Turn Toward the Light

The spiritual world has evolved, as we explore other dimensions and address our shadows more deliberately.  It can be easy to slip into shadow behaviors, like shouting, rather than choosing to have a conscious conversation.  The planets are aligned in such a way as to bring this out of us, so we can face the not so supportive aspects of our family lineage, and choose to transform them.  Some are changing at faster rates than others.  We all change at our own pace.  When we are ready.  

What is it like to live in the light?  I feel it as an open heart.  My eyes wide, curious and childlike.  My heart actually feels tender, yet expanded.  I feel love for everyone in my world.  I move through the day with ease and flow.  When I hit an obstacle, I breathe and do my best to maintain an expanded heart.  I find ways to make the uncomfortable situation more tolerable with breath, change of location, music or chanting.  What are some of the ways you stay expanded in uncomfortable situations?   Coming up with some options helps us ride out life storms with an open heart.  Here are some techniques that work for me…

~Take deep slow breaths

~Stay in the present moment 

~Notice your surroundings

~Mentally sense each body part, one at a time, as a body scan

~Feel your feet on the ground

~Stay open in your hips with breath and movement (gentle swaying)

~Envision your tailbone reaching into the Earth

~Sing/Chant to yourself

~Play soothing music

~Change your location (even just by moving to another room or walking outside)

~Meditate

~Savasana (lie down with one hand on your abdomen and the other on your heart center)

Why Choose a Tantric Lifestyle?

Since the late 1980s and into the ‘90s, when American sex educators such as Annie Sprinkle and Margot Anand invited us to expand our awareness of sexuality, a new and explosive interest in “Tantra” or sacred sexuality surfaced among many looking for something different and spiritual. After a collective period of separation and individuation, there now appears to be a cultural longing for more connection and intimacy in relationships. As people become more enlightened as a whole, heavily influenced by the yoga revolution, there is also a call, more specifically, for sacred and spiritual connections. People of all ages, genders and sexual orientations are feeling the need for a place to connect with their bodies, minds and spirits in community.

For those who are new to Tantra yoga, it is a practice that combines movement, breath, meditation and sound to assist the energy system within the body, or chakras, to open. This opening allows dormant energy, also called kundalini, to move up from the pelvis, along the spine. As this life-force energy moves up the spine, it helps one transform and heal. The healing involves loosening constrictions within the body that develop throughout life. When the constrictions are loosened, one’s true identity is revealed. When one feels safe to be oneself, one is happier and attracts otherseasily. The expansion of the energy body also increases sensation, clairvoyance, and ability to connect with others.

Many are sampling “Tantra” or sacred sexuality in two-hour or half-day workshops. Those wanting a deeper learning experience attend extended retreats. What I have learned on my own tantric yoga path, and as a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist, is that these experiences alone are not enough to open the chakra system and free the kundalini energy. Opening the body to receive the kundalini energy requires transforming a lifetime of parental and societal messages that have caused contraction and holding within the body. This contraction and holding occurs when one is not living one’s truth. The body, mind and spirit integrate these openings in the chakra system at a pace dependent on physical and emotional history, and unique for each individual. The body, mind and spirit can only assimilate so much change at once. Consequently, a brief experience will provide a step in the right direction, but will not provide the purification necessary to run kundalini energy and have the sacred sexuality experience (energy based orgasms) you may be seeking.

Attending workshops and retreats is an important first step toward exploring sacred sexuality. One way to deepen the experience is to develop a tantric lifestyle practice with a master teacher, a practice that slowly allows one’s chakras to open and expand. In doing so, the practitioner can discover his or her true essence, while fully supported and experiencing the gifts of Tantra yoga. This is a gentle approach, allowing the body, mind and spirit to integrate the chakra openings. Transformation takes place, as well as life shifts: significant physical and emotional health improvements, new jobs, new or deeper partnerships, moves to one’s dream location; these are just some of the outcomes I have witnessed.

After studying traditional Tantra yoga for many years with different yoga masters of Kundalini, Kashmir Shaivism, Standing Wave and Ipsalu Kriya, the kundalini energy began to awaken and I became curious about sacred sexuality. I wanted to learn more about the energy I was feeling and the experience I was having with kundalini, as it invited my chakras to open and my energy field to expand.

I began to study privately with Tantra teachers who focused more on sacred sexuality and deeper tantric practices. They helped me to understand how to move the energy and use it for personal healing and to enhance my sexual experiences.

The study of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy expanded my awareness of chakras. Over the years, I have developed the ability to support individuals when chakras open and emotions are released.

The intention of Tantra yoga practices is to expand one’s body and experience back to the soul’s original essence (known as purusha in Sanskrit): who you were as a fetus, free of stress or trauma, and who you are growing into as you become free. This is when we can come into our fullest potential, with acute awareness and clear, loving connection with others.

