The world needs holistic wellbeing and systems to think beyond ego. Many people in west suffer from feeling incomplete, mental stress, losing the purpose even if the life is full of materialistic things and the facade is perfect. To finding your purpose, your atman (soul) comes in your mind maybe when nothing feels good anymore. Or when you lose everything or something big happens in your life permanently. No amount of money, bigger home, better car, dream job, perfect partner or perfect kids can bring you satisfaction if you are not happy inside.
Yoga is not just stretching. Many people think yoga is something you do in big hall on your yoga mat and stretch in unbelievable positions and will have a perfect body. That is not yoga. That is “just” asana practice and also that can be just stretching. Yoga is a system. Union. When I claim to be an yogi or yogini it means I am following certain practices, sadhana and lifelong purpose to be fully alive and present from mind and body & soul. I am still practicing you know and I don’t know everything. I really think this whole world of yoga might a big illusion mixed with every practitioners own beliefs. There is wine yoga, beer yoga, anti-gravity yoga (aerial yoga – my favourite), hot yoga.. You name it. And don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong about it. Creativity is part of human nature. But making big money out of yoga or in the worst case starting to heal people with the name of yoga without deep knowledge is a problematic combination. No wonder people start to feel more sick.
The teacher comes when student is ready?
My yoga practice comes from kriya yoga. My teacher is an enlightened soul, swami, guru, spiritual master. I have read about gurus and heard dirty tales and stories about fake gurus and how they use students for their own purposes. Why I still believe my guru is a real guru? I never wanted to find any guru. It came in my life by accident. Also I know everything is illusion. Even my guru is an illusion. How to believe then? I had already experienced many unexplainable things before meeting my guru like universal love, some kind of awakening experience (suddenly lights were brighter, colors more vivid, food more tasty, life felt more fulfilling) and of course dark night of the soul I went through. (I don’t like much trendy terms but sometimes I have to use to get common understanding. )
Kriya yoga is very old yoga tradition which was not meant for common people in the history. I will tell many tales what I have experienced with my own body, heart and soul during this trip with kriya. Nowadays I start to understand why I chose kriya yoga or why kriya yoga master chose me as his student. I would have laughed if someone would have told me ten years ago where I am now. I would have said you must be kidding me? I am not that kind of person! And here I am now, living a life of a yogini, initiated kriya yoga student with my gurus name.
Because I consider myself as normal family person, I am a single mom of a teenager, so I tell you why and how you should start yoga. Because common sense is what I like the most. (I don’t go deeper in that term now).
Why should I start doing kriya yoga?
- You feel uneasy with your life. You have everything but nothing brings joy anymore. You want to find out your truth and purpose
- You have health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems (like I did!), overweight, thyroid problems, back pain etc. If you follow certain practices you can start to feel much better both physically and mentally. Back pain can be also companion on this yoga trip and that is why yoga is a holistic science. It gives opportunities to explore your mind & body & soul system. Some health issues will heal when you realize your mind issues. still, continue to go to your GP or doctor.
- You have traumatic experiences or you cannot let go of grudge, self pity, hate, anger, control or you are judging yourself or others, perfectionist, egoistic or you just carry very difficult feelings and emotions. Please note that for serious mental issues you need a therapist. No yoga can heal you if you are not mentally balanced. But you can go to therapist and yoga same time. It will bring you good results. Just choose wisely your teacher because there are lot of uneducated, non-experienced “yoga” teachers out there. Healers without responsibility, just taking money.
- If you are interested of ancient traditional techniques and need deeper understanding of the world, dharma, karma, kaliyuga, ancient wisdom and meaning and purpose of life. Kriya yoga is very hard core yoga (my opinion) if you want to dive deep. But also very simple and easy in practical way. It is a yoga of action.
- There is something magic in kriya yoga techniques, you start your inner glow and shining. If you want to be more bright, happy and calm and energetic this is good technique to quickly raise your vibrations. Energy levels are rising with the practice and you will see the change very quickly. Usually people start to mention this also so you can see the inner glow outside quite quickly.
- If you like practical life and knowledge, simplicity too – this is your choice. My own guru says everything is illusion, even everything he says is an illusion. You choose what you believe and what not. Things are very practical.
How to start doing yoga?
Yoga is not rocket science. But is is indeed a very big business. Beyond every amazing stretching pictures and muscle-man posters there are thousand or millions normal people practicing yoga as part of their daily life, smoothly without making a big issue about it. I started from normal gym who offered weekly yoga classes. I think there was power yoga, vinyasa flow yoga, hot yoga, yin yoga and later I applied aerial yoga to my practice as well. Nowadays I do hatha yoga as my daily practice combining with kriya yoga techniques (meditation, pranayama, manaspuja and mantras). When I say daily it does not mean I am perfect and do every day the practice. Because of life and being a normal human I do when I can and meditation is the most common thing I do. And because of the daily sadhana, my meditation and yoga is more or less as part of my every life tasks and challenges. It is not just when I do yoga but I slowly started to see yoga in everywhere. It sounds a bit religious or enthusiastic but it is a bit like that and a bit like a full belief system what can change your life. But you will choose how much you will do, when and what intensity. I say to everyone, do not follow my example but create your own style. Your life, your decision, your responsibility.
I say to everyone, do not follow my example but create your own style. Your life, your decision, your responsibility.
– Maa Nispruh Shambhavi
- Find a yoga class you feel comfortable with. This era of online classes is very easy for beginners. Just try and seek. I could also say the right one comes in your way. I started my yoga first at home with YouTube lessons. There was a blond beautiful tanned woman somewhere near the sea doing amazing stretching and she always told how she just woke up and looked like a model every time. When I wake up my back is like a stick which won’t bend anywhere and I need at least 30 minutes warm up before going to asanas. And that is reality.
- If you want to go deep, try to find a spiritual masters, a teacher or a guru or study with a devotee (like me!). Did you know that you can have a yoga teacher certificate in a three week course in India? Yes it is possible! As you can see that is not a sign of a good teacher if she or he happens to have a certificate. You pay and get this paper. They can teach stretching for sure but if you seek for true yoga, you should find a real teacher who takes responsibility of your health and progression in real time.
- You can start with a comfortable yoga class where ever you are and slowly increase your challenges. It happened to me also. First I did yoga at the gym for 5 years 2-3 times per week and after I met my guru I started doing daily practice at home and occasionally guided yoga at the gym.
- Practice & practice, your way. If you like flexibility in your body, healthier habits and calm mind you need to practice. Make it a habit. Just don’t push too hard. Quality is important. And do it as it feels good for you. One good way is to keep diary. Just write how you feel and how you progress. Then you can read the results and decide if you want to continue this way.
- Read books and search what feels good for you. There is a lot of yogic literature which can fulfill your questions that starts to arise. First I read everything I found from library. but then there was a many years gap not reading anything. Now I started to listen to some yoga podcasts. It almost feels like you are in the same room with speakers and they know what you might be going through.
Conclusion about starting a yoga path
I was the one against yoga for years. I thought it is meant to perfect barbie look-a-like people with perfect bodies. Then I started to do my practice and it started to suck me in. You don’t need to go in this traditional path as I did with own guru and all but you can take some elements first and if it feels good then seek more info. Try to find the authentic source. There are many people trying to heal you and tell you what you need. I tell you what you need: your own wisdom and guidance to see what is good for you. You will be loved, healed and full of positive energy after some time. You might dive in darkness too to heal your wounds. There you go. Have fun and enjoy your trip 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻
P.S. If you want to start kriya yoga, you know where to ask more!
