Eight-Week Curriculum Curriculum
Kundalini Yoga for Grace 90-Minute Classes
Compiled by Shakta Kaur Kundalini Yoga in the Loop (KYL), (KYL), Chicago, IL, USA Created for 3HO IKYTA Members
Sat Nam, Dear Teacher, This 8-week series of classes is based upon the 3HO International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association (IKYTA) Conference theme for 2016--‘grace.’ Yogi Bhajan defined grace often and in many different contexts. He said grace was ‘dwelling in the Infinite.’ He taught that grace was the constant reality of your presence in service to all. In other words, ‘grace’ is not just a little little prayer you say before before eating a meal! It is a way to live! live! You can serve food gracefully … or not. You can speak gracefully … or not. Do you take take ownership of the intention of each action, each word, and their projected quality? If so, then everything you do or say becomes the graceful fulfillment of your infinite identity and character. ‘Grace’ was chosen as the theme from Yogi Bhajan’s, ‘The 8 Elements of Excellence.’ It reads: “The 8 Elements of Excellence: Excellence: The Vision to see your goal and and keep it in your consciousness. The Courage to attempt it and to keep up. The Grit to go through it. The Humility to know who the Doer is. The Knowledge to substantiate substantiate it. The Prayer to feed it. The Grace to carry yourself through it. The Determination to achieve it .” .”
Each class in this curriculum has been taught at Kundalini Yoga in the Loop (KYL), in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This is certainly not a definitive list of all the kr iyas and meditations you could possibly use in a curriculum find inspiration here to to teach this or a similar ‘grace’ focusing on ‘grace.’ However, perhaps you will find curriculum in your community soon! May God and Guru continue to bless 3HO IK YTA, Kundalini Yoga Instructors, Practitioners and Teachers world-wide. Yours in service,
Shakta Kaur Kundalini Yoga in the Loop (KYL), Chicago, IL, USA
www.ShaktaKaur.com – 312-922-4699
Wonderi ng how to market your ‘Yoga & Meditation for Grace’ series? Try this!
Yoga and Meditation for Grace XXX’s MONTHLY Theme The most precious thing you have as a human being is your own grace. The only real difference between people is in their degree of grace. Your real power—your spiritual power—is in your grace. “What is Grace? Grace is the shield of radiation or radiant shield which protects the pranic balance in your entire living system, not only with you, and within you, and within your psyche, but how you correlate to all other psyches in your communication of memory. All who have gone before you, all who have to follow you. Do you understand what grace is now? The trust that others place in you, is your grace. The word you give to others is grace. Expectation of you being who you are is grace. It is a sum total of your personality, reflected by you. It is your radiant body .”—Yogi Bhajan
Come to KYL and learn to: --be grateful for consciousness and existence (because accepting is grace) -- develop the grace of the meditative mind --not lose your grace, no matter what --stand any disgrace with grace and --serve your grace, not your ego. Drop-in to the class of your choice or click here now to pre-register: [XXX].
YOGA & MEDITATION FOR GRACE Class #1 Let Me Serve and Save My Grace Main Kriya:
For Keep Up Spirit (Yoga for Prosperity , pp. 73-76).
Meditation:
Get Free of Cold Depression ( A Year with the Master CD-ROM, p. 83).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 - Main Kriya. 11:25 – Deep relaxation. 11:40 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts:
1) In the most ungraceful situations can you remain kind? In the most un-kind situations, can you remain graceful? 2) “The slogan of the Age of Aquarius is, “Let me serve and save my grace, not my ego and my face.” That one line can define all issues. The entire knowledge of the universe is contained in it. Grit and power is co1ntained in it. Effort and discipline are contained in it. … Walk tall, smart , alert. There is no alternative to it. We have to do it. It is a virtuous time. … Those who meditate on their identity and personality and go through the hard labor, they will be bright and beautiful in the eyes of God. Fulfillment and joy will make them extremely happy. The essence of life will be at their command. The world will look to them for guidance. Their words will touch and bring brightness and health and grace to people’s minds. Physically, mentally and spiritually they will enrich everybody.” (A Year with the Master, p. 60.)
