Australian Yoga Journal — July 2017

59

july 2017

yogajournal.com.au

KUNDALINI

om

MEDITATIONS

and exaltations

YOUR BODY WILL LOVE YOU FOR LEARNING THIS KUNDALINI BREATH TECHNIQUE

WHICH WORKS AS A POTENT HEALER AND EFFECTIVE INTERNAL CLEANSER.

IF YOU WERE GIVEN A MAGICAL WAND

to take away poisons from the spleen,

liver and digestive system, and if this

wand also calmed and soothed

your mind, restored your nervous

system and gave you self-healing

powers, would youwave it? If you

replied “yes” then please keep reading

as I want to share with you an ancient

breathing technique known as the

“breath of the nectar of life” or

Sitalee Praanayam.

This is a breath meditation that

works as a potent anti-inflammatory

within the body by cooling down too

much excessive heat, inflammation,

repressed anger, resentment,

frustration, and other liver-related

emotional states. Your liver will love

you for taking on this healing

meditation, as will your entire body.

And, as the name suggests, over time

the breath will become like pure,

golden nectar. When you first practice

this breath, you may notice that the

tongue has a bitter taste. This is

the toxicity and poisons leaving the

body. Over time, as the blood, liver,

spleen and digestive system

become adjusted and cleansed, the

breath will taste sweet like nectar.

This technique is so effective that it

still surprises me to this day. This is a

breath technique that you certainly want

to keep in your magical wand tool kit

for when you need to go inward, self-

heal, cool, soothe, detoxify, go into a

receptive and receiving space and, in

this particular meditation, exalt yourself!

By HarJiwan  How to practice Sitalee

Praanayam to exalt yourself

Posture

Sit in any yogic sitting posture such as

Easy Pose, Half Lotus, Cross-Legged or

a chair. Consciously lengthen your spine

to establish a tall, straight spine, chest

lifted, chin in. Rest your hands on your

knees, as though you are holding them,

with your palms down.

Eye focus

Your eyes are closed, and through closed

eyes, look toward and focus on the tip of

the nose, a point known as The Lotus

Point. 

Breath technique

Stick your tongue out, and make a U

by curling your tongue. Stay like this

throughout the meditation. Inhale deeply

through your rolled tongue, and exhale

out completely through your nose.

With each inhale, drink and draw in the

breath through the curled tongue, like

the tongue is a straw, and the breath

is the ‘nectar’. With each exhale, let

the  breath go completely out through 

your nose. 

Continue this breath pattern,

keeping the tongue curled and poking

out. Consciously breathe as slowly and

deeply as you can to achieve the best

results. Maintain awareness of your

spine, keeping it elongated upward. As

you are challenged with any distractions

such as irritations or mind distractions,

deepen your breath and focus even

more, making sure to bring the breath

right down into the lower lungs.

HarJiwan is the founder of

HarJiwan Yoga and creator

of the WOW™ Vortex for

women. She studied with the

master of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi

Bhajan, and is an experienced

and dynamic teacher. After

opening Australia’s first Kundalini Yoga studio

in south Melbourne, HarJiwan is now based in

Byron Bay and teaches workshops, intensives,

masterclasses and specialised online

mentoring programs. http://www.HarJiwan.com.

To connect with HarJiwan, Instagram @

HarJiwanYoga and Facebook HarJiwanYoga.

After some time, the tongue may

even become uncomfortable – when this

happens, understand that the tongue is

actually in an asana – yes, your tongue

is doing yoga. Become aware of the

subtle sensations and mind projections:

become the observer.

You are going to go through an

adjustment within your nervous

systems, musculature and organs, and

patterning will occur. This is pure self-

help therapy to heal and renew, and will

deliver incredible benefits to you. Just

keep breathing, slowly and deeply

through the rolled tongue and out

through the nose completely. Continue

for 23 minutes.

To end

Place the base of your palms underneath

your cheekbones and cup them. Inhale

deeply, suspend the breath for 15 seconds

and press your palms into your cheekbones

(press hard, but not to damage the

bones). Exhale powerfully. Repeat this

sequence two more times. This end

part of the meditation will adjust

your cheekbones, temples and cranium.

PHOTO: RIKE_/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM