator of this wonderful therapeutic story designed to help start conversations with children about coping with big feelings and how to find inner peace and a sense of overall calmness. This therapeutic story about the universal commonness of having feelings and expressing emotions is full of kid friendly examples. At the heart, this story explains, through the eyes of an adorable pug name Presley, that although each person’s experiences are unique that every person has these experiences which makes the journey to finding peace within the turmoil all the more accessible.

This story on one level should be read by caring adults, as it clearly presents a picture of a young child struggling to come in control and it is also a perfect book to be read aloud. It is sweet and interesting and offers many fun and easily reachable activities to help kids cope with their emotions and find calm, especially the idea of a ‘mind retreat’ – an imaginary safe space where he can relax. Even an imaginary place can offer comfort and security a personal space to relax in and find ones calm. The sweet drawings by Sarah Peacock enhance the story and I can see many kids wanting to snuggle up with Presley for comfort!

With the assistance of the creative activities and photocopiable worksheets, children to explore the ideas raised in the story. Growing up takes practice and that is good, because by practicing something, we get better at it. Getting better at something leads to happier feelings and a stronger sense of self-worth.  The book also presents practical tools for parents, teachers, caregivers and other professional who support children aged 5-10.

This book will come in very handy with my in-school yoga and mindfulness program. as having applied practices to bolster learning is extremely useful  and fits in very well with the classroom environment.

I have a copy of this wonderful book to giveaway. Please comment on this post and share on twitter. Be sure to tag @dr_treisman @JKPBooks @alwaysbedancing. Winner will be selected on September 30th. 

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publishing for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information about me, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com

#bookreviews #children #picturebook #mindfulness #activitybook #therapeutic #worksheets #practicaladvice #parents #caregivers #professionals #supportingchildren #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #story #communication #calm #relaxation #imagination #angermanagement #iameve #pug

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Roots And Wings: A handbook for parents and educators to promote positive change based on the principles of mindfulness by Alex Koster M.Ed.

This is a wonderfully helpful book that is passionately written from deep in the soul of the author. Alex Koster openly shares her knowledge on how a mindful approach to life can bring about positive family, community and societal change in this increasingly digital, impersonal, self-absorbed age. The simple but effective strategies and techniques she offers give parents and educators the mindfulness tools they will need to “put their air masks on first” and then be able to help their children become confident, happy, compassionate adults.

The main message I took away from this book is that by living a more aware, kind and joyful life, life itself will be more enjoyable. Therefore, I will be a more loving and lovable person who is then confident, happy, and compassionate enough to help my children and for those who I care for. Sounds like a win-win to me!

I highly recommend this wonderful book. It’s heart centered approach is just what is needed to diffuse the stress of today.

Thank you to the author for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Yoga set to Reduce Anxiety

Breathing exercise to Reduce Anxiety: *Breathe in 10sec/Hold 10/Breathe out 10. Continue For 5min. (Can work up to 20/20/20)

*Up Mountain

*Chair (with “pass-the-present” arms)

*Low supported flat back (with “Spirit of Ecstasy” arms)

*Standing child’s pose

*Standing child’s pose (with flat back)

*Standing forward bend

*Lunge (Left foot back)

*Float hands

*Standing split

*Try one hand off, other hand, both hands

*Low lunge

*Plank

*Low plank

*3/4 Cobra (feel the hood)

*Extended child’s pose

*Down Dog

*Up Mountain

*Lightning Bolt

*(missing) Standing flat back

*Standing forward bend

*Lunge (Right foot back)

*Float hands

*Standing split

*Try one hand off, other hand, both hands

*Low lunge

*Plank

*Side plank

*Side plank (in tree)

*Side plank

*Side plank (in tree)

*Down Dog

Kriya for a Healthy Bowel System:

*Windmills: Exhale bend; inhale up.

*Right hand to left foot, continue 1min.

*Left hand to right foot, continue 1min.

*Left/Right alternate, pause at each foot 5sec., continue 3min.

*Left/Right alternate, pause at each foot 25sec., continue 2min.