2) Beginning in the mid-1990’s Yogi Bhajan touched repeatedly on the theme of cold depression as a systematic response to stress. He said it would only increase as we transition to the Aquarian Age and experience the shift in environments and relationships. We need to adapt our self, our consciousness, and our nervous system to the challenges of this New Age. (Level 2 Manual, Vitality & Stress, p. 257.) “There is a disease called cold depression. Majority of the people at the age of 36 onwards are accustomed to it. … Cold depression is when you fight against your own consciousness. Then your spirit does not help you and normally in these cases people are not helped. And they do not want to solve it. The soluti on is very simple. … Go deep in yourself. If you have little meditative experience go deep in yourself and find out what are you fighting for —you do know. Are you fighting or are you not fighting? If you are fighting still you are under that and if you are not fighting still you are under that.” (Level 2 Manual, Vitality & Stress, p. 259). ‘Cold’ means it’s absent, empty. There’s no fire. It is the lack of an exertive personality. When
all the pieces are there you can engage a person. But, with cold depression the person is confused and tamasic, i.e., inertia sets in . The person doesn’t know where to move. The ‘juice’
of life kind of goes away. There is a sense of disconnection from oneself, an anger at oneself. The person becomes defensive. It’s almost an extreme disassociation. In an extreme cold depression people just ‘stop.’ For example, they just don’t get out of bed. They want to know, ‘why?’ ‘WHY should I get out of bed?’ “These are signs of cold depression; when life does not matter, society does not matter, relatives do not matter, discipline does not matter. Nothing matters. Cold depression is desperation. There is nothing anybody can do. It brings a constant pain which you cannot hide. Only strong meditation can burn it out. It is a built-in depression in which you feel limited, small, undercut, neglected and rejected. By your own power of meditation, you can feel competent, blissful and compassionate.” (A Year with the Master, p. 83.) 3 Key Skills:
1) Cat/Cow 2) Alternate Leg Lifts 3) Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Jio (mantra) Yogi Bhajan’s Prayer for the End of Class :
“May you all live in that grace. May you all protect that grace. May you all create a grace. Let life prevail, like oil on the ocean. Let us cover the seven seas with the Holy Nam. Let our sounds resound and reach everywhere. Let us share the prophesy of God with our grace. May you all be rich, pure, gracious, sharing and giving. May your selflessness be so vast that you can share. May you be angels with every angle of life. It is the hand of God which blesses us and gives us grace. It is his touch which proves and gives us the chance of our prayers. It is His power which makes us worthy to serve. Let us all remember that we are One in God and God is One in us.” (A
Year with the Master, p. 60.)
Class #2 A Graceful Person Remains Graceful Main Kriya:
Balance the Vayus (Owner’s Manual for the Human Body, pp. 10-11).
Meditation:
For Grace ( A Year with the Master CD-ROM, p. 44).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 - Main Kriya. 11:25 – Deep relaxation. 11:40 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts:
1) “The most precious thing you have as a human being is your own grace. The only difference between people— from a prostitute to royalty, from a saint to a pimp—is in their degree of grace. Your real power, your spiritual power, is your grace. There is nothing comparable to it. If you have your grace with you, and you only deal with your own grace, the world will bow to you, the world will seek you. And, if you love your grace, the Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient God will love you. You will never find a dearth of anything in your life.” “ Grace is when you are meditatively innocent. And when you are meditatively graceful, the Hand of God will protect you. You will never fall short. Your consciousness, knowledge and understanding, your body, mind and spirit, your tomorrow, today and yesterday, are all balanced —your grace on one side, you on the other. If you make a promise that you will not lose your grace, no matter what, God will not leave you alone, no matter what.” 2) “Any body can provoke you. Do not be provoked, do not cross the line of your grace. Sit down and assess yourself, ‘Where is my grace? My grace is me!’ You do not need to learn—your grace can attract the entire divinity of God to you. The most precious things you love and want to have: prosperity, beauty, bounty, bliss and happiness—will work for you. Nothing is free. The price has to be paid – you must live your grace.” 3) “A graceful person remains graceful. It does not matter if you love or hate him—the pair of opposites does not affect him. No matter which occupation you might choose—grace is grace. Enjoy your life by your own grace.” (A Year with the Master, p. 44.) 3 Key Skills (well, 4 really!) :
1) Frog Pose 2) Kangaroo Jumps 3) Celibate Pose 4) Cobra Pose Variation (for the heart)
Class #3 Find Your Grace and Peace Warm-Up:
For the Nervous System and Balancing the Bloodstream ( Kundalini Yoga for Youth & Joy , p. 54).
