Meditation Archives - PranaShanti

Free Guided Meditation

May 5, 2021May 6, 2021 by superadmin superadmin1 Comment

https://pranashanti.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Night-Time-022614.mp3 A meditation gift for you to enjoy from the album “Ease” by Devinder Kaur. Track: Night Time, 11 minutes. Enjoy! Available for purchase from the iTunes Store, search for "Devinder Kaur": Album: Ease by Devinder Kaur Album: Wave by Devinder Kaur Album: Echo: Meditations for Peace of Heart and Mind by Devinder Kaur Or the 'old school' album is available online in the PranaShanti Boutique with curbside pick up or delivery: Album: Ease by Devinder Kaur Album: Wave by Devinder Kaur Album: Echo: Meditations for Peace of Heart and Mind by Devinder Kaur ...

Meditation

October 23, 2017February 14, 2021 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

Meditation Spelled Out! By Devinder Kaur M - Mantras, mudras and asanas are the concentration points. They provide you with the form and focus for the meditation. Mantra is a repeated sound rhythm that directs the mind. Mudra means ‘seal’ used to seal the body’s energy flow into a particular pattern and asanas are the body postures. E - Eliminate Mental Intrigues. Mental Intrigues are what happens when the mind is left on automatic and thoughts and feelings dominate you. The combination of the subconscious and thoughts start the mental intrigues and self-defeating patterns. Meditation helps to clean the mind of these thoughts and break your old patterns. It is a sort of mental housekeeping. D - Don’t over analyse or intellectualise. This takes you away from the meditative process. Intellectualising thoughts expands the intrigue and your mind weaves the thoughts into an elaborate story that goes to all parts of your mind. You lose track of your real self and then become...

Get to know Michael Stone!

November 10, 2016October 31, 2017 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

We are delighted to welcome Michael Stone back to PranaShanti on December 9-11, 2016 for a Master Class Weekend on Embodying Practices. Before Michael's arrival you may like to listen in on some of his podcasts to get a feel for his teaching. The Dharma Talks podcast with Michael Stone is a library of talks on a wide-range of topics, including bringing mindfulness and meditation practice into daily life; personal and community issues regarding mental health; and social change. The podcasts are recorded at live events so you might hear coughing, airplanes, cars, sirens, laughter, and peoples’ questions—all part of the intimate experience. Michael Stone is often described as a cross between a spiritual teacher and public intellectual. His ability to integrate traditional contemplative teachings from his studies in yoga, Zen, and Vipassana, with the insights of Western psychology, gives him a unique voice for a new generation of students integrating mindfulness with the demands of their busy lives. He is the author...

Winter Solstice at PranaShanti

December 15, 2015February 14, 2021 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

The Winter Solstice is the longest night and shortest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and so follows it’s the reverse in the southern. The solstice is considered auspicious in many cultures, including the Romans’ “Day of the Unconquerable Sun”, the Druids’ “Light of Arthur” and the Hindus’ Diwali and Lohri. This year it falls on December 22, when we’ll have just over 9 hours of daylight. In many places, obviously including Ottawa, solstice marks the distinct shift into winter. While the days are getting longer with increasing sunlight after solstice, we enter a season where we desire hibernation. These cold, dark days remind us of the reverence and gratitude we have for sunlight and our perfect position in relationship to the sun for the abundance it provides. Like all things, there are dual, overlapping aspects to all creation, and so we embrace the necessary darkness and dormancy winter provides for renewal in the spring season. The natural drawing in...

What do stacked stones mean for mindfulness?

July 13, 2015April 17, 2023 by Devinder Kaur3 Comments

As we look forward to our autumn programming, we're always happy to have Dr. Kim Sogge back to the centre. Dr. Sogge brings a wealth of experience and information to her mindfulness-based courses, and this year we've expanded upon her original Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Course and will also be offering her Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Course. Whenever we start spreading the word about these beneficial offerings, we look for our favourite pictures that communicate a sense of mindfulness. We are mindful in our choosing - while we love pictures of peaceful-looking people sitting on docks or in wooded landscapes, we want to cultivate the understanding that this is a practice for your daily life. You do not need to escape the city, your job or your family to cultivate mindfulness, and so for promotion, we turn to the stone stack. You may be confused though! After all, what's a stack of stones got to do with a mindfulness-based stress reduction course? It's a great...

