A Home Practice for You by Cate Baily

This week and last I've been teaching and practicing the following kriya (sequence of exercises). I LOVE it!!!!! It's for your spine, the navel, the aura, and your kundalini  (the full potential of your vitality). What else could you ask for? I encourage you to do it. Prioritize it. Bypass the questioning mind and roll out that mat. Do it everyday. Do it for yourself!

Think about showing up for yourself and doing the work as an act of self love. Yogi Bhajan said, “Those who practice discipline have to be very generous to themselves. Discipline should never be rigid. Discipline should be self-acknowledging, so that you can go along with it.” ​Many Blessings!  

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1. Tune In w/ Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo.
2. Sitting in easy pose with the hands in prayer at the level of the heart center, begin long, deep breathing with awareness. Continue for 2 min. 
3. Leave the hands in prayer as they are and begin breath of fire. Continue for 2 min. 
4. Bring the arms up into a V, palms facing up and fingers together and begin breath of fire. Continue for 2 min. After 2 min, inhale deeply, hold the breath, seal the energy, and then exhale and relax the arms down. Pause and feel. 
5. Grab the shins and begin spinal flexes. Inhale as the heart comes forward and the spine arches. Exhale as you round the spine. Continue for 2 min. 
6. Move the hands to the knees and lock the elbows. Again, begin spinal flexes, now focused on the upper spine. Inhale forward and exhale back. Continue for 2 min. After 2 min., inhale deeply, hold the breath, seal the energy, and then exhale and relax the arms, turning the palms to face the sky. Pause and feel. 
7. Place the hands on the shoulders with the fingers in front and the thumbs behind. Begin spinal twists, inhaling as you twist to the left and exhaling as you twist to the right. Continue for 2 min. After 2 min., inhale deeply, hold the breath, seal the energy, and then exhale and relax the arms. Pause and feel.
8. Lie down on your back with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor. Begin pelvic lifts, inhaling as you raise the hips up and exhaling as you lower them down. Continue for 2 min. After 2 min., inhale the hips up, hold the breath, seal the energy, and then exhale and relax, stretching the legs out. Soften and relax. 
9. Next begin alternate leg lifts with opposite arms. Inhale as you raise the left leg up to 90 degrees and the right arm (opposite arm) up and over the head so the back of the hand touches the floor. Exhale as you lower the leg and bring the arm back to your side. Switch sides and repeat for 3 min. After 3 min, relax on the back and let the energy circulate.
10. Bring the knees into the chest and rock forward and back on the spine 3-5 times. 
11. Sit in rock pose (on the heels), place the hands on the thighs, and begin spinal flexes. Continue for 2 min. After 2 min., inhale deeply, hold the breath, seal the energy, and then exhale and relax.
12. Transition to easy pose. Cleanse the aura by bending the arms with elbows at your sides with the palms facing the sky. As if scooping water and splashing it over your head, bring the arms up and over your head as you inhale. Then, return the elbows to your sides as you exhale. Continue for 3 min. After 3 min, inhale the arms up, hold the breath, seal the energy, and then exhale and relax.
13. Bring yourself onto your hands and knees. Begin cat-cow. Inhale head up and belly down. Exhale curve the spine like a mad cat. Continue for 2 min. After two minutes, inhale and hold the breath with the head up, and then exhale and relax in child's pose (sitting back on the heels with the forehead toward the mat). 
14. Come rounding up and arrive in rock pose. Practice sat kriya by interlacing the fingers, steepling the pointer fingers, and crossing the thumbs (women left over right; men right over left). Chant Sat Nam aloud. As you chant the sound sat pull the navel in. As you chant nam, release the navel. Continue for 3 min. After 3 min., inhale deeply and hold the breath and seal the energy. Exhale. Inhale again; exhale completely and then hold the breath out and seal the energy. Inhale and then release the arms down. 
15. Relax on your back for 7-10 minutes. Enjoy the relaxation.