Jodh Kaur
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Musings
  • Contact

Do better. The inner work of Sadhana

7/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Sadhana means daily spiritual practice. For many years my Sadhana has included some form of movement, meditation & contemplation. Through this, I've found healing and forgiveness.

And while finding peace through meditation is nice, the deep inner work is what I crave. It's what strengthens and empowers me to do and be, better.

When 2020 began, I committed to reading more and added reading and reflection to my Sadhana. I'm loving this space in my day to dive into new books and articles. A friend recently sent me the article, White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun. When I opened it and scrolled through the list, my eyes were wide and I felt a lump in my throat that grew as I read:

sense of urgency
defensiveness
either/or thinking
fear of open conflict
I'm the only one...

Whoa. Confronting these characteristics that are rooted in structural racism is painful. It's also liberating. They have created conflict and communication breakdowns in my life. And I have a new understanding of why. Through this awareness, I am understanding the depth of internalized structural racism. And I am empowered to make new choices.
​And do better.


Ibram X. Kendi said:
"To grow up in America is to grow up where racist ideas are constantly rained on your head. You have no umbrella. You don't even know you're wet with those racist ideas because the racist ideas themselves cause you to imagine that you are dry. And then someone comes along and says, 'You know what, you're wet. These ideas are still raining on your head, here's an umbrella.' You can be like, Thank you! I didn't even realized I was drenched." 
0 Comments

Reparations

7/10/2020

0 Comments

 
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, the renewed interest in racial justice in our country and my own anti-racist work, I want to know - what can I do? There are many changes one can advocate for at this time. There are new terms that are being tossed around and how do we really know what they mean or what true impact they would have? I believe in keeping it simple. Focusing on one topic allows me to stay focused and learn as much as I can about it. My research and discussions have led me to determine that financial reparations for all descendants of enslaved African people in the US is where I want to put my focus and energy. As a result, my first action step was to write letters to my senators and congresswoman. I'm sharing the letter below if you'd like to use it as a reference to write your own letter. Click here to find your Representative and here to find your Senators. Sending them a letter via the web is quick and easy. 

My message: 
In light of the murder of George Floyd, the continued police violence against Black people in the US and the gross disparities between Blacks and whites in our country, NOW is the time to introduce and support legislation for financial reparations for all descendants of enslaved African people in this country. I implore you to take this step in acknowledging the inherent cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery as practiced in the United States. It is the ONLY way we can begin to heal the wounds, wounds that have not been appropriately acknowledged or addressed and continue to fester, of the millions of people who built our country. Please take action.
0 Comments

Challenging your beliefs

6/16/2020

0 Comments

 
If you want to change your beliefs and thoughts, you must talk about them, share them, risk being "wrong" or looking bad. When you share what's on your mind, you open yourself up to being challenged. Challenging your thoughts & beliefs reveals your blindspots and opens the door to change.

Stop being silent.

Talk, share, express, challenge your patterns, thoughts & beliefs and most importantly, listen. Through the listening you gain understanding. Through understanding you shift your philosophy which leads to shifts in your thoughts, beliefs and actions. 
0 Comments

Change

6/12/2020

0 Comments

 
I appreciate how nature demonstrates change and transformation showing us something beautiful that emerges out of something ugly and messy. Thinking of the lotus flower that grows out of the mud and muck or the caterpillar that literally digests it own self, turns into a soup and then reorganizes as a butterfly. Beautiful examples, but really think about what that means to digest yourself and reorganize your cells into something new. 

Change is necessary. It can also be messy and painful. When you are on a path of growth and transformation in your life, it doesn't just end with one shift. I look at life as a really big onion with lots of layers.  Peeling back the layers will likely make you cry, but with each layer you peel back you develop strength, confidence and the knowing that you CAN do this again. 

Take a good hard look at yourself. What do you need to change right now? What can't wait? What beliefs are you holding that are toxic, to you and others? You have to acknowledge these things to yourself in order to work through them and let them go. The caterpillar doesn't stay a soupy mess forever inside the cocoon, eventually she emerges as a butterfly. And through her process she serves as a symbol and inspiration to other beings that we can do it too. 
0 Comments

Remember

6/9/2020

0 Comments

 
​What you pay attention to grows. 
0 Comments

Continue

6/8/2020

0 Comments

 
This poem was shared with me this morning and I felt inspired to share here. 
 
