My First Morning Sadhana Experience

by Haritej Kaur
 
“When I tell you to get up and meditate in the ambrosial hours, it seems odd. Why should you get up at 3:30 am? Because you require those two hours to work out your own mind, so that the rest of the day you can work out your life. Amrit vela naam jaap. Rise in the ambrosial hours and meditate. Be with God. Whenever your mind will be in duality, you will be in trouble. There is no way you can function.” - Yogi Bhajan

Sunrise at the monastery where I experienced my first morning sadhana

I started practicing Kundalini Yoga in the fall of 2010. I was hooked immediately and soon became a regular student at Yoga Phoenix. Besides frequenting Yoga Phoenix, I also spent quite some time online reading and downloading all kinds of information about Kundalini Yoga. It didn’t take me long to come across the concept of sadhana – a daily spiritual practice (in this case I am talking specifically about morning sadhana). 

I experienced sadhana for the first time during a Level 1 Teachers Training in the spring of 2012. As part of the training, we went on a silent retreat at a monastery in Arizona. To my delight, early morning sadhana was included in our schedule. I was both excited and worried: excited because I was about to experience my first sadhana and worried because I might oversleep and miss it. It was scheduled for 3:40 am! Looking back, my worry was pointless. I managed to get up on time and join my fellow students before the crack of dawn. Our trainer, Sevak Singh began by reading Japji Sahib. After that, we tuned in and engaged in our yoga practice of Nabhi Kriya, followed by the seven morning meditations specified by Yogi Bhajan for the Aquarian Age: Long Ek Ong Kar, Mul Mantra, Wah Yantee, Sat Siri Siri Akal, Rakhe Rakhanhar, Wahe Guru Wahe Jio, and Guru Ram Das Chant.

There is something beautiful and magical about a group of people gathering like this, very focused on what we were doing - vibrating the Cosmo. I kept my eyes closed most of the time. By the time we finished with the Guru Ram Das chant, I opened my eyes and was surprised to see that very faint sunlight has crept into the room. The sun was just starting to rise. By the end of sadhana the world has gone from darkness to light! Ah, it was wonderful and amazing! I will always remember the cool fresh air of the morning, the serenity at the monastery, the soothing silence, and how we went from darkness to light, inside ourselves! 

Note:

To find out more about morning sadhana, please follow this link. Our community here at Yoga Phoenix hosts morning sadhana every morning and it is free! The schedule is as follow: 

Daily Sadhana Schedule Monday - Saturday: 3:40-6:15am Sadhana Morning Yogic Practices Sundays, sleep in a bit! 4:30-6:40am Sadhana; periodic live sadhana Sundays    

Location: 2302 N 9th St, Phoenix AZ 85006

Come join us for an uplifting experience!