Developing a Personal Sadhana

In Sanskrit, "sadhana" means a "practice," but it has a spiritual basis. As we go into the fall season, with the darkness closing in around us and the invitations to parties and obligations looming ahead, it can be a good time to rededicated yourself to a daily practice or change one that's no longer resonating with you.

A sadhana can be anything nourishing and spiritually resonant for you.

My current morning practice consists of the following:

Morning meditation - This either consists of a pranayama practice, lately nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), or concentrating on a particular image. I find that starting the day off this way, usually within the first hour or so of being awake, helps me to establish a beautiful spiritual flow to my day. That's not to say there aren't mornings when that ego of mine grumbles and protests, but usually, I'm able to tie it down and sit for a bit.

Abyanga - Oh, the joys of abyanga! This ayurvedic healing art is done by rubbing the body down with warm oil (often sesame-based, but not the cooking kind). Before getting in the shower, I put some of the oil in my hand, and starting with my feet I work my way towards the heart. I often add some kind of affirmation or mantra to the process, and it just makes my body sing. I only started this up last week, and it's amazing how it's healing my body and heart in ways I haven't expected.

Touching the Earth - Whenever I leave my house for the first time of the day, I squat down on a patch of earth and place my hands on Her body. Connecting with the Good Green Earth, the goddess of abundance and so many of our joys, I bless Her and thank Her.

Saluting the Sun - After connecting my palms to the Earth, I blow a kiss to the Sun and sometimes sing a sun song - either the gayatri mantra or "Jesce Sole," a sun-worshipping song from Southern Italy, where part of my family is from.

Some of you might be thinking, "That all sounds great, but I have to wrangle the kids into getting ready for school, there are dogs to walk, lunches to make, etc., etc., etc." A morning sadhana doesn't have to be completed or even particularly time consuming.

Think about any of the following options: write down five things you're grateful for in a journal; take a deep yogic breath and say a prayer to the divine before breakfast; recite a mantra of peace out loud or internally before leaving the house; do a sun salutation in the bathroom if that's the only private space you've got. (I used to say a prayer to the water coming out of the shower head everyday, asking for cleansing and healing of all negativity in all parts of my body, mind, and heart.)

Shiva Rea, an amazig yogini and yoga teacher, often talks about "bed yoga," where we just stretch, flow and breathe with the covers still on - a great way to start the day, for sure.

What's your morning sadhana?

Rock it out, yogis!

Posted on Wed, October 14, 2009 by Greg Marzullo

« Go Back

4 comments (Add your own)

1. Yulia Heaton wrote:: When it comes to developing my own personal sadhana, I usually ask myself three initial questions:

1. What do I want to achieve?
Hatha Yoga (specifically) was developed as a system for self-realisation and awakening to one's full potential as a human being. This is a BIG goal of practice. But one may aim at smaller goals along the way: to establish greater flexibility, to focus and calm the mind, to relieve stress and tension, to be able to recover from illness more rapidly. These always vary on daily basis.

Going back to the seasonal theme, Autumn (Fall) is a season of the Metal Element in Chinese Medicine. The organs associated with the Metal are Lungs and Large Intestine; emotion - grief, sadness, letting go, all aspects of transformation of our bonds to things and people (which makes perfect sense if you think of the organ functions of lungs and large intestine!). Skin is the orifice of the Metal Element (our personal boundary with the world). So practices that address any of these aspects are very much in tune with the season. For example, I love starting the early morning practice with kapalabhati or any kriya that helps to clear the airways. Chest openers and shoulder openers are great for the physical side of sadhana... etc.

2. What does Yoga has to offer?
There is a range of techniques that are worth considering and experimenting with to suit your own needs. Whenever in doubt, the following are the main ones:
Asana (posture)
Shat-karma (cleansing practices)
Pranayama (breathwork)
Dhyana (sustained meditation)

People requently draw from other traditions as well (Tantra is just one of many examples). Whatever works to make you feel more connected is great.

3. How much time do I have?
If the time is limited, one should always be realistic about how much you want to do. Use the "economy rule of Yoga practice", i.e. aim to achieve the greatest results with the least expence of time and effort. Which is to say, seek to discover those techniques that enable you, as a complex psycho-physicl being, to transform yourself in the most efficient manner! (How very academic!). I always try and do at least a little bit regularly. If you know you have a certain length of time daily, then the best thing to do is to design a 'core' practice routine (not to do with your abs, but something that you don't have to make up from scratch every time!) - something easy to remember. Practice this as regularly as you can and when time is available, expand on it in diferent ways to make it apt or more/ less demanding. The bottom line, don't use that usual excuse: 'I don't have time'. Even 10 minutes can have a profound effect.

