Seven Sadhanas for the Soul

Sadhana is a sanskrit term for systematized practices that bring spiritual development and liberation of the soul. Through the sadhana one can gain understanding of Self and find enlightenment. Proper sadhana is performed with pure intention and precise action. If you are considering this path, you will learn that each moment of each day requires proper sadhana. Though the practice may seem rigorous, the rewards of the sadhana is many.

There are many disciplines that are considered sadhana. Yoga offers plenty of practices that, with great focus, can lead to spiritual enlightenment. As a yogini and learner of Spirit, I have discovered some sadhanas that bring peace and wellness into lives. These practices offer evolution to the soul, create focus in your dharma (life purpose), and releases karmic ties. Each sadhana serves as a gateway to spiritual evolution. Practice them individually or collectively. Be sure to be in joy while performing your sadhanas and live consciously in the moment. 

Seven Sadhanas for the Soul:

1) Let your food be your medicine. The yogi knows that diet is the foundation for a healthy physical, mental and emotional body. This is the prerequisite for spiritual evolution. We incarnated into our bodies, our temples, so that it can transport us in the world. We must be good to our bodies by treating it with love. Balanced and healthy foods, pure water, and respectful prayer while cooking and eating helps transform the simple and mundane task of food consumption into a spiritual experience. Finding God through practices that heal our physical body is the path of Hatha Yoga. 

2) Live life in love. Love is a powerful conduit. It is a channel for Spirit that emits from the heart. It is a discipline that requires non-attachment, devotion, compassion and forgiveness. Through loving a neighbor as close as your family or a stranger as close as a friend, you are submitting to the highest force of the universe and surrendering your ego. Pure love is unconditional. It is not dependant on a person, a situation, or a thing. The reward for loving is its own reward. It opens you up to the bliss inside yourself. Devoting your practice to love is the way of Bhakti Yoga. 

3) Conscious communication. While we may have the ability to use words, we don't always use them effectively. Affirmations and positive self-talk are forms of conscious communication. Honesty, integrity, and clarity are other ways to speak from your highest Self. Choose to watch your speech, and pay attention to how your world shifts. You will eventually be able to discern and monitor the thoughts in your head. This will allow you to consciously create your reality, as everything in your world is a manifestation of what you think and speak. It will also bring you closer to God. This is the practice of Mantra Yoga. 

4) Release the chitta (mental chatter). Our minds are overstimulated, overcrowded, and way too intense. While we only use a small part of our brains, we manage to busy it up with a whole lot of nonsense! Stress, disease, and unhappiness is the result of an overactive mind. By practicing meditation and discernment of thoughts, we can release the blockages caused by mental haphazard. A silent mind is the most enlightened because it is able to hear the pulse of the universe. This is the path of Kriya Yoga. 

5) Laugh, and laugh often!!! Laughter is an exercise for optimism (and, if I may add, a nice exercise for the gut).  When we are laughing we are bringing freedom to our spirits and creating oneness in our soul. True laughter can only remedy our lives and bring us to wholeness. It brings us into a state of surrender. You don't need to hear a joke to laugh. Practice making laughter an all-day activity and watch your perspective shift. This is the way of the Buddha. 

6) Self study as a spiritual practice. How much do we know of ourselves? It doesn't matter if you are a loner or always around company, if you are young or old, if you are independent or not, self-reflection is an important gateway into ourselves. By learning ourselves on a profound level, we are able to make the best decisions and live on purpose. We would be doing what is for our highest good. We would be lead to selfless service. We would be full of vitality and love. This requires us confronting our shadow side and knowing our light. This is the practice of Jnana Yoga. 

7) Pay attention to subtle energy. All things are made of energy, and by opening yourself up to the energy in yourself and the universe, you are opening yourself up to God. By learning how to move and manipulate the breath, heal through energy, and expand your prana, you are learning how to engage fully in the universe. A sensitivity to energy can develop into a deep understanding of God and an appreciation for life. This is the way of Tantra Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. 

Choose the sadhana practices that resonate with you and allow them to lead you into wellness. While continuous efforts is key to the full results, you may notice a great difference at the start of your sadhanas. Enjoy the path.

Helina Metaferia is a visual artist and holistic practitioner of Yoga, Meditation and Thai Massage, and is a Reiki Master. She is the founder of The Meta Experience, a visual and healing arts company. Visit http://www.themetaexperience.com for more information on her work. 

