A Prayer

I have never been one to pray. It's always been a bit of a foreign concept to me; my idea of prayer was speaking to a man sitting on a throne of clouds while focusing on my desires and how my desires could be fulfilled through prayer, a very one-sided and ego-centered practice. I was never taught to say evening or meal prayers or instructed on how to pray; it never came naturally to me. I can, however, understand the idea of sending energy. I know I am an energetic being and taking time after a yoga practice to send healthy, healing energy to those in need has been a practice of mine for some time.

Through my studies of Kundalini Yoga, I have come across a few passages regarding prayer that have really resonated with me. The first comes from a book called Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful by Gurmukh: "Everything moves by God. Seeing this, feeling this, and experiencing this realm of consciousness in all that is around us is called living prayer. Whenever your heart pours into prayer, every heartbeat creates a miracle. The power of mankind is in our prayer... How do we pray? Concentrate and project outward." 

Her book focuses on the mother/child connection and I was really moved by the power of prayer within that connection: "A mother's prayer hold the sacred space for her child, a mother's prayer holds the world. Nothing is as profound nor as powerful as a mother who prays".  These quotes and ideas really opened me up to understanding the depth of my being as a woman and the depth of my relationship with the Divine. 

Recently, I've begun a sadhana practice or daily spiritual practice in accordance with my Kundalini Yoga practice. Ideally, sadhana takes place during the ambrosial hours of 4-7am as the energies of these hours are most conducive to prayer and meditation. Gurmukh speaks of her sadhana practice, "While I was pregnant with her, I awoke at three-thirty every morning to do sadhana, our morning prayers. In those nine months, we developed a communication that is stronger than any words, an invisible link that bonds us even now. She is always with me. Whenever I want to talk to her, to be close to and to tell her how very much I love her, I shut my eyes and pray. Across thousands of miles I know she hears me, as I hear her when she prays".  

A yoga practice is ever-expansive and I'm moving into a space and creating connections at such a depth that I don't have words to describe it. Knowledge and insights come to you when you are ready to receive them. Engaging in a daily sadhana practice coupled with Gurmukh's words has brought me from darkness to light; it has brought me from a place where prayer was foreign, to a place where I actively pray every day. I ask God to protect my husband, to give him courage and strength is his position in life and confidence in his projections. I even pray for my children. While they are not here with me, their soul is active in the cosmos and I give them strength, love and confidence that we are working here on Earth to create a loving, supportive space to one day nurture them. This journey into prayer has been very powerful and has started a dialogue about prayer between Dustin and I that has expanded our spiritual relationship. 

On my road to building a sadhana practice, I came across a beautiful prayer that I wanted to share. It is a prayer recited by Yogi Bhajan as written in Sadhana Guidelines by Gurucharan Singh Khalsa.

Please don't be thwarted by the foreign concepts of this practice, by the words and ideas that are not of our culture. A prayer is a prayer in any religion, among any practice, it acts as a petition or address to God in word or thought. I've used this prayer at the end of a yoga class, which has proven to be a beautiful way to bring people together. 


"In the Sikh tradition, we always offer the Ardas which reminds us of our historical predecessors and our present duty to uphold consciousness and righteousness. A very universal way to offer a prayer is to dedicate part of your life force to what you pray for: 

Inhale and hold your breath, 
for the peace of the world, 
for the health of all, to make everybody happy, 
so those who are lonely may have their partner
and God may find mercy on everybody, on each individual. 
And please exhale
This is the charity of the breath. 

Inhale again
Pray for all dear ones, related ones, known, unknown,
on the whole planet, for those who are sick, those who are unhappy, 
unhealthy or need spirit. 
Send this thought by doing a prayer on this breath, 
let it go. 

Inhale deep again to end all causes and effects
which affect any man and make him unhappy, 
for anything that brings war and destruction, 
for anything that brings hatred and jealousy. 
Say a prayer on this breath
and let it go."



Who do you pray for?

Love&Light