Continue
by Maya Angelou 


Into a world which needed you

My wish for you

Is that you continue

Continue

To be who and how you are

To astonish a mean world

With your acts of kindness

Continue

To allow humor to lighten the burden

of your tender heart

Continue

In a society dark with cruelty

To let the people hear the grandeur

Of God in the pearls of your laughter

Continue

To let your eloquence

Elevate the people to heights

They had only imagined

Continue

To remind the people that

Each is as good as the other

And that no one is beneath

Nor above you

Continue

To remember your own young years

And look with favor upon the lost

And the least and the lonely

Continue

To put the mantel of your protection

Around the bodies of

The young and defenseless

Continue

To take the hand of the despised

And diseased and walk proudly with them

In the high street

Some might see you and

Be encouraged to do likewise

Continue

To plant a public kiss of concern

On the cheek of the sick

And the aged and infirm

And count that as a

Natural action to be expected

Continue

To let gratitude be the pillow

Upon which you kneel to

Say your nightly prayer

And let faith be the bridge

You build to overcome evil

And welcome good

Continue

To ignore no vision

Which comes to enlarge your range

And increase your spirit

Continue

To dare to love deeply

And risk everything

For the good thing

Continue

To float

Happily in the sea of infinite substance

Which set aside riches for you

Before you had a name

Continue
​

And by doing so

You and your work

Will be able to continue

Eternally 


0 Comments

You are not alone

5/29/2020

0 Comments

 
You aren't alone if:
  • you wake up feeling anxious or filled with dread 
  • you haven't been as productive during quarantine as "people" on social media, your friends or family have claimed to be
  • you feel blue, down or sad 
  • you feel disappointed that you weren't as fearless as you thought you'd be through this time of uncertainty
  • you're tired

You can also start to take steps to shift how you are feeling...
  • Reassure yourself that you are doing just what you need to do
  • Stop comparing yourself to others
  • Move your body every day, start today
  • Work with your breath, breathing long and deep for a few minutes each day makes a difference
  • Allow yourself time to relax
0 Comments

Walking

5/27/2020

0 Comments

 
I've been walking about 3 miles every morning. It is a glorious experience. I typically walk and listen to a podcast or audio book and use the time as my exercise, fresh air, self care and personal development time. I love walking the same route and taking in the subtle changes that occur from day to day. Seeing the trees blossom and then turn bright green, smelling the fresh cut grass, watching the birds sail around - all of this makes me feel both free and connected to God and Mother Earth. I feel elated, connected and whole. Walking is gentle and I'm appreciating that gentleness as I engage my senses and connect with what is happening around me. 
0 Comments

Self Care Creates Space

5/26/2020

0 Comments

 
I talk, teach and write about self care because I have struggled with it and I see your struggle too. Self care, actually the lack of self care, is what brought me to Kundalini Yoga when I felt like my life was falling apart. All my life I found myself with opportunities to serve and take care of others - I was the oldest child, raised Catholic, with a parent who was an alcoholic, and as an adult, I became a Social Worker. Helping and taking care of others fulfilled my need to matter, and taught me to be selfless, but at a price. While I found and created  opportunities to serve others in my life, I rarely even considered myself. 

This is not uncommon. If you are good at taking care of others, if you enjoy being of service, if you identify as being a helper - it is likely that you find yourself struggling to care for yourself, to know what you want, to attend to your own needs, to make time for yourself. But you can. My teacher told me years ago, if you want to continue on this path, you have to find a way to take care of yourself.

So I say to you, if you want to continue on this path, you have to find a way to take care of yourself. 

Allow that to cut through your inner resistance, negotiations and reasons why you will start once school ends, in June or tomorrow. Don't wait for crisis to be the catalyst for you to make a change. Just make a decision to start now. 

It can be very simple:
  • Tune into yourself and ask yourself, "What do I need or want?." Then ask for it. 
  • Say no to the things you don't want to do. 
  • Ask for help.
  • Take breaks or step away, even when you feel like you don't have time.
  • Engage in enjoyable, self soothing activities.

The bottom line is: self care creates space for you to have more energy & passion, knowledge, love & trust for yourself so that you can be that force that you dream to be. 

0 Comments

Reset

5/23/2020

0 Comments

 
In life you can always hit the reset button. 
Simply take a deep breath in and exhale. Each breath offers a fresh start. A connection into the here and now. A new opportunity to be. 

0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Author

    I am an animal loving-Vegan runner, I practice and teach Kundalini Yoga and I love to cook and eat flavorful plant-based food.

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All
    Autumn
    Ayurveda
    Blog
    Breakfast
    Breath
    Digestion
    Grains & Beans
    Greens
    Holiday
    Meal Planning
    Meditation
    Plant Based
    Running
    Spring
    Tips
    What I Ate Today
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Home
About
Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Musings
  • Contact