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News From KRI - August
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The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings
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A Note From Nirvair
Sat Nam.
Greetings from New Mexico!
friends and neighbors are joining us to celebrate the birthday, life, and legacy of Yogi Bhajan at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das. If you can get to New Mexico for the evening of August 25th, please come and enjoy the party! We also will be chanting the 2.5 cycle Adi Shakti Mantra, "Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wahe Guru," and the Guru Mantra, "Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru," on Yogi Bhajan's actual birthday which is August 26th. These two mantras are chanted all over the world on Yogi Bhajan's birthday. If you have not done it before, it is a wonderful experience not to be missed. Check with your local Kundalini Yoga Teacher about the time and place that it will be chanted in your locale.
Yogi Bhajan's teachings are so magnificent that it is easy to forget that he was an actual human being. In many ways, he was just like us - living life as it presented itself to him every day. Here is a story he told about himself, on his birthday, August 26th, 1989.
"In Amritsar a very perfect scene happened. I was meditating in Harmandir Sahib [the Golden Temple], you know out of reverence you call it that. Out of chance, because we used to go early, we were sitting in the first row. And I felt there was something in my lap, but I didn't move. I didn't care, I was meditating. But there was something warmer on my lap than anything else. That, I understood.
Nirvair Singh Khalsa
CEO Kundalini Research Institute
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Bali Save the Date
Announcing Level One Kundalini Teacher Training Immersion in Bali 2019
This wonderful immersion training takes place on the blessed tropical island of Bali amidst the indigenous beauty of the people and culture, which is steeped in spiritual and ceremonial tradition. Register early - last year's Bali Level One Immersion program sold-out!
Registration is open September 15th
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Yoga and Meditation for Epilepsy - Reducing Excitability
by Ishpreet Singh, M.B.B.S. and Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D.
Epilepsy is a disorder in which recurrent seizures are caused by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain. A person is diagnosed with epilepsy if they have two unprovoked seizures (or one unprovoked seizure with the likelihood of more) that were not caused by some known and reversible medical condition. There are different types of seizures. Generalized onset seizures affect both sides of the brain or groups of cells on both sides of the brain at the same time. On the other hand, focal onset seizures can start in one area or group of cells in one side of the brain. Epileptic seizures are the result of excessive and abnormal neuronal activity in the cortex of the brain and often brought on by factors such as stress, alcohol abuse, flickering light, or a lack of sleep, among others. An electroencephalogram (EEG) to look for abnormal patterns of brain waves and neuroimaging (CT scan or MRI) to look at the structure of the brain are also usually part of the diagnostic evaluation. In the United States, epilepsy affects an estimated 2.2 to 2.3 million people. The key driver of direct costs in epilepsy is medical service expenditures, which are substantial. However, the overwhelming majority of total costs are attributable to indirect costs such as job absenteeism. For general epilepsy populations, total annual direct healthcare costs per person ranged from $10,192 to $47,862 and epilepsy-specific costs ranged from $1,022 to $19,749. These costs are a healthcare burden that needs to be addressed.
Epilepsy cannot usually be cured outright, but pharmaceutical medications can control seizures effectively in about 70 percent of the cases. The mainstay treatment of epilepsy is anticonvulsant medications, possibly for the person's entire lifespan. Trials of single medications are recommended initially. However, if this is not effective, two medications simultaneously may be prescribed. Medications available include older antiepileptic drugs such as phenytoin, carbamazepine, and valproate and newer ones which include lamotrigine, levetiracetam, zonisamide, etc. Adverse effects from medications are reported in 10 to 90 percent of people. Most adverse effects are dose-related and mild and can include mood changes, sleepiness, or unsteadiness in gait. Certain medications have side effects that are not related to dose such as rashes, liver toxicity, or suppression of the bone marrow. Importantly, up to a quarter of people stop treatment due to adverse effects and some medications are not appropriate during pregnancy. Therefore, there is a need for alternative, nonpharmacological interventions.
Ishpreet Singh is a medical doctor and researcher from the Dayanand Medical College in India. He has worked extensively in India and USA with individuals with mental health and neurological disorders and is inclined towards integrating eastern yogic and meditation methods into mainstream medicine. He is an avid practitioner of Kundalini Yoga and meditation and brings this as a tool to help people heal, addressing deeper causes of illness and disease.
Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D. is the KRI Director of Research, Research Director for the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has practiced a Kundalini Yoga lifestyle since 1973 and is a KRI certified Kundalini Yoga instructor. He has conducted research on yoga for insomnia, stress, anxiety disorders, and yoga in public schools. He is editor in chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy and
The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Care and author of the Harvard Medical School ebook
Your Brain on Yoga.