Chakras can be opened using many modalities, including ecstatic dance, breathwork, Qigong, Network Chiropractic, bodywork and yoga, just to mention a few. A combination of Tantra yoga, Qigong, bodywork and emotional healing is the path I share. My programs are designed to be gentle and healing, so participants feel safe and supported as they transform into a new way of being in the world.

As a practitioner, I have held space for many to expand into their fullest selves. Over and over, I have seen that when chakras open, emotions stir. After all, they became constricted or contracted because one was not protected or did not feel safe being oneself. The body armor can result not only from an accident or abuse, but also from the constant messages we receive from society to be someone we aren't. Contractions within the body are a natural response to protect your soul, which wants so much to be free to express itself. However, as you may have gathered in your own life experiences, if we live our lives in fear and are always protecting ourselves, we tend not to be all that fulfilled. The contractions affect our ability to create and to let go of unsupportive habits, and also how we connect with others.

A good example is when we go on retreat or vacation and come back happy and inspired. When we relax, soften and open, an internal change can happen. We may feel inspired to write a book, begin a creative project, or have the confidence and joy to make a supportive new friend or meet a future partner.

We can experience this contraction again when we return from vacation and life gets too full, and we’ve allowed ourselves to be pulled off balance. That yummy retreat or vacation feeling is gone, and we are back to a contracted state. Sometimes we do manage to tap into the body memory and support that opening, remaining a bit more open than before. In future chapters, I will provide many ways you can support yourself when expanded.

Inviting the chakra system to open requires courage and readiness. If you are not ready, you may not want to take the risk of allowing yourself to be vulnerable.  Ready to take that leap, trusting that you will be supported and protected as you heal and open to living your true destiny.  My intention is to provide some insight into how you can feel supported to heal, grow, and transform into your fullest potential: your ananda; your bliss.

Creating a solid, supportive foundation is the best way to begin this journey. Clear the clutter from your life. Complete unfinished business: both physically, like back taxes due; and emotionally, like making amends with others. It means doing your best to be the best person you can be. Be honest. Make a conscious effort to avoid gossip and to communicate clearly and lovingly, even if it means you need to stick your neck out and be vulnerable.  It means being vulnerable — and trusting that when we do our healing, with honesty and pure intention, we will be supported.

This has been a big lesson for me, coming from a childhood where I did not feel at all supported by my primary female figure, my mother. I also did not have a strong father figure to protect me. So what did I do in response? I became super-independent at a very early age, I became tough and resourceful, an over-achiever. This behavior causes contractions in the body and in my case, dis-ease (fibromyalgia and breast cancer).  It took a lot for me to be able to receive and rely on others; and even more to rely on Spirit, the unseen, to support me fully.

This support sometimes comes in the form of harsh life lessons. When we take the time to listen, heal and grow, abundance, in all its forms, is sure to follow. When we are closer to who we truly are, we are happier. Happy people attract. It’s as simple as that.

So now, when times get tough, I just hand it over to The Divine Mother, God, my angels, ancestors and guides. In my meditations, I literally feel myself lying back to let them catch me. I let go that much. I completely surrender to perfect and divine timing, trusting that a divine pace is a healthier pace than the U.S. pace / global market pace.

If chakras open too quickly, one can contract around the opening due to fear of being hurt. This is why kundalini activation needs to be a gentle process that happens over time. It’s not something that will likely happen in a two-hour or weekend workshop, unless you are already doing a deep, daily chakra-opening practice, like those mentioned above.

Surely there are exceptions: people who had a trauma-free birth and life, and are already running the kundalini energy but don’t even know it; or children who were protected but also allowed a level of freedom and creativity their entire childhood. They have always felt safe and free. But even these children can experience contractions because they are so open. These children learn to protect themselves from the not-so-nice people out there, while remaining open and free. A solid foundation helps them to adapt easily to a diverse cultural experience.

In this book, I will share how to open the chakras slowly, and how to take care of yourself as you integrate the expansion. The practice I offer is gentle. I move slowly, encouraging deep breath and sound.

I will also share how to ground, and create your own bubble of loving protection around you, as you expand into your pure essence.

This book is about the healing process that takes place as one lives a tantric lifestyle, and experiences all the gifts this lifestyle provides.

Below is a testimonial from one of our clients:

“Gina has an exceptional gift to heal others through the use of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (PRYT). She has the unique ability to transform mental constructs and remove negative energies that lodge themselves in one’s physical body. Gina’s expertise in tantric practices and PRYT has helped me to greater integrate mind, body, soul and spirit toward greater wholeness. Gina has helped me to heal old wounds from childhood trauma, practice forgiveness and compassion toward my sister, achieve greater intimacy with my husband, and gift me with the freedom to accept myself. Namaste Gina ~ Lynn Hendsbee, LSW

But first, we must begin by creating a solid foundation for your journey along the path to expansion, abundance, community and bliss. Here’s a simple meditation to help you get started.

