Kundalini Yoga Therapy Training
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR MISSION
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • FACULTY & STAFF
    • TESTIMONIALS
  • KUNDALINI YOGA THERAPY
    • OVERVIEW
    • CERTIFICATION TRACK
    • APPROVED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
  • COURSES
    • COURSE CATEGORIES
    • UPCOMING COURSES
  • KUNDALINI YOGA RESOURCES
    • FIND A KUNDALINI YOGA THERAPIST
    • KYT BLOG
    • KUNDALINI YOGA & MEDITATION
    • KYT RESEARCH
  • SHOP
  • SUPPORT US
    • DONATE
  • CONTACT
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • South America
    • United States
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
BLOG

Helping Yourself Self Regulate

Grounding & self soothing techniques for emotional regulation

When you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed or experiencing distressing emotions it is helpful to focus on aspects of the physical world, rather than on just your internal thoughts and feelings.  This can help us to connect to our body and re-ground ourselves and from this place we are much more able to find clarity and make sense of what we’re feeling.

“Compassion can be described as letting ourselves be touched by the vulnerability and suffering that is within ourselves and all beings. The full flowering of compassion also includes action: Not only do we attune to the presence of suffering, we respond to it.”  Tara Brach

Below are grounding techniques to help you to focus and ground your awareness in the present.

Sensing the Breath

Observe your breath and feel the sensation of breathing within your body.  Explore the depth of your breath and begin to slowly deepen your breath.

Engage one or more of the five senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound).

Touch:

  • Clench your fists then relax your hands, repeat.
  • Touch your hands to the ground
  • Hold an object and feel into the sensations. Idea: Touching each bead on your Mala whilst repeating a mantra such as Sat Nam, Om, I am I am or your favourite affirmation can be very effective.
  • Identify opposite sensations hot/cold, soft/hard, comfortable/uncomfortable, relaxed/tense
  • Touch or massage your feet, arms or legs
  • Engage in rhythmic activities (knitting, biking, swimming, dancing)
  • Wrap a blanket around yourself

Taste:

  • Swallow any saliva in your mouth
  • Remember the taste of your favorite food
  • Drink water
  • Sip herbal tea
  • Eat delicious healthy food and describe the flavors

Smell:

  • Breathe deeply to identify any scents in the room
  • Use essential oils ie. lavender, sandalwood

Sight:

  • Identify colors, textures, shapes, people in your environment. eg. Identify and name 3 distinct colors in the room
  • Look at and be nature. At the trees, plants, birds etc

Sound:

  • Listen to the sound of your breath
  • Identify 3 different sounds you hear in the room/far off in the distance
  • Listen to the sound of your voice. What do you notice about the way you are speaking?
  • Listen to mantra music
  • Say positive affirmations to yourself

Releasing and soothing emotion through movement

If emotions are quite intense it can be helpful to release endorphins and help the Nervous System adjust through movement to ease the intensity.

  • Shake the hands or body
  • Stretch the body
  • Play out the emotion or sensation through movement. ie. running on spot, pushing away etc
  • Dance
  • 26 x Frog Pose
  • Sweat

Self touch to connect to self

Technique compliments of Peter Levine

Step One:

“Just feel what goes on between the hands and the body. Sometimes they will feel an energy flow or a change in temperature or a feeling… I just ask them just to keep their hands there, it could be a few moments, or 5 or 10 minutes, until they feel some kind of shift.” Peter Levine

Step Two:

“Then take the upper hand and put it on the belly. And again just wait until there is some shift, until there is some flow, and sometimes people, if they are unable to sleep or they are afraid, they will have nightmares. If they do simple things like that, they will fall into sleep much more easily.” Peter Levine

Taking time outyoga courses fitzroy north melbourne

Resting in Child’s Pose can be very soothing and restorative.  Allowing your body weight to sink into the ground, dropping the shoulders and allowing your breathing to become slow and deep.  You can close off to all the external stimuli and settle your mind on your own breath and sensation, inviting the body and mind to relax with each breath.   Variations: Knees wide; head lifted on a bolster or your hands; hugging a bolster in the pose.

Breathing can settle things

Let’s not forget about the power of your breath.  If we can consciously direct our breath than we can begin to affect the state of our mind.  Take some time to connect with your breathing at different intervals in your day.  Firstly simply notice the nature of your breath without needing to change anything and then when you feel ready begin to deepen and slow your breath working with your breath capacity in this moment.  Each time you inhale feel your rib cage expand, your back broaden and draw the breath deep into the lungs.  As you exhale allow your shoulders to relax, feel the release of the breath and draw your abdomen back towards your spine emptying your breath out completely.  Notice that moment when you decide to inhale again and repeat, exploring the depth of your breath.

Left Nostril Breathing:

  • Gently block your right nostril with your thumb or finger and breath long and deep through the left nostril.
  • Continue for 3 mins or when you start to feel a shift within
  • This breath is an effective way to calm the mind and gently stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, inviting the body to relax.