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Sat Nam from The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings
®
As many of you know, August is a special time of year for us. Yogi Bhajan's birthday brings an opportunity to celebrate and remember our beloved teacher. His words and wisdom have given us a technology that transcends time. Here at the at The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings we are working hard to preserve his words in their original form.
We are gearing up for our Summer Fundraiser in honor of the birthday of Yogi Bhajan. From August 22nd to 26th, we will be raising money for The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings
Endowment Fund. Our endowment is a savings account for the future of the library that, when full funded, will pay for the expenses of preserving the teachings of Yogi Bhajan. It will allow us to continue offering this precious resource, for free, to the future generations of yogis. Stay tuned as we will be sharing the easy ways that you can contribute to the Endowment Fund.
In Service,
Shabd Simran Kaur Adeniji,
Fundraising Coordinator
Kundalini Research Institute
Email: donations@kriteachings.org
The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings® is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible under IRS code 501(c)(3).
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Chetna Yatra
Make this your year to experience India - The Guru Ram Das Chetna Yatra
Have you longed to travel to India and see the Golden Temple? Make this your year to celebrate the birthday of Guru Ram Das in Amritsar. Join us October 23rd to 28th for the
Guru Ram Das Chetna Yatra. Chetna is a beautiful word that means to "awaken." This yatra will be a trip of seva and devotion to awaken the love of Guru Ram Das in the sangat and in ourselves.
"Yatra is a holy journey. We must go into the center, the heart center. It is a journey on earth to one's 'Isht' - one's higher self, one's altar. It is a self-purification. So, we go from here to designated holy places and we have no other work but to get up in the morning, to meditate, to go to those beautiful surroundings. Sometimes our mind hassles us, but we do conquer it. This is the purpose of Yatra."
-Yogi Bhajan
The schedule of the Yatra will be:
- On October 23rd and 24th, together with our Kirtan jathas (musical groups), the Yatra will attend programs around Amritsar, the home of Guru Ram Das. Most mornings will be at your leisure for meditating at the beautiful Golden Temple, fantastic shopping, and exploring the city Amritsar.
- On October 25th, we will join Miri Piri Academy and the huge sangat of Amritsar in the streets for a procession in honor of Guru Ram Das ji. That night, we will attend the famous Raag Kirtan Darbar to hear classical Kirtan, including our own Chardi Kala Jatha.
- On October 26th, we will celebrate Guru Ram Das' birthday with tens of thousands of devotees at the Golden Temple. The crowds will be big, and our spirits will be soaring!
- On October 28th, we will complete the Yatra with Sunday Gurdwara at Miri Piri Academy, tour the campus, and enjoy langar at the school.
This is a very basic and affordable yatra that covers your hotel and transportation around Amritsar. It is a wonderful way to experience Guru Ram Das' birthday and the Golden Temple with friends and other Kundalini yogis.
Join us and awaken to the love of Guru Ram Das.
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Raising Children with Virtues and Values -
Expect Respect
"Guru Nanak said, 'Sat Nam.' You don't understand Sat Nam. Sat Nam means my name, my identity, my personality, my existence is True. It's a pure truth. He leaves no room for duality, for any reason, for any purpose, whatever that is. His personality was straightforwardly clear that 'Ek Ong Kar,' 'you are the creation of that One.' One by one, every individual has to be respected. Every existence has to be respected. Every life has to be respected. If you refer to something, you should have not only reference, you should have reverence also." - Yogi Bhajan, November 8, 1992, Espanola, NM Reverence is the foundation stone of relationship, not only with other people but to the Divine within. It is the first step on any spiritual path. Without reverence there is no relationship, without relationship there is no reverence! How will our children learn to have respect and reverence? Through the power of our own self-reverence and, in turn, through the respect that we offer to them. "Project yourself in one way only. That in God you dwell - you are God's people. Forget about that you are American, forget about that you are even Sikh, forget about that you are a woman, forget about that you are a man, forget about that you are rich, forget about that you are poor, forget about everything about you. But remember one thing about you - that you are purely and basically God's people...Tell all the world, all the living world, that you are God's being. If your children know that you are a divine person, you do not understand how much love, reverence, and respect they will give you." - Yogi Bhajan, July 8, 1981, Espanola, NM When most of us think about the idea that a child should respect their parents, a lot of our own personal baggage and pain gets in the way. We start to think about whether parents have earned that respect. We remember scenes in which a parent shouts loudly about their authority, demanding obedience. Some remember how they faced physical punishment as a means to teach a lesson. But Yogi Bhajan did not say, "Teach them respect." Instead, he said, "Expect respect." Respect comes from your own self-reverence, not from your position of authority or your power over your child. By respecting yourself and your own divinity, you reveal yourself as a person who is worthy of respect. And when you offer them respect, they learn that they too can expect respect.