*Left/Right, each foot hold for 2min.

*Corpse pose 2-3min.

*Side Bends. Inhale bend; exhale up. 1min.

*Twist. Inhale twist; exhale center. 1min.

Meditation for Emotional Balance:

**Drink a glass of water, for kidneys.

*Easy pose

*Arms crosses; Hands in armpits (palms face in)

*Raise shoulders (not crunch); keep neck in line

*Close eyes

*Slow-Deep-Breathing 3-11min.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Breath Friends Forever: A Mindfulness Story for Kids by Kids by Laurie Grossman & Ms. Moses’s 4th Grade Class

Breath Friends Forever: A Mindfulness Story for Kids by Kids by Laurie Grossman & Ms. Moses’s 4^th Grade Class. Instant Help Books/New Harbinger.

Truly one of the best things about this book, Breath Friends Forever: A Mindfulness Book for Kids by Kids, and its predecessor, Master of Mindfulness: How to Be Your Own Superhero in Times of Stress, is that it is truly for kids by kids. The voices are clear and strong and young. This simple, sweet story, illustrated with a creative collage of cartoon characters and real life photos, offers various ways to remind us to practice mindfulness whenever needed. The hand gestures, the breathing, the getting in touch with inner peace all combine to offer easy-to-follow instructions for calming down during times of big emotions. The nicely written story offers good factual data on how deep breathing affects and effects the body, mind and energy. This mid-grade book respects the curiosity and personage of the older child. The main message is that a friend is the greatest gift: both to give and to receive.

This is a fabulous authentically voiced mindfulness book for mid-grades. I highly recommend this book. It should be in homes, libraries, schools, therapist offices etc. It is not only a fun, mindful story, but it also serve an important purpose as a book for children to help bolster their self-control, inner peace and resiliency.

Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Laurie Grossman for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information about accessible mindfulness/yoga/dance, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com

#mindfulbookreviewsbyeve #children #picturebook #midgrade #mindfulness #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #speedyyogini #speedykundalini #fiction #nonfiction #selfhelp #parentingtip #teachingtip #forkidsbykids

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Stay Cool at School* by Lori Lite

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Stay Cool at School by Lori Lite*; Illustrated by Richard Watson

I love how mindfulness in schools is becoming the norm and that more and more teachers and school districts are interested in bringing mindfulness and self-help strategies into their school communities. In my opinion, the younger we can start this the better, as empowering our young children with strategies to deal with big emotions, can only be a win-win for the children themselves and the greater community at large.

Lori Lite is in the top of the tier of people offering easily accessible ways to bring mindfulness into the classroom. Her most recent book Stay Cool at School is an adorable and extremely important book for teachers of young children (ages 3-9) who want to help their students identify big emotions and offer them tools to cope. Since coping is a practice, the more this is encourages, the more likely the students will be able to access their wisdom at times of high emotions.

In the story, the two adorable dream monkeys, Jumpy & Sunny help the young child in the story to identify the big emotions experienced, from anger to over-excitement to embarrassment and joy. In each instance, they offer up various breathing strategies that anyone can do, without anyone else even noticing, to increase a sense of calm, self-control and to encourage a positive outlook. 

The illustrations are very cute and I love the fun color palette. The scenarios and emotions are well articulated and this book can be enjoyed over and over again.

I highly recommend this book to families and school communities alike. Libraries should have a section for mindfulness books specifically aimed at children. I know I am going to embrace this book and share it with the children I have the opportunity to work with through my children’s yoga program. Its fun and engaging nature make it an easy fit as a gateway into mindfulness for young children.

*A special note: Stay Cool at School is only available through Scholastic Book Clubs. Contact your child’s teacher for their order/login with the teacher’s information to their club and/or their 5 digit class code. More information here http://bit.ly/LLStayCool

For more information about Always Be Dancing: Yoga & Flamenco for Every/Body, my mindfulness/yoga/dance program, please visit: alwaysbedancing(dot)wordpress(dot)com.

¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Lori Lite for sending me a copy of this book. All opinions stated are my own.