Befriending Our Fears: A Journey Into Oneness

Recently I, like many others, have been feeling pulled toward a sense of oneness; an indescribable state of supreme intelligence where nothing is separate and all is God. In oneness, there is no difference between you or I, a tree or my arm, a car or a cat. There is only the divine omnipresence. This causes the elimination of polar opposites, of good or bad, right or wrong, negative and positive. Everything that separates us is an illusion, a perception of a void that does not exist.

What a confusing paradox to be in! Once my awakening into oneness began, I started questioning everything. So if there is only one, and all of reality is an illusion, why do I work? Why do I eat? Why do I sleep? Why do we experience duality? The only answer I could find within myself is that our incarnation into physical earthbound form is a total experience, an opportunity, for individual and collective growth. Our existence in a multifaceted world of polarities is so that we may transcend, grow, and evolve our universe.

Although I am beginning to feel one with everything, a big part of the duality I feel is my fears. My fears offer stark contrast to love and joy, the more pleasant part of my existence. Once I realized that my fears are a large part of the illusion of separation, I decided to confront them.

"Keep thy friends close and your enemies even closer" goes a wise saying. The best way to release our fears is to befriend them. By being a friend to what scares us the most, we are releasing the power it has over us. If our fears do not have power over us, then the negative energy has no place to hide and will have to leave our aura altogether. It is hard for the boogie man under the bed to haunt you if you are crouching next to him with a flashlight and offering him tea and cookies. Either you will find comfort in your fears or they won't have a reason to stay.

Follow these steps to befriending your fears in a simple active meditation:

1) Create sacred space: Any type of soul work you do should be honored. Find some peaceful alone time in an uncluttered, safe environment, such as in front of an alter, by a quiet lake, or in a calm restful area. Avoid doing this type of work in a messy room or in a space that is distracting.

2) Make a list of all of the things you are afraid of. It helps to put it all on paper. Start with the most obvious, such as "I am afraid of death" or "I am afraid that there is never enough money." After you've feel like you've got the obvious fears out the way, start to scan yourself for fears that are not as immediately obvious. Notice what clues your body gives when it is acting from fear and notice when you get those reactions. For example, if you get a knot in your stomach when you see someone accomplish something wonderful, you may realize that you feel fear when you see others successful because you are afraid that everyone will be successful but you. Write all your fears on your list until you are confident there is nothing left to write.

3) Read over your list and spend a moment with each fear. This can feel unnerving, but do not hold back any emotion or sensation during this process. As you come across each fear, shift your response so that you are smiling and laughing as if it was an old friend being silly. Approach the fear as if it had the innocence of a child and as if it meant no harm. Treat it like a well-meaning sister or brother. Personify it until you can see a being that you love and can forgive. As you are doing this you are taking away the fears power. You are treating it as if it has no negative intentions. You are allowing the fear to melt into a friend.

4) After you have spent time with each individual fear, visualize yourself at a tea party (or having a few beers, whatever you prefer) with all of your fears in one room. With your minds eye, imagine them all at a long table with you at the head. Give all your fears silly faces and have them stare back with innocence at you. If you have listed twelve fears, make sure all twelve of them are invited to your party. Now imagine yourself kickin' it with your fears, having a great time. Imagine "fear of death" telling jokes and you patting "there is never enough money" on the back.

5) Now that all of your fears are your friends, you really have nothing overpowering you. Send love and light to all the areas where there was once tension, where the fears used to hide. You no longer have resistance. You no longer are ashamed and scared because even that which scares you is freed. You now have the chance to move into oneness.

It may be strange not to have any fears. Sometimes, we are addicted to our fears and cling to them because we have grown comfortable using them as excuses. We may find it easier to cover them up and create a false sense of victory then to confront them, bring them into the light and make them our friends. Whatever path you choose, realize that we will never move past pain, suffering, and turmoil until we let them go. We are holding our fears prisoners in our lives, not the other way around.

Helina Metaferia is a visual artist and holistic practitioner of Thai Massage, Yoga, Meditation, and Reiki. She is also the founder of The Meta Experience, a visual and healing arts company. This technique, and others like it, are taught in her Light Consciousness workshop. The next class begins May 22 at The Baltimore Yoga Village. Visit http://www.themetaexperience.com for more information.