Main Kriya:
Reflexes for the Vital Core (Level 2 Vitality & Stress Manual , pp. 47-48).
Meditation:
Grace of God (Level 1 Aquarian Teacher Yoga Manual, p. 93) .
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 -- Warm-Up Kriya 10:50 -- Main Kriya. 11:30 – Deep relaxation. 11:45 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts: 1) What is grace? There are many different notions of grace. -The trust that others place in you, is your grace -The word you give to others is grace. -Expectation of you being who you are is gr ace. (‘In the Name of the Cosmos Words to Live By ,’ p. 28)
2) ”The Golden Temple* has four doors and continuous recitation of praise of God. You should have four doors, too! Be in a position to receive anybody who comes. Rather than gossiping, talking negatively and complaining, start valuing this priceless, precious life. Do not waste it. Make a temple out of it. We go to temples in the hope of finding grace and peace. You walk into a church, light a candle and leave some money. Light a candle in yourself and become radiant! Be helpful to others! Meditate to empower yourself with purity and piety .” (A Year with the Master CD-ROM, p. 83.)
3) “Make yourself beautiful, bountiful and graceful. Time has come for you to wake up. What goes out from you comes back to you. if you serve, you shall win the heart of others. If you are humble, you shall not only win their hearts, you will win their total being. If you serve, people will want to do something for you. Their thousands of prayers will elevate you. God will come through for you.” (‘Receive Abundance by Serving,’ Yogi Bhajan lecture, 08.25.1996.) *The most sacred temple of the Sikhs. It is also called the Harimander Sahib. The Golden Temple is surrounded by a pool of healing water . It’s four doors are open to all no matter the religious belief, caste or country.
3 Key Skills:
1) Crow Pose 2) Bend at the waist first, then twist 3) Jumping Jacks
Class #4 By Thy Grace Main Kriya:
For the Lymph Glands (Yoga for the 80’s, pp. 20-22).
Meditation:
Life Guideline ( A Year with the Master, p. 69).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 -- Main Kriya. 11:30 – Deep relaxation. 11:45 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts: 1) “Human being is a meditative mind progressively committed and rationally progressive. It has three essences: divinity, dignity and grace. There is no other way to be happy .” (Sikh Dharma Community Connection, September 2011, p. 5.) 2) “There are 7 steps to happiness. Your happiness begins with commitment, which gives you character, which gives you divinity, which gives you dignity, which gives you grace and grace gives the power to sacrifice. When you know how to sacrifice you will be happy. Commitment —the power to succeed when you are powerless. Character —you cannot be shaken. Divinity —nothing can touch you. Dignity —do not hesitate to do what you have to do for somebody. Grace—stand any disgrace with grace. Power to sacrifice—know you own nothing, that everything is of God, and give to whomsoever is in need. Happiness—do something for no self-gain.” (Meditations for the New Millennium , NM 0379.)
3) Sometimes when things are challenging, we get discouraged and think that life is hard. But we have a beautiful technology to live in the grace of God. A personal mantra of Yogi Bhajan’s was ‘Ketiaa dukh bukh sad maar, Eh Bhe data teree daataar ,’ from the 25th Pauri (stanza) of Japji Sahib.* This means, “Hundreds of thousands of pains, discomforts multiplied, even these are thy gifts, oh, G reat Giver .”
