DECEMBER 2017 / 73 / YOGAJOURNAL.COM
This Kundalini-inspired sequence
can help you release bad habits
and boost your willpower and
well-being as you prepare to usherIONS in amazing things in 2018.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you really thought about
what you were doing when you reached for coff ee in the
morning, the candy jar at work, or your phone to check
your email or social media? Odds are it’s been awhile.
We all run through thousands of habitual behaviors like
these every day. Although you may get a fl eeting boost
from that hit of caff eine or sugar, by watching the latest,
funniest viral video, or by having another drink, chances
are you’re distracting yourself from stress and pain you
don’t want to deal with. Removing yourself from the
present moment can jeopardize your long-term health
and well-being in the process.
Facing your demons is essential for breaking bad
habits, but many self-help methods and treatment sys-
tems focus on addressing symptoms rather than helping
you discover why you’re reaching for distractions. The
key, instead, may be to reach inward, and that’s where
yoga and meditation can help. Practitioners know that
mind-body practices like these can foster the self-aware-
ness, self-control, and self-realization necessary to go
through a deeper detoxifi cation—and research out of
Duke Integrative Medicine helps to confi rm it. One
review on the effi cacy of mindfulness as a complemen-
tary therapy for addiction found that mindfulness-based
interventions, including yoga, may enhance addiction
treatment, prevention, and recovery.
Even armed with all the benefi ts yoga and medita-
tion provide, it can still feel like an uphill battle to kick
a bad habit. That’s because these behaviors get hard-
wired into our brains. Neuroscience researchers have
determined that the more we do an activity that feels
good—even one with bad consequences, like abusing
drugs or alcohol—the less neural activity we use when
deciding to engage in that activity. Instead, we act onautopilot, even if we are no longer getting that initial
buzz. But that doesn’t mean we’re helpless. Recent
fi ndings out of MIT suggest that our prefrontal cortex,
the brain region responsible for integrating past expe-
rience with present action, seems to favor new habits.
The trick to making these habits stick is to rewire your
neural circuitry by fi nding something that gives you a
similar thrill, but on a deeper, healthier, and more sus-
tainable level. Breathwork, mindfulness training, and
yoga deliver on all fronts.
Kundalini Yoga, specifi cally, is designed to
strengthen intuition and willpower. Yogi Bhajan, who
brought Kundalini from India to the West, was inter-
ested in helping people break unwanted habits and
addictions. He created a rehabilitation center in Tuc-
son, Arizona, that was part ashram, part primary-care
facility for those in recovery. Through asana,
pranayama, mudra, mantra, and deep relaxation,
Kundalini asks you to summon the physical and men-
tal strength to mindfully maintain repetitive actions,
such as using Breath of Fire while holding Half Boat
Pose, or Ardha Navasana, for up to three minutes.
By committing to each movement despite your
mind’s desire to stop, you are training your nervous
system to resist temptation (in this case, the tempta-
tion to give up), just as you might train your muscles
at the gym. And it comes with some incredible bene-
fi ts. Your endocrine system reacts by secreting chemi-
cals that create feelings of balance and harmony,
according to Yogi Bhajan and other Kundalini teach-
ers. And you gain the awareness and power you need
to resist the temptation to fall back into those bad
habits you’re resolving to break for good next year.
Start with the sequence on the following pages.A MEDITATION TO RELEASE STRESS AND CLEAR PAST EMOTIONS
Come to a comfortable cross-legged sitting position. Place your fi ngertips together, forming a tepee with your
hands, fi ngers pointing up and thumbs pointing toward your heart center. Look at the tip of your nose and inhale
for 5 seconds, hold the breath for 5 seconds, then exhale for 5 seconds. Continue for 11 minutes, then relax. If
your breath is unsteady and shallow, it sends a signal to your body that its needs are not being met. This medita-
tion creates a steady breath rhythm so that your body and mind can release stress and habitual ways of being.Story and Sequence by Tommy Rosen and Kia Miller // Photography by Joe Hancock