<Exercise>

Third Eye Meditation (also known as Spinal Meditation in Ipsalu Kriya Yoga)

This meditation technique opens the crown and third eye chakras (see chakra diagram on <p. 15>) to receive divine energy. It also activates a circuit of energy up and down the spine, opening awareness to the heavens, while maintaining a connection to the Earth.

According to one of my mentors, Sylvia Brallier, this kriya “stills the mind, awakens spinal chi, brings the Shiva energy into the body on the inhale and awakens the Shakti energy on the exhale.”

Come into a comfortable seated position. Feel your sitz bones at the base of your pelvis touching the cushion below you. Feel the backs of your legs touching the cushion and floor. If sitting in a chair, feel your feet on the floor. Inhale and lengthen your spine. Imagine a string is pulling the top of your head toward the sky. Exhale and reach your tailbone toward the Earth, while maintaining that length in your spine. You can imagine your tailbone is a taproot reaching into the Earth and connecting with the heart of the Earth. Keep your chin parallel to the floor. Continue to breathe easily and naturally.

“Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and imagine a golden ball in front of your third eye chakra (just above your eye brows, in the center of forehead). Inhale through your nose, roll the ball over the top of your head (crown chakra), down the spine to your tailbone, Chant in your mind ‘Hung’ down spine. Exhale through nose, rolling the ball back up the spine, over the head to third eye and chant Sau (sah) -sounds like ‘saw’ on inhalation.” (Sylvia Brallier)

This chant means, “I am That” or “I am.” By chanting this mantra, you are affirming your True Self as one with the Earth and the Divine, continuing to balance Shiva and Shakti energy within.

Start by doing this practice for five minutes daily and add more time each time you sit. It has been found that it takes about 20 minutes to relax deeply, so aim for 20 minutes each day.

Including this simple meditation in your daily practice could facilitate activation of kundalini energy.

<Insert “Third Eye Meditation”>

When Kundalini Energy is Activated

As activation begins, it can be exciting, and you may want to play with it. Please do not forget to stay grounded at all times. Try not to control the energy, but instead allow the kundalini to go where it is guided. When the kundalini energy moves around your body, how much can you relax and allow it to flow? If the energy gets stuck and pulsates in one chakra, make sounds, breathe, release emotions that rise and relax deeply. All of these actions can help the energy to move and expand you.

A grounded practice is very important. Once kundalini energy is activated, you may find that a vigorous practice is not serving you anymore because it is making you lightheaded or dizzy, too energized, talkative, or you may experience insomnia. If this happens, switch to a gentle and restorative yoga practice, Qigong and meditation. Daily walks in nature also help. You may choose to do weight training for strengthening, as it can be more grounding. Try less movement. Eating grounding foods also helps to bring one down to Earth. Choose root vegetables and foods with oils, like olives and avocados. Massaging oil on your skin after showering is also very grounding. Massage with long strokes along the limbs and in circles on the joints.

Why come down? Because it can be very difficult to function while living in the ether. When I lived there, I found that words did not come easily. It was difficult to relate to an average person, not on a similar path, or who has had similar experiences. If you live and work with others who are not at the same place in their practice, it could be difficult to hold down a job or manage household responsibilities. Kundalini energy can facilitate great focus and clarity, but when not grounded it can lead to an airy state of mind, come across as an “airhead” or “spacey.”

Health imbalances can also occur, like insomnia and migraines. I once met a sangha (yoga community) member who was experiencing symptoms that resembled Tourette’s syndrome. His body would convulse uncontrollably and he would make sounds. His wife had to explain what was going on because he could not carry on a conversation. He essentially became non-functioning. I trust his guru supported him to come into balance. If imbalances occur as the kundalini is healing your body, consult an experienced Tantra educator for support. Emotional clearing and grounding exercises should be provided.

On the upside, senses are enhanced. One feels more, smells more, becomes more sensitive to one’s environment and the food taken into one’s body temple. You begin to understand what the body needs for optimal health. When the energy channels of the body are clear, communication within the body increases. Clairvoyance increases. The practitioner begins to see their path clearly, and does not waver as much about the next steps to creating their intentions. As mentioned earlier, one becomes more focused and passionate. Much can be accomplished when one’s kundalini energy is activated, while remaining grounded. Essentially, we begin to live our true purpose, and as a result, feels happier and lighter. When one is happier and lighter, one attracts. Attraction leads to success!

Possible symptoms of kundalini energy that is out of balance: 

• You talk too much and feel drained afterwards.

• Insomnia

• Migraines

• Anxiety

• Tension in muscles due to anxiety, like tight shoulders and neck. 

• High energy and extreme depletion cycle after using energy. 

• Merging with others’ energy fields, overly empathetic, unclear boundaries