Yogi Bhajan lived his life this way. In any difficult time he saw that the challenge was also the grace of God, and allowed God’s will to be what it was. We can also go into that Grace by living in the ecstasy of knowing that everything happens by the Will of God and all we need to do is trust that God covers us in the end and has our best interests at heart. “Is your spirit higher than the challenge so you can face it? It is simple. If your face and your grace do not give in to the challenge, you are spiritual .” --Yogi Bhajan (Sikh Dharma Community Connection,
September 2011, p. 5.) 3 Key Skills:
1) Shoulder Stand with Bicycling 2) Plow Pose with Scissoring 3) Venus Lock (in meditation)
Class #5 Act as God on Earth Main Kriya:
Adjust Your Flow (Fountain of Youth, pp. 22-23) (Recommended: 7 mins. each exercise instead of 11 minutes).
Meditation:
Meditation to Bless Yourself (Level 2 Conscious Communication manual, p. 201).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 – Warm-Ups (Basic Spine Flex, Torso Twists, Cat Cow; 2 mins. ea. exercise) 10:45 -- Main Kriya. 11:20 – Deep relaxation. 11:40 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts: 1) “What do you mean by grace? To act as God on earth. Simple. Your actions, your deeds, must prove that you are God on earth but you must not say it. You must not play it, you must no pronounce it nor announce it. Just live it .” 2) “Whenever you deal with anything just ask one question: “How will it affect me (as a woman), and how will it affect my grace and my radiance?” (‘A Graceful Woman,’ July 2, 1982, p. 4, contained in “The Psychology of a Graceful Woman.”) 3) “Grace has disgrace in it. If you are a graceful person, you can fool around and it’s very disgraceful. You feel that you are graceful, but, there’s a lot of disgrace with it. When you feel graceful, that’s one act of consciousness, but, there are a thousand acts of consciousness that came with it. One thousand acts are the price of one graceful act. You have to be tolerant, you have to be patient, you have to be diplomatic, you have to be a stateswoman, you have to be nice, you have to be kind, you have t o be effective, you have to have character. … If all that long list is perfect, then out of that will come one little thing—a graceful woman. Who wants it? None. Who can live without it? None. Neither can you live with it nor can you live without it. That’s called life. Life is a gift which you have to keep going. That’s the problem. You do not understand your problem. ‘Oh, I am neurotic, I am bad, I am sad, I am mad, I am humble, I am big, I am rich, I am thin, I am think.’ It’s all nonsense. The problem is simple: life is a gift to you which you have to keep going.” “ Life is a gift too beautiful to be handled by your ego. It can only be handled by your grace. Life is the most beautiful thing that God is and that is given to you as a gift.” (‘A Graceful Woman,’ July 2, 1982, p. 3, contained in “The Psychology of a Graceful Woman.”)
3 Key Skills:
1) Half-Plow with arms on the floor behind the head 2) and 3) the other three ‘U’s!’
Class #6 Life is a Gift of Grace Main Kriya:
Cleanse the Body & Disease Prevention (Kriya, pp. 47-52).
Meditation:
Guru Ram Das Chant (Sikh Spiritual Practice: A Sound Way to God , pp. 18-19).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 – Main Kriya. 11:20 – Deep relaxation. 11:40 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts: 1) “Suppose someone gave you a 50 carat diamond, clear and perfect and said, ‘keep it.’ You’d shake, you’d shiver. ‘What should I do about security? Where should I keep it? Which bank?’ There are a million questions. We don’t act that way about our life. ‘How should I keep it? It’s so precious. What can I do to keep it clear and shining?’ Unless, of course, death has touched us; then, if for only a moment we remember. “Life is a gift. And it’s very precious. It’s much more precious than you ever think. You think about your ego. That’s your problem. ... Care for your life. Just feel alive. Now. Every minute. ... You don’t think about whether you are alive or not. You think, ‘I am alive. Am I secure? Am I insecure? Am I getting attention? Am I not getting attention? Am I happy? Am I not happy? Who cares if you are happy or not? Who cares if you get attention or not? Who cares if you are good or bad? Whether you are alive or not gets none of your attention. As long as you are alive and you do not know you are alive, but you want to feel you are alive, you have to manipulate. Period. When you manipulate you will lie, you will exploit, you will have drama and when your drama doesn’t work you will create a trauma. When your trauma doesn’t work you will be depressed, when the depression doesn’t work you will go on pills. You are not satisfied you are alive. You are not grateful that you are alive. It is not enough just to be alive.” (‘A Graceful Woman,’ July 2, 1982, p. 3, from “The Psychology of a Graceful Woman.”)
