Feb 15 2009
Grabbing the Quiet Moments
I’m enjoying that quiet time of the morning before the other adults in the house get up - yes, quiet because the Pibler is industriously ‘mopping’ with his toy mop around the lounge. I managed to do some yoga this morning although I have developed an awful cold. Yesterday I started a 1000-day Kundalini Yoga Sadhana meditation which Yogi Bhajan called ‘Meditation for An Invincible Spirit in the Aquarian Age’.
Yes, this literally means doing the same 11-minute meditation for 1000 days - I think that’s about 3 years! I’ve done 40-day and 120-day meditations and yoga sets (kriyas) before, but this is the longest one I’ve attempted by far. Since it’s only a short one, I thought I could manage to fit it in, especially considering that I find time to write on here nearly every day.
Tonight I have a sangha meeting with some other members of the Kundalini Yoga community - teachers and teacher trainees. We have monthly meetings to discuss whatever concerns we have, issues and questions around teaching, and to meditate and connect with each other. The Kundalini Yoga community in Brighton is quite small, certainly far smaller than the London one, but that does mean that most of us get to know each other well.
Most if not all spiritual traditions emphasise the importance of the sangha (Sanskrit word for ‘community’) to keep the connection with the spiritual teachings of one’s tradition and support and motivate one another. I have found it to be crucial to access this ‘field of blessings’ as the sangha is known in the Buddhist tradition, and even more so today when facing the challenges of motherhood.
The only thing I find a little difficult is that very few Kundalini Yogi’s (that I’ve met anyway) are mothers themselves, at least in the literal sense, which can make it difficult for us to relate to each other’s challenges. After all, without parenthood responsibilities, the time to devote to spiritual practices has far more scope, and going off on retreats or weekend workshops is a more likely route to deepening the practice. Also, being a stay-at-home parent means a lack of money to do these things. That’s why I’m grateful for these sangha meetings, because they are free, and over time I hope we can build the sense of belonging and acceptance that I’ve experienced during my teacher training and at festivals such as Buddhafield.
