Remember when I said I was totally smitten with my daily 31 minutes of Kirtan Kriya? Well, the honeymoon period is officially over. 500 days in, and I am getting on with my practice, but it is less of the hearts and flowers and more of the ‘OK, let’s do this!’ I still love Kirtan Kriya dearly, I still rate it as one of the most powerful and spectacular kundalini yoga kriyas in the book, but that adoration has settled somewhat from the explosive ‘Wowee zowee, I love Kirtan Kriya’ gush to something a little more steady and sedate – a quiet respect. Perhaps this is Shakti Pad, the ‘get on with it’ phase that follows those sweet new shining beginner steps of Saram Pad and Karam Pad (which, in this Kirtan Kriya case, lasted a full juicy and joyous year!).
My challenge in this next 140 days of Kirtan Kriya has been to keep alive the sacred aspect of my daily practice. After a year of 31 minutes Kirtan Kriya day in, day out, it’s easy to fall into a ‘going through the motions’ attitude. I’m so used to Kirtan Kriya now that it’s like second nature – wake up, do whatever warm-ups or set I’m on and chase it with Kirtan Kriya. So in these past 140 days, I found I had to remain even more aware, more ‘on it’ during my daily practice. Because it’s now second nature to me, it’s so much harder to stay present.
As an aside, memories have still been bubbling up throughout this past 140 day phase. Strange and totally dislocated memories that seem extracted straight from the event, as in, I’ve not thought of them since. Random and beautiful memories like my mum cooking breakfast on a Sunday in Zimbabwe, our old kitchen so vivid I could practically reach out and touch the blue cupboards. These memories emerge during Kirtan Kriya, yes, but also in daily life as I’m pottering about my business. It’s incredible how much is stored in our brain that we’re not aware of, at least not til Kirtan Kriya turfs them up.
Onwards and upwards, I’m not giving up on Kirtan Kriya yet! I’m fascinated to see the progression of it… I have an unbidden semi-fear that I’ll die before I get to experience the full whack of it. A strange fear, no?!
Sat nam x