2) “Intellectual ego complicates it, your insecurity complicates it, your need complicates it, your desire complicates it and your metabolism complicates it. Life is so simple that everything is there to complicate it. Life should be nothing but life. Let it flow. Because the gift of life is a gift of life. It is not your property. The flow of life is a gift of life. It is not under your control. Therefore, let it flow . (‘One Thing to Remember,’ July 3, 1982, p. 16, from “The Psychology of a Graceful Woman.”).
3) “The grace is that everything comes from Him and everything that comes from Him goes back to Him. But on the way don’t mess it up. It is the mess which is troublesome. ... Just one thing to remember: “ All things come from God and all things go to God .” (‘One Thing to Remember,’ July 3, 1982 , p. 17, from “The Psychology of a Graceful Woman.”)
3 Key Skills:
1) Hold arms up using scapula (instead of deltoid muscles); chest up high and out (Ex. #1)
2) Moving Camel Pose (Ex. #4) 3) Yoga Mudra Variation (Ex. #12).
Class #7 Graceful Enlightenment Main Kriya:
Balancing the Vayus (Owner’s Manual for the Human Body , pp. 10-11).
Meditation:
Meditation for Graceful Enlightenment and Strength of Heart (The 21 Stages of Meditation, Stage 13, pp. 226-228).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 –- Main Kriya. 11:20 – Deep relaxation. 11:40 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts: 1) Enlightenment isn’t abstract. It’s when our presence lightens the load of each person we
meet, work with, serve or teach. Gracefulness comes from the internal balance of our thoughts and feelings and the willingness to commit our self to act with integrity, responsibility and care in every situation we encounter. 2) Many teachers accurately state that the enlightened state is to rise above the polarities of circumstance, gain and loss, emotions and thoughts. But they often miss the plot, which is the very human experience of relationship the embrace and the responsibility. Buddhists capture this quality by vowing to stay committed to uplifting all sentient beings. Christians show it in acts of service and commitment to community and compassion. Sikhs express it in the practice of serving friend and foe alike. At some point every enlightened person gathers their resources together and commits them to grace in action. ( The 21 Stages of Meditation, p. 221.) Yogi Bhajan speaks to this in The 21 Stages of Meditation (p. 221): “The greatest misfortune in the science of yoga is some idiots who call themselves yogis. They start preaching that a yogi is one who is above all polarities. But they don’t say at all the most important second sentence. A yogi is a person who is above all polarities but picks up the action and results of the polarity. You should be above pain but you should pick up everybody else’s pain. That is what above pain means. Above pain does not mean that you should be gross and insensitive and nothing should move you. To be above the law of polarity is that you should totally pick up the bill from the effect of those polarities.” 4) In the Siri Guru Granth Sahib there is a slok that says, ‘I received my breath in sixteen strokes, I held it and I found God.’ (The 21 Stages of Meditation , pre-publication copy, p. 125, Stage 13.) 3 Key Skills:
1) Precise meditative posture with crossed legs (meditation) 2) Pressing the meridian point in the dimple of the deltoid muscle (meditation) 3) Mentally chant ‘Gobinday Mukunday Udaaray Apaaray Hariang Kariang Nirnamay Akaamay ,’
in 2 repetitions of 16 beats total; repeated on inhale, suspension and exhale; while using Sitali Pranayam (meditation).
Class #8 Realize Your Grace Main Kriya:
Ajna Stimulation Kriya (Kriya, pp. 105-108).