Saraswati Kaur Khalsa is the Assistant Principal of Miri Piri Academy and has been serving there since 2007. She has been a student of Yogi Bhajan since birth and completed her Level One Kundalini Yoga Teacher training under his guidance. Saraswati holds a Master's Degree in Social Work and has been working with children and schools since 1998. Her daughter also attends Miri Piri Academy as a student.
Jugat Guru Singh Khalsa is the Principal of Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, India and a KRI Certified Lead Teacher Trainer. From his childhood, he was guided by Yogi Bhajan and has dedicated his life to serving the mission of Yogi Bhajan by helping to shape the next generation into leaders and teachers of this amazing technology. Jugat Guru Singh is a member of the Chardi Kala Jetha, which travels around the world teaching and performing Gurbani Kirtan,including local performances at the Golden Temple.
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KRI August Specials of the Month
On Being a Sacred Teacher for the New Age
Yogi Bhajan, PhD.
Master of Kundalini Yoga
This book is for every student of Truth. Whatever path you have chosen, it will give you an understanding of the true meaning of mastery. In this superb collection of teachings from his "Master's Touch" courses, Yogi Bhajan, one of the most pragmatic spiritual Teachers of our time, explains the path of the Teacher. He does it with wit, compassion, and a practical sense of the challenges of daily life.
Retail: $49.95
Promo: $42.46
The Power of the Spoken Word
Yogi Bhajan, PhD
This is a book of timeless wisdom transmitted by one of the great teachers of the age. It has the power to make people happy in moments of sadness and to lift their spirits in times of depression. It is a powerful tool to clean the subconscious mind and to replace negative thought patterns with positive ones. Its inner secret is the power of the spoken word.
Retail: $15.95
PROMO: $13.56
The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan
Edited by Hargopal Kaur Khalsa
Over the years, Yogi Bhajan outlined hundreds of Laws to live by. This book is a small gem, a collection of Yogi Bhajan quotations and meditations for living a life of joy, kindness and compassion.
The law of happiness is, "Let things come to you." What comes to you will make you happy. What you go after shall make you miserable.
-Yogi Bhajan
Retail: $14.95
Promo: $12.71
The Kundalini Yoga with the Master DVD Series is your chance to practice a demanding physical kriya with Yogi Bhajan. The all new picture-in-picture guide shows the proper posture and timing while you are challenged to "Keep Up!" by the Master himself.
Among other benefits, this kriya contains exercises to:
-energize the heart chakra and stomach
-give power to the immune system
-adjust the spine
-cleanse the liver and purify the blood
There are five principal Vayus: Praana moving in the heart area; Udaana in the throat; Samaana in the navel region; Apaana in the pelvic floor; and Vyaana which circulates throughout the whole body. This set moves all five Vayus of the body and brings equilibrium to the glandular system.
Concludes with Yogi Bhajan playing the gong while you nap. Yogi Bhajan said that by regularly practicing the first and second exercise in this kriya for three minutes each and then repeating frog pose 108 times you can achieve physical and mental health.
Refine your radiance with Optimum Health. This physically demanding set is balanced with great moments of relaxation including an 11-minute nap to Guru Ram Das Lullaby and a gong meditation.
Let this DVD show you:
- Conscious breath for total self-purification
- The Power of baby pose
- How to develop tolerance, grit and nerves of steel
This video contains ideal exercises to do in bed or just out of bed first thing in the morning!
This kriya incorporates a variety of salutations including:
- Narda Pranaam
- Hans Pranaam
- Guru Pranaam
Stimulating eliminative movement in the lymphatic system is essential to a strong body and healthy immune system. Give your lymphatic system a massage with this original kriya taught by Yogi Bhajan!
All DVDs in this series:
Regular Retail: $19.95 per DVD
Promo: $16.96 per DVD
Or get the entire set for the everyday low "set price" of $119.70 (25% off full retail)
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KRI August Recipe of the Month
Bring a fiery taste of Summer Solstice back home with you!
Summer Quinoa & Veggie Salad
Excerpt from:
From Vegetables, With Love: Recipes and Tales from a Yogi's Kitchen
(Revised and Expanded New Edition)
Siri-Ved Kaur Khalsa
Yield: 4-6 servings
This healthy, Mediterranean-inspired salad is light but satisfying, and perfect for the warmer summer months. Serve as a small salad or enjoy alone as a meal. Keeps well in the fridge for a few days.
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