P.S. This wasn't a well-thought out piece of writing, nor very much of a comment... more of a sharing of some basic structure. Hope it can be useful to someone :)

"Do your practice and all is coming" - Sri K Patthabi Jois.
Thu, October 15, 2009 @ 9:33 AM
2. Kim wrote:: Here is my current Sadhana in the mornings that I do not have alone, but are shared with my daughter Sophie, who's 4 years old.

1. We go for a walk. The sidewalk outside our apartment suffices sometimes. There are pinecones, sticks, leaves, bugs and other goodies to notice and wonder about. We gather these "sacred" found objects and they become our tools for a game, a story, a shared experience. Sometimes we just skip. Sometimes we run until we can't breathe. We always laugh. A lot. Now, I don't know if there's an official Sanskrit word for this, but there is a term called "Lila"...Divine Play! This to me, is it!

2. If we walk farther, and have more time before school, we head up to a park which we both decided a long time ago to call
"Dead Duck Pond"...(we arrived at this name when we discovered a dead mallard lying peacefully on the side of the pond, with his beautiful emerald green feathered head glistening in the sun. ). We cut trails through Bamboo, we toss sticks in the stream, we investigate rocks and the barks of trees, we take in all the wildlife that's present-crows, bluejays, cardinals, bunnies, groundhogs, sometimes deer. We actually talk to the animals by making their sounds-(we've had to improvise on most, but that's part of the fun).
Respecting the beauty of nature and all of her creatures sync us up with the bigger vibration and ALWAYS puts both my daughter and I into a very light-hearted and calm state of being.

3. When we're running late, meltdowns are imminent, breakfast hasn't been eaten, a special shirt is missing, or we can't find our shoes, Sophie and I remember are pact to each other-we've placed a construction paper turtle on the kitchen wall and when we start feeling that rise of frustration, irritation, imminent freak out feelings-we remind each other that it's okay by saying, "Turtle!"
Sometimes, Sophie says it to me: "Turtle, Mom!" when she senses I am getting anxious about time and sometimes I say it to her,
"Turtle, Sophie!"....Turtle is our dristi, an object where we can plant our gaze, and help us pull back and widen the perspective to remember the medicine of turtle-take it slow, take it easy, let everything unfold, patience.

Being a mother has become a ritual sadhana for me. I don't see it as a limitation to my practice, but rather a beautiful, mysterious and everchanging extension of it.

For all moms out there: I bow to you, over and over again. I truly honor you and the courage you muster everyday to embrace and live the Sadhana of Motherhood.
Thu, October 15, 2009 @ 4:29 PM
3. Miriam Wiederhorn wrote:: @ Kim, I love you post. I have been there so many times in the classroom.
Thu, October 15, 2009 @ 11:54 PM
4. Scott wrote:: This blog topic revealed something about my morning habits. My usual work day routine consists of blatant disregard for my alarm. I typically wait until the last minute before finally getting out of bed to prepare for my day. This process has been finely tuned over the years to allow me to be out the door within 15 minutes of actually being asleep. A skill which enables me to sleep until the latest possible minute. Starting the day this way has become usual and customary and doesn't exactly set my day off on a relaxing or centered note. I wouldn't suggest this method.
My non-work mornings are a complete contrast. I allow my body to wake up whenever it feels natural. As soon as I get up, the computer is a constant magnet, drawing me into it's ever present vortex. On these mornings however, I avoid logging on until I've had a chance to sit and relax. There's usually a cup of creamy sweet coffee somewhere in the mix and I take a moment to enjoy this simple pleasure. I consciously start moving toward productivity once my mind, body and spirit have had a chance to unite. Taking a morning yoga class is ideal and I've made time in my schedule for this important self practice. No doubt my non-work day routine is preferred. Now if I can only find a way to make every day a non work day...
Tue, October 20, 2009 @ 9:21 PM

Add a New Comment

Your Name:

Your Email/URL (Optional):

Your Comment:

Enter the code you see below:
code

Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.