Meditation:
Realize Your Grace & Rise Above Reflex Actions (www.ShaktaKaur.com).
10:30 – Welcome & Tune In. 10:35 –- Main Kriya. 11:15 – Deep relaxation. 11:35 – Meditation. 11:55 – Longtime Sunshine Song and 3 Long Sat Nams. 3 Key Concepts:
1) “You can never lose your total grace. God created human beings in his own image; therefore, you cannot be less perfect than God .” (‘A Graceful Women,’ July 2, 1982, p. 8 from ‘The
Psychology of a Graceful Woman.’) 2) The yogis’ idea of grace is not that much different from the Christian idea of grace, i.e., ‘The mystery of grace is the mystery of the way God’s love acts with us and for us.’ (‘Divine Grace and Man,’ P. Fransen, p. 56). Yogi Bhajan would say, ‘Patience pays. Let the hand of God work for you.’ That is the gift of grace, that God frees you from defining your outcomes and allows God’s presence to unfold and participate in your life bringing you into His Grace. Then by God’s Grace, one obtains a state of
consciousness to merge with Infinity. (Sardarni Guru Amrit Kaur, Sikh Dharma Worldwide newsletter, Vol. 2, Issue 9, Sept. 2011). ‘To grasp the significance of grace in all its fullness and depth, we should conceive of it as two
currents, moving parallel to each other, but in opposite directions: one current streaming down from God to us, the other returning with Christ to God.’ (IBID, p. 58). ‘Briefly put, grace, seen from God’s side, signifies that God loves us freely...’ (IBID, p. 58). ‘Consequently, grace, seen from man’s side, is an inner strength, a lifting urge, a yearning for
God, a created gift. It lays hold of us in the innermost depth of our human being; ... ‘(IBID, p. 59). ‘...grace is really given to us, truly implanted in us ... ‘(IBID, p. 63). ‘The quality in us of child of God, the rights belonging to an adopted son together, in and
through the Only Begotten Son, sanctity—in a word, grace: all is a gift uninterruptedly bestowed upon me by God.’ (IBID, p. 63). ‘Grace is life, is love ... I am borne on the life-stream flowing out from God and returning back to God.’ (IBID, p. 63).
Yogi Bhajan said, ‘We exist by the Grace of God ,’ (Sikh Dharma Worldwide
newsletter, Vol. 2, Issue 9, Sept. 2011).
‘Grace, taken as a whole, may be described as the secret of God’s presence in our life. Christ
considered no legacy more precious to His Church than His abiding presence-with-us through the Spirit. ... For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18: 19-20).’ (IBID, p. 66).
3) “When you sing the glory of God, you are the God. Have no doubt about it. Just sing. It will purify you; it will bring you to your destiny; it will bring you your grace. If you can sing to please yourself, you start singing to please God. It is the shortest way to God. It is a short-cut to grace.” —Yogi Bhajan ‘Kal jug meh keeran pardhaanaa’. In the Kali Yuga, kirtan is the president. (Guru Arjan, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1075) ( ‘A Graceful Woman,’ July 2, 1982, p. 10, from ‘The Psychology of a Graceful Woman.’ ) ‘God Himself, in the Person of His eternal Word, “was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1: 14) so that we in turn might become gods, i.e., filled with divine and filial life.’ (Divine Grace and Man, p. 55). ‘One way to understand the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is this: If Jesus had compiled 1430 pages of psalms and said, “Read these, sing these and you will become like Me,” you would have the equivalent of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.’ (Sikh Spiritual Practice: The Sound Way to God , p. 47.) 3 Key Skills: 1) Triangle Pose 2) Bow Pose 3) Stretch Pose
“ If you want to grow, if you want to glow, if you want grace; you will only get it if you follow the Ten Manners of Life: Listen Feel the Other Person Discuss and Dialogue Come to a Mutual Understanding Plan the Strategy Keep Communication Evaluate Achieve Exchange Greetings.” --Yogi Bhajan
