Today marks the 40th day in a row that I have completed two kriyas (sets of exercises/poses) from Kundalini yoga. I first started practicing Kundalini yoga over ten years ago. As I progressed in my practice, I asked one of my teachers for ideas to help me build a more consistent practice. He recommended 40 days of Sat Kriya – a powerful practice that promotes clarity of the mind. Despite starting this practice, I never completed 40 days in a row, until now.
The key to Kundalini is consistency. If you miss one day in the 40-day practice, you go back to day one, even if you are on day 39. It only counts if it is 40 days in a row without interruption. Kundalini yoga is specific in its practices. The founder of Kundalini yoga, Yogi Bhajan, set clear times for each practice. He stated that it took 40 days to establish a new habit, 90 days to confirm the habit, 120 days to become the habit, and 1000 days to master the habit.
I choose two specific kriyas to embark on my 40-day trial – Ego Eradicator and Sat Kriya. I fell in love with Ego Eradicator from the first time I practiced it –mostly because of the name. It also uses a power pose – arms extended out to the sides – which is said to have an effect on your nervous system. In Kundalini, this pose increases energy, clears the lungs, relaxes tension around the heart, strengthens the nervous system to help manage stress, releases negativity, and helps cut through mental blocks. The other pose I chose was Sat Kriya, which also balances the nervous system, clears emotions and the mind, and stimulates the natural flow of energy. After completing several minutes of each pose, an equal amount of time must be spent in relaxation. I followed the relaxation with up to ten minutes of meditation.
Now that I have made it past 40 days, I am going to extend the amount of time in each pose and extend the amount of time in meditation for the next 50 days to confirm this habit by completing it non-stop for 90 days. This is a big commitment for me. I know it will be challenging and I know it will be worth it.
What I have noticed from completing this practice for the last 40 days is that by simply committing to this practice, I am stating, through my actions, that I am a priority and my mental and emotional health is a priority. Having struggled with depression on and off for much of life, placing my mental health as a priority is key.
Where in your life are you putting yourself first? What are you committing to? How are you demonstrating this commitment through your actions? It reminds me of the saying, “Show me how you spend your day, I’ll show you how you spend your year.”
If you don’t have any time during the time dedicated just to you, start with five minutes. This could be a walk, a five-minute stream of consciousness journal, stretching, practicing a mantra or breathing technique – choose something that is meaningful to you that signifies your commitment to yourself.
Commit to doing this for five days in a row. Notice what shifts when you do this. Make adjustments to your new practice and keep going for another five days and then another. Make a goal of completing your practice for 40 days uninterrupted. This is a practice in consistency which can be extended to other areas of your life where you may be lacking consistency.
Doing this helps us realize where we are spending our time, which equates to what we value, we reinforce our integrity with ourselves by following through on our commitment to ourselves, and it teaches us the value of consistency. You can then build on this practice as you start to have more faith in yourself – what other habit do you want to establish?
Start small. I started with two minutes of each pose so that I could stick with it. Explore what would work for you and continue to make adjustments as needed so it sticks and becomes a part of your daily routine.
We all crave some feeling of control in our lives as life is filled with uncertainty. By starting your day investing in yourself, you gain a sense of control over your time and clarify your priorities.
When we invest in ourselves first, we have so much more to give others throughout the day because we are giving from a place of wholeness and of valuing ourselves, our time, and our worth.
I’d love to hear from you. What is one new habit you would like to establish over the next 40 days? What do you see as your biggest obstacle to committing to this new practice? List 50 ways to remove the obstacle and/or alternatives you could try to get around this obstacle and send it to me.
Sending you the power of consistency,
Kori
P.S. If you would like to start making changes in your career and life, book your Free Breakthrough Session and let’s talk about how working together for the next 90 days will help you get out of indecision, confusion and overwhelm and into clarity, focus, and ease while increasing your confidence and income.
When we take the power back over our lives, our actions, and our thoughts, we become empowered in our work, our finances, our health, and our relationships. When we affect changes in the core area of our belief in ourselves and our worth, everything changes.