Mindful Book reviews By Eve: A Therapeutic Treasure Box for Working With Children and Adolescents with Developmental Trauma by Dr. Karen Treisman

 

A Therapeutic Treasure Box for Working With Children and Adolescents with Developmental Trauma by Dr. Karen Treisman

This book is fabulous. It is an eye-opening approach to engaging children who suffer from developmental trauma through art activities but can be applied to the general population of children, as I believe that any gateway you can find that allows a child to express and release is a sure fire win! The book is stuffed full of applied practices that are easily adapted to classroom work, yoga/mindfulness programming and for anyone who works with children who wants to engage them outside the box. This book is so creative and well thought out and its myriad of applied practices provide a solid foundation for understanding, assessing, and helping children cope with developmental trauma. I am a yoga and mindfulness teacher and the ease at which I can locate and adapt the tools in this book make it 100% accessible for the as well as mental health practitioners, as the book is full of the most up-to-date clinical information too. This book is a must have for everyone who works with children, not just those who are traumatized, as we can reach out with creativity and compassion to all children to help them release what is hidden inside so they can move forward and thrive. I highly recommend this book. It’s sitting right on my work table along with Dr. Treisman’s  Therapeutic Treasure Deck of Sentence Completion and Feelings (please check out my review). This is a dynamic duo of highly accessible, especially for the non-professional, creative, socio-emotional learning techniques and activities for children. They have become indispensable to me.

I’m looking forward to reviewing her latest “Therapeutic Treasure Deck of Grounding, Soothing, Coping and Regulating Cards” 

¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: The Dance of Interaction: An Embodied Approach to Nonverbal Communication Training for Caregivers of People with Dementia (Training Manual) by Donna Newman-Bluestein with Meg H. Chang

I know the author, Donna Newman-Bluestein, through the dance and movement world in Boston, MA and was excited to have a chance to read and learn from her new training manual. Through her Dance For Connection work Donna brings joy, vitality and a sense of interconnectedness to people with dementia through playful, expressive movement and dance via direct programming and training caregivers.

This manual sets out to change the culture of care surrounding people with dementia within nursing home care by using mindfulness, movement and nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions. This manual strives to support caregivers, to help them to awaken their mindful selves, to guide them to trust their intuitions, and to enable them to go forth and shine. Embodied learning is mindfulness in-action and it empowers you to be authentically you so that you can see that every interaction with a person with dementia is an opportunity to build a relationship.

The chapters are carefully laid out and are broken down into easy to follow sections. One page, titled “If You Do Nothing Else…(pg. 77) that I found immensely helpful is a list of go-to strategies to try before approaching a person with dementia. This is a list of lifelines for the caregiver, because we all know “you have to put your air-mask on first before you can help anyone else…” In other words, this is a list of mindful mini’s to increase confidence, joy, and vitality so that caregivers can be at their best, fully aware, present and with self-control.

I highly recommend this work and trainings by Donna Newman-Bluestein. An embodied learning approach can be used caregivers, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, anyone who works with patients with dementia and really any specialty group. This approach will make you curious, compassionate and above all authentic, vibrant and empowered to be the best you and the best caregiver. I love this beautiful, compassionate life line!

Mindful Book Reviews by Eve: Stress Free Kids: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Build Self-Esteem, Manage Stress and Reduce Anxiety in Children by Lori Lite

Ahead of receiving this book, I had the awesome chance to talk to Lori and found her to be a kind-hearted, open-minded person. This book is absolutely chock full of wonderful, creative and easy to use ideas, techniques, and strategies to reduce stress in your life and in that of your any children you come in contact with. That is for sure her main point: you have to put on your air mask first in order to help those around you. Relaxation is a skill that you need to practice in order to master and by sharing personal stories, answering parent generated questions and other varied techniques, such as affirmations and meditation, this book will empower you on your journey to a stress-free life. I was especially inspired by her chapter on bringing these techniques into schools and know that I will use many of her tips to help the sites that I work with. This is an excellent book for parents and teachers, anyone who works with kids.