Counting your Breath:

  • Inhale to the count of four, pause
  • Exhale to the count of eight, continue
  • This breath rhythm can help settle the feeling of anxiety and calm the mind

Refocusing the Mind with Mantra

When our mind is continually busy with incessant thinking, worrying and ruminating we can become tired, confused and negative.  Using mantra can help to elevate the frequency of the mind and give us a positive way to refocus our minds so that we can find some clarity and calm.  Here are three different ways to use mantra to focus the mind:

  1. Using the mantra Sat Nam (Truth is my identity/I listen to my truth) with your breath.  As you inhale mentally vibrate Sat and on your exhale mentally vibrate Nam.
  2. Repeat the mantra ‘Peace begins with me’ out loud or silently in this way:
    • Touch your thumb to your index finger on ‘Peace’
    • Touch your thumb to your middle finger on ‘begins’
    • Touch your thumb to your ring finger on ‘with’
    • Touch your thumb to your little finger on ‘me’
    • Repeat
  3. Listen and chant along to your favourite mantra music.  Here are some artists and songs I love, to get you started exploring mantra music.
    • Ajeet Kaur, Ra Ma Da Sa Healing
    • Snatam Kaur, Sacred Chants for Healing
    • Jai Jagdeesh, Expand your intuitive knowing

If there are any strategies you love and help you ground, settle and re-connect please share in the comments below.  We’ve all been there!

Blessings,

Siri Bhagvati | Billie Atherstone

24. September, 2018/by admin
Share this entry
  • Share on WhatsApp
https://www.grdcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/peterlevine1.jpg 326 326 admin https://www.grdcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/header.png admin2018-09-24 18:49:522019-07-01 17:32:08Helping Yourself Self Regulate

Upcoming Courses

Sun 07

Foundations of Kundalini Yoga Therapy: Principles and Practices (Europe/North & South America)

March 4, 2021 - March 7, 2021
Wed 24

Trauma Informed Kundalini Yoga for Recovery from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

March 24, 2021 - March 28, 2021
ATISHA CENTRE, BENDIGO AUSTRALIA
Australia
Fri 26

Elements and Alchemy of Kundalini Yoga (Europe/North & South America)

March 26, 2021 - April 18, 2021

View More…

DOWNLOAD PROGRAM DOCS HERE

FAQ
Handbook
Application
Certification Track Curriculum


IAYT

Instagram

FOUNDATIONS OF KUNDALINI YOGA THERAPY: PRINCIPLES FOUNDATIONS OF KUNDALINI YOGA THERAPY: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES 
👉 Last days to register!!! 

🧘‍♀️🧘 Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Teacher training prepares us to teach to people who are healthy. 🦋 A separate set of skills is required to teach to people with health conditions. This training gives Kundalini Yoga teachers the foundation we need to begin to develop those skills and to deepen and expand the application of yogic philosophy, technique and habits of conscious living toward health recovery.

📅 Feb 25-28, 2021 from 8am-12pm – AEDT Sydney and  Feb 24-27 4pm-8pm – EST Boston

👉 Interested in learning more or ready to register: Link in bio or https://www.grdcenter.org/details/foundations-of-kundalini-yoga-therapy-principles-and-practices-feb-2021/
Start the year learning to serve with compassion! Start the year learning to serve with compassion! 🥳

Tomorrow we begin "Transforming Anxiety and Depression" Kundalini Yoga Therapy course. There is still time to join! 

📅 January 21, 2021 - January 24, 2021
💻 Online course that takes place from 9:00 to 13:00 (Denver time)
❗️Pre-requisite: Foundations Course
🟢 Investment: $425

Registration link in bio! DM for more info.
Meet the Faculty of our up-coming "Transforming An Meet the Faculty of our up-coming "Transforming Anxiety and Depression" course. 🦋

👩‍🔬 Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur brings the ancient teachings of Kundalini Yoga into modern medicine as Founding Director of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology. She developed and directs the 1,100 hour IAYT accredited International Kundalini Yoga Therapy Professional Training.

A Kundalini Yoga teacher since 1971, Dr. Khalsa began to specialize in teaching Kundalini Yoga and Meditation to people with chronic or life threatening illness and their family members in 1986, under the direction of Yogi Bhajan.

👩‍🔬 Dr. Hari Kirin Khalsa, MD, C-IAYT, has been serving in health care since 1976, as a nurse’s aide, then a registered nurse who decided to go on to medical school.  Midpoint into a busy career, she found yoga and meditation for her own stress reduction.  She became a kundalini yoga teacher in her community, tandem with her medical practice.  She began studying yoga for health recovery with Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur in 2010 and completed the yoga therapy training in 2019 while coming on board as faculty. 

📅 January 21, 2021 - January 24, 2021
💻 Online course that takes place from 9:00 to 13:00 (Denver time)
❗️Pre-requisites: Kundalini Yoga Certification L1; Foundations Of Kundalini Yoga
🟢 Investment: $425
Registration link in bio. 👆
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Facebook

Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology
Kundalini Yoga Therapy Trainings
Guru Ram Das Center Europe
Kundalini Yoga Therapy Australia

Links

www.grdcenter.org
www.iayt.org
www.ky-therapy-training.eu

Contact

Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D.
Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology
P.O. Box 1926
Espanola, New Mexico 87532
505.753.4692
healthnow@grdcenter.org

Newsletter

© 2019 Copyright - www.grdcenter.org | Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Scroll to top