Novel Inspired by the teachings of Yogi Bhajan

June 2, 2015July 18, 2020 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

Fuming. That’s how Cam, the main character in The Merit Birds, feels about being dragged to Laos, Southeast Asia, by his mother. His absent father, his lifetime of anger issues, and his recent basketball fight only serve to compound his strong emotions. Gradually, Cam’s change comes when he learns about the power of the breath and of serving others. Written by Kundalini Yoga instructor, Kelley Powell, the novel ends with KRI-approved instructions for the One Minute Breath. Inspired by the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, The Merit Birds is unique in that readers are introduced to Kundalini Yoga through fiction. It is about the friendships that Cam eventually and often reluctantly makes and how a lifetime of anger can be transformed from the inside out. It’s about how daily attention to the breath and bringing focus within can melt away years of anger and hurt. And it’s about how this realization of inner peace leads to a bursting open of the heart...

what is a mala necklace and how do you use it?

February 16, 2015July 28, 2015 by Devinder Kaur2 Comments

You may have noticed your teacher wearing a necklace-like decoration with a tassel on the end, sometimes around their neck, or wrapped around their wrist. Called a mala (pronounced: mall-ah), why is it yogis wear it and what do they use it for? Malas, or mala beads, are a meditation device used by Hindus, Buddhists, yogis, and other eastern schools of philosophy - not unlike the prayer beads of the rosary used by some denominations of Christianity. Their purpose is to guide the user through japa (pronounced: jah-puh), the meditative practice of repeating a mantra. The user guides the number of repetitions by repeating their mantra for each bead they pass over. Hindu and yoga malas typically consist of 108 beads, though the number varies amidst other traditions. 108 is considered an auspicious number for many reasons, though one of our favourite reasons is that 1 represents the path, 0 the cyclical nature of life, and 8 the infinity loop. Malas are made from...

Winter Solstice Celebration of Light

November 10, 2014April 20, 2021 by Devinder Kaur2 Comments

Date and Time: Sunday, December 21, 2014 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Event Details Midwinter's day has been an important time for celebration throughout the ages. On this shortest day of the year, the sun is at its lowest and weakest, a pivot point from which the light will grow stronger and brighter. This is the turning point of the year. To celebrate this sacred time we will walk an incredible light-filled Labyrinth that is being created for us in the Spirit Room! The labyrinth is a metaphor for what is sacred in our lives. When we walk the path inward, we carry our burdens with us. When we meditate or pray in the center, we ask for grace, forgiveness, and understanding. When we walk the path outward, we are lighter, more joyful and ready yet again to take on life's challenges. Barbara Brown of Canadian Labyrinth Ventures will be creating our Labyrinth and live music by Canadian Singer Leah Longo and her band, will enhance our sacred...

Nirinjan Kaur – Live in Ottawa

October 27, 2014August 19, 2015 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

Nirinjan Kaur - Live in Ottawa - Workshop + Concert PranaShanti Yoga Centre is delighted to host an evening of Kundalini Yoga and sacred chanting with Nirinjan Kaur (vocals and harmonium) and Matthew Schoening (electric cello) accompaniment and opening set. Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm Event Details Our evening begins with a sacred sound and yoga/meditation workshop from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Following a 30 minute intermission we will begin the concert at 7:30 pm. Ticket Options: Tickets available for each event separately or SAVE when purchasing together. Workshop: $25.00 per person in advance, $30.00 per person day of Concert: $25.00 per person in advance, $30.00 per person day of Entire Evening: $40.00 per person in advance, $50.00 per person day of Children: under 12 $5.00 per child Join us in this blissful evening! About Nirinjan Kaur: Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa grew up with sacred music and Naad Yoga as a natural part of her life. This has been developed in study with classical Indian Master Ustaad Narinder Singh Sandhu...

Meet Devinder Kaur, the woman behind PranaShanti

March 11, 2014February 14, 2021 by Devinder KaurNo Comments

At PranaShanti Yoga Centre, we provide the space for many approaches and lineages of yoga to thrive. At the centre of that vision is one woman: PranaShanti’s owner and lead trainer, Devinder Kaur. In her own words, Devinder explains how she opened PranaShanti with a vision for high quality practice and education in yoga and meditation. Five years later, that vision is realized as the centre has grown into Ottawa's premiere yoga destination. Locals come here to cultivate wellness in their lives, and international teachers make a point on their tours to visit and share their wisdom....